On September 23, sitting in front of the computer screen watching the IOI online prize awarding ceremony, Duc heard his name called as one of 29 gold medal winners.

Bui Hong Duc

Before becoming famous as a ‘golden boy’ in information technology, Duc was well known for his great achievements in mathematics.

When he was a secondary school student at the Hanoi – Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, Duc was often chosen as member of the team of selected students to attend the national and international competitions.

His greatest achievements include the gold medal at the international mathematics competition for young people in China in 2015, where he had the highest score and the platinum medal at the 2014 Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad.

For Pham Thi Hoa, the mother of Duc, the bronze medal Duc won at the competition on seeking Vietnamese young talents in mathematics in 2017 was the most memorable.

Both Duc and his mother were disappointed about the bronze medal, because Duc had attended many competitions before and always won high prizes.

However, Hoa said the bronze medal was valuable, because it helped Duc learn a lesson after many times of winning first prizes at competitions, saying that this was a ‘valuable failure’.

After winning the bronze medal, the lowest achievement for Duc so far, he became more cautious in competitions.

Duc’s teachers hoped that Duc would continue to go on the path reserved for mathematicians, but when Duc entered the eighth grade and began studying informatics, he changed his mind.

Noticing his sharp thinking and original ideas, Ho Dac Phuong, a lecturer at the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences, persuaded him to attend the entrance exam for the Information Technology major class of the school.

After 10 months of studying at the school, Duc became a member of the selected team to attend the national competition for excellent students, where the other members were in higher grades. Duc, who was then a 10th grader, won first prize. And he won gold medals at international competitions in the next two years.

Speaking about the achievements gained by his son, Bui Hong Cuong said Duc has a minimalistic lifestyle with little time spent on social media. Duc is always eager to learn.

“He doesn’t care much about how to have fun or dress. He just wants to study and have books to be happy,” Cuong said. 

Thanh Hung

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