Le Quy Don Award nurtures young ambitions

This year marked the 31st edition of the award in the Ho Chi Minh City Nhi Dong (Children) publication, and the 27th edition in the Khan Quang Do publication. Over the past three decades, the contest has served as a launchpad, empowering generations of students to excel in their academic journeys and personal growth.

An academic playground

From just tens of thousands of submissions in its early seasons, the contest saw over 1.3 million entries across both publications, Nhi Dong (Children) and Khan Quang Do (Red Scarf), in the 2025–2026 academic year. Alongside this dramatic surge in participation, the contest's scope has expanded well beyond Ho Chi Minh City to reach numerous southern provinces and cities.

Since its inception, the Le Quy Don Award has been designed as an interactive learning platform rather than a conventional academic competition. In the preliminary rounds, weekly newspaper prompts feature open-ended questions that encourage students to observe their surroundings and apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios.

Over the years, the final rounds have embraced increasingly dynamic formats, such as conducting science experiments, playing folk games, watching theatrical skits, attending "book banquets," taking open-top bus tours to explore the city, sampling street food, navigating Saigon alleys, role-playing as tour guides, and impersonating Liberation soldiers to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 – April 30, 2025).

Most recently, in the 2025–2026 finals, students engaged in a dialogue with their future selves centered on the theme "Discovering Yourself, Shaping Your Future Career." By exploring questions like "Who am I?", "What do I want to do?", and "Where will I be in 10 years?", contestants reflected on their strengths, interests, and aspirations to chart their future paths.

"The Le Quy Don Award is not merely an academic playground; it actively helps students apply knowledge, hone life skills, and unleash their creative potential," noted Ms. Tran Phuong Bich Thuy, Head of the Young Pioneers Organization at the Tran Thi Buoi Primary School in Phuoc Long Ward.

The 2025-2026 Le Quy Don award ceremony, jointly organized by Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, took place on the morning of August 12 at the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s House located at No. 36 Le Quy Don Street, Xuan Hoa Ward.

In addition to honoring outstanding collectives and individuals from this year’s competition, the event also offered students inspiring stories through exchanges with Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh, winner of the gold medal at the 1979 International Mathematical Olympiad; Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, MSc, Specialist Level II, Deputy Director of Children’s Hospital 1; and singer Hien Thuc.

A launchpad for knowledge and talent

Over 31 editions, more than 3,600 students have won the Le Quy Don Award. Many of them have since gone on to become successful teachers, engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs in Vietnam and abroad, while also inspiring successive generations of students.

One of them is Dr. Dam Nguyen Trong Nhan, who won the Le Quy Don Award for three consecutive years, including top honors in the eighth- and ninth-grade categories. He was named one of Ho Chi Minh City’s Outstanding Young Citizens in 2015, earned a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Monash University in Australia, and is currently an engineer at Microsoft in Canada.

Dr. Dam Nguyen Trong Nhan said the Le Quy Don competition gave him additional motivation to step outside his “comfort zone,” confidently explore his own potential, and develop essential life skills.

For Le Nguyen Nguyen Khoi, who was named the top winner of the Le Quy Don Award as a fifth-grade student, the award served as a stepping stone toward personal growth and later achievements after completing his secondary education. He is now a PhD candidate specializing in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

“Just as I used to sit down every week and diligently work through the Le Quy Don Award's questions, my work today also presents me with various problems that require me to find solutions. The perseverance I developed through the competition has helped me achieve what I have today,” Le Nguyen Nguyen Khoi said.

For Ms. Huynh Thi Binh An, a teacher at Hanh Thong Primary School in Hanh Thong Ward, the journey with the Le Quy Don Award has come full circle. She participated in the eighth edition of the competition in the Nhi Dong (Children) publication during the 2002-2003 academic year and continues to accompany her students in the competition today. From a contestant, she has become an inspiration to students, sharing the joy of learning and discovering knowledge—values nurtured and passed on through successive editions of the competition.

Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, Nguyen Bao Quoc, said that following the expansion of Ho Chi Minh City’s administrative boundaries, the Le Quy Don Award would continue to expand its reach, creating more opportunities for students in the newly incorporated localities to learn, gain experience and showcase their talents through the competition. One of the competition’s important values is to provide opportunities for students from different schools and localities to interact and connect, thereby boosting their confidence and enabling them to further develop the strengths of Ho Chi Minh City students.

According to journalist Nguyen Khac Cuong, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper and Deputy Head of the Le Quy Don Award Organizing Committee, the 2025-2026 Le Quy Don Award saw a significant increase in participation compared with previous academic years. Statistics showed that more than 105,000 students from Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces and cities took part. Many students meticulously handwritten their entries, presented them neatly, and incorporated vivid illustrations, turning their submissions into elaborate works. This shows that students truly enjoy the Le Quy Don Award and regard it as a space where they can showcase their talents and interests. He believed that with their passion for learning, determination to take on challenges, and continued efforts, they will achieve further success in the near future.

The 2025-2026 academic year was the first year the Le Quy Don Award was held across Ho Chi Minh City under its new administrative boundaries. The organizing committee particularly recognizes the efforts of students from Area 2 (formerly Binh Duong Province) and Area 3 (formerly Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province). Although many of them were participating in the competition for the first time, they demonstrated confidence and readily embraced the shared playground with students from across the city. Many performed exceptionally well and won awards.

The organizing committee congratulates all award-winning students and commends every participant for their active and serious engagement throughout the past academic year. The organizers would also like to express appreciation to school principals, heads of the Young Pioneers Organizations, and homeroom teachers for their enthusiastic encouragement and guidance to students participating in the competition. The organizational board is also grateful to parents for their support, as well as to businesses for their sponsorship. Such support and companionship made an important contribution to the success of the 2025-2026 Le Quy Don Award, he added.