Dr. Duong Quang Trung has just been honored as the Young Outstanding Scientist of 2016 at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as a result of his unique research accomplishments, from a field of 2,500 other academics,
A collection of awards
Dr. Trung was born in 1979 and now teaches and conducts research at Queen’s University, which is in the top 1% of universities worldwide and in the top 20 in the UK. He got his PhD in Telecommunications in late 2012 and was appointed Professor in 2013, with no further requirement to post-doctoral work.
Dr. Duong Quang Trung, on the right
After three years at Queen’s, Dr. Trung is the leader of 8 research projects. Over the past two years, he has been funded for 4 new projects, with $1.3 million from UK companies. He has formed a team of 3 post-doctorate researchers and 11 postgraduates.
Dr. Trung is the author or co-author of 230 international research papers, with 120 published in ISI-indexed journals. He has received several awards in the last three years, including an Honorary Fellowship from the British Science Association. Only 8 people in the UK have received this award and Dr. Trung is the only ICT winner. He also won two Best Paper Awards, one at the 2016 IEEE GLOBECOM in Washington DC in 2016 and the other at the 2014 IEEE ICC in Sydney, Australia.
Recently, Dr. Trung was appointed Chairperson of a working session at the 2016 Global Challenge Conference, which brought together 60 young scientists, below 45 years old from 28 countries, to discuss urgent global issues such as energy, pollution, sustainable development, and international communications and so on.
With sound investment, Vietnamese scientists will be able to match their colleagues abroad
Dr. Trung said: “We have started to work by international standards. Vietnam has several talented scientists and, with the right investment, we will be able catch-up with our colleagues abroad. However, most PhDs at our universities must still teach too much, leaving insufficient time for research, which results in quantity but not quality”.
Dr. Duong Quang Trung, on the left, and his associates
Dr. Trung says that, in foreign countries, research money comes from the government, companies and investment funds, which are abundant. Fund management is very important and scientists don’t need to worry about finances because their governing body is in charge of those.
We need research awareness
Dr. Trung talked about what was needed encourage young Vietnamese scientists to do more research. He said: “What we need most is transparency in project feedback and a reduction in administrative procedures. When projects are accepted or rejected, feedback should be given to candidates to prepare them for future applications or allow them to appeal to the referee, who occasionally may not have all the facts. Many research funds in Vietnam ignore this important point and applicants do not know why they have been rejected. Another important thing is that society should be made more aware of academic research activities, which are very different from the manufacturing procedures they may be familiar with, in order to differentiate between theoretical and applied research. There is a misconception that we are not really doing research but just taking in donor money, which is mentioned in newspapers. This is why we really need a transparent working environment”.
In particular, the government should provide young scientists with Fellowships, to allow them to create their own research teams and projects.
(Media Center)