Leading Vietnamese mathematicians recently met to discuss the burning issues in math teaching and research in Vietnam.

1980 was the first year the Government issued a decision to recognize professors and associate professors for scientific research and university lecturing.

A total of 300 Vietnamese and American scholars are attending in the Vietnam-USA Joint Mathematical Meeting opened in Quy Nhon city, the central province of Binh Dinh, on June 10.

While the number of mathematicians born in the 1970s is modest, more people who were born in the 1980s are pursuing a career in math, according to Prof Phung Ho Hai, head of the Mathematics Institute. 

With the appointment decision by the Director of the Institute of Mathematics, Pham Hoang Hiep, 36, has become the youngest professor in Vietnam and the only mathematician meeting the standards to receive the professorship title in 2017.

Prof Ngo Bao Chau, a renowned Vietnamese mathematician and Fields medal winner, believes that poor management is one of the greatest challenges faced by Vietnam’s higher education system.

VietNamNet Bridge - While agreeing that it is necessary to set higher requirements on candidates for professorship titles, some scientists say the requirements are unreasonable.

VietNamNet Bridge - Born and raised in Quy Nhon City in the central province of Binh Dinh, Lam Quang Nhat has won a full scholarship worth VND6 billion from the University of Chicago to study physics.

VietNamNet Bridge - While US and Israeli professors are surprised that Vietnamese students scored high on PISA tests, many Vietnamese people wonder why the country remains poor with such good marks on the test. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Mathematics university graduates complain it is difficult for them to find jobs, while mathematicians say the national economy is still not developed enough to use many workers with mathematical knowledge and skills.

VietNamNet Bridge - Low pay in Vietnam is one of the reasons Vietnamese talents do not return after they finish study overseas. However, experts believe that Vietnam will fail to attract talent if it just tries to increase salaries.

The newly appointed Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha and well-known experts met at an online roundtable at VietNamNet last week to discuss the thorny issue of attracting Vietnamese overseas talent.

VietNamNet Bridge - An 8,000-word petition has been sent by the Vietnam Education Dialogue (VED) Group headed by Professor Ngo Bao Chau, a mathematician and Fields medal winner, to education and training leaders.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau has launched a science club at the Tuan Chau tourist area in Quang Ninh Province’s Ha Long Bay with the hope of it become a young scientist incubator, a dream that he has long cherished.

Pham Tuan Huy, a student at the HCM City National University’s High School for the Gifted, has for the second time won the gold medal gold at the International Math Olympiad.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has yet to create clear incentive policies to encourage overseas professors to make contributions to the country’s education system, one official said.  

 VietNamNet Bridge - The Simons Foundation has announced the list of 13 scientists who won the 2013 Simons Investigators Award in the fields of Mathematics, Theoretical Physics and Theoretical Computer Science.