24 year-old Pham Minh Cong, a student of Electrical Engineering at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Da Nang University of Science and Technology, has recently garnered recognition from his faculty for securing a place in the top 10 of the 2023 NextGen Young Leaders programme. In addition to this achievement, Cong was a member of the Vietnamese student delegation that participated in the ASEAN Clean Energy Week held in Manila, Philippines, in November 2023.

Pham Minh Cong (second, right, the top row) is a member of the Vietnamese student delegation at the ASEAN Clean Energy Week held in Manila, the Philippines, in November 2023.

Cong said that the program's focus on "innovation, clean energy, and sustainable development" closely aligns with his academic pursuits to contribute positively to the community. Prior to his participation in the 2023 NextGen Young Leaders programme, he served as the Chairman of the ENV Da Nang Club, operating under the Education For Nature – Vietnam (ENV), a non-governmental organization dedicated to wildlife conservation. His active participation in community services played a pivotal role in making a positive impression on the NEXGen's organizers, leading to his selection for the program.

Cong was the sole participant from Da Nang, competing against top-tier students from universities nationwide. Initially overwhelmed and battling self-doubt due to the high caliber of his fellow contestants, Cong leveraged his electrical engineering expertise to gain confidence and meet the program's challenges.

At the NEXGen, contestants underwent training through modules related to sustainable energy. Additionally, participants engaged in group research projects on such topics as small-scale smart grid models, energy storage; waste-to-energy models, sustainable materials; and solutions for a green future. Individual scores are accumulated during the learning process and for the final group research project, which were considered by the program's judes for overall achievement with rewards: the top 10 scoring contestants receive full sponsorship from New Energy Nexus Vietnam for international extracurricular activities in the Philippines.

Pham Minh Cong's efforts have paid off. Under the guidance of Associate Professor Dr. Duong Minh Quan, Cong's group's research topic, "Peer-to-peer energy sharing and trading," took the 4^th place out of the top 10 research projects on Smart Grids at the NEXGen 2023. Cong was named among the top 10 contestants of the program, and received full sponsorship for a study trip to the Philippines from November 21 to 25, 2023. Cong and his peers had a chance to participate in the ASEAN Clean Energy Week. Additionally, he was fully funded to attend "The NEXGen Summit" in Ho Chi Minh City on December 16.

Cong felt a great sense of pride as he secured a position among the top 10 contestants in the 2023 NextGen Young Leaders programme, and achieved unexpected success.

Coming from a rural area, the 21-year-old male student never imagined having the chance to advance personally or to travel abroad.

“During the ASEAN Clean Energy Week, Viet Nam received considerable attention due to its government's ambitious pledges and strategic plans shared with the global community. The challenges faced by Viet Nam and neighboring nations in fulfilling these commitments were also highlighted. Participating in this event offered opportunities to me to get access to numerous innovative projects and technologies from countries worldwide,” Cong remarked.

During his participation in such an international event, Cong felt a surge of national pride at witnessing the time when Viet Nam was mentioned. He eagerly introduced himself as a Vietnamese representative to his global peers.

Cong hoped to encourage Vietnamese young people to join hands with the national government in the ‘energy transition’ journey in Central Viet Nam that is most affected by climate change.

Upon his return from the Philippines, Pham Minh Cong posted his article on his personal social media account: “The energy sector stands as the predominant source of CO₂ emissions, largely owing to the combustion of fossil fuels (such as coal and petroleum) in power generation at thermal power plants. Tackling climate change, therefore, necessitates a significant reduction in carbon emissions and the initiation of an energy transition, moving away from traditional fossil fuel-based energy towards sustainable renewable sources like wind and solar power.”

Cong hoped that his online article would bring the concepts of ‘energy transition’ and ‘climate change’ closer to Vietnamese people, especially college students and school pupils.

The NEXGen 2023 program is strategically focused on fostering and developing young talent into future leaders in the clean energy industry, thereby contributing to developing the workforce for the innovation market in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia.

The event was organized by New Energy Nexus Vietnam, a non-profit organization. New Energy Nexus Vietnam was launched in early 2019 with the mission of promoting Vietnam’s clean energy movement. New Energy Nexus Vietnam does this by supporting entrepreneurs and startups with incubation, acceleration and funding opportunities.

Reporting by LAM VIEN - Translating by HOAI TRANG