Winning a gold medal at the International Math Olympiad, Can Tran Thanh Trung chose the 'opposite' path when he decided to return to Vietnam to become a lecturer after completing his doctoral program in the US.
ACADEMIC AUTONOMY AND OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE
Dr. Can Tran Thanh Trung (29 years old) is one of the successful candidates in the VNU350 program attracting outstanding young scientists and leading scientists of Ho Chi Minh City National University.
Mr. Can Tran Thanh Trung received his PhD from Duke University.
For many people, this decision may be a bit confusing. But for Thanh Trung, it is simply because the most important thing for him is to do a job serving students who love mathematics. "If we compare the income, this lecturer position may be many times lower than other job offers I have received," he analyzed and said: "The financial factor is not among the things that make me think much. On the contrary, I feel very lucky to receive the same treatment as lecturers who have worked for more years; to be in charge of my own research, participate in large international cooperation projects, and freely build research groups. Academic autonomy and the opportunity to contribute are what I expect the most in this choice."
A former student of the specialized math class at the Gifted High School, Thanh Trung won a gold medal at the 2013 International Math Olympiad in Colombia. He then attended Duke University (USA) with a full scholarship and graduated as valedictorian in mathematics in 2018, before doing research at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, USA). According to the US News rankings, Duke and Caltech are ranked 7th and 10th in the top universities in the US, respectively. According to the THE 2024 rankings, Caltech is ranked 7th among the best universities in the world.
Sharing about the time of making this decision, Thanh Trung said that everything happened quickly. Because since he was in college, the math student had cherished the ambition of returning home after finishing his studies. In June 2024, when he received an invitation from an American company, Trung read information from the VNU350 program. "Thinking about the choices of predecessors like Professor Vo Van Toi, I decided to apply. Then in September, I officially became a lecturer at the Department of Knowledge Technology, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Science (Ho Chi Minh City National University)," Trung recounted.
Dr. Can Tran Thanh Trung is currently a lecturer at the Department of Knowledge Technology, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Science (Ho Chi Minh City National University).
Looking back on his decision, the young lecturer said: "I was quite surprised that many people were interested in this return. Then I knew that I had become a rare individual among the international math gold medalists who chose to return after completing their studies."
USE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MATH SUMMER CAMP ACTIVITIES
This is not the first time the international math gold medalist has not considered material conditions a priority in his choices. In 2016, while studying in his second year at Duke University, Thanh Trung decided to use his scholarship money to found the PiMA Math and Application Summer Camp for high school students nationwide. Explaining this decision, Trung said: "Although I love math, when I went to university, I still wondered what I was studying math for, until I applied math to real-life projects. With this math summer camp, I hope to be able to be a bridge for Vietnamese students to see the useful role of math in life."
Dr. Trung with members of the PiMA Summer Camp of Mathematics and Applications
In the first two years, the summer camp was operated with a scholarship from a math student. In the following years, this volunteer activity received the attention of sponsors. The program aims to introduce modern applied mathematics to high school students and train soft skills such as teamwork, research, and programming.
"A big motivation to maintain this activity is that every year there are always special students coming to mathematics. After 8 years of organizing, many PiMA campers have been very successful, currently working at leading technology companies or doing research at major universities around the world. I hope to be able to develop the summer camp into a sustainable social project," said Thanh Trung.
DEVELOPING MATHEMATICS IN VIETNAM IS THE BIGGEST RESPONSIBILITY AND GOAL
"My talent for mathematics is almost a gift when no one in my family follows this path. Thanks to mathematics and the community, I have received many opportunities to develop myself. Therefore, for me, contributing to the development of mathematics in Vietnam is my greatest responsibility and goal in the near future," Thanh Trung shared.
Sharing his upcoming plans, Thanh Trung said he will focus on teaching and research. In addition to developing new courses for IT students, he has also been assigned to build a research group at the school. "When I stand in class, sharing useful things about math that I have learned with young people always makes me happy. Teaching is a two-way interactive process, I share knowledge and experience but also learn many new things from my friends," the young doctor said about his teaching job.
Ingredients for success: Passion and good community
Talking about applied mathematics, the California Institute of Technology doctor pondered: "When I was a graduate student, I experienced the research orientation of number theory. Although this theory is beautiful and profound, very few people can understand it. In the future, I will return to research on applied mathematics to be closer to life."
Citing passion and a good community that will create success, Thanh Trung took an example from himself. Born into a family without anyone specializing in mathematics, his father was a defense worker and his mother was a refrigeration engineer. But from a young age, he soon showed his talent and passion for mathematics. Before winning the gold medal of the International Math Olympiad, he won high prizes in the math aptitude test for grade 5, the city's excellent student test for grade 9, the national second prize for grade 11, the city's third prize; the city's 30.4 Olympic gold medal, and the city's first prize in the city's math test for grade 12...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/loi-di-nguoc-cua-huy-chuong-vang-olympic-toan-quoc-te-18525010314263443.htm
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