Trung, born 1995, is a former student of the High School for the Gifted (VNUC). During high school, he won a gold medal at the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) in Colombia in 2013.

After finishing high school, Trung received a full scholarship to study at Duke University in the US, listed among top 10 universities in the US, according to the 2024 US News rankings. He graduated as valedictorian in Mathematics in 2018.

Later, Trung became a PhD student in Maths at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which ranked 7th in Times Higher Education (THE) 2024 list of the best universities in the world. It was among the top 10 as ranked by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

At a recent event on the occasion of the 30th anniversary celebration of VNUHCM, Trung shared his academic journey and reasons for returning to Vietnam.

Fifteen years ago, as a maths majoring student, he was fortunate to have the best conditions to freely pursue his passion for the learning subject. 

At the high school for the gifted, he studied with talented peers and was inspired by dedicated teachers, especially Dr Le Ba Khanh Trinh, who wrote a legendary chapter in Vietnam’s history with his special solution at the 1979 IMO in London. 

Trinh then got a perfect score of 40/40, and was called the ‘golden boy of mathematics’. Trinh has been working as a maths teacher for dozens of years and leading the Vietnamese competition teams of excellent students in maths to attend many IMOs, helping them gain brilliant achievements.

“These were the driving forces that prompted me to pursue maths study and strive for similar pinnacles,” he said, adding that he attended the 2013 IMO and won a gold medal.

During his 10 years of studying in the US, Trung realized that Vietnamese students have the same aptitude and passion as their international peers, but lack opportunities to develop early.

“Since 2015, Duke University has run a summer research program on big data for students and researchers, attracting millions of dollars in investments from businesses and local authorities. This program ignites passion and research skills while nurturing a new generation of experts in big data."

Today, in the context of AI boom, attracting investments in the world’s data centers worth hundreds of billions of dollars in global data centers, the demand for high-quality human resources has never been so urgent. 

“Early talent nurturing, like at Duke, is invaluable in my view,” he said.

With the desire to nurture talents for Vietnam, in 2016, Trung, using his personal scholarship, together with students, researchers, and the University of Natural Sciences, organized the PiMA (Projects in Mathematics and Applications) summer camp.

Over eight years, this camp has brought cutting-edge applications in machine learning, data science, and bioinformatics to hundreds of talented students. From the summer camp, many participants have been pursuing research at top global universities or work at major tech companies.

“These initial successes made me seriously consider returning to Vietnam and devote myself to homeland development,” Trung said.

According to Trung, when considering the two options of staying in the US and returning to Vietnam, he heard about the VNU350 Program run by the Vietnam National University, HCM City (VNUHCMC), an initiative aiming at attracting and developing young excellent scientists. He was convinced by the initiative, believing that it was exactly what he wanted to implement.

Thus, the young PhD decided to apply for the program and was selected as a lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technology of the University of Natural Sciences.

On his first days back in Vietnam, he faced many challenges, including the new environment and cumbersome administrative procedures. But his determination and support from colleagues helped him overcome these obstacles.

Trung said in addition to teaching, conducting scientific research, and building up summer research programs for students, he wants to serve as a bridge connecting his friends and talented young scientists studying and working in the US who also dream of returning to Vietnam and contributing to Vietnam’s science and technology, enhancing the country’s position on the global knowledge map.

“There will come the time when you have to make important decisions about the path you will follow, and when you do, remember that the homeland always welcomes you," he said.

Le Huyen