Following the success of MOD Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, on 2nd March, 2019 Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics in coordination with Quy Nhon University jointly held Math Open Day Central Vietnam 2019 (MOD Central Vietnam 2019) in the Central Vietnam – Trung Nguyen region with the aim of creating opportunity for students, college undergraduates and Mathematics enthusiasts…to enjoy and experience the beauty of Mathematics as well as to appreciate its role in everyday life.
MOD Central Vietnam 2019 attracted almost 3000 students, college undergraduates, middle school and high school teachers, university lecturers, parents as well as Mathematics enthusiasts within Quy Nhon City and from other neighbouring areas.
The event had a great pleasure of welcoming the presence of Officials from various departments and branches of the local government of Binh Dinh province as well as other Central Vietnam provinces: Mr. Nguyen Phuc Phan – Director of Kontum Department of Education and Training, Mrs. Le Thi Dien – Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Department of Education and Training, Mr Nguyen Huu Ha – Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Department of Science and Technology; the organizing committee included: Associate Professor Le Minh Ha – Managing Director at Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, Professor Do Duc Thai – Head of Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Hanoi University of Education, Associate Professor Do Ngoc My – President of Quy Nhon University, Associate Professor Dinh Thanh Duc – Vice President of Quy Nhon University. Attending were also crowds of students, university undergraduates, and Mathematics teachers from elementary, secondary and high schools in Binh Dinh as well as from other neighbouring provinces.
In his speech at the opening ceremony of Math Open Day Central Vietnam 2019, Associate Professor Le Minh Ha, Managing Director of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, emphasised that the event is a popular activity promoting Mathematics as part of a series of activities within National Program for the Development of Mathematics annually organized by Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, which is the permanent division of the Program. Math Open Day has been held annually in Hanoi since 2015. In December 2018, Math Open Day was for the first time organized in South Vietnam, at Saigon University in coordination between Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics and Saigon University along with University of Science, Ho chi Minh City. Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics is pleased to commence the series of activities of MOD 2019 and to jointly with Quy Nhon University, Binh Dinh Department of Education and Training along with Binh Dinh Department of Science and Technology organize the first ever Math Open Day in Central Vietnam – Tay Nguyen region.
On behalf of Heads of various committees and branches of the local government of Binh Dinh province, Mrs Le Thi Dien made a speech praising the immense meaning of MOD Central Vietnam. In her speech, she remarked: “ I believe and hope that through this event, entire cadres of teachers, lecturers, students and Mathematics enthusiasts will gain valuable knowledge contributing to the growth in quality of teaching, research, learning Mathematics; and in the coming time, will perceive Mathematics to be more familiar, fascinating and appealing in addition to being the focal point in comprehending all other Sciences, including Socio-Humanitarian Sciences”.
The framework of Math Open Day 2019 with the theme “Mathematics decoding the world” consists of 2 major activities:
The academic part featuring public lectures for Mathematics teachers in primary, secondary and high schools as well as for students from Mathematics majors. Particularly, at MOD Central Vietnam 2019, the lecture “Mathematics in the reformed K12 curriculum” by Professor Do Duc Thai (Hanoi University of Education), who is general editor of the Mathematics program within new General education program, directly presented the viewpoint, main content of the new Mathematics program along with noteworthy basic points for teachers, future lecturers and university students when implementing the program. After two-hour presentation, using extensive knowledge in Mathematics as well as in Mathematics education, particularly in general education Mathematics, Professor Do Duc Thai inspiringly contributed to helping the audience comprehend most essential details of the Mathematics aspect in the new General education program. According to Professor Do Duc Thai, both the Mathematics general education program and new General education program are highly viable. However, for the program to be rendered successful 3 main foundations are required: First and foremost, the important factor is the teaching staff. Past experiences have shown that successful education reforms are mostly due to competent teaching personnel. It is necessary for teachers to have a motivation for self-change, to have a sense of responsibility and duty towards the nation to adjust accordingly. Secondly, it is imperative to enhance working conditions for academic staff and studying environment for students: improving living standards for teachers, necessarily downsizing the number of students per each class. Thirdly, overhauling of examination and evaluation system in education is also urgently needed.
The science workshop for primary school, secondary school, high school students…consists of various activities such as exhibitions, demonstrations, experiencing Mathematics fields along with other STEM disciplines in general like Chemistry, Physics…combining fun, amusement activities with experiments demonstrations, exploring real life models… all organized by the following divisions: Faculty of Mathematics, Faculty of Physics, Faculty of Chemistry in Quy Nhon University; Binh Dinh Center for Science exploration, FPT Software in Quy Nhon, MOMA Project as well as 3 other divisions from Hanoi: S3 Academy of Creativity, Horizon International Bilingual School and Pinnacle Center.
With past experience organizing annual MOD since 2015, Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics in coordination with Quy Nhon University, Project MOMA by Faculty of Physics, Chemistry of Quy Nhon University and 6 other divisions have for the first time introduced to Central Vietnam a highly successful MOD event, attracting special attention from large portion of the public interested in Mathematics in Binh Dinh and other neighbouring provinces. Hopefully, this success will not only contribute to incite passion among Vietnamese pupils and students for Mathematics but also convey to them an important message: “Mathematics is not only about grades and figures, or Olympic medals, but more importantly, it plays a significant role in all aspects of everyday life”
Some images of MOD Central Vietnam 2019:
