Asian Physics Olympiad Gold Medalist: As a child, he loved learning about thunder, lightning, clouds and rain, and when he grew up, he wanted to be an AI engineer.

Nguyen Cong Vinh - Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted - just won the gold medal at the 25th Asian Physics Olympiad, shared the principles of self-study and his dream of becoming an artificial intelligence engineer.

Nguyen Cong Vinh, a 12th grade physics student at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, has just won a gold medal at the 25th Asian Physics Olympiad - Photo: THANH CONG

Born and raised in a large family in Duc Long commune, Que Vo town ( Bac Ninh ), Nguyen Cong Vinh soon showed his intelligence and passion for learning. Vinh has two older sisters studying at Hai Phong Medical University and University of Commerce. In addition, he has a younger sister.

Passionate about reading, learning about thunder, lightning, clouds, rain

Ms. Nguyen Quynh Mai (Vinh's mother) confided that since childhood, her son showed intelligence and cleverness. At the age of 5, he could read and write.

Growing up, the boy from Bac Ninh showed a special love for science books. Seeing his love for learning, his grandmother played the role of both mother and companion to him.

The house was far away and his family did not have the means, so from grade 6 Vinh took the bus alone more than 20km/day from home to Nguyen Cao Secondary School - the key school of the town to study. The long distance did not hinder his desire to study, he quickly affirmed his ability and was selected to be in the school's excellent student team.

Vinh shared that he was initially selected for the math team but asked to switch to physics - a subject that he was passionate about, learning about natural phenomena such as thunder, lightning, clouds, rain or the effects of force and electric current in life, which he especially loved since he was a child.

Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee Vuong Quoc Tuan congratulated, awarded a certificate of merit and advised Nguyen Cong Vinh to continue studying and practicing to achieve the best results at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) to be held in France in July 2025 - Photo: THANH CONG

AI engineer dream

Passing the entrance exam to the physics class at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, Nguyen Cong Vinh had an ideal environment to develop his abilities. In grade 11, he was selected to be part of the national physics team.

In addition to regular school hours, Vinh spends 3 hours a day in the library to research advanced materials. Vinh always adheres to the principle of self-study, mastering theory while improving practical skills and absolutely avoiding rote learning.

To study physics well, according to Vinh, theory and practice must go hand in hand, so I study the theory well and then practice right away, both to remember the knowledge for a long time and to gain practical experience.

Vinh also often explains daily problems and questions to reinforce his knowledge. For example, when learning about pressure, Pascal's principle, and hydraulic jacks, he tries to understand how physics knowledge is applied to lifting a car.

Currently Vinh is trying to review for upcoming exams, and at the same time improve his foreign language skills for research.

"I want to become an artificial intelligence (AI) engineer to contribute to applying science to life and solving practical problems," the male student from Bac Ninh confided.

According to Mr. Nguyen Chi Trung - head of the physics group at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, the Asian Physics Olympiad is a fierce competition, gathering excellent candidates from China, Korea, Russia, Singapore...

These are countries with tradition and systematic investment in physics. However, with confidence, courage and good knowledge, Nguyen Cong Vinh excellently won the gold medal.

Teacher Trung commented that Vinh is an intelligent, hard-working, determined and individual student. His strengths are absorbing knowledge quickly, not giving up when encountering difficult exercises and taking scientific and logical notes, saving review time.

Vinh always kept a relaxed mindset and was not pressured by his performance. In the practical test, the problem about induction cookers caused Vinh difficulty because it required flexible application of skills in a short time, leading to a score that was not as expected.

In the theory test, with the encouragement of teachers and a strong mentality, Vinh achieved very high results, thereby winning the gold medal in the end. However, Vinh still needs more time to overcome his weaknesses and speed up when doing the test...

According to the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province, before winning the gold medal at the 25th Asian Physics Olympiad, Nguyen Cong Vinh won first prize in physics at the national high school competition for excellent students in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.

In the 2024-2025 school year, she won the national top prize with 35.75 points.

Vinh also won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Physics Olympiad.

From 2021 to present, Bac Ninh has had 23 students participating in regional and international Olympic competitions, of which 18 students won prizes.

HA QUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chu-nhan-hcv-olympic-vat-ly-chau-a-nho-me-tim-hieu-sam-chop-may-mua-lon-muon-lam-ky-su-ai-20250519114628109.htm