Not just IMO ranking

Professor Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Director of the Quality Management Department, Ministry of Education and Training, stated that over 50 years and 48 participations in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), the Vietnamese team has had 289 students participating and has achieved 69 Gold Medals, 118 Silver Medals, 84 Bronze Medals, and 3 Certificates of Merit. Among these, 10 students achieved perfect scores, and 10 students won two Gold Medals. Based on unofficial team performance, the Vietnamese team has consistently ranked in the top 10 worldwide in most of the years it has participated.

Delegates participating in the seminar

Many medal winners at the IMO have become leading scientists worldwide. Besides Professor Ngo Bao Chau, there are also Professor Dam Thanh Son, Professor Dinh Tien Cuong, Professor Ngo Dac Tuan, and others.

Professor Le Anh Vinh, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences , who also won a Silver Medal at the IMO and has 10 years of experience leading the national team to international competitions, believes that Vietnam's success in the IMO is based on the system of specialized high schools in provinces and cities. If Vietnam wants to compete at the top, it should consider improving its team selection process.

Dr. Tran Nam Dung, Vice Principal of the High School for the Gifted, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, believes that the team's success depends on whether or not good students are selected. Using multiple exams will create a more accurate denominator. Currently, there is only one exam to select the team, the national excellent student competition, which sometimes leads to errors. Therefore, the selection process needs to be more thorough. Training for the team should prioritize young members and former members of the IMO team.

Starting with universities

Professor Ngo Bao Chau, Scientific Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Mathematics, believes that the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is just one path among many that can lead a person to become a scientist. He himself asserts that without participating in the IMO, he certainly wouldn't be the mathematician he is today. According to Professor Ngo Bao Chau, Vietnam is talking a lot about training human resources for artificial intelligence and semiconductor chips, and aspires to master these technologies. “But how can we master them if the time allocated to mathematics and perhaps many other basic subjects is reduced, both at the secondary and university levels? In this era of information explosion and artificial intelligence, I believe we need to avoid cramming new knowledge and instead return to the fundamentals, to the basic principles of reasoning and thinking,” Professor Chau suggested.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son used the analogy that to make a tree tall, you must nurture it from the roots. The Ministry of Education and Training has always emphasized the role of mathematics, from high school to university and postgraduate training, and in research. Currently, with the development of science and technology, mathematics is becoming even more important.

Attracting talented people to return to the country to work may take more time, but what can be done immediately is that universities are the best environment for Vietnamese teachers and scientists currently working abroad to return to work and teach.

NGHIEM HUE