After completing his undergraduate studies, Phan Hoang Long continued with a master’s degree under the 3+2 bachelor’s and master’s degree program offered jointly by Duy Tan University (DTU) and Chungbuk National University (CBNU, South Korea). He has now been awarded a nine-month MPhil scholarship in Advanced Computer Science from the University of Cambridge (UK), along with the IRIS@NUS scholarship (Internship & Research Immersion in Singapore). This will enable him to continue studying, do research, and gain experience in a world-leading academic environment.
Hoang Long was a student in DTU’s CMU-standard program in Software Engineering when he learned about the 3+2 joint training program between DTU and CBNU. He recognized it as a valuable opportunity and applied.
Hoang Long during a visit back to DTU while studying at Chungbuk
To be admitted to the program, students must meet English proficiency requirements and have a GPA of 3.2/4.0 or higher. Participants receive a full tuition waiver for the full two years at CBNU.
• They first study three years at DTU.
• The next two years are at Chungbuk: The first six months are devoted to completing remaining DTU coursework and the following one and a half years go to a CBNU master’s degree.
“What made me decide to pursue this program was the opportunity to do scientific research early on,” Hoang Long explains. “I want to become a university lecturer or a scientist. During my years at DTU, my lecturers gave me dedicated guidance to gain professional knowledge and I learned effective study methods with a long-term development strategy. I was also given opportunities to participate in research, attend many conferences, and join exchange programs, which gave me confidence on my path of in-depth research.”
The supportive academic setting at DTU provided a springboard for Hoang Long to quickly adapt when he moved to South Korea for graduate studies. He is currently enjoying a rewarding and exciting period of study and experience at CBNU.
“The academic environment at CBNU is quite open,” Hoang Long explains. “But it requires strong teamwork skills. Almost all courses include group assignments with closely spaced deadlines, so I have to plan very carefully to balance coursework, research, and lab activities. I’m learning how to adapt, proactively connect with international peers, and make the most of all available resources to achieve the best possible academic results.”
The partnership with CBNU brings many rare study opportunities to DTU students
As a master’s student in Computer Science at CBNU, Hoang Long is allowed to do research at the DAI lab under the supervision of Prof. Young-Seob Jeong. “Prof. Young-Seob Jeong has worked for a technology development team at NAVER, one of South Korea’s leading technology corporations,” Hoang Long explains. “Under his dedicated and experienced guidance, I’ve learned a lot of essential and foundational knowledge concerning data science and operating systems. This has given me a solid grasp of how language models operate and how to work accurately with data systems. He doesn’t put us under too heavy pressure to publish or attend international conferences during the first year in the lab, but instead helps us maintain a comfortable mindset to focus on mastering in-depth professional knowledge.”
Persistent efforts in study and research since his early days at DTU have earned Hoang Long an impressive list of academic achievements:
• BK21 scholarship from CBNU, for graduate students with academic research achievements in 2025;
• G-Cruit scholarship at CBNU for the master in Computer Science;
• participation in the IEEE 21st International Conference on Automation Science & Engineering (CASE 2025);
• presentation of a research project at ISIITA 2025 in hybrid format in Taiwan;
• participation in Incite summer school 2024;
• participation in Harvard summer school 2023;
• recipient of ScaleX full scholarship, Singapore.
These outstanding accomplishments create a strong academic profile, which further earned Hoang Long:
• a nine-month MPhil scholarship in Advanced Computer Science from the University of Cambridge (30%); and
• a three-month IRIS@NUS scholarship, to personally participate in real-world research projects in a research group led by top scientists.
“Besides an impressive GPA, the perfect scholarship application also requires research experience, recommendation letters from reputable professors, and a highly practical research proposal,” Hoang Long affirms. “For the prestigious MPhil scholarship, I had to integrate all my skills - from English proficiency and teamwork to convincing the scholarship committee of my research direction, which in this case was about large language models. I think that meticulous preparation and an attitude of continuous learning in the most demanding environments are the keys to success.”
With Computer Science for his long-term academic path, Hoang Long has many plans: “After studying abroad, I hope to return to DTU to work. I find all the favorable conditions for my career development there, and it would also be a way of giving back to the university for always offering the best learning opportunities to its students. I’m also thinking to build a strong and young research group at DTU to develop education & research in Computer Science - a foundation of the digital transformation, AI, and core technologies of the digital era. This would allow me to make practical contributions to developing high-tech manpower in Vietnam.”
(Media Center)
