Le Xuan Khoa, 35, is currently a research associate at the Center for Sustainable Technology at Ulster University. In May, he will pursue research at the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University.

Prior to this, Khoa was the valedictorian of the Master's program at Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences (Taiwan, China).

Overcoming college failure

In 2005, Xuan Khoa started his major in mechatronics at the Da Nang University of Technology in the central city of Da Nang.

"With the thought that nothing is worth worrying about after the university entrance exam, I neglected my studies to hold many parties. As a result, I failed my subjects, and then retook the courses. I was nearly expelled. But as a sophomore, I realized all my friends are studying overseas, and my mother has been working hard to get by," Khoa said. 

One day, he suddenly woke up and made up his mind to study abroad.

"At that time, I stuck to the table from 8 am to 10 pm every day, just taking a break to have something in my stomach," Khoa said. 

From a student with the lowest score in the class, Khoa rose to the top and won a merit scholarship after only one semester. After graduating, he worked and improved his ability in foreign languages.

In 2012, Khoa received a scholarship from Taiwan (China), placing his first step toward being educated overseas. However, Khoa was in trouble because he did not share anything in common with his supervisor after his first year in Taipei. He decided to transfer to Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences. Here, Xuan Khoa found his passion for research and stood a chance to get into the energy industry.

"After attending some scientific conferences and meeting international friends, I settled to go on my research path and prepared my documents to study for a Ph.D,” he told VietNamNet.

In 2015, Khoa won a scholarship to do a Ph.D. in energy and construction at Ulster University (UK) with the financial support of VND4 billion (about US$180,000).

No matter how well he prepared, his work was still a mess in England.

“In my first Ph.D year, I struggled to find my research topic. The professor wanted me to propose ideas and know my true self. I read many books and documents, but things did not work out as expected. Thanks to my never-give-up spirit, I finally figured it out," said Khoa.

In 2020, Khoa won the best Ph.D. thesis award in the Faculty of Architecture, Environment, and Planning at the University of Ulster on energy efficiency in buildings. He also had two articles published in the top journals in the field of energy and won the best report award at the university-wide scientific conference.

During his doctoral career, Khoa also won many awards in international scientific conferences, such as the award for best student paper at a scientific discussion at University of California, Berkeley (USA), and the best research student award from the Sir Joseph Swan Energy Research Institute (UK) in Hangzhou (China).

After graduating with a doctorate, and two rounds of intense interviews, Khoa was officially accepted for a research position (Postdoc) at Oxford University. 

"Young people should have their dreams and ambitions, think about them, and take action. It is never too late. Every success has to go through difficulties,” he said.

Khoa was motivated by a quote from Albert Einstein: "A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what it is built for”. 

He hopes that young people will step out of their comfort zone to conquer new journeys, seek learning opportunities and improve their knowledge.

In addition to his academic and research achievements, Khoa is interested in table tennis. He has won several table tennis prizes at competitions in Da Nang.

Sharing plans for the near future, Khoa will continue to pursue a research path in the energy field. Khoa also hopes to return and implement energy-efficient solutions in construction and develop projects that exploit the potential of sustainable energy in Vietnam.

According to Khoa, two things to focus on are preparing the research proposal carefully and choosing the right mentor.

Khoa said that in the UK, scholarships are few, and candidates should look for sponsors from professors, projects or the government (such as Chevening scholarships).

However, consider whether the professor's research direction is suitable for your future direction. He believes that carefully preparing the research proposal is a way to show ability and progressive attitude in research and helps to increase the persuasiveness of the application.

Ngoc Linh