Meet Nguyen Hong Minh: Championing AI Education for Vietnamese Students
Nguyen Hong Minh serves as Program Development Director at Microsoft Global Training Partner InterEdu, where she connects education, technology, and civic responsibility. Through her leadership, Vietnam’s Innovative Teacher Community has grown to impact over 150,000 educators and hosts major initiatives that elevate teaching standards nationwide.
Vietnamese students have consistently excelled in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Junior competition. For three consecutive years, teams from Vietnam ranked in the global Top 10, with many presenting AI-based solutions addressing real-world challenges. This achievement owes much to the collaborative mentorship from InterEdu and MSD United Way Vietnam.
Introducing AI for Good Vietnam 2025
Building on the success of Imagine Cup Junior, the AI for Good Vietnam 2025 initiative brings project-based, inclusive AI learning to high school students across the country. The competition encourages creative problem-solving on sustainable development topics, providing educators and students with resources, training, and support.
Nguyen Hong Minh advocates for AI education to be integrated through hands-on projects that foster responsibility and future readiness. She emphasizes that technical skills must be paired with social awareness, cultivating a culture where technology is approached with humility, curiosity, and a commitment to positive impact.
Leadership and Impact in Education and Technology
Since 2023, Nguyen Hong Minh has been one of only four Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellows in Vietnam. Her work with the Vietnam Innovative Teacher Community, which she has served since 2018, connects thousands of educators in advancing digital transformation in classrooms.
From 2020 to 2024, the Imagine Cup Junior competition highlighted Vietnamese students’ innovation, with multiple teams placing in the Top 10 and Top 5 globally. The competition focuses on AI-driven solutions to human challenges, supported by InterEdu and MSD United Way Vietnam as official partners.
Engineering Roots Fuel Educational Passion
Though her background is in engineering, Nguyen Hong Minh’s commitment to education is driven by a belief that education is the catalyst for human development. Early in her career at Microsoft Vietnam, she embraced the 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD) framework, which focuses on life skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
This framework has guided every initiative she leads, ensuring that technology integration in education serves a clear purpose and promotes tangible outcomes aligned with essential future skills.
She credits mentors and peers, including leading Vietnamese educators and Microsoft experts, for supporting the adoption of 21CLD in Vietnam. Today, over 2,500 teachers and administrators hold Microsoft Certified Educator certification in this methodology.
Why AI for Good Vietnam Matters
The AI for Good Vietnam competition offers students from Years 1 to 12 the chance to explore AI concepts while applying them to social and environmental challenges.
Nguyen Hong Minh highlights three reasons why this initiative resonates widely:
- Relevance: AI education aligns with the Ministry of Education’s priorities and societal interests. It links AI learning to sustainable development goals and 21st-century skills.
- Inclusivity: The competition welcomes students from diverse interests—science, arts, communication, and social studies—all contributing valuable perspectives.
- Support: Organizers provide comprehensive, accessible materials based on Microsoft’s “Imagine Cup Junior in a Box,” along with training for teachers and students nationwide.
Focusing on Social Issues Over Technology Alone
Nguyen Hong Minh notes two main challenges students face: limited awareness of sustainable development and language barriers in accessing English educational materials. To address these, the Organising Committee developed a lesson titled Starting from the Problem: Design Thinking and AI for Sustainable Development and translated key content to Vietnamese.
She stresses the importance of exposing students to local environmental and social issues. Firsthand understanding helps students identify core problems and design meaningful solutions, while engaging with technologies that have global relevance.
Practical Approaches to AI Education
While formal AI education is just beginning to take shape in Vietnam’s school curriculum, experiential projects like AI for Good offer a more immediate way to build AI competencies and social responsibility.
The Ministry of Education and Training’s new Digital Competency Framework includes AI Application Competency, which focuses on responsible and ethical AI use. However, full curriculum integration will take time and its effectiveness remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, project-based learning through competitions or extracurricular clubs provides a structured yet flexible platform for students to develop AI skills alongside environmental and social awareness. This approach nurtures global citizenship and a desire to contribute meaningfully.
A Message to Vietnamese Students and Educators
Nguyen Hong Minh encourages students to view AI for Good Vietnam as more than a competition—it’s a space to explore, express, and grow. She invites them to keep dreaming and pursue ideas that can change the world positively.
To educators and adults, she offers this reminder: embrace technology with humility and openness. Learning is a lifelong process, and creating supportive environments where young people can lead in technology fosters courage and clarity for the future.
For those interested in expanding AI skills and educational resources, exploring platforms like Complete AI Training offers a variety of courses suited to educators and learners alike.
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