Reporter: Hello Duc Chinh! First of all, congratulations on successfully having a joint scholarship for two full Masters and PhD levels at the University of Manchester Can you tell us about your time as a UEB student?

Duc Chinh: It can be said that, in addition to classroom learning, my 4-year course at UEB is divided into 2 parallel and balanced branches: scientific research and extracurricular activities. With these two branches, I have achieved some relatively good results.

 

For academic and research activities, my first opportunity came right from the first semester of my freshman year of university when a sister in the club at that time invited me to participate in building a startup entry for the competition called Mekong Challenge. Fortunately, our team made it to the final round. Since then, I've become more interested in research competitions.

 

I also began taking part in faculty and university union events in my first year as extracurricular activities. During this period, I was also active in club activities. I had the good fortune to take part in planning an ASEAN program on a national level during the summer of my second year. This is also a step toward my goal of taking part in an international program and winning a spot in a Singapore student exchange program.

Reporter: After graduating from college, what was your hardest decision?

Duc Chinh: After graduating, I fell into a state of lack of orientation like other students. I have tried participating in many other activities such as scientific research, and participating in programs of foreign companies, but all have not had good results. I also started applying indiscriminately to many different jobs, but I decided not to work for long.

Reporter: So, what changed your mind?

Duc Chinh: In that uncertain process, I attended the Vietnam School of Science (VSSS) course, which was also a turning point for me, helping me realize what I like and what I need to do to pursue it.

After finishing the VSSS course, I applied for a Master's degree in Economics at a number of research universities in the Netherlands. And I didn’t pass.

Then I received refusal letters from all universities I applied to at the end of March 2022. It took me a month to recover from that. In May 2022, I officially join the research group of Prof To The Nguyen and Prof Nguyen Anh Tuan from the Faculty of Political Economy, who are incredible lecturers in research. With the experience accumulated during that time, I also gradually regained the confidence to expand my networking relationships. This helped me get acquainted with many other people, including those who later introduced me to the research group of professors at leading European universities such as Copenhagen University (Denmark), and Lancaster University (the UK).

 

Reporter: How did scientific research activities during your time studying and working at UEB help you to refine your scholarship application?

Duc Chinh: Consistency, rather than just accomplishments, is what I believe to be most crucial for scholarship applications. I have gained consistency in my research interests while working as a research assistant at UEB, and I have proven my capacity to produce high-quality research outputs (through my accomplishments in scientific research with students and in international publications). Through extracurricular activities, I have shown that I have strong social skills, and I also had the chance to collaborate with many outstanding academics, who have since written letters of reference for me to submit to colleges when I apply for scholarships.

 

Reporter: So how was your preparation time? How long did it take you to prepare this scholarship application?

Duc Chinh: I search and refer to full scholarships on the websites of European schools. I made the first application in September 2020 (for the September 2021 intake). I failed. I applied again in 2021 and failed the second time. It was not until last year (2022), after more than 2 years of applying, and 6 years of participating in research activities, that I successfully hunted for this prestigious scholarship.

Reporter: Do you have any other words for UEB students?

Duc Chinh: In addition to having to prove to university representatives that you are a suitable person and capable of pursuing an academic path, it is more important to prove it to yourself. Only then will you have the motivation to get up after many failures.

 

Thank you Duc Chinh for your sharing. Wishing you even more success in your research career in the UK!