Dao Thi Hong Quyen - The power of radiating passions

HANOI – “For many of children that I taught, the only chance for them to change their lives for the better is to get an education – especially girls,” said Dao Thi Hong Quyen, teacher and ‘Power of Radiance Awards’ 2023 awardee – a leading female figure in STEM education in Viet Nam. And that was also her story over 20 years ago. Over the course of a couple of decades, Quyen has pioneered the tech community to expand STEM education, conducting outreach to suburban and remote populations in a mission – teaching STEM and empowering girls.

A grantee of NASA and Fulbright programs, Quyen has triumphed in her own course to be an advocate along with UNICEF to close the gender divide and ensure that girls have the opportunities to succeed in a digital world.

Quyen’s story started as early as she could remember. Her father, a war veteran who fought in the Centre during the American War in Viet Nam in an artillery regiment, was her first teacher. Passionate about artillery knowledge, he passed it down to his children since their young age. In peace time, he headed the village’s ‘educational promotion association’ where he taught the local kids and his children mathematics through musical notes and melodies with a guitar. He was full of creativity and energy, Quyen said.

“The countryside life cradled me with STEM questions to find solutions and ideas – from measuring the speed of wind for seed sowing to making robotic toys entirely out of household materials.” In secondary school, Quyen recognized her desire to teach. “When I was 6, my wish was to be a ‘know-it-all’ person to help others. One day I realized that if I wanted to help others, I should be the one to guide them in finding their own answers.”

Quyen has encountered many life stories in her teaching career when she was tormented with girls dropping out of school every year to get married – those she wished: “had gotten the chance to learn and pursue STEM – an anchor for long-distance travels into life and the confidence needed to make a decision.”

When I convinced the parents to bring them back to school, the answer was always simple: "it’s not important for girls to study as they will get married and have kids in the end.”

But there were also heart-warming stories in which girl students dropping out at Grade 8, giving birth and returning to school the next year to continue at Grade 9. “Once they are determined, there are no cultural boundaries that could stop them from following their dreams.”

It’s still common for Vietnamese parents to associate STEM with laborious and time-consuming engineering jobs that only boys and men are fit for. “We want parents to know that girls can do well and even better than boys in many aspects of STEM, such as those that need attention to details and the characteristic of having meticulous hands.”

Together with her colleagues, they have formed partnerships with schools, villages, communities and government agencies to advocate for STEM for all. One of Quyen’s passions is to connect the dots between technologies and traditional craft villages – where advanced gadgets facilitate production and promotion of traditional arts – e.g. the craft of making conical hats in northern Phu Tho province as STEM can be applied across high tech industries including those using automatic control, AI, sensory technology and data analysis.

Aiming at promoting quality education, gender equality in technological and engineering sectors and climate and environment, Quyen also incorporates the SDG in her teaching. This helps improve accountability, resilience and creativity for students and building a more sustainable and equitable world.

“What made me happy and proud most is that there are more and more girls and women in STEM in Viet Nam. The number is constantly growing as we’re working towards closing the digital gender gap. There are still more things to do to keep up with the digital divide among different populations and groups in our times but we are positively heading forward.”

UNICEF Viet Nam is working with partners and advocates to close the digital gap, promoting gender equality and changing social norms in STEM. By challenging biases and creating opportunities for girls, we aim to unlock their full potential and build a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.