Vietnamese Olympiad medalist conquers initial challenges to rank 2nd at top Singapore university

Two weeks before his graduation in July, Nguyen Van Binh was pleasantly surprised to find the Halbrecht Associates Award listed on his transcript.

First established in 1985 by Mr. Herbert Halbrecht, the award was originally a book prize given to the second-highest-ranking student in the Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering) program. Since 2014, it has been presented as a cash prize, according to the NUS website.

Binh graduated from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a GPA of 4.9/5.

Nguyen Van Binh (5th,L), with his friends after the graduation ceremony at the National University of Singapore in July 2024. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Van Binh

"My grades in the first year weren't great, but they improved significantly over time. Still, I didn't expect them to be good enough to place me among the top. I am proud that my efforts have paid off," Binh said.

An alumnus of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted in Nghe An Province, central Vietnam, Binh had set his sights on studying abroad since the 12th grade, hoping to pursue a technology-related field in a developed country.

However, due to his participation in various physics competitions at school, provincial, national, and international levels, Binh was unable to prepare his application in time for the fall semester admissions at many universities. He eventually enrolled in the Advanced Program in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

"I could have taken a gap year to prepare my application, but I chose to study instead, to gain a basic understanding of technology," Binh said. "It also served as a backup plan in case I wasn't accepted into my preferred schools."

During his first semester in Hanoi, Binh began working on his university applications. Initially, he planned to apply to U.S. institutions but found the competition fierce and realized he would need to apply to 10-20 schools to increase his chances. The tuition and living costs in the U.S. also exceeded his family's financial capacity.

After researching universities offering strong Computer Science and Information Technology programs, Binh turned to Singapore, where tuition was about $30,000 per year—half of what it would cost in the U.S. He applied to NUS and was accepted in August 2020. At that time, NUS was ranked 12th globally for his chosen field, and it has since risen to the top 6.

Binh saw his field as a combination of electrical engineering and computer science, allowing him to leverage his physics expertise while opening up job opportunities in a rapidly growing industry.

In the early days at NUS, Binh faced challenges adapting to the curriculum. One of his initial difficulties was understanding Singlish, the local English accent in Singapore.

"I was always confident in my English, but when I came here, I could only understand the lectures. I struggled to understand what my friends were saying," Binh recalled. He overcame this by engaging in more conversations with his peers.

The course load at NUS was also demanding, even compared to the pressure he experienced at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Missing even one class made it difficult to catch up, and only around 5% of students received an A in their courses.

"To stand out, you not only need high grades but also have to be the top scorer," Binh noted.

Nguyen Van Binh in 2024. Photo courtesy of Binh

Binh attributed his success to setting clear goals and maintaining a strict study schedule. After attending morning classes, he would spend 3-4 hours completing assignments in the library in the afternoon. If he could not finish them then, he continued in the evening, ensuring he completed all tasks the same day.

"I'm not exceptionally smart, so I compensate with time and effort," Binh said. "Things improved once I started seeking help from my professors."

By his second year, Binh was working as a teaching assistant, which helped him deepen his understanding of the subjects. He started with the Data Structures and Algorithms course at the master's level. Despite achieving perfect scores in the subject, Binh realized that his knowledge was still lacking, so he read additional materials before each class.

By the end of his final year at NUS, Binh had earned A grades in most subjects and topped three specialized courses: Machine Learning, Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, and Big Data Systems for Data Science.

Nguyen Truong Giang, a friend from NUS, admired Binh's discipline and work ethic.

"Binh is hardworking and never gives up when pursuing his goals. He's very reliable and always willing to share his knowledge to help others," Giang said.

Besides his studies and teaching responsibilities, Binh interned at four startups in Singapore and France. He believes that the startup environment helped him become more versatile, allowing him to understand every step of the product development process.

Nguyen Van Binh (3th, L) during an internship course in France. Photo courtesy of Binh

After graduation, Binh chose to work as a software engineer at Singapore-based startup Momos, which provides human resource management, customer feedback, and marketing solutions for multinational restaurant chains. His role involves fixing programming errors and developing new features.

In his free time, Binh enjoys reading, playing sports, and writing blogs.