HCMC education goes all in on AI, digital classrooms

In late September 2025, the HCMC Department of Education and Training rolled out the EDUi interactive application system to all educational institutions across the city. This move is widely seen as a pivotal step toward synchronizing the city’s management platforms, enhancing teaching and learning efficiency, and aligning with the broader digital transformation goals of both HCMC and the nation.

EDUi is designed as a unified platform for the entire sector, ensuring consistency in data, management processes, and operational methods. The platform’s goal is to slash administrative red tape for schools, while offering teachers more convenient classroom management tools. It also allows students to regularly update their academic information, tap into digital learning materials, and join online classes.

It’s not just a one-trick pony; EDUi integrates a host of interactive applications, including a free hub for industry news and events, public survey tools for parents and students, a dedicated channel connecting schools with families, and a system-wide repository for shared learning materials, not to mention tools for managing digital libraries, school equipment, and even updating students' periodic health data.

For Chief of Office for the HCMC Department of Education and Training Ho Tan Minh, this is part of a larger trend. He reports that the application of IT isn’t just about administrative paperwork anymore; it has “spread deeply into every teaching and learning activity.” HCMC is reportedly at the vanguard nationally, deploying large-scale online systems for learning, testing, and assessment, all while synchronizing data from the primary to the high school level.

The city’s education sector is also pushing a series of breakthrough initiatives, including:

• The “Strengthening IT Application and Digital Transformation 2022-2025, with an orientation to 2030” project;
• The “Improving IT Skills for HCMC High School Students Toward International Standards 2021-2030” project;
• The “Bringing AI into Schools” project;
• A new Digital Education Program;
• The ambitious “1,000 Digital Schools” initiative.

This digital transformation, particularly the buzz around AI, is also being deeply embraced and widely implemented at the individual school level. New models like digital citizen skills classrooms, smart classrooms, and digital libraries are being championed by many schools this academic year.

For Do Ngoc Chi, Principal of Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School, the new “Digital Citizen Skills Classroom” is transformative. She explained it’s a modern learning space with tablets, interactive games, facial recognition, and smart robots. The curriculum’s goal is equipping students to “master technology smartly and safely.”

Teacher Vu Dai Hoi from Vo Thi Sau Senior High School offered a powerful metaphor, calling AI policies “the right time,” school enthusiasm “the right place,” and teacher proactivity “the right people.” He argued that teachers and students can’t afford to stand on the sidelines of the “AI game.” He warned that teachers who don’t engage will quickly become obsolete, and students without these skills won’t meet the competency requirements of the new labor market.

According to Prof Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, Vice President of HCMC National University (VNU-HCM), digital transformation has been comprehensively promoted, embedding itself deeply into management, operations, and the establishment of a digital governance platform.

One of the most notable advances, she said, is the effective rollout of the IOC (e-Office) operating system, which has enhanced leadership, monitoring, and coordination across the entire university system.

VNU-HCM has reportedly completed its data center for officials, lecturers, and staff, and is now fast-tracking the completion of its learner database. This will allow for better tracking of the training process, quality evaluation, and policy support. These, she notes, are critical foundations for the university’s “Research and Development to Expand the VNU-HCM Big Data Center” project.

In parallel, VNU-HCM has vigorously implemented IT and digital transformation in its training management and scientific research. This includes, according to the university, the continued operation of software for managing research topics and projects, and using data to manage scientific tasks, which allows for funding to be allocated transparently and competitively based on outcomes.

VNU-HCM is also leveraging digital transformation for its communications and image promotion. The launch of the university’s new bilingual (Vietnamese-English) website has apparently become a practical support tool for key operations like executive management, admissions, international cooperation, and quality assurance.

While VNU-HCM focuses on big data, HCMC University of Industry and Trade (HUIT) charted an agile course. HUIT’s President Nguyen Xuan Hoan said they have pioneered the establishment of the Digital Transformation Institute. This “autonomous unit” is the central hub for their digitization strategy, developing core applications to ensure the system runs smoothly, stably, and securely.

The institute’s mandate extends beyond the campus. It transfers applications to businesses and partners, affirming HUIT’s tech expertise. In a move of social responsibility, it also deploys free digital solutions for provincial and ward-level People’s Committees. HUIT sees this as a strategic step, combining education and research with practical application in the digital age.

Joining this digital wave, many other universities in HCMC are also accelerating their transformation efforts, organizing a flurry of seminars and thematic talks on the impact of AI on learning and research for both students and faculty.