Since 2002, The Dariu Foundation has worked to ensure that children and young people in rural Vietnam have the same educational opportunities as their peers in the cities – the basis for shaping their own future. The early years went into building schools and kindergartens, into scholarships and microloans. From 2012 we shifted the focus to coding skills; in 2017 the Digital Literacy Initiative began. In 2025, we took the next step: through a master trainer model, we trained 30,000 teachers in AI skills in just four months, with women accounting for 68% of participants. This approach is helping schools build the capacity to integrate AI into teaching and learning responsibly.
Today, we work with 150 partner schools across Quang Tri, Da Nang, Vinh Long, Can Tho and An Giang. In 2025, our programmes in Vietnam reached nearly 390,000 students, 56% of them girls. Our 150 Dariu Tech Clubs involved 2,220 students, who developed 146 prototypes and products addressing real-world challenges.
Their achievements have gained international recognition. In 2025, students from Quang Tri Town High School developed an autonomous wheelchair designed to support mobility and communication for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The project received a Fourth Award in the Robotics and Intelligent Machines category at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the United States.
By 2029, we’re expanding the network to 450 Dariu Tech Clubs. Through our master trainer model, we plan to train a cumulative total of 370,000 teachers in applied AI, with an estimated cumulative indirect student reach of 3 million over the three years. By 2029, the clubs are expected to involve 22,500 students annually. Across 2027–2029, they are expected to record 52,500 student participations and develop 5,750 projects.
