Ngoc Hoa, from Vinh Phuc, led the Computer Science class at National Tsinghua University, Taiwan and won a full scholarship from the European Union.
Pham Ngoc Hoa, 23 years old, senior student at National Tsinghua University, Taiwan, just won an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to pursue a master's program in Big Data Management and Analytics. .
Hoa's scholarship is about 46.000 Euro (more than 1,2 billion VND) for two years, including all study and living expenses. Hoa will study in 4 out of 5 countries including Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, France and Italy.
“Initially, I decided to study for a master's degree in Taiwan, so I did not prepare carefully when applying for this scholarship. The results made me burst into tears," Hoa said.
Ngoc Hoa during the yearbook photo shoot in Taiwan. Image: Characters provided
Her mother is an elementary school teacher. Since 2nd grade, Hoa has read many Math books brought home by her mother. The female student has won a series of domestic and international awards in this subject, even though she only studied at a "village school" for 12 years. Most recently, in grade 12, Hoa won first prize in the provincial math competition.
At that time, Hoa planned to apply for a scholarship to study in Taiwan because she heard that Tsinghua National University opened a program taught in English in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Due to some delayed procedures, Hoa then transferred to the University of Technology, Hanoi National University. However, from the beginning, the female student determined to improve her English and complete her application to achieve her goal of studying abroad.
At the end of 2020, Hoa received news of winning a full scholarship from National Taiwan University - one of the two best schools in Taiwan. To maintain the scholarship, students need to be in the top 5 of their study program.
“The condition is top 5 but I want to be in top 1-2. The tendency to win or lose in studying has been ingrained in me since high school. I always want to be number one and always try my best for that goal," Hoa said. "I won first prize in district-level Math in 7th grade, but I still cried because I didn't get the highest score."
To do this, Hoa always concentrates on listening to lectures in class. She said the lessons last two hours with the amount of knowledge equivalent to a chapter of a book. If students do not concentrate, it is very difficult for students to grasp the problem.
The difficulty is that the curriculum is in English but there are some subjects that teachers still teach in Chinese. Hoa must meet with teachers and teaching assistants regularly to ask questions.
According to Hoa, to always get an A or A+ grade, self-study needs to account for 70%. Outside of class time, Hoa completes all assignments by herself. After each week, female students synthesize what they have learned and do new lessons. She believes that not being able to do everything means not mastering the knowledge, so she often goes online to find solutions, analyzes it herself, and then repeats the process until she fully understands it.
Always wanting to win high rankings gives Hoa the motivation to self-study, but it also makes her stressed.
“Every time that happens, I confide in my sister, then remind myself that I don't need to be number one to get a scholarship. But after that, I studied hard to get the highest rank possible," Hoa shared.
As a result, Hoa completed 7 semesters with a GPA of 4.23/4.3, ranked 1st in the school's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science program taught in English.
In addition to studying, Hoa was accepted as a teaching assistant from her second year, although this position prioritizes third-year students or higher and master's and doctoral students. Her job is to support first-year students in subjects such as General Physics, Calculus, and Programming. From the second semester of her last year, Hoa also worked as a teaching assistant for her teacher in the Introduction to Computer Networks course. The remuneration she received was more than the living allowance of the scholarship.
Hoa also learned two foreign languages: Chinese and French. For her graduation thesis, Hoa went to the laboratory and did research from her third year.
Hoa received a certificate of merit for excellent students of the school in 2023. Photo: Characters provided
Matching the environment and appreciating the instructor, Hoa plans to continue studying for a master's degree at the school. But many people advised her to change her learning environment to increase her experience.
Hoa spent a week thinking. Wanting to conquer new challenges, Hoa decided to "apply" for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program.
In her motivation letter, Hoa talked about her decision to study abroad amid the complexity of Covid-19, the scholarship level was not fixed while studying at a very good school in Vietnam. At that time, Taiwan was a challenge but also an opportunity for her to reach out to the world. Hoa expressed that if she receives a scholarship in Europe, she will step out of her comfort zone one more time and believes that she will adapt well.
In the letter of introduction, Mr. Wei-Chung Wang, academic advisor, said that although she had to study online in the first semester, Hoa tried very hard to keep up with the lectures. Instructor Te-Chuan Chiu rated Hoa as one of his best students. In addition to talking about her academic achievements, he emphasized that Hoa has good research skills, sharp analytical thinking, and the ability to delve into topics with a creative approach.
"Perhaps the letters of recommendation from both teachers confirming the top 1 GPA of the program helped me win this scholarship," Hoa admitted.
She plans to return to Vietnam to visit her family and then go to Europe in early September. In the distant future, she wants to continue doing her doctorate in France or England.
