Professor Huynh Huu Tue.

Vietnamese-Canadian, Professor Huynh Huu Tue, has become the first overseas Vietnamese chairman of a faculty of a Vietnamese university, the Informational Processing faculty of the University of Technology, under the National University in Hanoi.

Self-funded flights

In 1976, at an international conference on physics, Prof. Tue met with academician Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Physics Institute. In 1999, they met again when Mr Hieu was promoting establishment of the University of Technology under the National University in Hanoi. Mr Hieu invited Prof. Tue to be guest lecturer of the National University and subsequently, Prof. Tue helped establish Information Processing as a subject for the university.

“I will pay you accommodation fees and salary, and you will pay airfare yourself,” Mr Hieu ardently suggested. Financial assistance was modest but Mr Hieu’s enthusiasm ‘overthrew’ Prof. Tue, and in 2002 he began working for the National University for fourth months, he later did six months in 2004, and eight months in 2005 when he assumed the post of faculty chairman.

“Without Mr Hieu, I would not be working for the university. In 2000, when I returned to Vietnam with my wife, he came to pick us up to go out everyday,” he said. “Once he came to the airport to welcome us although he was busy with a meeting of the Central Party Committee. The flight was three hours late but he waited for us. That a man like Mr Hieu could do that moved me”.

Prof. Tue’s wife, Caroline, has come to Vietnam dozens of times. Every time upon returning home, Prof. Tue brings back books of various kinds, and since 1976, he has brought over 1,000 valuable books to Vietnam. Once he carried home over 100kg of books. At Canada’s Laval University, Prof. Huynh (Prof. Tue’s title in Canada) must spend six months to do his job and he uses the last six months to travel internationally.

However, before a ‘mountain’ of work in Vietnam, he asked for retirement in late 2004 to spend more time in Vietnam. He now helps several students with doctoral theses.

His salary in Canada is US$10,000/month, which reduce to just several millions of Vietnam dong (several hundreds of dollars) in Vietnam. Prof. Tue is staying at a room on the third floor of a hotel in Cau Giay District, Hanoi. Since becoming Chairman of the Information Processing faculty, he has paid airfares. “For one hour of teaching in Canada I’m paid at least $100. It is different here but I know that I’m treated better than many colleagues in Vietnam,” he said.

Immediately filling gaps of knowledge

At the age of 65, Prof. Tue looks 50 because he is very brisk. He works around 70 hours on average per week, and he often teaches students or talks with them about study and research issues during the weekend. He is constantly surrounded by groups of students, who want to ‘take advantage’ of their teacher.

“I’m determined to work for the University of Technology for a long time because of them. Many students study very well, they are keen to learn and have great aspiration, but often do not have instructors or conditions for studying abroad”.

In his opinion, Vietnam’s educational style has a big disadvantage: not paying attention to the next generation. “It seems that only achievements of students at international contests are interested rather than training real doctors or masters who are eager for the country’s development. Knowledge is the country’s asset. As Mr Vo Van Kiet (former Prime Minister) said, our brain drain is being wasted irrationally,” he said.

According to Prof. Tue, Vietnam has a large gap in terms of high-grade researchers and lecturers. “The gap of human resources is a problem of the whole society,” he emphasized.

“Many Vietnamese students are lazy and have very passive thinking. However, some are excellent. If they are trained well and have good instructors, the ratio of excellent students must increase to 20-30%, rather than the 1% at present,” the professor said.

“The strategy to send students abroad for doctorate training is a long term. We are ready to pay US$20,000/year (for state scholarships) for a student to study abroad. However, of ten who go abroad, only 1-2 return home. Thus, the gap of knowledge is difficult to fill quickly”.

He suggested spending part of the fund to train doctors domestically. “With similar spending, we could train 4-5 doctors of similar quality,” he said. “I want young people trained in Vietnam to become international-level scientists,” he added.

(Source: TBKTSG)