"Double fate" with the Navy

After the rain, the coastal city of Nha Trang is cool. Lieutenant Colonel, Doctor Pham Thu Hue received me in a neat, simple and tidy office. Our conversation was constantly interrupted by lecturers in the department coming to report and ask for opinions. Through the way we interacted and exchanged, I felt the "professional passion", the enthusiasm and courage of a dedicated department head to her colleagues. Her story is not only her own learning journey but also the process of striving to cultivate a career of "sowing" scientific knowledge in the lecture hall by the waves.

Born in the countryside of Nam Truc district, Nam Dinh province (now Ninh Binh province), when she was less than 10 years old, Pham Thu Hue's family moved to settle in the coastal city of Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa). The house was near the Naval Academy, so from an early age, little Hue developed a special affection for the Navy. "When I was in secondary school, my school was twinned with a unit of the Naval Academy. I used to dress up as a Navy soldier to give presentations during activities and study sessions. The image of naval officers in white uniforms made me feel proud and I wished that one day I would be able to wear such a uniform," Hue recounted.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Pham Thu Hue , Head of the Faculty of Basic and Foreign Languages, Naval Academy. Photo: HUY CONG

In 2003, when preparing to graduate from Dalat University with a major in General Chemistry, the young student chose a different path from her family's wishes.

- Why did you apply to the Naval Academy? - I asked.

- No one in my family works in the Army, but while waiting to receive my diploma, I was told by an acquaintance who worked at the Academy that the school was short of lecturers. Partly because I was used to living in a coastal city, and partly because it was true to my childhood dream, I boldly submitted my application and told myself that if I didn't get it, I would consider it an experience.

After passing 3 trial lectures, the last of which was observed by the Board of Directors, young teacher Pham Thu Hue was recruited to the Naval Academy. Working at the Academy for more than a year, she fell in love with a naval officer who was a student in the political cadre transfer class. That relationship became a beautiful teacher-student love story, but also opened up a journey with many challenges. After graduating from the course, according to the Navy's assignment, her husband worked at a unit in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang). 5 years later, he was assigned to the Naval Academy as a lecturer, at which time the couple had more time to spend together.

After being recruited, she continued to undergo military training for more than 4 months. “Training like a new soldier! Rolling, crawling, creeping; shooting, throwing grenades, using explosives, marching... At the end of the course, no one recognized each other because they were all dark-skinned,” Ms. Hue recalled. But what remained was the strong team spirit, helping each other in difficult times, sharing, and encouraging each other to strive in studying and working.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Pham Thu Hue, Head of the Faculty of Basic and Foreign Languages, Naval Academy, talks with the author. Photo: HUY CONG

For women, the path of studying and researching in the military environment is even more challenging. After getting married (in 2004) and giving birth to her first child (in 2005), she continued to study for a Master's degree (in 2006) and then a PhD (in 2017). She talked about the period when both husband and wife studied in Hanoi: "During the 3 years of studying, there was a time when my husband and I really only met each other... "in the sky". He flew back, I flew out. The children were still young, so I had to take advantage of every day off to handle work. Fortunately, my grandmother supported me, so my husband and I felt somewhat secure."

She smiled as she recalled her philosophy of life: “I always share with my colleagues in the department that when I get home, my children are the number one priority, and my husband is number two. Don’t control too much, it will tire you and others.” With a positive mindset and the dedicated help of her mother, she has a solid home, her children are good students, independent, and her eldest son is currently a third-year student at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Hue University.

Development of Applied Chemistry in Officer Training

In 2021, after successfully defending her PhD thesis in Chemistry at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, lecturer Pham Thu Hue returned to the Naval Academy to work as Head of the Chemistry Department. A major concern was that, due to output standards, the General Chemistry subject was cut from the program. However, without chemistry, some technical specialties in the navy would lack an application foundation.

From that thought, she and her colleagues proposed to build Applied Chemistry, a completely new program, specifically designed for the training and education of naval officers. To make the lectures closely follow reality, she directly went down to the warships of Naval Region 4 to survey. “On ships, there are many chemicals for maintenance, cleaning, anti-corrosion... but because they do not understand the properties, many comrades do not dare to use them. I think, if properly instructed, it will be safe, economical, and fully functional,” Ms. Hue shared.

