Vietnamese student wins fully funded PhD at world’s No. 8 university in Singapore

Although she had been admitted to the Biology Education program at Hanoi National University of Education, she chose instead to enter the Pharmaceutical Chemistry program at VNU University of Science.

The shift came as a shock. The chemistry curriculum was almost entirely new material, and she initially struggled to keep up with classmates who had taken the chemistry specialty track in high school.

“There were times I doubted my decision to pursue pharmaceutical chemistry because I couldn’t keep up with my classmates,” she said.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Anh conducting an experiment at her university lab in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of Phuong Anh

In her second year, recognizing she needed stronger practical skills, Phuong Anh asked to join the laboratory of Associate Professor Pham Thi Ngoc Mai. Her research focused on synthesizing nanomaterials and functional polymers to improve sensitivity and selectivity in analytical methods.

She approached setbacks methodically. “If an experiment didn’t yield results, in the evening I would search on Google Scholar to identify the cause, then discuss with my professors and lab seniors to adjust the experimental conditions,” she said.

Mastering academic English was another hurdle. She struggled to write up experimental results and read extensively to learn the conventions, supplemented by AI tools.

Mai praised her student’s perseverance, noting that Phuong Anh kept showing up at the lab whether her class schedule was packed or after she had defended her thesis. The work produced results: she is co-author of an international paper in Spectrochimica Acta Part A, a Q1 journal, and lead author of a domestic paper in the Journal of Tropical Science and Technology. The publications strengthened her applications to PhD programs abroad.

Phuong Anh will move to Singapore in late July to prepare for enrollment in the research group of Associate Professor Chi Chunyan, whose work in organic chemistry and materials science has applications in optoelectronics and emerging technologies. She is continuing her lab work in Hanoi while studying Mandarin alongside English to adapt to her new environment.

“I plan to return to Vietnam after completing the program, continue doing research, and possibly become a lecturer myself, like the professors who inspired me,” she said.