Maximizing the effectiveness of STEM classrooms in President Ho Chi Minh's hometown.

This is a meaningful gift from General Secretary To Lam to the school; it is not only a place for practical training, but also a launching pad for nurturing creative thinking, a spirit of exploration, and the aspiration to master technology in the young generation of Nghe An province.

After more than 7 months of operation, the classroom is being used effectively, spreading inspiration for research and shaping a genuine STEM education model from the grassroots level.

A special honor and a gift to open the creative "runway".

In May, in President Ho Chi Minh's hometown of Lang Sen, as crowds flocked to Nam Dan for the Lang Sen Festival commemorating the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, Kim Lien High School had the honor of welcoming General Secretary To Lam and the Central delegation, along with leaders from Nghe An province. For the teachers and students here, it was not just a visit, but a memorable milestone in the journey of educational reform, and a great honor for a school in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.

On the afternoon of May 15th, in a solemn yet warm atmosphere, General Secretary To Lam presented the school with a modern STEM practice room, serving the strategy of learning by doing and helping students access science and technology through practical experience. From here, a new learning space is opened up – where robots, IoT, 3D printing, and interdisciplinary experiments are no longer concepts in textbooks, but become tools in the hands of students.

Mr. Duong Van Son, Principal of Kim Lien High School, emotionally stated: “This is both an honor and a source of pride, as well as a great responsibility for the school's teaching staff.” This statement has become the guiding principle in how the school embraces and operates the STEM space – without ostentation or formality, but with the goal of sustainable, effective, and inspiring development.

STEM - the inevitable path to prepare for the digital society.

Kim Lien High School has a strong tradition of scientific and technical research, and has been one of the leading schools in Nghe An province in the technical innovation movement since 2018. However, in response to the increasingly high demands of technology, the school has determined that STEM should not only be a movement but must become a regular experimental environment, helping students prepare to enter the digital society and the era of mastering technology.

Mr. Tran Van Ban, a Physics teacher in charge of the school's STEM classroom, emphasized: "This STEM classroom will provide a very favorable environment for students to carry out their projects in the upcoming science and technology competition. In this space, students can freely research, design, and use equipment to create products with their own personal touch. For teachers, this is an opportunity to innovate teaching methods and help students apply interdisciplinary knowledge to real-world situations."

Beyond serving as a learning space for competition entries, the classroom also helps teachers transition from traditional teaching to project-based learning, modeling, and problem-solving, where each lesson is a scenario for experimentation, simulation, critique, or testing of ideas.

Standardization for Innovation - The Foundation for Serious Research

The Petrovietnam STEM Innovation Room at Kim Lien High School was built according to the following philosophy:"One model - One quality"This standardization aligns with the nationwide STEM Innovation ecosystem, meets international standards, and complies with the 2018 General Education Program. This standardization is not intended to "restrict" thinking, but rather to help students learn research through professional processes right from school.

In the lab, the students have access to an open invention model.FabLab, learning according to scientific standardsNGSS, developing technological capabilities according toISSTand standard programming thinkingCSTAThese standards ensure that the classroom can accommodate modern technological tasks: from robotics programming, IoT, AI applications, data simulation to digital design.

However, according to Mr. Duong Van Son, Principal of Kim Lien High School, the core value lies not only in the "modernity" of the equipment, but in how the classroom is utilized. Upon receiving information about the program, Kim Lien High School developed an implementation plan one semester in advance, sent teachers to training and technology transfer, issued safety regulations, and designed an operational roadmap for each stage. As a result, the STEM classroom has become a model.open space, where studentsYou are allowed to make mistakes and correct them., tested within controlled but not restrictive limits, in line with the spirit set by the school:"Don't be afraid of breaking things - If students are too careful with their devices, they won't dare to be creative."

To ensure the STEM lab operates regularly and fulfills its goal of nurturing R&D talent, Kim Lien High School has developed an operational plan for the 2025-2026 school year based on four pillars:

- Integrate interdisciplinary subjects into regular class time.

- Develop research clubs and R&D project teams.

- Student-centered creativity.

- Associated with student science, engineering, invention, and entrepreneurship competitions.

After more than 7 months of operation, the STEM classroom at Kim Lien High School is no longer just a "model room," but has become a regular learning space and a familiar destination for science clubs, interdisciplinary project groups, and science and technology competition teams of the school. Pham Tai Anh Dung (Class 10A1) said: “We have had many opportunities to practice in the STEM room. Here, we not only learn theory but also get to assemble robots, 3D print, conduct experiments, and develop projects. Our group is developing many projects to participate in science and technology competitions in the future. This environment helps us confidently realize our ideas.”

As for Tran Thi Thanh Huyen (Class 10A1), her feelings upon entering the STEM room for the first time remain vivid: “Before, I thought studying in the countryside would be less demanding than in Hanoi, but that's not the case. When we entered 10th grade, we were truly overwhelmed by this STEM room. I was very excited about assembling robots, learning IoT, and working in teams. The STEM room helps us develop logical thinking, engineering design skills, and career orientation for the future.”

From these shared experiences, it's clear that the "seeds of scientific and technological research" are naturally sprouting when students are placed in a truly conducive environment: with equipment, guidance, creative freedom, and challenges to overcome.

A vision for scaling up and expectations in the new era.

Petrovietnam's investment in 100 STEM Innovation labs nationwide and the proactive implementation of this model in Kim Lien are creating a new impetus for the science and technology research movement among students, in line with the spirit of Resolutions No. 57 and No. 71: Developing high-quality human resources, technological self-reliance, and spreading the innovation ecosystem.

From the STEM room in President Ho Chi Minh's hometown, that aspiration was ignited even more strongly. This is not just a learning space, but also a research space, where students can experiment, make mistakes, correct them, and improve, forming the belief that science is not far-fetched, and research begins with the smallest problems around them.