VIETNAM 2005

The Vietnamese students at Ecole Polytechnique DO Mai Phuong (class X99, Axens IFP Group Technology) and VU Ngoc Anh (class X01, ENST Paris)

In 2005, a new club was created at Ecole Polytechnique (X): the club XVietnam. This club has the full support of all the Vietnamese students who have passed the entrance examination EV2 (for foreign students who do not follow preparatory classes) and their French counterparts, who want to discover Vietnam and its culture thanks to their contact with Vietnamese students. The first EV2 Vietnamese students came to X in 1996 to join the class of 1995. Since then, the number of Vietnamese students in each year has continued to increase: 2 in the class of 96, 4 in the classes of 97 and 98, and up to 15 in the class of 2002, an average of 10 students each year. X: short name of Ecole Polytechnique, the best university for engineering in France, whose logo has two crossed cannons as an X. Who are these students? They are students in the honor programs of some famous universities in Vietnam (Hanoi national University of Natural Science, Institutes of Technology in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city). They are all selected by their recorded achievements and then by oral examinations in Mathematics, Physics and general culture which take place at the French Embassy in Hanoi. The majority of these students have won the International Olympiad medals for Mathematics or Physics, which is the highest possible award for pupils in Vietnam. They constitute the majority of the young elites of the country. One or more scholarships will be offered so that they can continue their studies abroad, for example, CULTURE / COUNTRY / PEOPLE

in the United States, Japan, Australia or France. Why France and Ecole Polytechnique ? When sitting the entrance examination for X, the majority of students have to do the oral examinations in English because they do not speak French well enough (in Vietnam the young people prefer English to French). In spite of the linguistic challenge, there is no doubt that they go to X to continue their studies because “X is one of the best establishments for higher education in various disciplines”, or simply because France is the best country in the world to study the mathematics.

At Ecole Polytechnique It is true that the school does everything for its students, both French and foreign: a diverse academic profile, the best lecturers who are friendly and always available, facilities for not only their study but also for all sports and cultural activities. On the whole it is a very good environment for learning and a perfect place for integration between students. In Palaiseau, not only can the students benefit well from the education, but also from the wide range of students’ activities: the clubs, the student union (KES)... the X-Vietnameses participate in several different clubs: X-entreprise, X-International BEST, Hi-fi, Rock... They are also found in the KES teams, where most participate simply for fun. Student life in the campus also makes it possible to discover new sports such as horse-riding, handball, golf and fencing. The participation of the X-Vietnamese in the other sports activities more well known in their country, like football (night of football) or the martial arts is quite frequent. Individual participation in school activities, the desire to share and to make their culture known pushed the X-Vietnamese to create activities themselves. The students of

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the class of 99 undoubtedly remember the Vietnamese Day, which let them attend spectacles of martial arts and traditional dance. From the promotion 2000, Chinese New Year is celebrated in the campus every year, organized by Asian students of the class. Extra curricular life is blooming, and their academic results are: the best student of the class of 97 was Vietnamese, and there have been Vietnamese students in the top 10 since 1996. And after X? Thanks to their efforts integrating and their good grades, when leaving the school, the Vietnamese students have as many choices for their fourth year as the French students (except being state employed). Coming from a country where the title “doctorate” is more appreciated than that of engineer, most of the earlier Vietnamese students (from 95 to 99) chose the field of research after leaving X. Some students went to the United States to continue their thesis at prestigious universities such as Harvard and Princeton.... However, the trend changed during the last three years. In the class of 2000 there were 6 students out of 16 who applied to another engineering school after X. This tendency has been even stronger for the last two years. The class of 2002, which has just left X, was the first class from which the number of Vietnamese students who chose an engineering school is higher than those who chose research (9 compared to 4). The choice of the schools varies between such schools as Telecom Paris, ENSAE, Mines de Paris, Ponts et Chaussées, Supaéro, ENSTA and also Ecole du Pétrole et des Moteurs. Like French students, each year there are a certain number of X-Vietnamese who go abroad to carry out their fourth year: in the United States, England, Canada... We cannot know much about the professional life of the Vietnamese alumni because there are not many

Photo: Jean-Luc DENIEL (Ecole Polytechnique)

A Vietnamese student during the National Holiday Parade on Champs Elysées Avenue, Paris (July 14, 2002).

who have finished their training and who have entered into the job market. The majority are either finishing their thesis, or their last year of studying engineering. The self development of these students raises several important points; being on the campus of Palaiseau for two years, they obtained solid bases of scientific knowledge and French culture. Having a French-Vietnamese double culture is an asset and helps integration into French society in life after X. At the end of their studies, they find internships without difficulty or positions in large French companies. Driven by ambition, some even follow training courses or work in companies abroad, such as in the United States, Japan and England, aiming to complement what they have already studied in France. Since there are approximately ten Vietnamese students in each year, in 3 years there will be nearly 150 Vietnamese polytechniciens. They will work in all fields, telecommunication or aerospace, the automotive industry, large oil companies, finance, economic science and of course in fields of scientific research, especially in Mathematics and Physics. Their Asian culture and the fact of having a good knowledge of the Western culture are two "de facto" qualities, before

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even taking into account the solid technical knowledge they have gained. Open to new worlds, ready to debate with their peers, the alumni of the school will play an important role in the development of Vietnam. Thus, the motto of the school: "For Homeland, Sciences and Glory", will guide the Vietnamese polytechniciens in their way of life from this day onward.

This article is translated from the original version by the binet X-Vietnam

CULTURE / COUNTRY / PEOPLE