On July 23, the Vietnam National Union of Students held the closing and awards ceremony for the Vietnamese Student HackAIthon 2026 competition.

After nearly two months, the competition attracted strong participation from high school and university students across Vietnam.

Participants came from numerous high schools, universities, colleges and academies nationwide, as well as 10 countries, representing more than 20 leading universities and institutions around the world, including the University of London and University of Nottingham in the UK; University of Sydney and University of Adelaide in Australia; University of Toronto in Canada; Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan; and Boston University in the US.

The projects went beyond experimenting with technology, seeking to address practical challenges in areas including education, learning, healthcare, public administration, digital banking and the application of AI to activities organized by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam National Union of Students.

The breadth of participation highlighted the competition’s growing reach while demonstrating how AI is becoming an essential tool that young people are proactively applying to solve real-world problems and improve learning, research and innovation across a range of fields.

In Category A, first prize went to To Thanh Tien from Nong Lam University Ho Chi Minh City. Second prize was awarded to Tran Long Vu from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, while third prize went to Truong Minh Hoang Phuc from FPT School Hai Phong.

In Category B, first prize went to team AI-mant, whose members came from the University of Finance-Marketing, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology under Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, and Foreign Trade University in Hanoi.

The team developed PhyLab - An AI-Powered Personalized Virtual Physics Laboratory.

Second prize went to team GovBridge from the College of Information and Communication Technology at Can Tho University for its project, AI Agent Platform for Administrative Procedures.

Third prize was awarded to team AI Navigator SDK, comprising members from Hanoi National University of Education, Minerva University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology, for its AI Navigation SDK project.

In Category C, first prize went to Nguyen Thi Hong Trang from the University of Science and Technology under the University of Danang. Second prize went to team Neko Core from Vietnam Maritime University, while third prize was awarded to Vo Quoc Linh from the University of Science under Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Nguyen Minh Triet, Permanent Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and President of the Vietnam National Union of Students, said: “Today’s competition is one of 20 key activities organized by the Vietnam National Union of Students to put the Politburo’s Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW into practice.

“Vietnamese Student HackAIthon will gradually be developed into a platform for connecting, identifying, nurturing and empowering high school and university students with capabilities in artificial intelligence and digital technology.

In the coming period, the Vietnam National Union of Students will continue studying ways to expand the scale of the competition, develop digital learning resources and advanced training programs, connect participants with experts, businesses and innovation support funds, and create opportunities for promising projects to be further developed, tested and gradually applied in practice,” he said.

Vietnamese Student HackAIthon 2026 demonstrated the strong demand among high school and university students to access, master and apply artificial intelligence.

The competition also contributed to creating an environment for learning, creativity and innovation, connecting educational institutions, businesses and experts while gradually building an AI ecosystem for Vietnamese students.

Thai Khang