In mid-2023, Nguyen Duc Anh (Binh Phuoc) received an email announcing that he had won a full scholarship for a doctoral program at one of the most prestigious public universities in France. For the then 25-year-old man, this was “the happiest moment of my life”.
“I spent 3 years abroad to win a full scholarship for the next 3 years abroad. Everything came to me so unexpectedly: France, graduating with honors for both master's programs, winning a full scholarship for a doctorate. These things - at the time of graduating from university - I never dared to think of.”
Duc Anh was born in Bu Dop (Binh Phuoc), a border district with Cambodia. In 8th grade, Duc Anh followed his family to his hometown in Bac Ninh to live.
During the first two years, he was constantly teased by his friends because of his accent. The situation reached its peak at the end of 8th grade, when he was attacked by his classmates. Although this situation has lessened since entering high school, Duc Anh still feels out of place because of this difference.
Therefore, when he was in 12th grade, he still earnestly asked his parents to let him return to Binh Phuoc to live with his sister's family. Duc Anh's sudden decision made his father strongly oppose. "My father harshly said that he would not provide any living or study expenses for me, but fortunately, both my mother and sister supported me later," Duc Anh said.
The time away from his parents helped Duc Anh learn to be independent. Because his sister had two young children, in addition to studying, the male student also helped his sister take care of the children, mill rice and sell sugarcane juice. After graduating from high school, Duc Anh passed the entrance exam to study Business Administration at Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry (now Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade). The university environment made him "feel like he could be himself".
Eager for new things, Duc Anh spent most of his time experiencing, participating in extracurricular activities and working part-time. But these things also caused his academic results to decline, forcing him to retake 4 subjects in 2 years.
This was also the time when Duc Anh's family faced financial difficulties and fell into debt. At that time, Duc Anh's father called to discuss the possibility that he would have to drop out of school because his parents could no longer afford the expenses. However, it was his mother who encouraged him to try to complete his studies, and that she would try to manage.
This incident also helped Duc Anh completely change his mindset. Instead of spending most of his time participating in social activities, he began to limit and focus on studying. By the third year, Duc Anh started to win the first academic encouragement scholarship. To cover living expenses, in addition to studying, the male student also applied to work as an MC for wedding parties and conferences around Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.
During this period, Duc Anh also met a girlfriend who was studying in France. It was this friend who encouraged him to strive to study higher and win a scholarship to study abroad. But for Duc Anh at that time, this was an unimaginable thing.
“After completing my undergraduate program with a GPA of 2.78/4, I still couldn’t receive my degree because I lacked an English output certificate. But I always had a strong belief that if I kept trying, I could do anything,” Duc Anh recalled.
Encouraged by his girlfriend, after graduating from university, Duc Anh did not immediately apply for a job but devoted all his time to improving his abilities. Within 3 months after graduation, Duc Anh spent 8-10 hours a day studying English, thanks to which he improved from zero to IELTS 6.0.
In addition, to “apply” for a French master’s scholarship, Duc Anh also had to design a research project related to his field of study. The 9X sought to connect with seniors who were experts in this field to find suitable and feasible ideas. Unexpectedly, this project helped Duc Anh receive the highest scholarship to study Agricultural and Food Business Management at Audencia Business School (France).
Never thinking about learning English or studying abroad until he was 23, the time studying in France gave the Vietnamese guy a lot of experiences. “Here, I got to do things I never thought of when I was 18. From a boy born in a very poor countryside, I had the opportunity to meet and exchange with many talented people everywhere.”
After his first master's program, Duc Anh applied for a doctorate but was rejected by most schools. He had doubted his own abilities, but these rejections made him realize that he still lacked many research skills and experience.
Not giving up, Duc Anh decided to study a second master's program in Management and Innovation Research at Skema Business School. This program is completely different from the previous program because students will be trained in research methods and theories in management.
“During this time, I often had to read 15-20 scientific articles per week. Although it was quite heavy, this also helped me to improve the knowledge and skills necessary for research, serving my future doctoral studies.”
In 2023, Duc Anh continued to apply for a doctorate. This time, thanks to careful preparation, the Vietnamese man received a full scholarship to study Innovation Management at the University of Paris-Saclay, the leading university in France.
According to Duc Anh, this re-application has helped him learn many lessons. “To be admitted to a PhD program, candidates must proactively contact professors with similar research interests and be accepted to work together. In addition, the candidate’s research interests must also be consistent with the development orientation of the professor and the school. Because if you propose a research area that no professor is doing or the school does not have a development orientation, it will be impossible to move forward.”
In addition, according to Duc Anh, the motivation letter is also a factor that creates a difference and tells a personal story. “Instead of putting all your experience and academic achievements in the motivation letter, talk about why you are motivated to study for a PhD and the reasons why your profile is suitable for the school. This will convince the admissions board,” Duc Anh said.
Studying a 3-year doctoral program in France, Duc Anh realized that he still had many things to improve. However, the Binh Phuoc boy always felt that he was lucky, despite many obstacles on the path of study, having been rejected many times, he was not discouraged and continued to move forward.
“In the future, after completing my PhD program, I hope to have the opportunity to become a lecturer at a public university in France,” Duc Anh shared.
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