She and her colleagues consulted many Russian and English documents and domestic specialized journals to build a common lecture database for Applied Chemistry. When Applied Chemistry was introduced into teaching, students were very interested because they saw the practicality of the subject. Right in the first course of the 2023-2024 school year, a group of students registered for a basic-level research topic based on the lecture content.

At the end of 2024, the Board of Directors of the Naval Academy assigned the Department of Basic and Foreign Languages ​​to form a team to participate in the 12th National Student Chemistry Olympiad in 2025, marking the return of the Academy after many years of not participating. She and her colleagues took on the task in extremely poor conditions, when the laboratory was degraded. The lecturers had to renovate and assemble practice tools themselves, and take advantage of relationships to support additional equipment for teaching and practice.

From the head of the department to the lecturers of the subject, they all made the most of their time, imparting knowledge with the hope that students would have the opportunity to test themselves in a larger environment. In mid-April 2025, the competition took place with the participation of 316 students and trainees from 45 universities and academies across the country. The results recognized the dedication and efforts of the teachers and students, the Naval Academy team made a miracle, winning 1 overall excellent collective award and 8 participating students all won individual awards (2 second prizes, 2 third prizes, 4 consolation prizes) in the non-professional category.

Talking about his respected teacher, Sergeant Le Doan Manh Tri, a student of class KH42C (Company 1, Battalion 2, Naval Academy) expressed: “Ms. Hue is not only good at her profession but also very dedicated, always creating the best conditions for students to develop their abilities and pursue their academic passion. Class hours with her pass by quickly because of her easy-to-understand and approachable teaching methods. She always encourages us to study deeply, research widely and apply knowledge into practice. Thanks to her guidance and direction, I have more motivation and effective learning methods to participate in the Chemistry Olympiad and win third prize.”

Since February 2025, taking on the position of Head of the Faculty of Basic and Foreign Languages, Lieutenant Colonel Pham Thu Hue's work has become busier, but she still takes care of her unit and family. Under her management and command, the faculty has more than 40 lecturers (including 35 women, more than 90% of whom are military families) who always maintain an atmosphere of solidarity and openness, achieving many achievements in teaching and scientific research, notably in the subjects of English, Russian, Informatics, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. In the 2024-2025 school year, the Faculty of Basic and Foreign Languages ​​has successfully completed its tasks, and the Academy has proposed the Navy Command to award it the title of Determined to Win Unit.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Pham Thu Hue (front row, fourth from left) and delegates at the 21st Congress of the Naval Academy Party Committee, term 2025-2030. Photo: DUY HIEN

During the 2023-2025 period, she completed more than 500 teaching periods, achieved the title of Excellent Lecturer at the grassroots level, Emulation Fighter at the grassroots level in 2024, and was a Party member and a Women's Union member who excellently completed her tasks. At the same time, she was the head of 2 excellently accepted grassroots-level topics, guided 2 scientific research topics of students, and guided 1 graduate student to successfully defend her Master's thesis. Lieutenant Colonel Pham Thu Hue is also the co-author of a utility solution exclusive patent granted by the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology); co-author of 5 domestic and international scientific articles; participated in 1 project and 1 State-level topic in the field of Applied Chemistry.

Sharing about the upcoming orientation, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Pham Thu Hue said that the results according to output standards, the quality of officer cadets working at the unit as well as the Olympic exams are proof of the training quality of the Naval Academy. The Academy always innovates its programs and teaching methods, closely following the requirements of modernization and international integration, training naval officers with courage, knowledge, and command-technical capacity. Therefore, the Academy in general and the Faculty of Basic and Foreign Languages ​​in particular will continue to build a scientific and exemplary learning environment, creating the best conditions for each cadet to develop comprehensively in terms of political qualities, ethics, professional capacity, and pay attention to promoting foreign language and information technology training to meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation.

Rear Admiral, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thanh Cong, Director of the Naval Academy, commented: “Lieutenant Colonel Pham Thu Hue always actively studies, improves professional qualifications, trains ethics, working methods and styles; regularly learns from superiors, predecessors, and colleagues. As a dedicated lecturer, a dedicated and visionary department head, she does a good job of management, contributes her intelligence and efforts to the training of young lecturers, and is a core in scientific research work.”

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-17/nu-giang-vien-hoa-hoc-ung-dung-cua-bo-doi-hai-quan-1011877