Pham Bao Dai and Le Minh Ben, who both study Civil Engineering at DTU, competed in the 33rd National Mechanics Olympiad, won third prizes in Soil Mechanics and received Certificates of Merit from the Vietnam Association forMechanics at the awards ceremony on June 9. From Central Vietnam in particular, students from the Danang University of Science & Technology, DTU, Nha Trang University, and the Mien Trung University of Civil Engineering won third prizes at the Olympiad.
The annual Olympiad is organized by the Vietnam Association for Mechanics, aiming to identify and foster the next generation of mechanics in Vietnam. The competition provides the ideal intellectual academic setting, where students can meet and improve their knowledge and abilities, and lecturers can exchange information.
In 2023, the Olympiad attracted 1,200 students from 36 universities and engineering & technology institutes nationwide. Competitors had to write seven essays on Engineering Mechanics, Structural Mechanics, Strength of Materials, Hydraulics, Soil Mechanics, Machine Elements, and Machine Principles and take five tests on informatics applications in Engineering Mechanics, Machine Elements, Machine Principles, Strength of Materials, and Structural Mechanics .
Bao Dai (third from right) and Minh Ben (fourth from right) receive third prizes
Bao Dai and Minh Ben and others studied intensely under the guidance of lecturers from the DTU Faculty of Civil Engineering. Minh Ben explained: “Soil mechanics is considered one of the most fundamental and important subjects for civil engineers like us. The foundations and structure of a building require a balanced combination of basic knowledge of soil mechanics, as well as experimental and practical experience. During our preparation for the Olympiad, we received dedicated support from the Faculty of Civil Engineering lecturers, who boosted our confidence during the competition and also taught us many things that will be useful in our future work.”
Bao Dai added: “While we were focused on studying for the contest, we all tried to arrange our schedules to ensure that we wouldn’t miss classes, while attending soil mechanics practice sessions at the same time. Most construction is built on the ground and, for it to be durable and economical, the engineer must have a firm understanding of the mechanical and physical properties of the soil.
Fortunately, during class hours, the lecturers at the DTU Faculty of Civil Engineering mentored us in our research to master topics such as soil characteristics, settlement determination, humidity determination, plastic flow limits, and the behavior of soil under different types of loads. They also assisted us in solving complex exercises and in practicing on several exam questions from previous years, which increased our confidence and led to high scores."
The two friends with Faculty of Civil Engineering Dean MSc. Nguyen Quoc Lam
The colleagues share their passion for research and competing in important contests, at DTU or nationwide. At the recent 2023 Student Scientific Research Conference, at the School of Engineering & Technology, their “ Study on factors influencing the shear strength of reinforced concrete columns considering the effect of axial load” project was awarded second prize and recognized by the committee for its content and feasibility for use in future construction. The friends are not afraid to share their knowledge and experience at all times with each other, with one person’s strengths supporting the shortcomings of the other, constantly learning together and improving day by day.
“The prizes that Bao Dai and Minh Ben won at the National Mechanics Olympiad are completely worthy of their academic effort and dedicated learning,” explained MSc. Duong Minh Chau, a lecturer at the DTU Faculty of Civil Engineering. “Bao Dai and Minh Ben are creative and are always proactively conducting research. Accompanying student teams to the National Mechanics Olympiad is also an opportunity for their lecturers to standardize teaching content, exchange documentation and curricula and gain further practical experience in their teaching.”
(Media Center)