Doctor with 700 patents shares 'recipe for success' at commencement ceremony

From an ice cream boy in a poor hometown, Dr. Nguyen Thanh My became a businessman who owns 13 technology businesses with revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars and has more than 700 international patents.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My, Chairman of the Board of Directors of My Lan Group, was the inspirational speaker at the opening ceremony of the 2025 National University of Ho Chi Minh City.

Photo: TT

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My, Chairman of the Board of Directors of My Lan Group, was the inspirational speaker at the opening ceremony of the 2025 academic year at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, themed "Aspiration for Innovation and Creativity for a Strong Vietnam," which took place today (October 25).

From ice cream vendor to scientist and exemplary businessman.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My was born in 1955 in Tra Vinh . He graduated with a Bachelor of Chemistry from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in 1978, and subsequently studied, researched, and worked in Canada and the United States for over 25 years. He successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in energy and materials science at the INRS Institute (Canada) in 1990, and previously worked as a researcher at the IBM Almaden Research Center (USA) and as a technical manager at Kodak Polychrome Graphics (USA).

In 2004, Mr. My returned to his hometown of Tra Vinh and founded Mylan Group – the province's first high-tech company. Since then, he has founded and co-founded 13 high-tech businesses, six of which are currently operating locally. He is also the founder of the Nguyen Thanh My Foundation, which has provided over 62.5 billion VND in funding for scholarships, infrastructure development, and community healthcare.

From a boy selling ice cream in a poor rural area, Mr. My became a PhD holder in Canada, founded a technology company with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and holds over 700 international patents. He chose to return to Tra Vinh to start his own business, spreading the spirit of "dare to think - dare to act," and aspiring to contribute to his homeland.

Professor Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai: "Dare to think differently - Dare to fail - Dare to try again"

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Professor Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, Vice Director of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), stated that 2025-2026 will be a period of great ambition for innovation at VNU-HCM. On this occasion, the Vice Director of VNU-HCM conveyed three key messages to faculty and students: Dare to think differently, dare to fail, and dare to try again. Specifically for students, Professor Thanh Mai emphasized the importance of daring to think beyond the immediate future, learning from within and outside the university, from teachers and friends, from experts, and even from the people of their own country.

" The world is flat, and the path to success is only for those who think differently. Be ready to embrace every challenge in your studies and research. Every difficulty is an opportunity to learn. The most valuable lesson is learning from failure. Accept failure and quickly get back up, ready to try again with a better version and persevere to the end with the values ​​you pursue. Daring to try again, or trying again but in a different way, is a new step forward for ourselves," Professor Thanh Mai added.

For scientists and lecturers, Professor Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai hopes that each teacher will be a role model for generations of students to follow, and a nurturer of the aspiration for innovation and creativity.

Professor Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, Vice Director of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.

Photo: TT

The formula for success: Effort is the most important thing.

In front of hundreds of new students at the opening ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Thanh My shared his journey to success, happiness, and fulfillment. He believes it is a process of holistic human development – ​​from the outside to the inside, from the material to the spiritual, from "having" to "being".

In this context, success is the feeling of satisfaction and joy when we persevere in our efforts to turn dreams into reality and achieve the goals we set for ourselves. Happiness is the pure joy of reaching success, leaving a sweet aftertaste in that moment. Fulfillment is when we look back on our lives, smile, and realize there is nothing to regret – because life has been full and complete in every experience.

"This journey is not just about achievement, but also about inner exploration, where we learn to appreciate every moment of existence and understand the true meaning of life," Mr. My believes.

The elements of the formula for success according to Dr. Nguyen Thanh My.

Photo: Ha Anh

In particular, the owner of 13 high-tech businesses shared his formula for success. According to Mr. My, success is built on eight main factors: health, the right mindset, effort, knowledge, perseverance, opportunity, luck, and circumstances. Of these, health, although only accounting for 15%, is the first factor in the formula for success. The factor contributing most to success is effort (accounting for 25%), followed by knowledge (accounting for 20%). Meanwhile, according to this prominent scientist and entrepreneur, initial advantages (circumstances), luck (random support), and opportunity (external factors), while contributing to success, each only account for 5%.

Answering a student's question about the qualities necessary for success, the American doctor said: "You must be diligent, hardworking, humble, and constantly learning to improve yourself, especially soft skills."

Sharing his perspective on learning, Dr. Nguyen Thanh My said: "Learning is the transformation of knowledge into wisdom." He further advised students: "Parents give birth to us, teachers educate us; but whether our lives are successful and happy depends on ourselves."

Drawing from his own experience, the entrepreneur advised new students at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City during the opening ceremony: "Never think of yourself as a failure, but rather as someone who isn't good enough. In your personal vocabulary, remove the word 'failure' and replace it with the phrase 'not good enough'."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tien-si-co-700-bang-sang-che-chia-se-cong-thuc-thanh-cong-trong-le-khai-khoa-185251025105001001.htm