Lam Dong IT 'star' wins silver medal at International Informatics Olympiad

On August 2, Mr. Dao Manh Trinh, Principal of Thang Long Da Lat Specialized School ( Lam Dong ), said that Dang Huy Hau, a 10th grade IT student at the school, had just won a silver medal at the 2025 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). Hau ranked 54th out of 334 contestants from 90 countries and territories.

Dang Huy Hau, a 10th grade IT student at Thang Long High School for the Gifted in Da Lat. PHOTO: TL

Previously, Hau was selected for the national informatics team and was trained by the University of Technology (VNU Hanoi ), the unit that the Ministry of Education and Training trained the Vietnam Informatics Olympic team.

Dang Huy Hau (2nd from right) with 3 members of the Vietnam Informatics team. PHOTO: DO PHAN THUAN

This is an extremely impressive achievement, as Hau is the youngest contestant in this year's national team and is a rare 10th grader in Vietnam to have won a medal at this top level. Previously, Hau also made a splash when he won a silver medal at the 2025 Asian Informatics Olympiad, achieving a perfect score of 100/100 in one of the three exams thanks to his creative solution. Also this year, Hau won first prize in the national excellent student exam in informatics and was also the nation's valedictorian with 25.25/40 points - a feat when the exam was originally for 12th graders.

After practicing on the computer at Thang Long High School for the Gifted in Da Lat. PHOTO: TL

The leader of the Department of Education and Training of Lam Dong province said that the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) 2025 will be held in Bolivia from July 27 to August 3. The Vietnamese delegation has 4 students participating and all 4 won medals: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze. Dang Huy Hau's achievements not only contribute to raising Vietnam's position in the international intellectual arena, but are also a great source of pride for the education sector of Lam Dong province.

Mr. Trinh said that Hau was born into a poor working-class family in Tan Hoi commune, Duc Trong district (old) of Lam Dong province, and was renting a house to live in. Hau's parents made a living by collecting scrap metal. Despite their difficult circumstances, Hau showed a special passion for computer science from a young age. When he was in 3rd grade, Hau started to learn programming on his own, and was discovered by teacher Nguyen Thi Nghia, who created conditions for him to participate in computer science teams from district to national level.

Dang Huy Hau, a 10th grade IT student, has just won a silver medal at the 2025 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). PHOTO: TL

Since grade 5, Hau has continuously won a series of major awards: first prize in the National Youth Informatics Competition for primary school students (grade 5), first prize in the secondary school (grade 8), first prize in the Informatics Olympiad for the Central Highlands region, and was the valedictorian of the 10th grade specialized in IT at Thang Long High School for the Gifted in Da Lat.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan and Dang Huy Hau. PHOTO: TL

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, the teacher who directly trained Hau at Thang Long High School for the Gifted in Da Lat, added: "With math problems in regional and international competitions, there are students who write hundreds of lines of code but still do not get any points, while Hau gets the maximum score thanks to his very special thinking. This young student is a rare case, but anyone who has ever met him knows that he is smart and very good."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoi-sao-tin-hoc-lam-dong-dat-huy-chuong-bac-ky-thi-olympic-tin-hoc-quoc-te-185250802175015198.htm