Online math school kicked off in Hanoi

A math school was opened in Hanoi on June 18, using a curriculum from AoPS - a 900,000-member math community in the US - at a low cost for Vietnamese.

Minh Viet School of Math (MVSM) was founded in the US by Pham Tuan Anh, who was famous for his role as interpreter for US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during essential meetings with Vietnamese leaders in 2015-2016.

"Vietnam is facing the challenge of catching up with the world, and we are pioneers in teaching students advanced math in English. They will become global citizens, develop a breakthrough economy, and bring many other strategic benefits to the country," said Tuan Anh.

The Minh Viet School of Math (MVSM) opening ceremony took place in Hanoi last weekend. Photo: MVSM

The school works with an AoPS math community in the US, with more than 900,000 members, to create its curriculum. It has signed a cooperation agreement with AoPS to provide complete learning materials and training activities. MVSM participants will have access to the math forum and quizzes on the website.

In the first school year 2023-2024, the school opens advanced math classes in English for primary students from grades 1 to 5 and supplementary English classes (4 levels). It plans to open more secondary and high school classes in the future.

All the teachers are American graduates from prestigious universities such as Berkeley, Columbia, and Harvard (with Vietnamese teaching assistants). Students will either study online via Zoom with American teachers or watch the video.

"Although it cannot replace face-to-face teaching, online teaching has opened new horizons," said Professor Ngo Bao Chau - Vietnam's world-renowned mathematician.

Chau appreciates MVSM's efforts in partnering with AoPS to bring America's most successful advanced math curriculum to Vietnam. "After participating in international mathematics training, I realized that the program designed by AoPS is very standardized and systematic," he added.

By directly using the AoPS curriculum - America's No. 1 advanced math program - designed like a comic book with many interesting puzzles arranged in increasingly difficult levels, the course stimulates curiosity while training critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Participants study one lesson/week by paying VND5 million (US$212) per year.

"The global job market will always need workers who are good at math and fluent in English. Therefore, Vietnamese students urgently need to improve their knowledge. MVSM will create favorable conditions for all participants to be taught by American instructors for their future work abroad," said Tuan Anh.