"Eat, sleep, and live off the topic."

The seminar was attended by three guest speakers: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Deputy Head of the Department of History), and Dr. Dao Thanh Truong (Head of the Department of Management Science), along with hundreds of students.

At the beginning of the sharing session, Dr. Dao Thanh Truong revealed five tips for students to choose research topics. “After my research, I realized that choosing a topic is about skill. It means you have to choose a topic that you are truly passionate about and deeply concerned with during your studies and work, and then address it with research results and scientific arguments,” Dr. Truong concluded.

The speakers enthusiastically answered students' questions and concerns about scientific research (Photo: Thu Hang).

Answering students' questions about the secret to sustaining a scientific research project to the end, Professor Minh humorously shared: “The most important thing is perseverance. Doing science is just about making a little effort each day. When I was working on my doctoral dissertation in Germany, I set myself a goal of one page a day. It's the same with scientific research; each day you dedicate 30 minutes to reading a document or source material, for example. Secondly, I think you shouldn't hide your ignorance. You shouldn't be self-conscious; you must discuss it with your friends. You must always live and breathe your research topic. Eat, sleep, and talk about it whenever you meet anyone. Even if people don't care, you should still talk about it. That way, you will surely succeed.”

The students were very enthusiastic in asking questions about scientific research (Photo: Thu Hang)

During the seminar, the professors also answered many other questions from students regarding questionnaire design, interviews, sample selection, the importance of foreign languages ​​in scientific research, and criteria for evaluating scientific research…

With the goal of becoming a research university, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is currently making great efforts to raise awareness and emphasize the importance of student scientific research. Professor Pham Quang Minh expressed his concerns, stating that in the past three years, the university has had approximately 800-900 scientific research projects across more than 6000 students. This means that only about 15% of the total student body participated in scientific research over the three years. This number is still insufficient for a research university. To address this issue, the university is currently pursuing several solutions such as establishing science and research-related clubs; establishing a scientific research fund; and continuously soliciting investment from businesses and philanthropists. Furthermore, the university allocates half a billion VND annually to support student scientific research activities.

Hopefully, with the support of the teachers and the school, in the future there will be even more high-quality research projects carried out by students.