(Dan Tri) – Vietnam has just surprisingly won the First Prize in Electrical Engineering at 2012 ISEF after losing the sub-prizes. This is the first time Vietnam has ever won a prize, not to mention that the First Prize gives our country thrill and pride.

Vietnamese team wearing the badges for  First-Prize Winners.

It can be said that the Vietnam team, including Trần Bách Trung, Bùi Thị Quỳnh Trang and Vũ Anh Vinh from Hanoi – Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, has made a big miracle because they didn’t win any sub-prizes but claimed the First Prize in Electrical Engineering eventually.

Before that, at the 2012 ISEF’s sub-prize-awarding ceremony held by governmental agencies, institutions, associations, businesses,… on 17/5 in the evening (according to the local time and on 18/5 in the morning in Hanoi), Vietnam didn’t win any prizes at all and was thought to win nothing. But at the official awarding ceremony on 18/5 in the morning (according to the local time and on 18/5 in the evening in Hanoi), the candidates proudly became the first domestic students to win ISEF’s prize.

Having overcome many advantaged competitors from myriad of countries from several continents, Vietnam delegation was chosen for the First Prize in Electrical Engineering. Among 17 fields at ISEF, every field has 2-3 First Prizes worth $3,000 each. Then, the Judging Board chooses from these 2-3 First Prizes to award the Special Prize amounting to a total of $5,000. For this prize, one of American teams has won.

The 2012 ISEF’s official awarding ceremony has just finished. The Vietnamese team (at the centre) was receiving the prize on the main stage.

Sharing their opinions after receiving such a big prize, the 3 candidates expressed their strongest proud and emotion.  On behalf of the team, Trung said that they would use this prize for further study in the future. And Vinh said, after returning to Vietnam, the first thing he does would be “going to sleep”. Truly, the stress and tiredness have always been seen through their faces for the past few days. However, the tiredness almost disappeared after the prize was published.

Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hoài, Hanoi Department of Education and Training’s specialist who cares for the Vietnamese team, happily said: “This is the first time Vietnam has won a prize at ISEF, not to mention such a big prize. I’m very moved. Since yesterday, we have been very worried, just hoping to win a sub-prize but it didn’t work. Today, when the Forth, Third and Second Prizes passed, we thought it would be over. But when “Hanoi - Vietnam” was published for the First Prize, we almost dropped our heart and broke into tears of joy.”

Vietnamese team (from the left:  Bùi Thị Quỳnh Trang, Vũ Anh Vinh, Trần Bách Trung) was introducing its work to a visitor at 2012 ISEF in America.

Accidentally, among 8 judges for Vietnam’s work, there is an Vietnamese person, Mr. Nhiem Nguyen, an electronic engineer living and working in Pennsylvania. According to Mr. Nhiem, when ISEF asked him to be a judge, he didn’t know whom he would mark and the judge-candidate arrangement was done automatically and haphazardly by computers. And he didn’t even know that Vietnam also featured 3 delegates. However, when judging Vietnam’s work, Mr. Nhiem was very impressed and expressed his opinion that: “Vietnam’s work is simple but very creative, cheap but very effective to the community in Vietnam as a whole”. As a result, the Judging Board agreed to award Vietnam the First Prize.

Trung, Trang and Vinh expressed their most sincere thanks to their families, teachers and friends who helped and supported them during their study, preparation and competition, as well as to Intel which helped them to travel a long way to America to attend with friends all over the world in such a meaningful competition. The message they want to share with other next year candidates is: “Stay confident and strong, you will achieve your goal!”

Correspondent: Tuan Anh (dantri.com.vn)

Translator: Kieu Thuy An (A2 11-14)