Inspirational Valedictorians - Final Article: Rare Achievements

TP - 22-year-old Le Ba Luat has just been honored as the Valedictorian of the School of Information Technology - Phenikaa University. Graduating after only 3 years of study instead of the required 4 years, with an average score of 3.88/4.0, Luat impressed as the main author of 6 international scientific research works, including 2 papers in group Q1 - a rare achievement for a Vietnamese university student.

Graduated with honors from university in just 3 years

Le Ba Luat was a student majoring in Mathematics at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted (Nghe An). With a solid foundation in Mathematics from his high school years, having won second and third prizes in the National Excellent Student Mathematics Competition, Luat was eligible for direct admission to most major universities in the country. However, Luat chose to study Computer Science at Phenikaa University even though he had no background in programming.

Le Ba Luat (3rd from right) at the graduation thesis defense ceremony

At that time, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all admission plans. Luat took advantage of his time at home to self-study programming and learn the necessary skills (about time allocation, goal setting, planning) before officially entering university. Thanks to that, Luat quickly caught up with the curriculum that focused on algorithmic thinking and programming, quickly integrated, and nurtured his love for the technology field. From his love for Mathematics, the Nghe An boy realized that programming is the new language of logic, where numbers can create solutions for life.

Le Ba Luat received a full scholarship from the Chairman of Phenikaa Group

With that quick participation, in just the first school year, Luat has continuously made his mark with the First Prize in the Vietnam Student Informatics Olympiad (non-specialized category), Third Prize in the ICPC Vietnam Regional Contest, First Prize in Algebra and Second Prize in Analysis at the Vietnam Student Mathematics Olympiad 2021-2022. With this achievement, Luat received a full scholarship from the Chairman of Phenikaa Group.

“The rich experiences in scientific research during my student years helped me clearly identify the path I want to take: to continue to do in-depth research on optimization and operations research, aiming at problems with practical application value for society. I hope to have the opportunity to work with teachers to develop the young research community and spread the scientific spirit among Vietnamese students.”

Valedictorian of Phenikaa University Le Ba Luat

Luat set a goal to finish the program ahead of schedule. “I want to challenge myself to the highest possible limit. But to study ahead, you can’t just try, you have to have a very specific plan,” Luat shared.

He built a detailed study roadmap for each semester, arranged his courses reasonably, and combined self-study on international platforms. With a disciplined personality, Luat always maintained a scientific schedule: studying in class during the day, reading more documents in the evening, practicing research skills, and practicing algorithms.

“In engineering, if you only study to pass the subjects, you cannot go far. I always wonder where this knowledge can be applied, what problems in life can it solve,” Luat said. That effort helped the Nghe An student complete the entire university program in just 3 years, with excellent academic and training results.

When asked about the secret to not being “out of energy” during his journey of studying, Luat smiled: “There are times when I feel overwhelmed, especially when I have to balance between regular studies, exams and the peak period of scientific research. But whenever I feel pressured, I often take a break to go for a walk, listen to music or chat with friends in the research room. Those moments of sharing help me balance my mind and find inspiration and joy in studying again,” Luat shared.

6 international scientific works

In addition to his excellent academic achievements, Le Ba Luat has also made a strong mark in scientific research. The Phenikaa University student has had 6 scientific works, as the main author, published in international journals and conferences (Scopus), including 2 articles in group Q1.

Luat's chance to get into scientific research started quite by chance. "In my first year, my teachers in the lab gave me the opportunity to join the research group on optimizing large systems (ORLab). At first, I only supported small tasks such as reading documents, collecting data or testing models, but those tasks made me excited and wanted to go further," Luat said.

From a support position, Luat gradually became a model builder, algorithm developer, report writer and publication finalizer. “The more I work, the more I see that scientific research is not about dry numbers, but a long journey of patience, criticism and creativity,” Luat said.

The most difficult thing for a young student when starting scientific research is not the lack of knowledge, but the lack of direction and experience to know where to start. Besides, the fear of making mistakes and lack of confidence are also barriers that most students new to research encounter.

“In research, failure is not the end, but part of the learning process. To have a scientific publication is a long process, not easy. However, as long as we maintain the spirit of not giving up, progress and an honest attitude in academics, every difficulty can become a valuable lesson,” he shared.

Thanks to completing his undergraduate program 1 year earlier than the regulation, Luat has more time to fully pursue his passion for scientific research. Not stopping at domestic, Luat was also invited to work as a Research Assistant at the School of Computing and Information Systems, Singapore Management University (SMU) from August 2024 to January 2025. This is a valuable experience, helping the young man to be exposed to a professional research environment, learn the international scientific publication process and broaden his horizons.

At that time, he was always busy with international joint research projects in Singapore and then returned to Phenikaa University to complete his graduation project. Despite his busy schedule, Luat still excelled in having articles accepted at prestigious international conferences and journals and his project ranked A+. Luat is currently a research assistant at the Smart Logistics and Supply Chain Management Lab (SLSCM Lab), National Economics University.

Looking back on his journey, Luat believes that the most valuable thing about his university years is not the awards or the publications, but the experience of growing up in scientific thinking. For Luat, a student’s success is not only measured by grades, but also by his attitude towards life, his progress, and his gratitude.

“Without my teachers, friends and family, I would not have been able to make it to where I am today. Phenikaa has given me the environment to challenge myself and explore my full potential, and I have not missed any opportunity to have 4 years of youth in a brilliant university environment,” Luat added.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhung-thu-khoa-xuat-sac-truyen-cam-hung-bai-cuoi-thanh-tich-hiem-co-post1795965.tpo