With the spirit of “giving” and the desire to contribute to his homeland, Dr. Tran Viet Hung founded STEAM for Vietnam – a non-profit project aiming to bring Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) closer to Vietnamese children.
The importance of STEAM in Vietnamese education
According to Dr. Hung, “STEAM for Vietnam starts with computer science, because computational thinking is becoming an indispensable skill in the digital age. It helps develop logical thinking, solve problems effectively and contribute to the country in all fields”.
The STEAM for Vietnam project targets students in Vietnam, especially those who have not had early access to technology. “In Silicon Valley, famous people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk all started to get acquainted with technology and computer programming at a very young age. This is what we want to bring to Vietnamese children,” Dr. Hung shared.
Talented volunteer network
The special feature of STEAM for Vietnam is the participation of more than 140 volunteers from all over the world, including leading technology experts working at Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft. These people participate not for money, but because they want to contribute to the development of the young generation in Vietnam.
“To attract them, I have to give a clear vision and plan. When a talented person joins, they will attract other talented people,” Dr. Hung shared about how to build a team of volunteers.
STEAM for Vietnam – Starting from zero and growing continuously
STEAM for Vietnam was established in June 2020 with the initial goal of building an online education program. In the first semester, the project attracted 7,000 students to register, and this number increased to 11,000 students in the second semester. Online classes can connect thousands of students from 34 countries with a single teacher.
In particular, the project has built a three-year computer science program. “If students study seriously, by high school, they can work as trainee software engineers,” said Dr. Hung. Currently, STEAM for Vietnam is gradually implementing this goal according to plan.
Strategic cooperation and model replication
Recently, STEAM for Vietnam signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Tan Thoi Dai education system to incorporate STEAM subjects into the official education program. This is an important step to help STEAM for Vietnam get more feedback from the actual learning environment, thereby perfecting the curriculum.
In addition, the project also organizes extracurricular activities to inspire children’s passion for learning. Dr. Hung hopes that in the future, this model can be replicated in other schools across the country, creating conditions for many Vietnamese children to access science and technology early.
Training high-quality human resources for the future
The long-term goal of STEAM for Vietnam is to help Vietnamese children, especially those aged 10, access technology early to discover their passion and develop necessary skills for the future. In the next 15-20 years, these children can absolutely become high-quality human resources for the country, contributing to building a strong technology-based economy.
“If we want a strong technology economy, we need a large and skilled workforce. Orienting and training the young generation is the key to creating high-quality technology human resources,” Dr. Hung emphasized.
Community and business cooperation
STEAM for Vietnam has had a strong start, but to meet the great demand from students and parents, Dr. Tran Viet Hung hopes to have more participation from organizations and businesses. This is not only a way for businesses to contribute to the community, but also an investment in their own future human resources.