VietNamNet presents the speech of Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung to students of the Posts and Telecommunications Institute at the opening ceremony of the 2023-2024 academic year (held on September 18, 2023).
Today, I'm not here to talk about the great and grand mission of the Information and Communications industry, or of digital technology , because I'm not sure how many of you students sitting here will still remember those things by this afternoon.
Today, I didn't come here to give you students a briefcase full of "responsibility," to use as your baggage throughout your years of study here.
Today, I'm here simply to hear you share your thoughts with me, and I'll also share with you why we chose to study Information and Communication, Information Technology, and Digital Technology.
Each generation should tell its own story.
You represent a generation, known as Generation Z. The history of every nation is a series of stories, and each generation tells its own story.
"The white-haired soldiers again"
"The story of Nguyen Phong"
"The old soldier with gray hair"
(The story of Nguyen Phong continues to be told)
The story of the Nguyên Phong era in 1258 is still recounted by veteran soldiers to their descendants and has become a source of strength for the Đại Việt army and people to continue to defeat powerful enemies.
My father told me the story of the march across the Truong Son Mountains. I grew up listening to the lullabies of my grandmother and mother, and there are some songs I will always remember:
"When the homeland calls upon each generation"
In glory, I do not have to bow my head.
Who knows how to carry pride deep within?
They will learn to live a life worthy of respect."
So, Generation Z students, what stories will you tell your children and grandchildren about your generation? Why did you choose to study information and communication, information technology, or digital technology?
A dream of a generation of programmers.
Long before the first computer was invented, Alan Turing dreamed of and envisioned a machine that could compute anything that could be computed.
In the digital age, the world is speaking a common language: programming. Don't just use pre-written applications; program them yourself. Long before Google became a global phenomenon, Larry Page and Sergey Brin dreamed of making all the world 's information searchable and accessible, and they continue to pursue that dream to this day.
The recently released iPhones continue to fulfill their creator's ambition to produce the best products in the world.
Every great achievement is kindled long before by dreams like these.
And for you Gen Z students, what are your dreams? I think, and I hope, they will be the dreams of a generation of programmers. In the digital age, the world is speaking a common language: programming. Don't just use pre-written applications; program them yourselves.
Some of you might ask: Why do we need to program digital technology products when the world already has so many foreign products?
There are problems, challenges facing the Vietnamese people, that if we don't solve them ourselves, no one else will help us.
If you recall, just last year we were still experiencing prolonged lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To date, more than 40,000 Vietnamese people have died from Covid-19, ranking 26th out of 231 territories and 3rd in ASEAN.
While participating in the Special Task Force at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City, the story that will always stay with me was when an acquaintance asked for help finding out which hospital their relative was in and their condition. Due to the disruption of communication between hospitals involved in the COVID-19 pandemic, it took me a while to find them. By then, the patient had already passed away. I felt helpless amidst the pandemic and wished we had better digital technology solutions!
Each of us can choose one thing to excel at. Each of us can choose a place that suits us in this generation of programmers. The Covid-19 pandemic has subsided for now, but other pandemics will come along.
You might ask: Alan Turing, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Steve Jobs were geniuses, but we are just ordinary people, can we do the same?
In reality, within each person lies a sleeping genius. You may not believe me when I say that you can become talented in any field. But believe me, there are absolutely no untalented people in this world. Alex Ferguson was an average player, but an outstanding coach. Each of us can choose something to excel at. Each of us can choose a place that suits us in this generation of programmers.
I'd like to share a little about my personal choice. Twenty-two years ago, I was the same age as you all are now and I also chose to pursue a career in information technology.
Since my high school days, I've believed that technology would create better values for society. And my dream back then was simply that one fine day, I could create an application with millions of users.
This dream led me to the Polytechnic University to pursue Information Technology. During my subsequent years studying at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, I realized that due to historical factors, we Vietnamese have suffered many disadvantages. We missed out on all the previous scientific and technological revolutions. Therefore, achievements in science and technology, production, education, and social progress that other countries took hundreds of years to build, we only had a few decades to improve.
