Science and Technology Competition for high school students: Arousing creative passion for students

In recent years, in addition to organizing competitions for excellent students at all levels, the provincial education sector is also interested in organizing a science and technology competition for high school students, aiming to encourage students to creatively apply the knowledge they have learned to solve life problems.

Students present projects at the provincial science and technology competition

The science and technology competition for high school students was launched by the Ministry of Education and Training from the 2011 – 2012 school year. This is a useful playground, a nursery for young people passionate about scientific research, and a useful learning environment, helping students develop their individual abilities and qualities. For Lang Son province, based on the direction and guidance of the ministry, every year, the Department of Education and Training has written detailed instructions for affiliated units and education departments to implement for students and teachers to register to participate in scientific research in accordance with the actual conditions of the unit, characteristics of the locality and student population.

Creating a useful playground

Ms. Ha Thi Khanh Van, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, said: The science and technology competition for high school students is an activity that helps students apply the knowledge they have learned in life; learning associated with practice. At the same time, it is a way to approach and become familiar with scientific research methods and skills, practice self-reliance, teamwork and promote positivity and initiative in learning. From there, in order to discover talents, it is the basis for building and developing high quality human resources.

Based on industry guidance, in recent years, science and technology competitions at school, district and city levels in the province have taken place enthusiastically, creating intellectual playgrounds and exchange opportunities for high school students. Especially the science and technology competition for provincial high school students. If from 2013 to 2017, the competition only attracted 137 solutions, models, and products to compete at the provincial level, then from the 2018 – 2019 school year until now, each year, there are over 100 products and projects of students participating in the provincial competition. Specifically, in the 2018 – 2019 school year, through the preliminary round, there were 120 projects participated in the provincial competition; In the 2019 – 2020 school year, there were 126 products participated in the provincial competition. By the 2023 – 2024 school year, the competition had 134 projects selected to participate in the provincial and national competition.

Mrs. Nong Thi Yeu, Deputy Head of the Education and Training Division of Van Lang district said: We are always interested in encouraging schools, especially middle school students, to participate in scientific and technical innovation. In the 2023 – 2024 school year, through the district-level competition, there were 33 projects from 18 schools participating in the competition. Thereby, the division selected 5 projects to participate in the provincial competition.

It is known that in science and technology playgrounds for school age students, there are more and more innovative models and products of high scientific nature,  being able to research deeply for effective application in practice has partly shown the quality of education, training, especially the science and technology of high schools in the province are increasingly improving; Students are increasingly interested, excited, passionate and eager to explore and discover the practical value of knowledge.

Nurturing creativity for students

Scientific and technical innovation activities have contributed significantly to promoting STEM education (combining science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in schools, helped students integrate knowledge of subjects to creatively solve practical problems. Thereby, many units have strongly developed the scientific and technical research movement, making this activity an important activity in educational innovation, arousing creative passion in students.

In particular, there are many models and products participating in the scientific and technical competition that are considered to contain high scientific and technical content and practical application, demonstrating the progress of the scientific research movement, technical practice among high school students such as project to research and manufacture paint systems that are anti-marine bacteria and anti-organisms on steel substrates working in seawater environments; research project to obtain recombinant Brevinnin derived from Mau Son mountain’s frogs, creating a medicinal source to replace antibiotics and support cancer treatment; Solution project to improve the difficulty overcoming index in learning activities of high school students in Lang Son province… these are projects of students who just won first prize in the recent provincial science and technology competition.

Known as a bright spot in scientific and technical research activities, every year, students of Chu Van An High School for the Gifted, Lang Son city always win many high prizes at science and technology competitions for high school students at the provincial and national levels. Discussing the implementation of scientific and technical research in the school, Mr. Mong Thanh Thuy, Principal of the school said: To ensure the quality of scientific and technical research projects, in addition to focusing on selecting students who are capable and passionate about scientific research, every year, the school selects and sends a team of experienced and professional teachers to participate in guiding students; established a scientific and technical research club for students to participate. At the same time, the school creates all conditions for facilities and equipment for students and teachers to create products. Thanks to that, the products and projects of school students participating in the provincial competition are highly appreciated.

The development of scientific and technical research activities also motivates and encourages students to research and create science and technology, apply learned knowledge to solve practical problems, contribute to promoting innovation in organizational forms and teaching methods; Develop in students their thinking ability, self-study capacity, and creative self-research. Nguyen Le Minh Thu, Chu Van An High School for the Gifted, co-author of the project Research on obtaining recombinant Brevinnin derived from Mau Son mountain’s frogs, create a medicinal source to replace antibiotics and support cancer treatment, which won first prize at the recent provincial science and technology competition for high school students said: When implementing the project, teachers and the school created conditions and supported us from planning to implementing the project. For me, every time I come up with a new idea, I have to do research. When I start doing it, I see that coming up with an idea is easy, but completing the idea comes with many difficulties and challenges. But with the support and encouragement from the school and teachers, we completed and submitted the project to the competition.

Although there are certain difficulties such as limited funding for research, the application of research projects by students is not much…but with the goal of “creating a useful scientific playground for students”, promoting scientific and technical research activities of high school students has directly contributed to promoting the movement to innovate teaching and learning methods, innovate the way of testing and evaluating students according to the orientation of developing learner capacity. At the same time, the effective spread of scientific and technical research activities among high school students has also created a healthy and rewarding playground for students; it helps to develop students’ abilities and qualities.