In the past two years, he has won two medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and received the Labor Order twice.

At the 2024 and 2025 IMO, Hoang won a Silver medal and a Gold medal, respectively. The former student of Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted also earned three Gold medals at the Iranian Geometry Olympiad (IGO) over three years (2022, 2023 and 2024).

He first drew national attention when he became the top scorer in the national excellent student exam in Mathematics while still in the 10th grade, the first 10th grader from Ha Tinh to do so. Earlier, he had won first prizes and ranked first in provincial-level excellent student exams in grades 8 and 9.

Born into a family where both parents teach math, Hoang was guided toward the subject early on. However, it was during his years at Nguyen Trai Secondary School (Ha Tinh) that his mathematical ability emerged strongly.

Hoang said one of the people who greatly influenced his learning was Nguyen Thi Hai Luong, the school principal, and one of his teachers.

“When I was young, I studied math simply because I loved it. It was Luong who encouraged me to try my hand at major competitions. Before teaching advanced knowledge, she helped me master the basics to understand the essence of the problem. This foundation-building approach helped me greatly on my journey in mathematics,” Hoang shared.

He said the most important factors for effective math learning are persistence and hard work. “I used to think that it was a field entirely dependent on mindset and talent. However, after hearing from many seniors and peers who achieved high results, I realized that hard work and long-term training are the key factors. Additionally, when learning new concepts, I believe one should try to understand the essence of the problem rather than just memorizing and applying formulas mechanically.”

Hoang believes maintaining an interest in math makes exploring new problems more natural and effective. He also allocates time between different mathematical topics.

Despite his achievements, Hoang said he still struggles with difficult problems. The one that took him the longest appeared in a training set for Vietnam’s IMO team.

“In the summer of grade 10, there was a problem I thought about for a long time but couldn’t solve, even after asking older students, so I had to set it aside. About a year later, I came across it again and decided to try. This time, I solved it in about an hour. I realized that after gaining more knowledge and experience, I could approach the problem from a different perspective,” he said.

Hoang believes AI is a useful tool if used properly, but should not be overused in learning math. AI-generated solutions often compile existing methods and may not help learners fully understand how ideas are formed. 

Therefore, AI can be used to look up concepts or suggest directions, but complete solutions should be written by learners themselves to develop thinking skills, he said.

Continuing his passion 

Hoang said the most applicable aspects of Math in daily life are probability and logical thinking, which help him think systematically and make more accurate decisions.

After his achievements in high school, he is now studying math at VNU University of Natural Sciences. He noted that while university knowledge is more challenging, the learning approach remains similar: beyond lectures, students need to self-study and explore further.

Outside academics, he spends time playing sports and participating in youth union activities to maintain balance and expand relationships.

Hoang said he will continue pursuing mathematics in the future.

With outstanding academic achievements, he was twice awarded the Labor Order, Second Class (2025) and Third Class (2024), by the President. 

He has also received numerous other honors, including the Le Van Thiem Award for the 2024–2025 academic year; the title of “Outstanding Youth Following Uncle Ho’s Teachings” in Ha Tinh (2023–2025); the national-level “Three-Good Student” title in 2024; and a third prize at the National Young Informatics Contest in 2022. He also attended the National Patriotic Emulation Congress in 2025.

Tran Minh Hoang is also among 19 nominees in the online voting round for the 2025 Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces Award.

Thuy Nga