Vietnam Targets 500,000 High School Students With Free International AI Exams

A nationwide contest opens a free route to AI credentials

Vietnam's Viettel and IIG Vietnam have launched AI or Behind, a competition intended to give 500,000 high school students access to international assessments of artificial intelligence skills without paying examination or certification fees. The first round runs from November 2 to December 30, 2026, with national rounds planned for March and April 2027.

Unveiled in Hanoi on October 31, the competition combines individual examinations, team selection and an AI project challenge. Organizers describe it as Vietnam's first competition to use international AI examinations to assess school students. Its prize pool totals 280 million dong, including a first prize of 100 million dong.

The government's competition announcement sets out three stages, beginning with a school examination in Vietnamese or English and progressing to Pearson Certiport assessments. Students who meet the requirements can earn certificates even without winning a cash prize.

The 500,000 figure is the organizers' participation goal. The program places particular attention on students in rural and remote areas, where schools will provide computer rooms and the organizers will supply examinations, technical support and preparation resources.

What students and schools will receive for free

Viettel and IIG Vietnam will fund the school round's examination costs and technical support. Participating schools are responsible for arranging computer rooms so students can take the individual assessment on campus.

From the national qualifying round onward, the organizers will directly run the examinations and cover international examination and certification fees. Before every round, students and teachers will receive online guidance, with free preparation materials and sample tests available through the competition website.

Viettel and IIG Vietnam also plan to mobilize their network across 34 provinces and cities to support registration, preparation and participation. Planned assistance includes online lessons and expert advisers who can help students develop ideas into practical AI solutions.

For families, the concrete benefit is access to assessments and credentials without examination charges. For schools, delivering that opportunity will involve providing computers and coordinating students, teachers and technical support. Local education departments will help publicize the competition and guide participation.

The school round builds a common foundation

Students will begin by taking an individual computer examination at school between November 2 and December 30, 2026. They may choose Vietnamese or English, allowing them to demonstrate their AI knowledge in either language.

The examination covers four areas: methods and models used in generative AI; writing prompts; ethical, legal and social issues; and practical applications. Generative AI is software that creates material such as text or images in response to instructions. A prompt is the instruction or question a person gives it.

Students scoring at least 700 out of 1,000 points will receive an electronic certificate from the organizers. Each school may then select up to 15 teams, with three to five students per team, for the national qualifying round. A school entering the maximum number of teams would therefore send between 45 and 75 students.

The structure gives the opening round a broad educational role before competition places become limited. Students first receive an individual assessment, while schools subsequently choose teams to represent them nationally.

The national qualifier tests how students use AI

The national qualifying round is scheduled for March 14, 2027. Teams will face an assessment covering tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini, including how to write and improve prompts, verify outputs and use AI responsibly.

Students who score at least 700 out of 1,000 points will receive the international Generative AI Foundations certificate supplied by Pearson Certiport. The 40 teams with the highest results will advance to the national final.

The school round's electronic certificate comes from the competition organizers; the qualifying round offers an international credential tied to its examination requirements. The sequence gives students successive opportunities to have their skills recognized as the assessments become more demanding.

Checking answers is part of the tested skill set. Generative AI can produce convincing language containing mistakes, so students need to assess the result rather than simply accept a fluent response. The qualifier combines the ability to direct a tool with the judgment needed to review its work.

The final moves from using tools to solving problems

The national final is planned for April 11, 2027, in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Finalists will take the international AI – IT Specialist examination, which assesses AI concepts and their application to solving problems.

The examination follows the stages of an AI task: identifying the problem, processing data, deploying a model and monitoring it. A model is the part of an AI system that learns patterns from data. Deploying it means putting it into use; monitoring means checking how it performs afterward.

Students meeting the examination requirements will receive the corresponding international certificate. The 10 strongest teams will then undertake an AI project based on a challenge set by the organizers, competing for the final awards.

IIG Vietnam chairman Doan Hong Nam said the project stage would let students research problems, design solutions and turn ideas into usable products together. Viettel said its AI experts could guide projects and that it could provide data from systems already in operation. Those resources would connect classroom learning with practical tasks.

