The Student Who Almost Ran Away from an Oral Exam Now Researches Green Energy in Canada

There are quiet afternoons in Trois-Rivières (Canada) when white snow begins to cover the walkways leading to the laboratory of the University of Québec. Alumnus Tran Dinh Son - a Ph.D. student studying at the University of Québec (Canada) - remembers an afternoon standing outside the corridor of the C1 building at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Hearing the voices of teachers asking questions in the oral exam room, his heart beat rapidly. At that moment, the freshman only thought of one thing: Running home to tell his family that he had failed the exam!

10 years later, the young man who almost received an academic warning is working diligently in a laboratory in Canada, researching technology to convert CO₂ gas into materials serving green energy and environmental protection. Every time he recalls his time at HUST, what moves him the most is the teachers and friends who patiently pulled him up exactly when he felt like giving up.

The "Crucible" That Forges an Engineer's Bravery

In his early days passing through the Parabol gate in 2014, Tran Dinh Son hardly envisioned the path ahead. At that time, many of his friends chose universities in the economics sector. But Son, with a passion for Chemistry and a desire to find a different path, enrolled in the Chemical Engineering (CH1) major. That decision stemmed from the innocence of an 18-year-old, but he later realized it was a choice that changed his entire life.
  Freshman Tran Dinh Son's initial time at HUST was filled with an overwhelming feeling. Son once lost his direction when he was first allowed to self-determine his studies. The lack of discipline caused his freshman-year results to decline. He failed many modules, faced the risk of academic warning, and carried the remorse of disappointing his family.

Even today, his most memorable memories remain the oral exams. He recounted: "There were times standing outside the corridor waiting for my turn for the oral exam, listening to teachers asking other students, my mind only wanted to... run home and tell my family that I failed. And then, I still gathered all my courage, stepped into the exam room, and overcame it all."

It was during that difficult period that a saying from a teacher at the School of Chemistry and Life Sciences stayed with Mr. Son for many years later: "Hanoi University of Science and Technology is a crucible, and only a crucible can forge Sun Wukong."

Back then, he only listened and remembered. Many years later, after going through scholarship selections and working in modern laboratories in South Korea and then Canada, he truly understood the meaning of the saying. The oral exams, specialized modules with massive amounts of knowledge, and high requirements in laboratories gradually formed in students the habits of careful preparation, systematic thinking, and staying calm under pressure.
  More importantly, at HUST, he met people who helped him change. They were friends always ready to study with him, teachers who didn't judge students just by a transcript but saw their potential to improve if they were truly determined. After the stumble in his freshman year, young man Dinh Son gradually regained his study rhythm, becoming more serious about every module, every practical hour, and every class session.

Looking back, he always says he is proud of the period when he managed to change before it was too late: "Looking back at that time, probably no one thought a kid like me could graduate, let alone receive a postgraduate scholarship and continue researching abroad!"

Graduating as an Engineer in Chemical Engineering, specializing in Electrochemical Engineering with a Good classification in 2019, Tran Dinh Son understands that the hardships he went through are like a compressed spring. That very compression created the motivation for him to step further when entering the international environment.

Laboratory C4 Sows the Seeds of the Research Dream

If he had to choose a place holding the most memories during his student years, Tran Dinh Son would choose the C4 building. There lies the laboratory of the Department of Electrochemical Technology and Corrosion Protection - where he spent most of his time during specialized study years. The glass beakers, reaction flasks, analyzers, neatly arranged chemical bottles on the shelves, and the characteristic smell of the laboratory remain intact in his memory.
  Under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dang Trung Dung, now Dean of the School of Chemical Engineering, Mr. Son started participating in scientific research from very small tasks. The projects Mr. Son participated in were all tied to practical issues. He once researched the synthesis of zero-valent iron nanoparticles for wastewater treatment, exploring many applications of electrochemical technology in environmental protection. When it came to his graduation thesis on "Researching the process of fabricating grinding wheels using composite electroplating techniques", the workload increased tremendously.

