International Science and Technology Gold Medal of teachers and students of provincial boarding school

The Gold Medal of Courage

On the morning of May 31, the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School held an award ceremony for the group of teachers and students who had just brought glory to the school. They were Vy Luong Mai (class 10A7) and Tran Cong Trien (class 10A1). The instructor was Physics teacher Phan Van Thuan - homeroom teacher of class 10A1.

The principal of the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School presented flowers to congratulate teacher Phan Van Thuan - the teacher who directly guided the topic. Photo: My Ha

At this ceremony, teacher Nguyen Kieu Hoa - Principal of the school said that this was an unexpected result of the school: Previously, the quality of the entrance exam for grade 10 of the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School was very low, especially in natural sciences and English. Meanwhile, ethnic minority students lacked confidence when performing in front of a crowd.

For that reason, implementing Resolution No. 29 on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, the school always tries to create playgrounds for students, helping them to be confident, brave, express themselves, not only in school but also in provincial, national, regional, international arenas and develop their strengths. The victory in the INTARG International Invention and Technology Science and Technology Competition with the Gold Medal and the Special Prize of the competition has proven this and is a favorable start for the school.

This is also the first time the school's students have participated in a Science and Technology competition abroad, explaining themselves entirely in English and confidently shining alongside students from big cities such as Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted and Ha Long High School for the Gifted (Quang Ninh) - teacher Kieu Hoa added.

The Board of Directors of the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School presented flowers to congratulate teachers and students who implemented the project and won prizes at the INTARG Invention and Creativity Competition. Photo: My Ha

The International Invention and Innovation (INTARG) Competition is an international competition for inventions, innovations and technological products that are innovative and breakthrough in practice. This is an opportunity for direct contact and meeting between representatives of science, innovative enterprises, industry and surrounding enterprises, as well as units supporting and funding scientific research and development. In Vietnam, this competition is authorized by the Ministry of Education and Training to the Vietnam Physics Society to organize, train and guide participating teams.

In 2023, after a nationwide selection process, 4 projects of high school students were selected to participate in this competition. Among them was a project by a group of teachers and students of the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School, with the topic "Determination of the viscosity coefficient of liquids by analyzing the Brow motion of micrometer-sized particles in optical tweezers".

The instructor of this topic is teacher Phan Van Thuan, a young PhD in Physics from the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School. Since 2017, when he was a PhD student, he had the opportunity to work with the Vietnam Physics Association and learned about this competition. Later, when he returned to work at the high school, in parallel with teaching, he was still passionate about science and passed on his passion for research to his students.

Vy Luong Mai is a Thai ethnic student from Con Cuong district. Tran Cong Trien is a student from Tuong Duong district. During his time at the provincial Ethnic Minority High School, teacher Phan Van Thuan saw the passion for science in his students and accompanied them in the project implementation process. Photo: My Ha

Talking about the topic "Determination of viscosity coefficient of liquid by analyzing Brownian motion of micrometer-sized particles in optical tweezers", teacher Phan Van Thuan said that he has been nurturing, studying and researching for quite a long time. Because, currently, the use of optical tweezers has been and is being studied to control and move microscopic objects (such as bacteria, red blood cells, DNA, ...) in the biomedical field.

On that basis, the project will develop the feature of measuring the binding force in the DNA chain, helping biomedical researchers to predict the factors that cause DNA chain breaks. During the project, the teacher encouraged the students to participate, because the name of the project seems quite complicated, but if the students have a firm grasp of the theory and know how to apply it in practice, they can be successful.

To enter the contest, Vy Luong Mai and Tran Cong Trien have constantly studied English to improve their presentation and communication skills. Photo: My Ha

During the implementation process, Mr. Thuan also said that there were two difficulties when accompanying his students: first, the students' knowledge and experience in reporting to scientists were quite limited. However, he was very surprised by the students' efforts, even though Luong Mai and Cong Trien were only in grade 10, they were very conscious of self-study and self-research, eager to learn to approach the Physics knowledge of grade 11 and grade 12.

The teacher's second concern was foreign languages, because when participating in the international competition, students had to present a scientific topic to the organizing committee in English. However, in this content, Luong Mai and Cong Trien both had an advantage, because they were good students in their junior high school years. Later, Luong Mai studied in class 10A7, a class that focused on foreign languages, so they could listen, speak and present the topic to the scientific council very convincingly.

Reaching out to the ocean

Due to the nature of the exam, the delegation of high school students from Vietnam mostly did not have the participation of teachers to guide the topic. The group's companions were members from the Vietnam Physics Association. Due to visa procedures, close to the exam date, student Tran Cong Trien missed the competition and the "burden" fell on Vy Luong Mai's shoulders. During the participation, teacher Phan Van Thuan and his companion will support Mai when she competes abroad online.

Participating in the contest was an unforgettable experience for the Thai ethnic female student from Nghe An. Photo: NTCC

Talking about her journey during the days of competing with other countries in Poland, Vy Luong Mai said that she was really surprised when she first set foot in a rather strange country. She herself did not have much experience in interacting with friends from other provinces and cities, so at first she was quite shy and worried.

Mai also said: All Vietnamese projects are displayed in the same booth. The judges will come to each country and ask the author group to present themselves in English. Personally, before coming to this competition, I had done the project with my teacher, read the content carefully in Vietnamese and English, so I am quite confident in my knowledge.

However, in front of a panel of judges who were all prestigious scientists, I could not help but feel bewildered at first. Then, with the encouragement of my friends and teachers, I boldly expressed myself and received the approval of the panel of judges.

The moment the Vietnamese students received the Gold Medal. Photo: NTCC

Coming to the INTARG Invention and Creativity Competition in Poland was also compared by Vy Luong Mai and Tran Cong Trien to a journey out to sea. There, in addition to knowledge and expertise, students are also required to have many other skills that, if not challenged and experienced, they think, they will find it difficult to complete.

Vy Luong Mai (second from right) and the Vietnamese student delegation at the booth introducing the projects. Photo: NTCC

The Gold Medal won by teachers and students of the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School also opens up new hopes for the school in international competitions. And it is a playground without limits, without borders for students to satisfy their passion, express themselves and develop their abilities./.