The national qualifying round of the world’s largest robot competition FIRST® LEGO® LEAGUE, with participation from more than 110 countries and over 500,000 STEM robot enthusiasts every year, recently took place in Vietnam.
This is an event in the STEAM Robot ROBOTACON competition series organized by the Danish Embassy and Viet Tinh Anh JSC – FIRST®’s partner in Vietnam.
It is aimed at students aged six to 16 who have an interest in robotics, which is based on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
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| EUREKA – MASTER is made up of students from UK ACADEMY Hue School, Quang Trung Primary School, Nguyen Trai Primary School, Phuong Hoang Primary School, Ly Thuong Kiet Primary School. Source: Danish Embassy in Vietnam |
The FIRST® LEGO® LEAGUE contest with the theme “Masterpiece” took place in Vietnam with the participation of over 500 students from elementary to high school levels and centers nationwide.
After completing the national round at the United Kingdom Academy International School, Binh Thanh Campus in Ho Chi Minh City, and Everest School in Hanoi, the organizing committee has identified the winning teams to compete in the international finals in Houston, Texas, USA, in April.
The top three teams are EUREKA – MASTER (Explore round in the Central and Southern regions), TTECHTITANS (Explore round in the Northern region), and RUBBER DUCK (Challenge round).
Additionally, the teams ranked next are NSHM SAO THUY and SHINING GLORY in the Explore round, and HANOI ACADEMY and NEO RECORD in the Challenge round, who will also represent Vietnam in the international competition held in the US.
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| TECHTITANS from WELLSPRING Hanoi. Source: Danish Embassy in Vietnam |
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| RUBBER DUCK is composed of students from Canadian International School, Dien Bien Secondary School, VINSCHOOL, ISHCMC Ho Chi Minh International School, DELTA GLOBAL SCHOOL, Nguyen Sieu School. Source: Danish Embassy in Vietnam |
According to VNA, STEM is considered a highly promising field. However, in Vietnam, the proportion of university students majoring in STEM-related subjects is relatively low compared to other countries in the region and Europe, especially in fields like Science and Mathematics.
Data from the Ministry of Education and Training shows that the number of university students studying STEM subjects in the country is only about 55 students per ten thousand people. The percentage of university students in STEM subjects has ranged from 27% to 30% of all university students in Vietnam in recent years.
In 2021, this percentage reached approximately 28.7%. This percentage is significantly lower than that of some other countries in the region and Europe. Moreover, postgraduate STEM education in Vietnam is quite limited compared to developed countries, constituting only a small portion of the overall education system across all fields.
