A view of Huawei's booth at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2023, June 28, 2023. [Photo/VCG]

Globally, the evolving realities of international technology brands have led to significant innovations and technological breakthroughs. As such, the need to understand evolving social dynamics is becoming more and more relevant, while corporations still have an important role to play. 

In a recent speech by Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, during a meeting with the president, coaches and champions of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) Foundation, he laid out a contemporary business strategy that relegates myopic business interests and encompasses the need for humility, open-mindedness and a commitment to education. These aspects are critical to tech companies, academics and society at large. 

Ren's words provide interesting insights into the world's business environment and resonate well with me as a researcher and academic in logistics, supply chains and marketing. Enhancing the student experience is also relevant to contemporary business and provides valuable lessons to academia alike.

Nurturing future leaders

In his opening remarks, Ren emphasized the Fourth Industrial Revolution, laying out the importance of technology's influence on students' prospects. Notably, he spoke about the ways in which computing power is shaping students' innovative thinking and critical focus on emerging technologies. This perspective is not only relevant to the business community, but also provides key insights for academic institutions that seek to design cutting-edge curricula that address student employability. Ren provided a clear insight into Huawei's vision in supporting students from diverse backgrounds through its critical focus on teamwork and collaboration in innovation. In today's business environment, students from different backgrounds and specializations must understand that success comes from working in teams, having a flexible or creative mindset, as well as the ability to survive in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous setting.

Embracing global talent

Huawei has a clear vision of improving global talent through a holistic approach that is sustainable. The world is full of diverse talents, but there is a need to connect the dots by providing an intrinsic approach that fosters youth development. Identifying and developing a talent pool showcases Huawei's unwavering support for increasing the proliferation of technology instrumental to information and technology worldwide. This is critical to academia, as it allows lecturers to develop courses that recognize the pluralistic nature of today's business environment.

Long-term support for cultural exchange

Culture shapes how organizations shape their vision and the ways they do business. Huawei's unwavering commitment to bringing together students from different parts of the world clearly shows that it wants to inculcate a culture of scientific research and innovation. The development of a research culture stimulates students to try to solve real-life problems. Huawei's thinking on cultural exchange and international collaboration breaks down cultural barriers that could affect the adoption of technology across different societies. Culture remains diverse, but there is a need to understand that business leaders must adopt an inclusive approach when engaging multi-polar environments. This is the spirit of businesses today.

Open campuses and real-world challenges

Technology has undoubtedly transformed the way universities operate. The adoption of various technologies during the pandemic has created opportunities for tech companies and transformed both teaching and learning methods. Huawei's willingness to work with academia through technology provides an important opportunity for young people to gain invaluable hands-on experience. Open campuses and student exposure to real-world challenges can serve as a primer for students who are likely to face business challenges in the future.

Humility and open-mindedness

Huawei remains one of the world's leading companies engaged in cutting-edge technology, particularly regarding 5G networks. Its open mind and humility in acknowledging Apple's strengths provides lessons that can be learned by academia and industry. Business is not about competition and rivalry, but rather appreciation and strategic collaboration. While companies will always look to gain a competitive advantage, it is time for business leaders and young researchers to be less shortsighted and to adopt a more open mindset.

As a final thought, Huawei's commitment to education, global collaboration and skills development is key to creating innovative future leaders who understand that, as much as we need to compete in business, we must emulate each other. Ren's speech will forever serve as a reminder that technology shapes the lives of everyone around the world.

Dr. Reason Masengu is a senior lecturer at Middle East College in Oman.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. 

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