Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – On July 20th, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training (HCMC DOET) organised a conference in collaboration with ICDL to support the digital transformation goals of the city’s education sector. The conference was attended by representatives from HCMC DOET, including leaders from Thu Duc City, as well as principals from 21 districts representing primary, lower secondary, and high schools in HCMC.
The primary focus of the conference was to introduce and discuss the implementation of the ICDL Digital Student program across the city’s public school sector, encompassing students from grade 1 to 12. Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of HCMC DOET, emphasised the city’s commitment to becoming a smart city and recognised the paramount importance of making strides in the field of information and communication technology. He highlighted that various ongoing projects were aimed at positioning Ho Chi Minh City as a major education hub in the country, fostering international integration, and aligning with the government’s vision for digital transformation.
To achieve these objectives, enhancing the quality of education and training, with a particular emphasis on improving digital skills, is deemed a crucial task. “Our goal is to have every school in the city adopt and implement the international digital skills standard,” stated Mr. Hieu. Despite acknowledging the challenges that come with this endeavour, he strongly believes that it will pave the way for a brighter and more innovative future for the city’s workforce.
“Equipping students with digital skills allows them to expand their learning opportunities and access learning resources while enhancing their creativity and problem-solving skills,” Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Staff at HCMC DOET, underscores the benefits of digital skills for students.
During the seminar, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Lan, CEO of EMG Education, Local Programme Partner to ICDL Vietnam, shared the remarkable success of the ICDL Digital Student program within less than two years of implementation. The program has already been deployed in 75 primary, lower secondary, and high schools in HCMC, and an additional 34 schools are expected to adopt the standard in the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year.
Mr. Nguyen Vi Tuong Thuy, Principal of Nguyen Van To Secondary School (District 10), provided a glowing testimony of the program’s success at his school. Out of 851 participating students, an impressive 844 students applied to take the ICDL international certification exam, with nearly 80% of them successfully obtaining the certification. This achievement demonstrates the readiness and capability of Vietnamese students to meet international standards, indicating a promising future for the city’s education sector.
Mr. Damien O’Sullivan, CEO of the ICDL Foundation, states that ICDL is widely recognised and adopted as a trusted computer standard worldwide and has established itself as a reliable partner to governments in numerous countries. The growing trend of integrating academic qualifications with digital skills certifications underscores the importance of five essential digital skills: collaboration, digital administrative skills, digitalisation and cybersecurity, e-commerce, and project management skills.
With this collaborative effort between HCMC DOET, ICDL, and Ho Chi Minh City’s public schools to promote and provide students with internationally recognised digital standards, they are ensuring that students are well-prepared to thrive in an increasingly digitised world and contribute to the city’s vision of becoming a renowned centre of education and innovation in Vietnam.
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