The Mini Hackathon at the Đà Nẵng campus attracted students of various ages. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Arduino Day 2026, a nationwide hands-on technology festival for students passionate about electronics, programming, IoT and AI, took place simultaneously on Saturday in four major cities – Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng, HCM City, and Cần Thơ.

The event was jointly organised by FPT Polytechnic, Arduino and Qualcomm, featuring a wide range of activities, including an international Watch Party, technology project showcases, technical workshops and a highlight Mini Hackathon where student teams were tasked with building a functional health monitoring device capable of measuring heart rate and SpO2 levels.

The event reflected a notable shift in Việt Nam’s vocational education which is moving students in fields such as automation, electrical engineering and information technology, as well as high school students interested in STEM, beyond theoretical learning into direct engagement with global technology standards.

This transition comes at a time when AI, embedded systems and semiconductors are emerging as key pillars of the digital economy.

Students from Phan Ngọc Hiển High School take part in the Mini Hackathon at the Cần Thơ City.

Arduino Day 2026 brought together international experts from Arduino and Qualcomm, particularly at the Hà Nội hub, while all four locations hosted core activities such as the global Watch Party connecting participants from more than 100 countries, project showcases, in-depth workshops and the Mini Hackathon.

Vũ Chí Thành, Rector of FPT Polytechnic, said the goal was to ensure that students across different regions could access the latest technological standards without having to relocate.

“We do not want access to technology to be concentrated in just one place," he said.

"By organising the event simultaneously in four cities, students from different regions can connect directly with the global ecosystem and experience a real technology environment, rather than just hearing about it."

This message was further underscored by this year’s theme, 'AI Generation', which reflects an era in which the boundaries between academic experimentation and real-world applications are increasingly blurred.

Guneet Bedi, Vice President and General Manager of Arduino speaks at the event.

Julián Caro Linares, a robotics and IoT engineer and international Arduino Day expert, said: “FPT Polytechnic is creating what is currently the largest Arduino Day in Asia. Hosting the event simultaneously in four cities demonstrates not only its wide reach but also its experience in training young people who can create impactful innovations and contribute to economic growth.”

The event also highlighted a growing demand in the evolving technology landscape: students must move beyond simply 'knowing' to actually 'doing'.

Vũ Chí Thành, Rector of FPT Polytechnic, speaks at the event.

Hoàng Hưng Hải, Product Director at Qualcomm Việt Nam, who attended the Hà Nội event, said the most significant value of such partnerships lies in integrating new technologies directly into the learning environment.

“We want students to access Qualcomm and Arduino technologies while they are still in school, and then turn that knowledge into practical exercises, projects, and eventually larger-scale products in the future,” he said.

This hands-on approach was clearly demonstrated in the Mini Hackathon, where teams were required to complete a health-tracking device within a tight timeframe. The challenge demanded not only technical knowledge in electronics and programming but also teamwork, troubleshooting skills and product-oriented thinking.

Many participating students said the most valuable takeaway was not whether their product functioned perfectly, but the opportunity to directly compare classroom knowledge with industry standards.

“When our product was reviewed by experts from Arduino and Qualcomm, we could clearly see the gap between an academic model and a product that could actually be deployed in real life. It is a pressure, but also a strong motivation,” one student said.

Beyond practical experience, international partners delivered a clear message: AI is not something to fear, but something to learn, adapt and master.

Guneet Bedi, Vice President and General Manager of Arduino, emphasised: “You need to learn not only how to use AI, but also how to build and customise it to solve real-world problems. Start now. Do not let yourselves fall behind in the AI revolution.”

Arduino Day 2026 highlighted an increasingly clear direction for technology education in Việt Nam: learning to build, learning to adapt, and learning to participate in the global technology value chain.

Arduino Day is a global annual event initiated by Arduino to celebrate its open-source hardware and software ecosystem, which has become widely used in education, prototyping and innovation worldwide. Held simultaneously in numerous countries, the event brings together students, developers, educators and technology enthusiasts through workshops, demonstrations and community-led activities. — VNS