Girl born in 2000 gets PhD after 3.5 years: 'Rare case'

Tran Thuy Linh, born in 2000, was the valedictorian of the National Economics University, graduating a year early. Previously, the former student of Thai Binh High School for the Gifted had won the national excellent student award and was directly admitted to this school.

With outstanding academic and research achievements, in 2021, Linh is eligible to study directly into the PhD program in International Economics without having to go through a master's degree.

Tran Thuy Linh just received her PhD after 3.5 years. Photo: NVCC

Sharing with VietNamNet reporter , Linh said that at that time it was still the pandemic period, every choice was extremely difficult.

“I wanted to take advantage of my time outside of work at home to study and improve my knowledge, so I decided to pursue a PhD program,” Linh recalls.

While her peers were still finishing their undergraduate programs, Linh had already begun her path to graduate studies. At such a young age, Linh admitted that she could not help but feel anxious and self-conscious.

“Most of the graduate students in my class had experience in research or practical work, but at that time, I was very young in both knowledge and experience,” Linh shared.

Even in the beginning, Linh did not know how she would go and whether she would be determined enough to reach the end, because the academic journey is full of challenges. In times of confusion and deadlock, Linh was always encouraged by her instructor: "It's okay, just keep going and you will get there."

Tran Thuy Linh is working at the Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies, Central Policy and Strategy Committee. Photo: NVCC

During the research process, Linh believes that the most important thing is still discipline and perseverance, because knowledge is vast, finding a new direction of discovery is not simple. Without perseverance, researchers can easily get discouraged and give up halfway.

The girl born in 2000 recalled the first day of her doctoral class and the professor's words: "The best thesis is the one that is completed on time." For Linh, this was a profound message about the spirit of commitment and seriousness in scientific research.

For 3.5 years, Linh has been persistent in her research on international integration and sustainable development. In particular, sustainable development requires balance and harmony between the pillars of economic growth, environmental protection and promoting social progress. This is an inevitable trend of countries around the world and is also a field that is receiving much attention, bringing both theoretical and practical values.

What Linh enjoyed most about her PhD was the feeling of completing her thesis after receiving comments from the committee. “The editing, criticism, and evaluation were repeated many times, sometimes making me tired and even stuck. But then when I saw the thesis gradually 'take shape', I clearly felt my own progress. Each time I edited like that, I learned something new,” Linh recalled.

Pursuing this direction, by the time of graduating with a doctorate, Linh was the main author of two scientific articles that were awarded the maximum score by the State Council of Professors, the author of two reports at international conferences, the head of one school-level project, participated in four ministerial-level projects and was a member of the editorial team of a monograph.

In 2024, she received the VinIF scholarship for outstanding PhD students, in recognition of the capacity and perseverance of a young researcher.

Tran Thuy Linh was once the valedictorian of the National Economics University. Photo: NVCC

As Linh's direct supervisor, Professor Do Duc Binh assessed Linh as one of the most outstanding young graduate students he has ever supervised.

“Linh is very self-disciplined and does research seriously. Even when the teacher said he could delay the progress to avoid too much pressure, she still wanted him to correct her work so that it could be completed within the given deadline.”

According to Professor Binh, Linh is also the youngest PhD student of the National Economics University ever and completed the program very quickly and excellently, in just 3.5 years. “This is a rare case,” Professor Binh said.

Currently, Linh works at the Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies, Central Policy and Strategy Committee. She said that working and researching at the same time gives her the opportunity to connect theory and practice, and to see more clearly the role of scientific research in policy making.

However, Linh acknowledges that completing a doctoral program is just the beginning of a journey of independent research. “If in the past, during my studies, I had a supervisor to guide me, now I have to explore and take responsibility for my own direction.” Despite the difficulties, Linh believes that this is also the foundation for developing more in-depth and valuable research.

Looking back on the journey, Linh said that what she has achieved is still very small, but from this milestone, Linh hopes to continue learning, practicing more knowledge and skills and being able to create more valuable research to contribute to science and the community.

Tran Thuy Linh believes that in the journey of learning and developing a career, one should not place too much emphasis on the concept of “soon” or “late”. “Each person will have their own choice and path. The most important thing is to always strive, persevere, and go all the way with their choice,” Linh said.

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/co-gai-sinh-nam-2000-lay-bang-tien-si-sau-3-5-nam-2455437.html