Vietnam Students Build Robots After Teacher Learns Coding

Students in Vietnam's remote highlands are building water filters and robots, proving that digital skills can break the cycle of poverty as powerfully as food or shelter.

In Cao Bang province, where ethnic minority communities have long struggled with what experts call "information poverty," teacher Dam Thi Uyen decided to learn programming on her own. She had no fancy equipment, just determination and recycled materials.

She taught her students to build STEM projects from scraps. They created working water filtration systems and gas warning devices. Then she went further, mobilizing community donations to launch a Robotics Club at Cao Bang Specialised High School.

In 2025, her team won Vietnam's National Inspiration Award. Students who once relied solely on worn textbooks now compete at the VEX World Robotics Championship alongside peers from the world's wealthiest nations.

The transformation extends far beyond one classroom. More than 500 schools across Cao Bang now offer free virtual robotics training. Every upper secondary school in the province has robots for hands-on learning.

The shift happened because Vietnam's National Target Programme for Sustainable Poverty Reduction identified a crucial truth. Without access to information and digital skills, support for infrastructure and jobs remains temporary.

Most schools in mountainous Tuyen Quang province now have internet connections, electronic records, and digital report cards. Teachers spend less time on paperwork and more time teaching. Students access foreign language lessons, programming courses, and interactive science experiments that were impossible just years ago.

The impact reaches beyond school walls. Community learning centers now teach local residents to use smartphones for accessing government services, looking up health information, and selling products online. Farmers learn new cultivation techniques through digital platforms.

The Ripple Effect

When highland students gain digital literacy, entire communities benefit. Parents see their children accessing opportunities previously reserved for urban families. Young people can build careers in technology without leaving their hometowns.

Sociologist Pham Minh Hien explains that sustainable poverty reduction requires education that's modern and connected, with focus on employment skills and technology. The results in places like Cao Bang prove the approach works.

Digital transformation turns passive aid recipients into active learners. Students who master robotics can solve local problems, from contaminated water to agricultural challenges. Knowledge spreads from classroom to community, creating lasting change.

Vietnam's mountain regions show that bridging the digital divide opens doors no amount of traditional aid can unlock alone.