HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam), in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training, has launched the STEM Innovation Petrovietnam programme, which targets the construction of 100 internationally standardised STEM rooms in 2025 across 34 provinces and cities.

Trần Quang Dũng, standing deputy secretary of Petrovietnam’s Party Committee, said the initiative is developed following an idea put forward by Party General Secretary Tô Lâm.

The programme aims to upgrade educational infrastructure and support the development of human resources with skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Officially launched on September 21, 2025, it plans to establish three STEM rooms in each participating locality – two for high schools and one for secondary schools – within 100 days until the end of the year.

He stressed that Petrovietnam’s investment in STEM education reflects the group’s long-term commitment to contributing to national human resources development. The STEM rooms are expected to serve as centres for hands-on learning and for training core teachers, helping expand STEM education across the school system.

According to Thái Văn Tài, director of the General Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, the integration of digital transformation, digital skills, robotics and STEM is a priority task of the sector.

Collaboration with Petrovietnam in building STEM classrooms is a timely and practical measure to accelerate the dissemination of STEM models nationwide. STEM education has been a compulsory component of the 2018 General Education Curriculum, and since 2020 the ministry has guided schools in designing activities that promote logical reasoning, critical thinking and teamwork. He said recent instructions under Resolutions 57-NQ/TW and 71-NQ/TW require localities to further expand STEM-related content.

Reporting on progress, Vũ Thị Thu Hương, deputy head of Petrovietnam’s Communications and Corporate Culture Department, said that as of December 2, 14 rooms have been completed and handed over, 28 are under installation, and 58 are in the final stages of supplier selection. All 100 rooms are scheduled for handover no later than December 31, 2025.

The STEM rooms are developed under the model of “speed – standardisation – sustainability”, with modern equipment such as smart interactive boards, AI-IoT systems, VEX robotics sets, 3D printers, CNC cutters and laboratory kits on energy and the environment. The model meets FabLab, NGSS, ISTE and CSTA standards alongside the 2018 general education requirements. Each room includes six functional components covering facilities, fabrication machinery, thematic learning tools, connected learning resources, hard-copy and digital materials and administrative systems.

Immediately after installation, suppliers will provide on-site training to ensure teachers and technicians can operate the equipment effectively. The programme also offers four training modules to help teachers master modern educational technologies, design interdisciplinary and project-based STEM lessons, and organise STEM activities aligned with innovation, career guidance and digital-era skills.

The STEM Innovation Petrovietnam Festival, to be organised by Petrovietnam in coordination with Vietnam Television, the Ministry of Education and Training and the STEM Alliance, is expected to take place from May to September 2026. It will include workshops, VEX robotics competitions, robot-drone coordination contests and scientific project competitions.

The programme also aims to enhance connectivity among STEM rooms in Việt Nam and abroad, initially with Singapore, and link them with university and research institute laboratories to support talented students. From 2026 onward, Petrovietnam will continue assisting localities on a matching-fund basis to develop additional standard STEM rooms, with numbers to increase year-on-year. — VNA/VNS