REFLECTING ON THE 8Q DISCOVERY JOURNEY AT FUTURESPARQ ACADEMY
On September 26, 2026, FutureSparQ Academy hosted the event “Exploring Thinking Mathematics and 8Q Competencies for Primary Students,” creating a space for parents, educators, and students to explore a broader perspective on children’s development.
Through the talk “8Q: The Starting Point for Holistic Thinking” and hands-on experiences in Thinking Mathematics, Robotics & AI, the event introduced different ways of understanding children’s capabilities—from thinking and exploration to adaptability, collaboration, and their gradual journey toward self-understanding.
8Q – SEEING THE CHILD FROM A BROADER PERSPECTIVE
8Q is a Holistic Development Model that focuses on the areas of competency children can explore and gradually develop through learning experiences.
During the talk, 8Q was explored from multiple perspectives: how children’s competencies develop, what holistic education means, and how adults can create environments where these competencies can be nurtured alongside one another.
Rather than focusing solely on what children already know or their academic results, the conversation expanded to consider how children think, ask questions, explore the world, interact with others, and develop themselves throughout different stages of growing up.
THREE PERSPECTIVES ON ONE JOURNEY OF DEVELOPMENT
The talk brought together three speakers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on education.
Christopher Vu – Co-Founder & Academic Director of FutureSparQ Academy and Creative Director of Vietnam Tinh Hoa – The Futures Institute – shared his perspective on 8Q and how different competencies can develop through the ways children learn, experience, and interact with the world around them.
With more than 30 years of experience in education and an academic background at MIT and Berklee College of Music, Christopher Vu advocates an educational approach that supports children in developing not only knowledge and thinking skills, but also the ability to explore their own potential.
Bui Vu Thanh – Founder & Chairman of Embassy Education and Vietnam Tinh Hoa – The Futures Institute – expanded the conversation around holistic education and ways of understanding children beyond the results reflected in academic scores.
From the perspective of building an education ecosystem, he highlighted the role of a learning environment that can nurture knowledge, competencies, inner strength, and global readiness, while helping children grow from a strong sense of their own identity.
Chi Thuc Ha – International Education Guidance & Consultant and Chief Operating Officer of CPC Global Education – brought insights from more than a decade of supporting students as they explore their interests, navigate educational pathways, and prepare for international education environments.
Drawing from her experience in educational consulting, the conversation extended to the importance of creating development pathways that are appropriate for each child—not only considering what they will learn, but also which competencies they are developing and how parents can support them from an early stage.
These three perspectives came together around one shared question: how can the competencies children need for the future become a natural part of their journey of growing up?
WHEN 8Q IS DISCOVERED THROUGH EXPERIENCE
Alongside the parent-focused talk, students took part in hands-on Thinking Mathematics and Robotics & AI activities at FutureSparQ Academy.
While the talk opened up questions about competencies and children’s development, the experiential activities gave students an opportunity to encounter these competencies through the way they learn and engage.
Through Thinking Mathematics, children observed, manipulated, and explored ways to solve problems through hands-on activities. Through Robotics & AI, they explored technology by experimenting, building, and developing their own ideas.
These experiences showed that 8Q is more than a model discussed in theory. Its competencies can be observed in the ways children ask questions, approach a problem, search for solutions, interact with peers, and respond to new situations.
FROM SMALL EXPERIENCES TO A FOUNDATION FOR LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT
Every child’s development can begin with very different experiences. A mathematics problem solved in an original way, a robot model created from scratch, a question asked out of curiosity, or a conversation with a peer can all become opportunities for children to recognize and further develop their own competencies.
This is also how FutureSparQ Academy approaches education: by creating learning experiences where knowledge is connected with thinking, exploration, and self-understanding.
The event “Exploring Thinking Mathematics and 8Q Competencies for Primary Students” marked a starting point for parents and students to look at development from a broader perspective—where every competency has its own role, and a child’s growth is shaped through many different experiences.
FutureSparQ Academy sincerely thanks all parents, students, and speakers who came together to create a meaningful morning filled with questions, perspectives, and experiences around 8Q.
The journey of discovering 8Q begins with the questions we ask today—and continues to unfold through every learning experience children encounter.
