Reverse thinking helps Vietnamese girl win 10 billion VND PhD scholarship

"Research blood" and 10 billion VND PhD scholarship

Nguyen Vu Thien Trang (born 2001, Hanoi) graduated from Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Hanoi University of Science and Technology with GPA 3.89/4.0 and is a PhD student.

In February this year, Trang received a full scholarship for a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA, worth 10 billion VND for 5 years. It is known that this is one of the two leading schools in the US for machine learning, data science and artificial intelligence. Also in August, Trang will officially go to the US to pursue her study abroad journey.

In addition to the scholarship from Carnegie Mellon University, Thien Trang also won scholarships in Computer Science from the University of California (Los Angeles), the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and the Swiss Federal Polytechnic University EPFL.

Portrait of Nguyen Vu Thien Trang (Photo: NVCC).

Trang shared that she decided to pursue her studies at Carnegie Mellon University because she was particularly impressed with the research papers from the school. This is a place that brings together many excellent professors and students, creating an ideal environment for her to develop further.

Throughout her university years, Trang always kept in mind: "Knowledge can come from anywhere". Therefore, she constantly sought opportunities to learn and apply knowledge to research and practical work right from her time in school.

What motivated Trang to pursue a career in Computer Science research was the "research blood" that had been flowing in her since childhood.

"Since I was little, I have always loved to explore and discover . I have a competitive spirit. If there is something I don't understand, I must find the answer," Trang shared.

Applying reverse thinking: Is there any reason why they didn't choose me?

Starting her research in her second year of university, Trang quickly asserted herself by becoming the main author of many scientific works published at leading conferences and journals.

In just two years 2023 and 2024, the female student published 8 papers at prestigious research conferences such as NeurIPS, AAAI and ICLR.

"My research revolves around how AI can learn and adapt like humans, while ensuring privacy, security and trust with users. Each research is an important milestone in my journey," Trang shared.

Trang said the three papers that marked the most important milestones in her research journey include: Continuous Variational Dropout, Mixture of Experts Meets Prompt-Based Continuous Learning, and Backdoor Attacks in Prompt-Based CL.

Thien Trang and the DSLab group (data science research) during their thesis defense at Hanoi University of Science and Technology (Photo: NVCC).

Notably, in the third paper, Trang was the sole author as a student. This was an important step in her research career.

According to Trang, each article not only marks an important milestone but also reflects the lessons she has accumulated. It is a process of learning from colleagues, developing research thinking and practicing independent working skills.

When applying for a PhD, instead of asking herself "Why should they choose me?", Trang asked the opposite question: "Is there any reason why they shouldn't choose me?". This reverse way of thinking helped her identify and thoroughly overcome the weaknesses in her application, surpassing excellent competitors.

According to Trang, letters of recommendation (LoR), research topics, and scientific papers often have a big impact on the application results. However, she still focuses on polishing her personal essay and improving her English proficiency, because these are also important factors that create a competitive advantage.

Trang's motto is to focus on doing well in research, maintaining stable grades, improving her English proficiency, and taking care of each essay.

Revealing 3 "golden" factors to help candidates feel confident in the interview round

One of the important milestones in Thien Trang’s journey to conquer the scholarship was passing the interview round. Sharing the secret to success, she emphasized three core factors.

First of all, Trang always learns carefully about the interviewing professor, from their academic interests to the topics they are interested in. "This helps me have common ground to discuss, and at the same time assess the level of compatibility between the two sides," she shared.

The second factor is to maintain confidence and optimism. According to Trang, a cheerful and relaxed attitude will help candidates clearly demonstrate their understanding and belief in the value of their research.

Ultimately, Trang sees interviews as a two-way street. She believes that getting accepted depends not only on personal ability but also on compatibility with the instructor.

"If you haven't succeeded, it doesn't mean you're not good, it simply means you haven't met the right partner. So be patient, keep trying and don't give up," Trang affirmed.

Besides, Trang also knows how to take advantage of her personal strengths and turn them into advantages. With her passion for design, she always prepares visual and neat presentations, helping to score points in the eyes of professors thanks to her creative presentation.

Thien Trang took a photo with Mr. Ngo Van Linh (lecturer at Hanoi University of Science and Technology), who guided Trang in the school's laboratory (Photo: NVCC).

However, Thien Trang was not always confident. Since childhood, she was used to compliments. Therefore, when she grew up and faced bigger challenges, she found it difficult to accept the times when she did not do well or did not receive recognition.

There was a time when Trang withdrew into herself, afraid to express her thoughts or ask questions. However, after conversations with her seniors, she gradually changed. She began to communicate more boldly, no longer self-conscious, and was willing to accept feedback to clearly see where she needed to improve.

As a companion on Thien Trang's journey to excel and win a scholarship, Professor Ho Pham Minh Nhat at the University of Texas, Austin (USA) shared: "I started guiding Trang's research when she joined VinAI's residency program in August 2023.

Trang's research interests revolve around mixture of experts, backdoor attacks, and optimal transport.

Trang is a hard-working student, always eager to learn new knowledge. After just over a year of working together, I have noticed a clear change in her, especially her independence and initiative in work."

Professor Ho Pham Minh Nhat said that Trang's admission to CMU is a worthy result of her tireless efforts. As she enters her PhD journey, Trang will continue to pursue the topic of mixed expert models, a core component of the Deepseek language model (an open-source large language model that has achieved almost the best results to date).

Thu Hoai
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/tu-duy-nguoc-giup-co-gai-viet-chinh-phuc-hoc-bong-tien-si-10-ty-dong-20250329230329490.htm