Aspiration for digital transformation of education in mountainous areas

Teacher Vang Thi Dinh and her students participated in the VEX IQ Van Quan Open Competition for the 2023-2024 school year in Lang Son province.

Digital transformation is no longer an option, but has become a central orientation in the national education development strategy.

The "pioneers"

Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development clearly established the requirement: Universalizing and strongly applying digital technology and artificial intelligence in education and training is one of the key, breakthrough tasks.

At the National Conference on “Innovation and improvement of education and training quality in ethnic minority and mountainous areas”, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated: Applying information technology and digital transformation in teacher training is an important solution to narrow the quality gap between favorable and disadvantaged areas. In mountainous areas, where conditions are still lacking, digital transformation will be the “lever” to help each teacher overcome circumstances, unlock knowledge, expand opportunities and sow the seeds of the future.

In Dong Van commune (Tuyen Quang province), the road to school is full of rugged mountain slopes, but the most arduous journey is bringing digital knowledge to students in the highlands.

Ms. Vang Thi Dinh, a teacher at Dong Van Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities, and other teachers in the mountainous region began their journey with their own aspirations and passion. Using an old laptop, young teacher Vang Thi Dinh taught herself programming, robotics, and artificial intelligence through online courses from STEAM for Vietnam and the STEM Education Promotion Alliance.

As night fell, when the dormitory was quiet, Dinh quietly tinkered with each line of code, built each design, and brought things that only belonged to the city to the stone plateau. From there, she established the first robot team, organized the STEM Festival, opened the KCbot tournament, and brought robots to perform right at the foot of Lung Cu Flagpole.

Not stopping at the scope of one school, she connected 20 middle schools in the region, trained robots, introduced AI into teaching, and expanded technology opportunities to villages. Technical report writing lessons, sensor-controlled robotic arms created by students... have become symbols of a vibrant digital transformation, with the breath of the highlands.

In Trung Khanh commune (Cao Bang province), teacher Dam Thi Uyen started her STEM journey from... scrap. Lacking enough teaching equipment, she and her students made models of water purifiers, gas warning systems... from bottles, plastic pieces, copper wire. Each product, though simple, touched the most important thing: Arousing the desire for creativity in the minds of students in the highlands. Uyen taught herself programming, connected with support organizations, and established a Robotics Club so that students could "learn by doing". In 2025, her robot team won the "National Inspiration" award, bringing pride from the remote area to the national technology playground.

Starting from the inner strength of the teacher, Dam Thi Uyen is one of hundreds of teachers who are contributing to the digital transformation journey in Cao Bang, a place without infrastructure advantages. Currently, the local education sector has deployed free VEX VR virtual robot teaching from kindergarten to high school; at the same time, organizing robot competitions for both teachers and students, even in the most difficult areas.

To date, more than 500 schools in the province have been trained in STEM-Robotics, hundreds of preschool teachers have become familiar with robot programming, 10 preschools own VEX 123 robots, and 100% of high schools are equipped with robots. Director of the Cao Bang Department of Education and Training Nguyen Ngoc Thu shared: “More than 80% of Cao Bang students study in disadvantaged areas, so we promote digital transformation by bringing digital learning materials and smart classrooms to schools, while improving teachers' digital capacity to narrow the knowledge gap.”

In La Lay commune, bordering Laos in Quang Tri province, young teacher Hoang Duong Hoa started his first IT class with three old computers taken out of storage. Some students had never seen a keyboard before, and were so confused that they did not dare to touch the mouse. As for him, without waiting for support or new equipment, he quietly tinkered with the computers, plugged in the wires, turned on the power... and then patiently taught the students from the smallest operations: turning on and off the computer, typing his name, drawing the first strokes on Paint software. Not stopping at the regular school hours, he opened free tutoring classes, organized group work, guided students to find documents, and practiced presentation skills. Mr. Hoa's students confidently entered competitions such as "Young IT", "Children's Creativity", "Quang Tri Tourism Ambassador"...

Step out into the world arena

In the 2025-2026 school year, Lang Son became the first locality to have teachers in the public system achieve EP certification, the position of Regional Organizing Committee Head of the VEX IQ Robotics Championship, an international technology playground with strict testing requirements. This is also the first year the province hosted the Viet Bac regional qualifying round, a pivotal step for STEM education in mountainous areas to approach international standards. That achievement did not come from luck.

To get the EP certificate, teachers have to study for a long time, take the exam very carefully, and practice according to international procedures. They do not have many modern equipment, but they have determination, a spirit of learning, and consensus from leaders to teachers.

That spirit continued to be strongly aroused in the Lang Son Innovation Festival for the 2025-2026 school year with seminars on AI, STEM, Resolution No. 57, robot competitions, tree planting robot models... and especially 207 startup booths of students from all over the mountainous communes. Each product, each idea is a vivid proof of a generation of teachers and students who not only access technology but are mastering it, from the classroom to the community.

For three consecutive years, students from Cao Bang High School for the Gifted have participated in the VEX World Robotics Championship. In 2025, the team won two major awards, including the “Achievement in Changing Public Awareness of STEM Education” award. The winning image was chosen to be displayed at the A80 National Exhibition as proof that, in the homeland, the desire for technology is not small.

“STEM does not start with equipment, but with teachers - with thinking, spirit and learning organization,” Mr. Do Hoang Son (Vietnam STEM Alliance) emphasized.

From Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Lang Son to Quang Tri and many other localities, teachers in the highlands today are not only shining examples of staying in their villages to teach, they are also quietly opening new paths with knowledge and technology. They sow the seeds of great aspirations from small lessons, with the belief: Their students can step out into the world.

As teacher Vang Thi Dinh once hoped: “From generations of students who know how to make robots from scrap, the future will form a team of engineers, scientists, and technology entrepreneurs - bringing creative solutions “Make in Vietnam” to the world”. That is not only an educational result, but also a vivid expression of the spirit of Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW: Promoting comprehensive digital transformation, popularizing technology and artificial intelligence in education and training as a key task.

THU TRANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/khat-vong-chuyen-doi-so-cua-giao-duc-vung-cao-post924393.html