Dates and prizes at a glance

The competition runs across two calendar years, with the closing ceremony and awards expected in May 2027. The national qualifying and final dates remain provisional, and an exact date for the awards ceremony has not been announced.

• October 31, 2026: Viettel and IIG Vietnam launch AI or Behind in Hanoi.
• November 2 to December 30, 2026: students take the individual school round.
• March 14, 2027: planned national qualifier, selecting 40 teams for the final.
• April 11, 2027: planned national final in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, with 10 teams progressing to the project challenge.
• May 2027: expected closing ceremony and prize presentation.

The team awards comprise one first prize of 100 million dong, two second prizes of 40 million dong each, three third prizes of 20 million dong each and four encouragement prizes of 10 million dong each.

Those 10 awards total 280 million dong. The first prize accounts for about 36% of the pool, calculated from 100 million out of 280 million dong. Alongside that concentrated financial reward, the examination stages offer certificates to students who reach the required standards.

How the contest connects with classroom teaching

Thai Van Tai, director general of the Department of General Education at the Ministry of Education and Training, said AI education formally entered general schools in the 2025–2026 academic year. He said the ministry had studied international experience, conducted pilot work and identified 12 core AI lessons intended to give all students foundational knowledge.

Tai urged schools to organize the competition as a broad learning experience rather than focus only on examination results. Students could then pursue deeper study according to their abilities and interests, with the contest helping identify those who would benefit from further support.

The government announcement connects the initiative with Resolution 57-NQ/TW on science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation; Resolution 71-NQ/TW on education and training; and the education ministry's Decision 2422/QD-BGDDT on the AI education content framework for school students.

The two resolutions were issued on December 22, 2024, and August 22, 2025, respectively. The competition gives those policy priorities a specific activity: students learn foundational concepts, demonstrate practical skills and, at the final stage, develop a project.

Independent thinking is part of the assignment

Doan Hong Nam, chairman of IIG Vietnam, described AI as a skill becoming essential to how young people learn and work. He said students need to direct the technology, check its results and take responsibility for how they use it. Speaking in Vietnamese, he said:

What matters is not just knowing how to use AI, but using it intelligently, responsibly and for the right purpose.

Vo Thanh Hai, head of Viettel's Brand and Communications Department, similarly encouraged students to use AI to explore ideas and support independent study. He said familiarity with AI would matter across professions, including medicine, design, journalism and economics.

Hai's advice connected the competition's technical assessments with everyday study habits: ask questions, examine the answers and keep thinking for yourself. Addressing students in Vietnamese, he said:

AI can be very intelligent, but your own diligence and independent thinking are still the most important things.

The assessment topics reflect that message. Prompt writing sits alongside verification, ethics and legal issues, making responsible use part of what students must learn throughout the competition.

Broad access and selective competition serve different goals

The organizers' ambition to reach 500,000 students is much wider than the final contest: 40 teams will reach the national final, and 10 will proceed to projects. Most participants' experience will therefore center on learning resources, the school examination and the opportunity to earn a certificate.

Removing examination charges addresses one practical barrier. Holding the opening round in schools and offering two language choices makes the first stage accessible through familiar institutions. The planned provincial network, online lessons and teacher guidance are intended to help extend participation beyond major cities.

Tai said schools and teachers would need support from businesses, specialists and education organizations to bring AI learning to students in different circumstances. Viettel's proposed advisers and project data show how that cooperation could continue beyond administering an examination.

Pearson Certiport supplies the assessments through an international testing operation that the government announcement describes as having more than 14,000 authorized centers in nearly 150 countries and territories. For Vietnamese students, the contest connects that assessment system with a local route beginning in their own school computer room.

Key Points

• Viettel and IIG Vietnam aim to give 500,000 high school students access to international AI assessments.
• Organizers cover examination and certification fees; schools provide computer rooms for the first round.
• The school round runs from November 2 to December 30, 2026, with national rounds planned for March 14 and April 11, 2027.
• Students can earn certificates by meeting examination requirements, while 40 teams advance to the final and 10 to the project challenge.
• The prize pool totals 280 million dong, including a first prize of 100 million dong.
• The program tests practical AI skills, verification of results and responsible use alongside technical knowledge.