Ngo Phuong Trang (born in 2002) is currently a student majoring in Computer and Information Science, Faculty of Mathematics - Mechanics - Informatics, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Right before completing her thesis, Phuong Trang was awarded a full scholarship for her PhD in Digital Technology in Finance by the National University of Singapore, a top 3 university in Asia. In addition to tuition fees, Trang was also given a living allowance of about SGD 3,000 per month for 4 years.
Double valedictorian of the industry
With a mother who is a secondary school math teacher and a father who is a lecturer at Hanoi University of Architecture, Trang was oriented by her parents to major in math when she was in secondary school. “When studying math, I found many interesting things, such as being able to build and develop logical thinking, analytical skills, and reasoning based on numbers,” Trang said.
Thanks to that, in high school, Phuong Trang passed the entrance exam to the specialized Math class of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. Admitting that her high school years were "not too outstanding", Trang sometimes even felt disappointed in herself, but according to her, peer pressure was also a motivation for her to strive.
In 2020, at the time of the university entrance exam, Trang became the valedictorian of the Computer and Information Science major at the University of Science.
Since her first year, the female student has set a goal of studying abroad after graduation. To prepare for that, Phuong Trang tried her best right from the first stage of university to achieve an impressive GPA.
Although this is not a prerequisite, according to the female student, if you want to aim for top schools, a high GPA will be an advantage because the candidates' abilities are very competitive. At the time of application, Trang's academic results were Excellent with 3.73/4.0, and she was also the valedictorian of her major.
“Always making a specific schedule for each day is something I have been persistent in doing since my first year. Although I may not follow the schedule 100%, knowing how to plan and complete the plan will help me manage my time effectively and see how each step is going.” Over the years, Trang has continued to apply this method. Therefore, the female student can control and complete many tasks at once.
In her second year, Trang began to build her profile. Her initial goal was the Erasmus Mundus scholarship from the European Union. However, when she shared this intention with her teachers in the department and was suggested the opportunity to study directly for a PhD in Singapore, Trang decided to change direction and try her luck.
In addition to academic achievement, PhD scholarships also focus on scientific research ability and experience. Therefore, in the middle of her second year, Trang applied to join the lab on reinforcement learning - a branch of machine learning. Working at the lab made Trang realize that specialized knowledge is an important foundation for doing research.
“In addition, if students want to do research, they first need to spend time thoroughly researching the research direction of each teacher in the school, from there they can choose a specialized area and connect to apply for a lab.”
During her research, Trang felt fortunate to have received detailed instructions from her teacher on how to write a scientific paper, how to present her ideas, and how to select appropriate words. Thanks to that, by the end of April 2024, Trang had an article published in the journal Q1 - Neural Computing and Applications - related to reinforcement learning as a co-author.
Previously, Trang also had a research on "Building an adaptive charging strategy for wireless recharging sensor networks using a combination of fuzzy logic and reinforcement learning" which won the first prize at the Faculty of Mathematics - Mechanics - Informatics, and the third prize at the University of Natural Sciences.
By 2024, Trang continued to win the First Prize at the Faculty of Mathematics - Mechanics - Informatics level, the First Prize at the University of Natural Sciences level with the topic "Optimizing charging strategy using policy-based reinforcement learning to maximize monitoring time of wireless charging sensor network".
With recommendation letters, according to Trang, students need to keep in touch with teachers, especially those who directly teach or guide them, because they will have the most insight and know the student's strengths to include in the recommendation letter.
After the application round, Trang made it to the interview round. The professor who interviewed Trang was the head of the Finance Department at the National University of Singapore and also the director of the scholarship program. “During the interview, I was asked a lot about my research experience and ability to conduct independent research. Before that, I had to find out a lot of information about the department as well as the professor whose research direction I was interested in to increase my acceptance rate.”
According to Trang, all of these things should be researched and done as early as possible. The fourth year is when students complete their applications and submit them.
Ever cried because of too much pressure
Although she is a female student with many outstanding achievements and high expectations from her teachers, Trang admits that there were times when she was "so pressured that she cried".
“I have a goal of studying abroad, so keeping my grades high is always something that makes me feel pressured. In my third year, I got a C in Introduction to Computer Security. It was the last exam of the semester, but the result dragged down all the efforts of the whole semester. At that time, I had just been elected Vice President of the Student Union. The pressure made me cry, but it was also a valuable lesson that helped me learn how to allocate my time better,” Trang recalled.
During her time as a student, in addition to the goal of winning a doctoral scholarship, Trang also had memorable memories such as becoming a speaker at a conference with the topic "Enhancing the participation of female scientists in the STEM field in Vietnam".
From the perspective of a female student pursuing scientific research, Trang frankly shares her opinion that "whether female or male, research ability is equal, it's just whether you have the confidence and choose to pursue it or not".
Trang is also one of the school's outstanding students selected to welcome Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife during their visit to Vietnam in late August 2023. The opportunity to chat and have lunch with the Prime Minister also helped Trang learn the demeanor of leaders - both intimate and majestic.
On August 4, Trang will leave for Singapore to study abroad. Trang's new research direction is related to Digital Technology in Finance - a completely different field that the female student has never tried before.
“The initial period of changing direction will probably take a long time to get used to. In particular, the study program also has many constraints on grades and research contributions to continue to be considered for scholarships. Therefore, in the beginning, I will face a lot of pressure in finding a research direction in a new field,” Trang said.
However, the female student still hopes that during her 4 years of PhD, she will have more quality published articles and have more opportunities to connect with other research groups in the same field at other universities around the world.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-sinh-gianh-hoc-bong-toan-phan-tien-si-khi-chua-tot-nghiep-2294795.html
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