About 250 student teams will participate in the 2023 Vietnam VEX IQ National Robotics Championship from February 24-26 in Hanoi.

The championship 2023 was kicked off in the capital city by the American Centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and STEAM for Vietnam Foundation on December 6. Hanoi kicked off the Vietnam VEX IQ National Championship 2023.

The event, which consists of a primary student group for students aged 12 and below, and a junior student group for students aged 15 and under, is a large-scale robotics tournament that helps students across the country have hands-on experiences in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEAM) furthering their learning outcomes. 

STEAM for Vietnam Foundation Co-founder Tran Viet Hung said: "We are delighted that students from all regions of Vietnam now have the opportunity to study and participate in challenges just like students from developed countries such as the US." 

By participating in this tournament, he hopes Vietnamese students will gradually gain the essential skills and experience necessary to compete in the future global market.

With a mission to bring free, world-class STEAM education to Vietnamese students, STEAM for Vietnam Foundation and its partners have launched the A Year of Robotics initiative to ensure that Vietnamese students receive comparable opportunities to learn and practice modern robotics components and compete in global robotics tournaments similarly to their US counterparts. 

An overview of the press conference on December 6.

These programs help eliminate inequities related to gender, ethnicity, and geography and bring STEAM education closer to local communities. Additionally, students develop necessary soft skills for the future, such as computational thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills. 

Event sponsors set a more ambitious goal to organize a 2023 Vietnam VEX IQ National Championship following international standards outlined by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (REC) with the aspiration of bringing ten Vietnamese teams to compete at the world's largest robotics competition: VEX Robotics World Championship 2023 in Dallas, Texas.

Giving remarks on the 2022 National Robotics Tournament, US Ambassador Marc Knapper said the outstanding student robotics teams competing in the competition demonstrate the collaboration between the American Center, STEAM for Vietnam Foundation, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology and in this regard, "Vietnam has a bright future." 

After ongoing cooperation in organizing joint activities related to computational thinking, programming, and robotics, the Hanoi University of Science and Technology and STEAM for Vietnam Foundation officially became strategic partners in developing a curriculum to train a new generation capable of succeeding at the highest levels.  

Nguyen Phong Dien, Vice President of the University of Science and Technology, said: “The 2023 Vietnam VEX IQ National Robotics Championship and the A Year of Robotics imitative are wonderful opportunities to promote STEAM education to students and to attract students, who are interested in math, physics, chemistry, cybernetics, and programming to enroll in degree programs as well as improve student preparedness more broadly.”