Portrait

The winner of three international gold medals in Informatics

Consecutively winning three gold medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in 2019-2020, Bui Hong Duc, a 12th-grade student at the High School for Gifted Students under the Hanoi National University, set the record for Vietnam in international competitions.

Living near the High School for Gifted Students, Bui Hong Duc had the chance to meet Ho Dac Phuong, who is a lecturer at the high school. Noticing his sharp thinking and original ideas, Ho Dac Phuong persuaded Duc to take the entrance exam for the Information Technology major class at the school. At that time, Duc was a ninth grade student at the Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted and was often chosen as a member of the team of students selected to attend national and international competitions. Previously, seventh grade student Bui Hong Duc won a gold medal with the highest score at the international mathematics competition for young people in China in 2015.

Bui Hong Duc started studying IT when he was in grade 8. Although this was a new subject, it appealed to Duc in a special way. With his father's old computer, Duc had more chances to learn new things in IT. Saying about his son's passion for computing, Bui Hong Cuong, said"Duc considers computing as a game". After a few months of studying at the high school, Duc became a member of the selected team to attend the national competition for excellent students.

Duc won the first prize in Informatics at the 2017-2018 National High School Student Selection Exam. After that, he won the gold medal in the 21st Singapore National Informatics Olympic held by the National University of Singapore in March 2018, regarded as a great achievement for a tenth grade student.



Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave flowers to congratulate the Ten Promising Young Faces of 2019 including Bui Hong Duc. 


Bui Hong Duc won the gold medal at the IOI 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan.


Duc and members of the Vietnamese informatic team. 


Bui Hong Duc at the V
allet Scholarship Award ceremony 2019.


Bui Hong Duc won a gold medal at the 32nd International Olympiad in Informatics in 2020.


Duc brought glory to his country and his school with gold medals at international compettitions. 

Two years later, Bui Hong Duc brought glory to his country with gold medals at the 31st and 32nd International Informatics Olympics Competition.

In 2019, Duc's gold medal contributed to the overall performance of the national team, helping Vietnam rank 4th in the world after Russia, the US, and China. This was the year when the Vietnamese delegation had the highest results at the International Olympiad in Informatics since 2000.

Currently, Duc is a first-year student at the VNU University of Engineering and Technology. Recently, Hong Duc has been given the First Class Labor Medal by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.


Bui Hong Duc in his study area at home. 


Bui Hong Duc (center) received numerous awards in mathematics as a secondary student at the 
Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. 


Bui Hong Duc and his family at the reward ceremony of the IOI in 2020. 

Bui Hong Duc won a gold medal at the 32nd International Olympiad in Informatics in 2020, ranked 11th out of 343 contestants from 87 countries and territories.
Story: Thao Vy - Photos: Viet Cuong & Files

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