A place to nurture dreams for young people passionate about technology

Young engineer passionate about science and technology

Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong (born in 1949), graduated from CVUT University of Technology in Prague in 1972. He was one of the pioneers in bringing the internet to Vietnam in 1997 as Head of the Network Subcommittee of the National Program on Information Technology and successfully applied network technology in many areas of life. He also held positions such as: Head of the Science and Technology Department, Vietnam Association for Information Technology, Head of the Network Subcommittee of the National Program on Information Technology, the first IT leader of FPT Corporation...

After returning home from studying abroad in 1972, young man Nguyen Chi Cong became one of the members of the technical staff of the Institute of Computational Science and Control (now the Institute of Information Technology under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology), where the first computer in Vietnam as well as Asia was manufactured - coded VT80, right after the world's first computer Altair 8800 Computer was manufactured in the US in 1975. This event marked a major turning point in his life, as well as a major turning point for Vietnam's information technology industry, when our country became the third country, after two superpowers, France and the US, to successfully manufacture computers in 1973 and 1975 respectively.

Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong has had a habit of preserving memorabilia and documents related to his work since a very early age. For him, they are not only valuable artifacts, but also evidence of a vibrant historical period of the information technology industry in Vietnam and the world. The idea of ​​opening an information technology museum also originated from here.

A place to preserve historical evidence of the information technology industry

In early 2020, the Information Technology Museum was born right at the house of Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong's family in a small alley on Dong Tac Street, Kim Lien Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi City. In a small room ^{of 25m2} , right on the first floor, there are exhibits of the museum and side stories revolving around the map of information technology in the world and Vietnam that he has sketched.

The museum currently has nearly 1,000 artifacts, of which 300 are introduced and displayed. The artifacts are quite rich and diverse, from the shells and insides of the first computers in Vietnam to the "brains" of the computer, which are electronic chips, then software and networks, and quite old computer books. Notably, in the chip collection, there are chips from the 1970s, the same type of chips used to create the first computers .

At the museum, Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong built two parallel diagrams about information technology: One about the world (from BC to 1995) and one about Vietnam (from 1960 to 2000) so that "visitors can clearly see what contributions Vietnam has made and in what period of the world's information technology flow. This is also a testament to the early grasp of information by Vietnamese people, helping the younger generation to be more proud of our history and change the habit of depending on foreign countries."

Contributing celebrities such as Professor Ta Quang Buu, Professor Phan Dinh Dieu, Associate Professor Nguyen Binh Thanh, Professor Vu Dinh Cu, and other individuals and groups are also honored at the museum so that visitors can gain more understanding of the "most important, fundamental" period for the formation and development of the information technology sector in Vietnam, while "not forgetting the masses, ordinary people, because if we do not see the role of ordinary people, we will never achieve victory", Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong shared.

For Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong, passion is only part of it. The main reason he built the museum was to inspire the younger generation. He always puts his faith and hope in the younger generation, believing that they will continue the dream of information technology industrialization that his generation left unfinished.

Giving advice to the younger generation, Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong said that young people need to learn anytime, anywhere, equip themselves with knowledge to be ready to seize opportunities and demonstrate their full potential, not missing out on opportunities. He also emphasized the importance of working together, because in the field of information technology, it is impossible to work alone.

With the dedication of Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong, the museum not only preserves valuable artifacts but also inspires the younger generation, arouses their passion for technology and encourages them to pursue careers in this field. Through education and creating opportunities for experience, the museum plays an important role in building a solid foundation for the development of information technology in Vietnam. Hopefully, these efforts will continue to be promoted, helping Vietnam rise and affirm its position on the world information technology map.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/noi-chap-canh-uoc-mo-cho-nhung-nguoi-tre-dam-me-cong-nghe-post865721.html