Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyễn Ngọc Thưởng presents the First Prize to contestants at a previous event. — Photo courtesy of Bắc Giang Province

BẮC GIANG — The 2023-2024 National Science and Technology Contest for students has been officially launched in Bắc Giang Province.

Co-organised by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the Central Committee of the HCM Communist Youth Union (HCYU), the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technological Creations (VIFOTEC) and the People's Committee of Bắc Giang, the competition features 74 institutions, including 62 out of the 63 Departments of Education and Training, 12 universities and colleges and the Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences.

A total of 149 projects have been carefully selected from provincial and school-level competitions across 21 fields.

Phạm Ngọc Thưởng, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, emphasised that the contest provides a valuable platform for students to actively explore their creativity and foster research capabilities from middle to high school levels.

"Through the contest, we have identified many outstanding projects and contestants to represent Việt Nam in international competitions, contributing to our country's high rankings," said Thưởng.

Lê Ô Pích, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Bắc Giang, highlighted the opportunity the contest offers for local students, teachers and education officials to engage in experience exchange with counterparts from across the country.

"It encourages students to pursue scientific and technological research, motivates universities, research institutes and organisations to support such endeavours and strengthens experience exchanges between provinces," said Pích.

According to the organisers, the projects will be ranked and awarded First, Second, Third and Fourth prizes based on their scores, but the total number of prizes will not exceed half of the projects.

First, Second and Third prize winners will receive Certificates of Merit from MOET, while First and Second prize winners will also be awarded the "Youth Innovation Badge" by HCYU.

Fourth prize winners will receive Certificates of Merit from VIFOTEC. Teachers who guided students to First prizes will be honoured with Certificates of Merit by the National Education Union of Vietnam.

The top projects from the contest will be selected to represent Việt Nam at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the United States in 2024. — VNS