Recently, Nguyen Tuan Phong, a student majoring in Control and Automation Engineering, represented more than 8,000 new students to speak at the opening ceremony of Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

The former student of Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted is known as the first student in the province to win an international Gold Medal. Previously, Phong also "pocketed" a series of achievements in Physics at national and regional competitions such as: Second National Prize in Grade 11, First National Prize in Grade 12, Silver Medal in European Physics Olympiad, Bronze Medal in Asian Physics Olympiad...

“From the foundations I have and the exposure to machinery and equipment at Hanoi University of Science and Technology during the team training period, I have developed a passion for Control Engineering and Automation,” Tuan Phong shared at the ceremony.

Nguyen Tuan Phong, student of Control and Automation Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology

With strengths in natural sciences, Phong was very passionate about studying Math. However, his scores at that time were not enough to be on the school team. Disappointed, Phong “turned” to Physics with the determination to conquer this subject.

“The first time I entered the school laboratory, I explored and played with the electrical experiment sets. Simple questions like: “Why does friction generate electricity?” also made me curious. I didn’t expect Physics to have so many interesting things.”

From the desire to explain the questions, Phong began to study Physics with great passion. In grade 8, when participating in the gifted student team, Phong won the first prize in the province. In grade 9, the male student continued to win high prizes.

This premise helped Phong pass the entrance exam to the Physics specialized class of Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted with the second highest specialized subject score in the class. Upon entering the school, Tuan Phong's potential was quickly discovered by the head teacher Pham Dinh Hiep.

“Phong is intelligent and always has a firm stance” – teacher Hiep was impressed with his student from the first days of grade 10. Therefore, he has high expectations that this will be a potential factor to continue to nurture in the national excellent student team.

Under the guidance of Mr. Hiep, Phong was exposed to advanced, new but also difficult knowledge.

“During the time preparing for the national team, I focused on doing test sources from previous years and reading famous books to gain knowledge,” Phong said.

Nguyen Tuan Phong (left) and Phan The Manh, students of Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, both won medals at the 2023 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).

A special point, according to Mr. Hiep, is that Phong has a very strange way of taking notes. “I study as much as I can, so I don’t take notes in the order the teacher teaches in class. Even in sessions where a professor from Hanoi comes to teach, I only write down what I think is necessary. If any teacher doesn’t know or isn’t used to this style, they will probably be very upset when they see that their students don’t take notes. But in reality, that’s not the case. Whatever he has mastered, Phong doesn’t write down.”

In grade 11, when he was selected to join the team with his seniors in grade 12, usually the juniors would be weaker, but Phong and a senior always competed for first place. Thanks to his courage and always doing his work confidently, Phong won the second prize in the national excellent student competition right from grade 11. After that, he participated in the European Physics Olympiad in Slovenia and won a Silver Medal.

This result is the motivation for Phong to hope to make a breakthrough next year. The male student said that his secret is to clearly understand the nature of phenomena and problems and prove the formula himself. When taking the exam, he also set some mandatory principles to follow such as respecting the steps when experimenting, being careful in measuring, having clear data, prioritizing the parts that are easy to get points, doing everything with certainty...

Participating in the national excellent student competition in grade 12, Phong had enough experience and courage to win first prize. After that, the male student continued to win the Bronze Medal at the Asian Physics Olympiad and successfully "changed the color" of the medal in the international competition within just 2 months.

Thanks to that, Phong became the first student of Bac Ninh province to win a Gold Medal in the International Olympic competition. This was the expectation and also the goal set by both teachers and students right when preparing to enter the international arena.

“I clearly feel the joy of the sower, the happiness of seeing students make great efforts to excel in the international arena, bringing glory to their homeland,” Mr. Hiep said emotionally.

With his achievements, Tuan Phong can be admitted to the hottest majors or study abroad like many members of the international team still choose. However, Phong believes that he is not ready to study abroad yet. “I want to have more time to focus on my strengths. When you have a foundation and passion, studying and developing your expertise will be much easier,” Phong said.

The male student also believes that the Control and Automation Engineering major helps him access knowledge related to sensors, electronic circuits, measurement techniques and smart sensors... These are things he has been familiar with through the Olympics and still wants to continue to study more deeply.

After the first week of studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Tuan Phong frankly admitted that the medal did not bring any advantage when studying at the University of Science and Technology.

“The only advantage of those who have participated in national and international competitions is probably the ability to self-study, focus and withstand pressure – which have been trained through the training period. Entering the lecture hall, it is important that you do not “rest on your laurels” but must begin a new journey to conquer specialized knowledge which is very difficult and profound.”

Vietnamnet.vn