But less than six months after graduating, I decided not to follow the path I had initially chosen. Instead, I decided to return to Vietnam and became a civil servant managing information technology at the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Why did I do that? Because I realized that, alone, no matter how skilled I am, I could only create a limited number of applications. But if I become a government official managing information technology, I will be able to create policies and support hundreds of thousands of people to create tens of thousands of useful products and applications that could serve hundreds of millions of users in the future. It's the same dream, but pursued in a different way. I think we don't need to limit ourselves to one choice, one path. There are many ways to achieve our dreams, and sometimes, the less-chosen path brings about the biggest change.
Some of you might ask: We're facing many difficulties, can we really do it?
The dream is for a generation of programmers to create a programming nation. A generation of programmers who will transform Vietnam into a digital, prosperous, humane, and inclusive nation. If you were born into difficult circumstances, remember that hardship is the midwife of great talents. The ancients summarized it this way: "When Heaven entrusts someone with a great mission, it must first temper their will, wear down their muscles and bones, make them hungry and thirsty, subject them to hardship and poverty, and make everything difficult for them. This is to stir their spirit, to make their character more resilient, and to increase their talent."
My dream is for a generation of programmers who will be guiding stars, a torch illuminating our path. My dream is for a generation of programmers who will create a programming nation. A generation of programmers who will transform Vietnam into a digital, prosperous, humane, and inclusive nation.
But no dream comes true unless we wake up and work hard and persistently for a long enough period of time. To have the moment of the apple falling on his head in 1687, when he invented the law of universal gravitation, Isaac Newton pondered this story for more than 20 years, starting in 1665.
Grow from small things
Grow from small beginnings. When thinking, think big. When acting, start with the smallest things. A seed of a mighty tree must be sown in large plots of land, but it matures thanks to billions of tiny dewdrops and raindrops.
Going to school is important, but self-learning is even more crucial.
In university lectures, what you learn is only a general overview to understand the basics. The ocean of knowledge is boundless. In today's era, everything is constantly changing, yet lectures teach us old things that rarely change. Lectures teach us the fundamentals, giving us methods for observation, reasoning, and research. Lectures provide us with the means to learn more on our own. Therefore, attending classes is important, but self-learning is even more crucial.
Let's cherish the curiosity of childhood, when we wondered so much about storks sleeping on one leg, cicadas chirping incessantly all afternoon, crabs crawling sideways on the ground, and fireflies shining brightly every evening.
As we grow older, through school and later in life, we often wonder why some academically gifted people struggle, while others who aren't particularly outstanding achieve success.
When I first started working, I always felt insecure, wondering why smaller, less populous countries were rich while others weren't. Why did resource-poor countries have developed economies?
Those questions were often not explained thoroughly or convincingly by teachers in class. My parents at home weren't able to explain them adequately either. But luckily, during my childhood and school years, my parents and teachers instilled in me a reading habit and a passion for books.
Whenever I find a good idea in a book, I usually write it down. My teacher taught me: The best thing to do is to contribute new knowledge; if that's not possible, then synthesizing what you already know in a new way is also a contribution. Most of what I'm sharing with you today is knowledge I've gained from reading books and taking notes.
Let's ignite the flame in every pair of eyes.
Students are the finest children of the nation. To go far, you must be healthy. Choose a sport and practice regularly. May you always have a radiant glow on your face, the freedom and spontaneity of youth, a fire in your eyes, confidence, courage, and the brilliance of ambition.
For the past two years, we have all witnessed the development of artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT. Undeniably, AI has changed the world in a groundbreaking way, creating unprecedented advancements in technological history. However, humanity is now facing a huge challenge: How do we control AI and teach it positive values?
In a world where machines are becoming increasingly intelligent and human-like, the task of training and nurturing healthy, humane, compassionate, and intelligent individuals is more important than ever.
Only human-centered technology can give us the powerful impetus to overcome all difficulties and achieve success. I hope that each teacher will be a role model, quickly grasping the changing trends of the world, constantly updating their knowledge, skills, and necessary competencies to train students in engineering, economics, and social sciences in the digital age.
When I was in school, I had a very special feeling wearing a red scarf, facing the national flag and singing the national anthem and the youth anthem.
Let's go back to the question: What are your reasons for choosing to study this field?
I believe each of us has different reasons. But I hope that whatever the reason, you will always prioritize your fellow countrymen and your country as closely as possible to your own goals.
Only human-centered technology can give us the powerful motivation to overcome all difficulties and achieve success.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung
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