Vingroup accelerates the Vingroup 20,000 Applied AI Talent Program

Just over three months after its launch, the Vingroup 20,000 AI Applied Talent Program has attracted nearly 2,000 learners. Building on the strong outcomes of its first intake with 100% of learners who met VinUniversity’s competency standards receiving job offers immediately upon graduation, the program is rapidly expanding its training capacity to meet its goal of developing 10,000 to 20,000 AI professionals within two years and help address Vietnam’s growing demand for technology talent.

Launched in January 2026 at VinUniversity, a member of Vingroup, the Vingroup 20,000 AI Applied Talent Program was established in response to Politburo Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW and the General Secretary’s directive to achieve breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation. The program is designed to contribute to the development of Vietnam’s high-tech workforce. Under the current plan, it will train up to 5,000 learners in 2026 and continue scaling up significantly to achieve its full target in 2027.

Following the launch of its first intake in April 2026 with nearly 500 learners, VinUniversity opened two additional intakes, bringing total enrollment to nearly 2,000 learners selected from approximately 10,000 applicants.

Alongside its rapid expansion, the program has quickly demonstrated the quality of its training through strong graduate outcomes. All 373 of the 500 learners in the first intake who met VinUniversity’s competency standards received job offers from Vingroup, with monthly compensation of up to nearly VND 50 million. Ninety-five percent have since officially taken on professional roles including AI Engineer, Data Engineer, Software Developer, Product Manager, and Business Analyst at VinFast, VinSmart Future, VinMotion, VinSOC, and many other organizations within and beyond the Vingroup ecosystem.

The success of the Vingroup 20,000 AI Applied Talent Program is driven by three core factors: the quality of learners; the quality of its faculty and coaches; and a hands-on, industry-based training model built around real challenges, real data, experienced experts, and genuine employment opportunities across the corporate ecosystem.

In terms of learner quality, nearly 40% of learners have already completed undergraduate or postgraduate education, including engineers and holders of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The remaining learners are primarily final-year STEM students from 141 universities, including Hanoi University of Science and Technology, FPT University, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology, and Hanoi University of Industry.

The program has also attracted learners from 20 international universities, including leading institutions such as New York University, Monash University in Australia, KAIST in South Korea, Kyushu University in Japan, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and TU Dresden in Germany.

The program brings together nearly 200 faculty members, coaches, experts, and project managers from VinUniversity, Vingroup, and leading technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Aurora AI, Foxconn, Backbase, Zalo AI, SHB, CMC, and Viettel. Under their guidance, learners have worked on nearly 160 simulated AI challenges and more than 200 real-world AI challenges in areas such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, personalized learning, multilingual translation, cybersecurity, data, and operational optimization.

Through its Challenge-Based Learning model, the entire training experience is co-designed by VinUniversity and participating companies to reflect how businesses assign work, deploy talent, and recruit employees.

Learners do not work only on simulated challenges; they also directly address real AI needs identified by companies. Over the 12-week program, learners complete three weeks of foundational study, three weeks of work in a simulated corporate environment at VinUniversity, and six weeks of direct participation in technology projects at companies. During the corporate phase, learners undergo comprehensive evaluations every two weeks covering technical competency, product quality, collaboration, workplace discipline, and project execution effectiveness.

Prof. Vu Duong Nguyen, Vice Provost of VinUniversity, shared:

“Our aim is not to create yet another AI course, but to build a training model in which learners demonstrate their capabilities through the work itself. When those capabilities are validated through real-world challenges and assessed against employers’ actual hiring standards, learners can begin contributing immediately after graduation rather than having to undergo additional training. The results of the first intake show that this model is developing AI talent that meets real-world needs and can contribute immediately to large-scale technology projects.”

The program’s early results show that its hands-on training model is helping narrow the gap between education and employment while opening up a new approach to developing high-quality AI talent. Through the program, Vingroup aims to help build a workforce equipped with applied, real-world AI capabilities, meet the evolving needs of businesses, and contribute to Vietnam’s ambition of becoming a regional hub for technology and innovation.

—-

Learners participating in the Vingroup 20,000 AI Applied Talent Program receive full tuition scholarships as well as a monthly living allowance of VND 8 million throughout the program. Upon completion, they receive a certificate jointly issued by VinUniversity and Vingroup, recognizing their applied, real-world capabilities and helping connect them with career opportunities across the Vingroup ecosystem and at technology companies in Vietnam and internationally.