5 out of 19 Vietnamese teams won important prizes of the world’s largest VEX Robotics Contest, according to STEAM for Vietnam Foundation.

Held annually, the VEX Robotics World Championship, the largest robotics competition in the world, attracts more than 3,000 teams from over 60 countries. Source: STEAM for Vietnam Foundation

Gathering for the first time at the VEX Robotics World Championship 2023 (VEX Worlds), held in Dallas, Texas, were more than 30,000 students from more than 50 countries and 50 states across the US. The Vietnamese teams have impressed international friends with not only their robotics knowledge but also their confidence in cultural exchange. Each individual is an ambassador of Vietnam, expressed from the parade in the opening ceremony of the contest.

More specifically, for the first time participating in the international arena, five out of 19 high school and primary group teams won prizes, along with four teams that reached the top 20 in the groups.

To select the best teams representing Vietnam to compete at the championship, STEAM for Vietnam, in coordination with the American Centre and Hanoi University of Science and Technology, organized the National VEX IQ Robotics Championship 2023.

During their time in Texas, the students also had the opportunity to visit NASA in Houston and interact with international peers, further enriching their educational experience.

During the journey to participate in the VEX World Championship 2023 in the US, STEAM for Vietnam has built an experience program, focusing on creating opportunities for students, parents and teachers to experience technology and education in the US, thereby inspiring students to dream higher and farther.

Among them are visits to Stanford University, Texas A&M University, Tech Interactive Museum - one of the leading pioneering museums of technology in Silicon Valley, and the Center for Aeronautics and Astronautics, NASA headquarters in Houston, and enjoy some typical American culture such as outdoor BBQ party and road trip.

Most especially, the students had the opportunity to visit Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley, interact with Vietnamese engineers working here, and have breakfast and meet with astronauts at NASA.

The US Embassy, The American Centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, work together with STEAM for Vietnam, and the Hanoi University of Technology, to nurture Tech talent and inspire Vietnamese students to follow their dreams and pursue STEAM careers.

"STEAM for Vietnam and its partners implementing the “A Year of Robotics 2023" project are extremely happy with the results that the Vietnamese teams have achieved. This is unexpected because the original goal of the Vietnamese delegation was just to exchange and learn. We hope that the students, parents, and teachers participating in this year, have a memorable experience and will continue to inspire more and more Vietnamese students to participate," Co-founder of STEAM for Vietnam, Dr. Tran Viet Hung shared.

Joining international arenas such as VEX Worlds Such a first step will prepare them to be future global citizens and great human resources for Vietnam. They are looking forward to working with more partners to make the next seasons even bigger, he added.

The dedication and hard work of these students and the support of their teachers and mentors have paid off with such an outstanding accomplishment.

STEAM for Vietnam and its partners, Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco, American Center (under the US Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, VinUniversity, Vietnam Airlines and logistics unit - Asia Sun Travel, worked together making this incredible experience possible for the students.

They hope that the VEX journey, especially the tour in the US in 2023, will become an inspiration for Vietnamese students around the world to invest in STEAM learning and robotics, thereby becoming global citizens, able to compete in the international arena.

Immediately after the trip, STEAM for Vietnam and its partners began to prepare the project "A Year of Robotics 2024" and plan to organize classes on Robotics Programming and the National Championship for 2023-2024 period, towards the 2024 World Championship tournament in the US.

Cao Bang's team rises to world ranking

At the the VEX Robotics World Championship, the largest robotics competition in the world, the Cao Bang provincial team excelled over 1,000 places, ranked 183 in the world, Cong Ly newspaper reported.

In terms of expertise, the Robotics 11 Cao Bang team rises 1,000 places in the skill test including robot driving and automatic programming.

Before the tournament, the Cao Bang team ranked 1,187th, however, after this World Championship, the ranking of the Cao Bang team ranked 183th.

The Robotics 11 Cao Bang team is internewed by US media.

Regarding the control competition, Robotics 11 Cao Bang team finished 30th/77th in the group stage with 191.75 points. This is a higher score than the champion team in the Vietnamese national championship and 1.6 times higher than the achievement of the Robotics 11 Cao Bang team in the national championship in February.

One teacher and three team members from Cao Bang, have been praised by the US media by their energetic journey, overcoming thousands of challenges and difficulties in the poor province of Vietnam. The guiding teacher did not have much knowledge about robots beforehand, and so did the three students. However, with the enormous effort, they won a ticket to the US. Due to financial difficulties, it was not until the last minute that the team could afford the plane ticket thanks to the timely attention of the provincial leaders.

The Cong Ly newspaper spoke with Ha Tien Sy, principal of Cao Bang School for the Gifted, who applauded the student's work.

"With the timely sharing and encouragement of the leaders of Cao Bang province and STEAM for Vietnam's robot model, along with dedication and hard work of teachers and students, the Cao Bang team gained outstanding accomplishment. Before the competition, the Cao Bang provincial team ranked 1,187 worldwide, now they officially surpassed 1,000 places to 183th. This is really an unexpected achievement.”

The Cao Bang provincial team ranked 183th worldwide. This is a tremendous achievement considering that all the students had only short time of experience with VEX robotics.

Dr. Tran Viet Hung delighted that now students in different regions of Vietnam are given the opportunity to study and compete in robotics in the international VEX arena. The experience of competing at the world championships in the US will have a huge impact on awareness and help them gain the essential skills to be able to compete in the global market in the future.

All three members are Tay ethnic people, one of which is in very difficult circumstances, but has a very high will and desire to conquer. The children were very confident in interacting with international friends, speaking to them abouot Vietnam and Cao Bang in fluent English. The story of Cao Bang team has been interested in the US and foreign media, and will be broadcast globally as an inspiration for more and more students to overcome difficulties in learning robotics and STEAM, said Hung.

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