On October 4, 2020, the Maths Open Day (MOD) Can Tho was officially held at FPT University, Can Tho branch. The festival attracted more than 2,000 pupils, students, teachers, and science lovers in the Mekong Delta region to experience and learn about the beauty of Maths.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phong (Vice Rector of FPT University Can Tho branch, Head Organiser of MOD Can Tho 2020) expressed his joy coordinating for the first time with Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM) and Can Tho Department of Education and Training to organise Maths Open Day 2020 in the Mekong Delta, with the hope to continue collaborating to organise and replicate activities promoting and spreading Mathematics widely in the coming years. Following that, Assoc. Prof. Le Minh Ha (VIASM Managing Director) also thanked FPT Education, Can Tho Department of Education and Training for organising this event. After nearly 6 years, this is the first time that MOD has been brought to the Mekong Delta region. This year MOD theme is "Mathematics is everywhere," emphasising Mathematics's role in life. Maths is not just a subject, an obstacle in exams, but very close and natural. The Organising Committee also sent deep thanks to the speakers, members and units participating in the organising, indispensable contribution to the success of the Open Day.
The presence of Professor Ngo Bao Chau made the entire hall with nearly 1000 seats filled. Through the lecture "Mathematics from classical to modern", Prof. Chau explained the basic phenomena in nature through strict mathematical language, with concrete and easy-to-understand examples. Besides, Professor Ngo Bao Chau conveyed the message "Everyone can be good at Maths if they have passion and strive hard for that passion". The lecture really inspired and sparked a love of Mathematics for the attendees. After the lecture, Prof. Chau also took the time to socialise and answer questions from students and participants. He was surprised many times by the diverse questions from FPT Can Tho High School students, An Hoa Secondary School or Nguyen Binh Khiem High School for the Gifted students. For the question of studying Maths to get good grades, to pass exams or learning math with pure passion, Prof. Chau shared: “For pupils, students or adults, we all have things that must be completed, but we cannot let go of all the fun for that. You need to love Maths in order to take a good Maths exam, not to consider learning Maths as hard labour”.
Aiming towards listeners who are Maths teachers, educational specialists from the Departments of Education and Training, schools in the Mekong Delta, Prof. Chau also shared that grades 6 - 7 are the time when normal arithmetic has passed, gradually approaching new concepts. It is the time when there is a sudden surge in terms of thinking, concept. As a guide, teachers need to consciously help students overcome difficulties.
As one of the three main speakers of the program, Professor Do Duc Thai from Pedagogical University presented an extremely attractive lecture, which got attention from many teachers: “Teaching that develops Mathematics competencies with the New Mathematics Program: Some theoretical and practical problems”. With very practical problems: how to catch up with the world curriculum, how to teach - to form and develop Mathematical competencies for students and how to apply Mathematics into realities, what is the point of view to build 2018 Maths curriculum? Prof. Do Duc Thai's lecture, as well as the useful question and answer session, attracted many teachers even past noon.
The afternoon program of the Open Math Day continued to take place with great excitement at the galleries and experiential activities. In the great hall, PhD. Do Thanh Ha - Deputy Head of Informatics Department, Faculty of Mathematics - Mechanical - Informatics, University of Science, Hanoi National University presented a lecture on Applied Mathematics with a very interesting topic "Applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in life: Supporting the diagnosis of diseases through image data”. The way AI solves this problem is by assisting doctors in processing images to make more accurate decisions. The application of AI will help improve image quality, make images clearer (Medical Image Processing), help doctors easily query information later, save time, money and have ability to process large volume data at the same time with high accuracy (Medical Image Analysis). The Medical Image Analysis step (using analytical algorithms, basic machine learning techniques) is also when we mainly use Maths. AI is nothing too superior; AI algorithms are based on the basic Mathematical knowledge of the early college years such as linear algebra and the basic techniques of probability and statistics.
Along with the professional activities, "The Maths Open Day" in Can Tho also has exhibitions of "Maths Windows" including mathematical models, printed by 3D printers, which are both mathematics visual tool and work of art; experiencing "In Mathematics Wonder World". The activities attract a large number of young people when they can create their own products, learning together the nature of many everyday phenomena and information that we often consider as obvious. Experiencing Maths activities are carried out by coordinating units: S3 Creative Institute, Horizon International Bilingual School, Titan Education Joint Stock Company, Master of Mathematical Education and Mathematics - Informatics Faculty - University of Science - Ho Chi Minh City National University, IEG Thinking and Skills Development Institute, UMMISCO-IRD, Vietnam Origami Group, Faculty of Mathematics - Information - Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical University, FSchool Can Tho, FPT University Can Tho, Binh Tay Import Export Joint Stock Company, Ly Tu Trong - Can Tho High School for the gifted. In addition, at the open day, there are also activities to display, introduce books and educational products of book publishers.
Mr. Azat Yazgulyyev, representative of Horizon International Bilingual School collaborating at MOD Can Tho said: “In general, MOD Can Tho 2020 has been conducted successfully. Students and participants enjoyed the activities very much. Some people joined until the last minute to learn, gain new knowledge and experience more activities. The Maths Open Day is truly a meaningful activity to raise awareness of the community of Mathematics. Attendees can gain knowledge by participating in games and learn about the applications of Mathematics in many aspects of their lives. There are many activities that students can see and touch while playing a game, which can help to enhance their creativity and critical thinking skills. We thank the Organising Committee for their thoughtful preparation and support. As for Horizon, from early morning to late afternoon, our booth is always crowded with people. They are all very enthusiastic and excited.”
Some images MOD Can Tho 2020:
General information:
The Maths Open Day (MOD) is a series of open Maths activities organised annually by VIASM to create opportunities for large numbers of pupils, students, parents, Mathematicians and educators to experience and exchange Maths culture together. MOD was held for the first time in Hanoi in 2015, and then expanded to provinces across the country.
In 2020, under the professional sponsorship of VIASM, MOD organisational model is transferred to the localities. This is also a VIASM series of activities to celebrate World Mathematics Day on March 14 every year (International Mathematics Day - IDM).
It is expected that the Open Mathematics Festival 2020 will continue to be held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City in November and December 2020.
Some articles about MOD Can Tho 2020:
https://fpt.edu.vn/tin-tuc/53580/hssv-mien-tay-hao-hung-trai-nghiem-ngay-hoi-toan-hoc-mo-2020
Compiled by Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.