On May 17th and June 14th, 2026, Cần Thơ University (CTU) carried out the second implementations of its Virtual Universe, bringing together two teachers and approximately 40 high school students across two sessions in Cần Thơ and Bến Tre.

The first session, held in Cần Thơ City, brought together 20 students from four different local high schools – Bùi Hữu Nghĩa, Phan Ngọc Hiển, Nguyễn Việt Hồng, and the CTU Elite High School – with five students representing each institution. The second session took place at the Bà Tri Vocational and Continuing Education Center in Bến Tre, where another 20 students participated.

These two sessions marked the rollout of the final version of AquaDefenders, the SIMPLE project’s Virtual Universe on salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta. What made this round especially meaningful was the direct involvement of local teachers, who not only managed the technical aspects in the classroom but also took an active role in designing the learning scenario themselves.

During the sessions, students engaged with the causes and effects of salt intrusion through an immersive VR game developed by the SIMPLE project. Inside the virtual world, students take on the role of local farmers across multiple seasonal cycles, making informed decisions about whether to cultivate rice, fruit trees, or tiger shrimps as water levels and salt concentrations shift. Each choice produces measurable consequences in crop yield and farm health, giving students direct, observable feedback on the agricultural impact of changing environmental conditions.

Looking ahead, the SIMPLE project aims to scale these implementations to additional provinces across the Mekong Delta, with a particular focus on reaching more public schools and expanding training in this experiential, VR-based learning approach for school administrators and teachers alike.