More than 500 students experience the international Robotics arena

Ha Nam More than 500 students participated in the Robotics tournament with three categories, following an international format and using the most modern robots in the world.

On January 14, the campus of FPT Ha Nam Primary, Secondary and High School was packed with people attending the Fschool Open STEAM Day. According to the organizers' estimates, the event attracted 8,000 students, teachers and parents from many provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Son La, Da Nang...

The new feature of this year's program is the extended Robotics competition. The three competitions include VEX IQ, VEX V5, FIRST Tech Challenge with the participation of 60 teams and more than 500 students.

Engineer Do Hoang Son, a member of the STEAM Alliance - the competition's judging unit, said this was an unprecedented event in terms of the number of robots and teams participating in a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) festival.

"The two most impressive American Robotics systems, VEX and FIRST, are both present at this competition," said Mr. Son. These are also the most modern and popular robot building programs in STEAM education in the world today.

Thousands of Vietnamese students experience international Robotics competition — A Robotics match of the FIRST Tech Challenge in the competition on the morning of January 14. Video: *Thanh Hang*

Nguyen Tuan Minh, a student of class 11D1 at FPT Bac Ninh Primary, Secondary and High School, almost did not sleep all night, partly because of excitement, partly because he had to prepare early to travel to Ha Nam at 4:30.

Minh learned about Robotics at the end of 10th grade and participated in several school and regional tournaments. This time, he participated in the FIRST Tech Challenge. Although he was not satisfied with the results due to errors, Minh considered this a valuable experience, helping him better prepare for the national round held next week.

From Hai Phong, Le Thi Khanh Linh, class 10A8, Thai Phien High School, arrived in Ha Nam yesterday to prepare for the competition. Four months ago, the female student and other members of her research team created a robot to compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge.

Linh and I think the competition is an opportunity to meet friends from other provinces and cities who share the same passion for Robotics. "I also want to see where my products are," Linh said.

As an audience member, Le Quoc Huy, a student in class 11A1 at Phu Ly C High School, Ha Nam, said he was overwhelmed by the scale of the competition.

"I have just heard and watched some videos about Robotics competitions on Youtube, and today I got to watch it in person. I found the competition exciting and very interesting," Huy shared.

Students from Thai Phien High School, Hai Phong, participated in the Robotics competition in Ha Nam on the morning of November 14. Photo: Thanh Hang — Students from Thai Phien High School, Hai Phong, participated in the Robotics competition in Ha Nam on the morning of November 14. Photo: *Thanh Hang*

Mr. Le Ngoc Tuan, Director of Technology Experience, FPT Education Organization, said that the VEX IQ exam is for students under 15 years old, VEX V5 is for students under 19 years old, and FIRST is for grades 7-12. The exam format is similar to the world's leading tournaments.

According to Mr. Tuan, these three competitions are widely known around the world, attracting millions of students to participate each year. However, usually, the competitions only take place with 1-2 events.

"We want to bring the entire model, format, and software from world Robotics tournaments back so that students can have the most valuable and practical experience," said Mr. Tuan.

In terms of the quality of the contestants, Mr. Son said the competition gathered the strongest teams in high school about Robotics. This experience will help the community of students who love Robotics in Vietnam grow stronger, approaching the world level.

Mr. Tuan hopes that the event will help connect students and create motivation to develop Robotics clubs in schools. According to him, this is the most important thing, with long-term significance in promoting science and technology projects in education.