Providing youths opportunity to leverage tech to shape the future

Following three successful competitions where over 1,000 young participants developed 300 tech-powered ideas to address real-world challenges, Huawei announced the return of its flagship Tech4City Competition for 2025.  

The three thematic pillars for this year’s competition each represent a cornerstone of Singapore’s future: smart healthcare, smart education, and smart city. Participants are encouraged to develop out-of-the-box ideas in these categories. 

“Transformation begins with small steps guided by the belief that technology must serve humanity, drive social good, and create meaningful change in our communities,” said Huawei International’s CEO, Maxi Wang, at the Tech4City 2025 launch ceremony held on March 26.  

“Looking at this room full of youths, I see the future. Huawei aims to walk this journey with you and support you to turn your ideas into solutions that could make a difference in our smart nation,” Wang added. 

Tech4City supports Singapore’s Digital for Life Movement and aligns with the Smart Nation 2.0, National AI Strategy 2.0, and SG Green Plan 2030 that aim to improve innovation for a digital, sustainable, and future-resilient Singapore. 

The competition will be opened for proposal submissions until July 31, after which the top teams will receive mentoring and training to prepare for the finals in November.  

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Bold ideas for a smart future 

This year’s competition would see two new tracks to broaden participation and nurture innovation across all levels, shared Managing Director of Huawei International, Frank Guo. 

The Budding Youths track is open to students and young innovators from ages 16 to 22 to pitch their ideas without requiring a functional prototype.  

The Onwards Entrepreneurship track is open to university students and startups who want to share their market-ready prototypes for scalability and real-world applications.  

Guo noted that the new tracks enable experienced innovators to engage with younger peers and gain fresh perspectives, contributing to a wider pool of ideas and mind-sharing. Participants can choose from the different thematic pillars to create unique innovative solutions. For example, within the smart healthcare pillar, participants can choose to address active ageing, medical resource optimisation, or improving accessibility. 

Rather than focusing on modest ideas, this year’s competition is an opportunity for participants to “think boldly and act collaboratively to turn visionary ideas into reality,” Guo added.  

Future-proofing Singapore  

The launch event included a panel discussion on the theme of this year’s competition, Empowering our shared digital future, where industry leaders discussed the importance of fostering opportunities such as Tech4City to motivate the youth to build a future-proof Singapore. 

According to NUS’ Asian Institute of Digital Finance, Adjunct Associate Professor, Edward Tay, competitions like Tech4City provide networking and mentorship opportunities.  

These provide opportunities for youths to learn about emerging technologies and open doors for adults to engage in lifelong learning. 

“There is so much good for [participants] to be able to develop new prototypes. It is a tremendous opportunity to build up your resume and obtain access to like-minded people and industries,” added Eden Strategy Institute’s Partner, Calvin Chu.  

When the industry and academia work together to build opportunities for learning, the talent pool will then thrive, said Synapxe’s Innovation Capabilities Enablement, Industry Partnership, Assistant Director, Vicky Tang. 

An example of the success of this competition was the winning team of Tech4City 2024, Golden Gamers, whose PrimePlay solution encourages seniors to keep active and engaged. Their project was tested at  community centres and had received positive feedback from the community.  

The time is now 

To participate in the competition, individuals must be aged 16 to 35 and form teams of three to six members.  

Proposal submissions are now open until July 31, 2025, and should include research insights, a solution, an execution plan, and social value. 

The Budding Youths track requires participants to submit mockups or storyboards, while a demo or prototype is required for those in the Onwards Entrepreneurship track.  

Shortlisted teams will have the opportunity to gain exposure to Huawei’s talent development programme on the global stage and enhance their technical skills through training in Huawei ICT Academy and Huawei Cloud courses.  

Winners of Tech4City 2025 stand the chance of winning up to S$20,000 for the grand prize in the Onwards Entrepreneurship Track and S$4,000 for the Budding Youths Track.  

Additionally, the best innovation in mobility will walk away with SBS Transit’s sponsored prize of S$3,000.