Samsung Solve for Tomorrow: Extending the inspiring journey of creativity in 2025

Since its first launch in 2010 in the United States, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has demonstrated its strong influence with 2.6 million students from 66 countries worldwide participating.

In Vietnam, although the competition has only been implemented since 2019, by the end of 2024 it had already attracted nearly 460,000 contestants, with more than 7,400 creative ideas exceeding expectations. Beyond the numbers, it is also the story of the efforts, creativity, and dedication of the young generation to build a better future.

Over the years, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has become one of the innovation competitions most eagerly awaited by students. The competition is not only a playground for young people to express bold ideas but also a launching pad for breakthrough solutions that help address urgent social issues. This is the moment for us to look back at the outstanding highlights of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in its six-year journey in Vietnam, while also preparing for the 2025 season which promises to be more explosive than ever.

Remarkable growth in “quantity”

From 2019 to 2024, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow witnessed tremendous growth in participation scale, reflecting the strong appeal of the competition to students and schools nationwide.

The number of participating students skyrocketed from nearly 500 (2019) to more than 150,000 (2024), an increase of over 300 times in just six years. Particularly, the leap occurred in 2020 (more than 14,000 students) and continued to boom in 2023 with nearly 145,000 students.

The number of submitted projects also recorded impressive growth, from more than 100 projects (2019) to nearly 2,300 projects (2024), about 23 times higher. This not only reflects the widespread impact of the competition but also shows the increasingly diverse quality and quantity of innovative ideas.

The number of participating schools expanded from 56 schools (2019) to 423 schools (2024), demonstrating the profound influence of SFT on the education system across the country.

In addition, the stature of the competition is also reflected in the level of investment Samsung Vietnam has made for this program. The company not only dedicated a team of experts to train and guide contestants but also made significant investments in prizes. In 2024, the total prize value reached more than USD 300,000, in which the school with the winning team received Samsung’s sponsorship to build a STEM Creative Space worth USD 70,000.

Excellence in “quality”

The special feature of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow lies not only in its scale but also in the practical value and humanitarian spirit of the projects. Many ideas from the competition originated from pressing social issues that students themselves observed. Through the competition, those ideas were gradually developed into useful technological solutions, contributing to improving community life.

A mentor of the 2024 season from a leading university in Ho Chi Minh City said: “I was truly impressed by the 40 excellent projects entering the next round. These projects not only had good ideas but also had the ability to address very pressing social problems in recent years such as: Landslide warning device management system, Firevue – AI-powered smart fire extinguishing system, Monitoring and alert system for children left behind in cars, Application of smart technology in breeding and raising rare insects, Waste sorting and conversion system using AI and IoT… I am very willing to accompany the students to help them turn their ideas into reality, so that each initiative will not only remain on paper but also step out to create positive impacts for the community.”

Participating in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow helps contestants expand relationships, meet experts, scientists, and like-minded young people through classes, workshops, both in-person and online. In particular, the teams also received support from professional mentors - leading experts in science, technology, education, and innovation. This is a golden opportunity for students to learn and develop comprehensively.

The C3T3 team, First Prize winner in 2019, recalled: “The turning-point difficulty was when we operated the machines. We almost gave up, but the Samsung instructors helped us to complete the project. The mentor supported us with problems in operation, for example, when the production line had an issue, how to handle it.”

Not only focusing on imparting technological knowledge, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow also helps students form entrepreneurial thinking. The teams must learn how to generate ideas, research the market, make financial plans, build business models, and present their projects before the judging panel.

Student Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, a member of the NK Solutions team (Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted), said he was very impressed with the method of delivering business knowledge through simple games. This approach turned what used to be dry knowledge into something more understandable and approachable. Contestants were also guided to build business plans, product development thinking, and startup strategies.

Many ideas from the program have been developed into potential startup projects, contributing to the growth of Vietnam’s technology startup community.

Le Tu – member of the Blue Dreams team (Da Nang), First Prize winner in the secondary school category in 2022, has graduated from high school and is preparing to study abroad in the promising field of Biomedical Technology. The young champion proudly shared that the “Smart Library” idea that won the prize has already been implemented by the city, and it also helped him convincingly earn a scholarship to study abroad.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Hoang Dung – a contestant from the team that won First Prize in the high school category in 2023, and excellently became one of 10 ambassadors for the project “Together for Tomorrow – Empower Everyone” attending the Paris 2024 Olympics, shared: “The experts highly evaluated my project. They saw the potential to apply it to measuring the indicators of athletes before competitions. I am extremely proud that the initiatives of Vietnamese students like us have received recognition from international experts.”

In 2025, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow promises to bring many challenges but full of inspiration. Currently, students across the country are eagerly waiting for Samsung Vietnam to announce the “departure time” of the “train” Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 so that they can unleash their creativity, explore their potential, contribute to the community, and conquer new heights.