Nguyen Ho Phuoc Hien graduated with distinction a semester early from the Computer Science and Engineering program - one of the most sought-after majors - at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. His graduation thesis earned an impressive score of 9.74.

Starting research from the first year

Hien completed his degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.6/4.0, earning recognition as an all-round excellent student. He also holds a TOEIC score of 770 and was awarded the Ninety Eight Scholarship.

Four years ago, he gained admission through a priority direct selection scheme, scoring 993 on the competency assessment, 27.4 in the A01 subject combination, and achieving a high school GPA of 9.6.

During his secondary education, Hien won awards at district and provincial levels in the IOE competition, was recognized as a “Three Good Student” at both school and district levels, and graduated as valedictorian in 2022.

Throughout his university years, he not only focused on building academic knowledge but also actively engaged in specialized research projects.

The project he found most meaningful was titled “Privacy protection in smart home healthcare systems.” Conducted at the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City level, the research aimed to develop home healthcare solutions that ensure both privacy and data security. In the context of digital transformation, Hien noted that safeguarding personal medical data holds strong application potential.

Within the project, he was responsible for designing solutions, simulating and evaluating models using decentralized federated learning, as well as testing systems and simulating attacks to assess security resilience.

Building on this work, under the supervision of MSc Le Thi Bao Thu, Hien successfully developed a scientific paper accepted at the 18th Asian Conference on Intelligent Information and Database Systems, held in April 2026 in Kaohsiung (Taiwan, China). This marked his first time serving as lead author and presenting at an international scientific conference.

Graduating early without rushing

One notable aspect of Hien’s journey is his ability to complete the program in a shortened timeframe while maintaining quality. Rather than following a rigid plan, he stayed aligned with the curriculum, studied ahead when possible, and registered courses flexibly. He balanced his workload each semester to avoid overload while still ensuring timely early graduation.

His biggest challenge came in semester 242 (the seventh semester), when he faced multiple demanding courses while simultaneously beginning his specialized project and entering the early stages of his graduation thesis with a research-oriented focus. The workload was intense, and working independently added further pressure.

During this period, he also undertook an internship and wrote his first CV. After several rejections, he eventually secured a full-time internship at a company.

Looking ahead over the next two to three years, Hien aims to pursue a path that integrates research with practical applications in computer science. He hopes to engage in research and take on a teaching assistant role to strengthen both his knowledge and communication skills.

At the same time, he plans to work in technology-driven organizations across sectors such as business, education, and healthcare to better understand real-world demands. He also intends to pursue further studies to expand his long-term research direction.

In terms of skills, Hien identifies systems thinking and problem-solving as core priorities. He also emphasizes programming proficiency, self-learning ability, and the capacity to read and comprehend specialized English materials as essential foundations for adapting to both academic and professional environments.

Beyond academics, he actively participated in extracurricular activities such as “Green Saturday,” voluntary blood donation, and the Bach Khoa Ambassador Club. These experiences helped him develop a sense of responsibility and teamwork skills. He also independently studied office informatics, aiming for MOS certification to enhance his professional, communication, creative thinking, and interview skills.

MSc Le Thi Bao Thu, who directly supervised his research and thesis, highly praised Hien’s working process and development.

According to her, Hien demonstrates strong independent research ability and a high level of diligence. While his early project results were not particularly outstanding, he showed rapid improvement. By the time of his graduation thesis, he was capable of executing research independently and achieving promising outcomes.

Notably, he made significant efforts to develop his research into a scientific paper within a tight timeframe, successfully submitting it to the ACIIDS conference (Core Rank B).

Throughout the process of refining the paper, Hien maintained a receptive attitude, actively listened to feedback, and was willing to engage in discussion to improve the quality of his work. Even after defending his thesis and having the paper accepted, he continued revising it based on feedback from the scientific committee.

“I highly value his sense of responsibility, eagerness to learn, and research capability,” MSc Le Thi Bao Thu said.

Le Huyen