Vietnamese students' victory at IJSO-2025: More than just medals

The 2025 International Junior Science Olympiad will take place from November 23 to December 3 in the Russian Federation. (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnamese delegation excellently won 3 bronze medals and 3 silver medals, ranking 6th out of 24 participating delegations.

According to Ms. Vuong Huong Giang, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, head of the delegation, this year's competition marks many new points. IJSO - run by the International Olympic Committee - was hosted by Russia for the first time with the direct support of President Vladimir Putin.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training selected six 10th and 11th grade students from Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted to participate, and were trained for two months by teachers from the school and lecturers from universities strong in physics, chemistry and biology.

Director of Sirius Education Center, Ms. Elena Shmeleva, said that IJSO-2025 applies a completely new model of exam construction. Different from the tradition of separating the three subjects of physics, chemistry and biology, this year's exam emphasizes interdisciplinary and enhances practical elements, with the participation of industrial partners.

The program consists of 3 rounds: practice, multiple choice and essay. The multiple choice round has 30 questions, 10 questions for each subject; the essay round and the practice round require solving interdisciplinary exercises and group work in conditions completely independent of the teacher.

Although the exam format was announced in advance, many students shared that the biggest difficulty was not the difficulty of the exam but time management and group coordination skills.

Do Bao Trang and Tran Ngoc Hung - the two silver medalists, said their biggest regret was not allocating time properly and not being proficient in teamwork.

In the modern and scientific environment of challenging intellectual competition, IJSO is not only a competition but also provides a unique opportunity to discover one's own abilities.

This year, the number of participating teams has dropped sharply from 52 to 24, and the number of contestants from 400 to 122 - meaning that the participating teams are all the strongest in many previous competitions, creating more pressure for the Vietnamese team.

Despite the new exam format, increased requirements, and unfamiliar climate conditions affecting their health, Vietnamese candidates did not lose their will to face the challenge.

Stories about teachers racing against time to translate long and difficult exam papers, the courage to defend their students' exams in front of the judges, and the students' psychological pressure when they heard the alarm for the first time in their lives and were asked to go to the shelter and then immediately had to start the most difficult exam, are also the journey that teachers and students have traveled together to overcome themselves.

The students all saw this as an opportunity to understand their own abilities and learn from their peers from Russia, India, Thailand, Azerbaijan, etc., and shared: "We are not far behind, it's just a matter of a little skill, a little time, a little preparation."

All six Hanoi students won medals at the International Junior Science Olympiad. (Photo: VNA)

All 6 members of the delegation won medals, including 3 Silver Medals and 3 Bronze Medals. The three students who won Silver Medals were Do Bao Trang, Hoang Khoi Nguyen and Tran Ngoc Hung; the three students who won Bronze Medals were Nguyen Dong Quan, Trinh Nguyen Hung and Do Manh Hung.

Although they could not reach the highest podium, in just a few short days, each student gained valuable experience.

Tran Ngoc Hung shared that he is increasingly aware of the importance of time management skills, and for her part, Do Bao Trang received an additional "precious gift" in addition to the silver medal: friends with similar interests and motivation to further develop herself.

As for Hoang Khoi Nguyen, Nguyen Dong Quan, Trinh Nguyen Hung, and Do Manh Hung, after their "first and only" experiences, they are all confident about their level among friends from all over the world, even their regrettable shortcomings help them believe in their own perceptions.

This achievement received timely encouragement from the Vietnamese Ambassador to the Russian Federation Dang Minh Khoi, the "Tradition and Friendship" Fund, and the Enlightenment Fund.

In his congratulatory message to the entire delegation, Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi also expressed his belief that the delegation's experience in Russia will spread to students in Vietnam the image of a serious and modern academic and research environment in Russia.

The Ambassador affirmed that if you choose Russia as your study destination, you will be guaranteed the best learning environment, with basic and applied majors that meet all modern trends.

It is no coincidence that the IJSO is held in parallel with the Congress of Young Scientists. Accordingly, the Olympic Organizing Committee said this is a valuable opportunity for students to get acquainted with leading Russian scientists, as well as the achievements of Russian science and technology.

The Olympics is not only a competition, but also an opportunity for students to access modern knowledge, opening up a foundation for future scientific cooperation to solve global challenges./.

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