Mr. Son had to systematize all the specialized knowledge learned over 5 years, directly design jigs, go to mechanical workshops to manufacture equipment, build experimental systems, and conduct a series of tests before obtaining final results. Concurrently, he was also accepted for an internship at a multinational corporation in the plating field, where many experiments for his thesis were deployed with the enterprise's support.
  Throughout the conversation, what Mr. Son always mentioned when talking about his study time at HUST was the companionship of teachers. Despite research equipment conditions in Vietnam being quite limited at that time, lecturers still created all conditions for students to implement ideas, access equipment, participate in projects, and gradually get used to intensive research.

It was also in laboratory C4, through conversations with Assoc. Prof. Dang Trung Dung about his time studying and researching in South Korea, that student Dinh Son began to envision a wider world beyond the HUST lecture halls. Teacher Dung told stories about the research environment, how laboratories operate, international cooperation opportunities, and things Vietnamese students could completely reach if they prepared seriously.

Those stories sowed in Son the desire to experience an international research environment at least once. And many years later, he himself proactively sent letters to professors in South Korea, then Canada, introducing himself, presenting his research orientation, and patiently waiting for each email reply. That was the starting point for bigger opportunities waiting ahead.

The Value of HUSTers When Entering International Laboratories

In 2019, holding the Chemical Engineering degree from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Tran Dinh Son began seeking study opportunities abroad. What surprised Mr. Son was that the name "HUST" had become familiar to many foreign professors. There are countries where professors very much prefer recruiting students from Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
  Enrolling in the Master's program at Chung-Ang University with the CAYSS scholarship, Mr. Son quickly adapted to the working pace in the laboratory. His research topic on Ni-Rh alloy catalysts for the hydrogen oxidation reaction in anion exchange membrane fuel cells brought him a GPA of 4.34/4.5.

While assisting in instructing undergraduate students in South Korea, he noticed that many final-year students were still clumsy with laboratory operations. Meanwhile, HUST students were exposed to these skills from their second year through practical modules, scientific research, and specialized projects. That very advantage helped him quickly master modern research equipment and adapt to the requirements of an international laboratory.

Besides a professional foundation, Mr. Son always considers foreign languages the "passport" of a scientist. His English proficiency gave Mr. Son an advantage when applying for scholarships, participating in interviews, and working with foreign experts.
  Currently, Mr. Tran Dinh Son is a Ph.D. student at the Advanced Materials for Energy and Environment Laboratory (Nguyen-Tri Lab), University of Québec at Trois-Rivières, Canada, under the guidance of Prof. Phuong Nguyen-Tri. The research direction he pursues is linked to one of the major problems of the modern world: Converting CO₂ gas into formic acid, then coordinating with an enterprise to produce potassium formate used as a de-icing agent on roads in winter.

Scientific articles appearing in international journals like Coordination Chemistry Reviews or ACS Applied Nano Materials are the result of many years of persistence in the laboratory. But for Mr. Son, the greater value lies in the fact that those researches are gradually entering reality, contributing to creating environmentally friendly solutions.
  After many years studying and working in South Korea and Canada, alumnus Tran Dinh Son still keeps the habit of following the changes of his old school. During a return trip to Vietnam with his advising professor, he had the opportunity to participate in working sessions with leaders of many technical universities, including Hanoi University of Science and Technology, to discuss cooperation programs and student exchanges between the University of Québec and Vietnamese universities. For him, it was a very special feeling to have the opportunity, from the position of an alumnus, to play a small part in connecting the next generations of students with the international academic environment.

Looking at today's HUST students, Son always encourages them to proactively talk with teachers about their future orientation. According to him, the precious thing at HUST is not only in the training program or laboratory system but also in the international connection network of the teaching staff. If students boldly converse, proactively participate in scientific research, and prepare foreign languages early, they will have many opportunities to access postgraduate scholarships around the world.
  Someone asked Mr. Son: "If you could choose again, would you still step through the Parabol gate?"

The HUST Chemical Engineering alumnus smiled and shared: "If I hadn't chosen HUST back then, perhaps my student life would have been easier. But certainly, there would be no opportunities to study in South Korea or Canada; I wouldn't have become a researcher like today, nor would I have a son with Canadian citizenship... HUST has oriented the path I am on and brought so many wonderful things."

Therefore, if given the choice once more, his answer remains unchanged: "I would still choose to be a HUSTer."