Ngan Ha won excellent scholarships every semester, had international publications in Q1, before becoming valedictorian of the University of Technology with an average score of 3.96/4.
Duong Ngan Ha, 22 years old, from Hung Yen, is a student of Computer Science, a high-quality program at the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. With this result, Ha was honored as the best valedictorian of Hanoi this year. The female student's list of achievements is full of nearly 30 titles and awards in studying, scientific research and extracurricular activities.
"When I found out I was valedictorian, I felt like I had finished my midterm exam in middle school and got good results. I called my mom right away to tell her," Ha said.
For Ha, this title is a highlight of her university days. She feels a little regretful that she cannot attend the city's award ceremony in October because she has gone abroad to study for a master's degree under the Erasmus Mundus scholarship of the European Union.
Ngan Ha takes a commemorative photo after the graduation ceremony at the University of Technology. Photo: Character provided
Ha is a former student majoring in Mathematics, who was admitted directly to university thanks to winning a national consolation prize. After spending a lot of time researching the training programs of different schools, she chose Computer Science at the University of Technology because "the curriculum provides enough fundamental theory to create cool products".
Entering a new learning environment, where the teachers had a very different teaching style from high school, Ha still maintained the habit of listening to lectures in class and actively discussing with teachers. For any issues she did not understand clearly during class, Ha often wrote notes in the margins of her notebook and asked again at the end of class.
"I asked almost every class, to the point that one day when class ended, the teacher asked me if I had anything to ask," Ha shared.
For many subjects, Ha chose a learning method that she herself considered "a bit difficult". Even though she had listened to the lectures, studied at night and grasped the progress of the program, when it was time to review for the exam, Ha still spent 3-5 days to review the entire program of each subject, including reading slides, reading books, reviewing notebooks, videos, forum discussions or documents sent by teachers.
Ha also wrote handwritten outlines on A4 paper to review. After four years, Ha's collection of outlines for each subject amounted to 327 pages. Although it took a bit of time and effort, Ha said this was useful because she always realized something when she reviewed it.
The handwritten outline pages were kept by Ha. Photo: Provided by the character
Despite the heavy workload at school, along with her duties as class monitor and many extracurricular activities, Ha joined the Large Systems Optimization Laboratory - ORLab from her first semester. Here, Ha participated in research on Operations Research, a field of study related to applying advanced analytical methods to make better decisions.
Ha has been able to do both theoretical and practical research projects. She has carried out projects such as arranging timetables for high school students or optimal vaccine allocation. The female student believes that through each project, she has consolidated a lot of knowledge, practiced scientific writing skills, selected information or problem modeling skills, and found solutions suitable to exploitable resources.
"Real-life projects also help me see what people need in the real world every day, from there I know what I need to learn and the value of what I need to learn," Ha said.
Her early involvement in scientific research also gave Ha the opportunity to intern at Singapore Management University (SMU) as a research assistant for 3 months. She is also the first author of an award-winning paper at the KSE International Conference 2022 - a highly prestigious conference in the field of information technology in Vietnam, and an article in the "Computers & Operations Research" journal in the Q1 group (the most prestigious scientific journals).
Ngân Hà and some ORLab members at the KSE 2022 international conference. Photo: Character provided
Participating in many activities at the same time puts pressure on Ha in arranging her time. In addition to studying, researching, and school activities, she also has periods when she has to review for certificate exams and take part in some competitions inside and outside of school.
However, Ha also especially loves dancing, and never misses a class even when she is busy. This is the most consistent activity that helps her balance both her physical and mental health, especially when she has to work too much with the computer. Ha also often participates in baking and knitting workshops.
Dr. Ha Minh Hoang, head of ORLab, shared that because Ha participated in many activities and had little time for the research group, he was not too impressed with this female student at first.
"Ha is the product of an education system that produces good students but lacks early career guidance," said Mr. Hoang.
Gradually, Mr. Hoang realized that Ha had many talents and the ability to learn new knowledge very quickly. Ha was also willing to accept challenges, embarking on new fields to discover herself. Although doing many things, Ha did them thoroughly and achieved certain successes.
"That is the quality I admire most in Ha and it is also what today's youth need to have to adapt to the changing world," Mr. Hoang shared.
Ha also admitted that she lacked good direction. In her final year, when she had to choose her next path, Ha did not know whether to study abroad, continue her research, or work for a company. Ha applied to companies three times but was not accepted because she did not have the right experience and could not answer the question "how long will I stay with the company?"
"My mentality at that time was hasty, afraid of choosing the wrong thing, afraid of missing out," Ha shared.
Currently, Ha is studying for a master's degree in Applied Mathematics. Under the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program, Ha spent her first semester in Italy, then moved to Austria, Germany, Spain and France. During this time, Ha continued her research with the ORLab group.
"After graduating with a master's degree, I plan to do research. However, the plan may change during the process of searching and learning," Ha said.
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