Professor Ironman’s Unique Philosophy

Differences in mindset and lifestyle of Professor Duong Nguyen Vu (Honorary Dean of VinUniversity’s College of Engineering and Computer Science) – one of the world’s leading scientists in information technology – can be considered representative of the educational philosophy that the School is pursuing.

“No one stops Professors from being DJs”

I was quite surprised to secure an appointment with Prof. Duong Nguyen Vu at 5 in the morning on VinUniversity campus, with a reminder to “Wear your athletic clothes”. At first, I thought maybe it was because the Dean was too busy. The reality turned out to be completely different.

On schedule, I arrived at the dorm. VinUniversity’s professors and students all stay here. Prof. Vu was already waiting. I was especially impressed by the bright orange athletic clothes he was wearing.

And so the conversation occurred during our jog around Ngoc Trai lake in Vinhomes Ocean Park (Gia Lam, Ha Noi), where the elite university is preparing for its first commencement ceremony. It was then that I found out that the Professor jogging next to me is a real Ironman. He is even called Ironman Ambassador, President of Viet Nam Triathlon Club – VNTC.

Prof. Vu told me that he wakes up every morning at 4h30 to jog or ride his bike. “Sometimes I bike 60km, sometimes 80km, jogging is usually 10km, then I swim 2-3km. On Sunday I can play all three sports”.

The reason why this ex-Eurocontrol’s Head of Innovative Research play sports is quite unique. Sports is not only a way to exercise, but also a practice of discipline.

“Discipline means carrying out things as planned. Discipline is necessary if you really want to become excellent”, he explained.
He also believes that sports are the way to fully experience life, rather than just immersing in concepts. A person usually thinks that one cannot run over 5km, but with persistent practice, in time, one can conquer 21km and more. A person afraid of water is shy of swimming, but by dipping oneself in water several times, one can grow out of this fear, and even become an amazing swimmer.

“Only by experiencing your own body’s pain and suffering can you understand your true limits. It is greater than you think”, shared Prof. Vu.

Living to the full, experiencing the undone and going over your limits for greater things is an educational philosophy held by a long-time professor at Nanyang Technology University (world’s top 13) and other prestigious European universities. To him, education is not about imposition. Teachers are simply guides who open spaces for students to express themselves and develop. When students are already talented, bigger spaces allow for greater growth, turning them into excellent versions of themselves.
“Restrictions will kill creativity. Things are always moving and changing. No opinion is absolute, similar to how no one can stop men from wearing bright clothes or professors from being DJs”, said Prof. Vu as he pointed to his outfit and his hobby of DJ-ing.

Forcing your brain to work in order to activate creative thinking is the mission of Agile Innovation (or better understand as Fast and adaptive creativity) – a subject personally designed and taught by Prof. Vu. This is a subject originally available at Cornell University (US) and, for the first time ever, it is taught in Vietnam, as part of VinUniversity’s curriculum. Notably, Prof. Vu is one of the few Deans who still directly teach.

“Being able to pass the flame of passion and modify the future using knowledge via the young generation is a responsibility and an honor of being a teacher, a privilege not everyone has”, the Dean of VinUniversity stated.

Professor Ironman’s unique philosophy

Prof. Duong Nguyen Vu joined VinUniveristy when he had already been internationally recognized. He concurrently serves as a Professor at School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Director of Air Traffic Management Research Institute of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a well-known Information Technology specialist in Aviation. He had been Senior Scientific Advisor and Head of Scientific Committee at the European Organization for Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol).

Putting behind his bright career abroad, he returned to Vietnam to teach and laid the foundation for John von Neumann Institute, part of Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City from 2010. Now, joining the VinUniversity project, Prof. Vu elaborated that, in his over-20-year participation in education and research in Vietnam, joining VinUniversity was his most exciting decision.

Quoting Nelson Mandela’s famous saying “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, Prof. Vu believes that Vietnam needs a model like VinUniversity, with the goal of becoming an elite university, in order to create a breakthrough. The greatest desire of foreign-trained intellectuals like himself is being able to do something for Vietnam, make it stronger so that he himself can be proud. This goal is greater than what one usually thinks of for a university.

“Abroad, no matter how great the achievement, it is not for the benefit of Vietnam. That is why I chose VinUniveristy, where I share the same vision and where I have the chance to make my lifelong dream come true”, shared Prof. Vu.

Prof. Vu trusts that, if Nanyang Technology University only took 20 years to make it into the world’s top 50, then with proper investment, a sustainable model and careful planning, VinUniversity’s goal of becoming a world-class university is entirely possible.

“This is not an easy task, but not just myself but many Vietnamese scientists around the world all share the same belief”, Prof. Vu asserted.

The Professor also trusts that the meaning of life lies in the value you bring to others, not in enjoying things you receive. And the value of a human is measured by his contribution to society. That is why he does not have any regrets about his decision to return at the peak of his career.

“My life philosophy is devotion, do all that you think is good, don’t calculate your returns, just give and you will gain something far greater”, shared Prof. Vu.