“Meet Vietnam” – the golden opportunity missed The ninth “Meet Vietnam” in Quy Nhon City of the central province of Binh Dinh is believed to be the golden opportunity for Vietnamese scientists to meet the world’s famous scientists and approach the latest scientific research achievements. However, only a few of Vietnamese young scientists attended the event.    Foreign and domestic scientists at "Meet Vietnam" 2013. “Meet Vietnam” could not attract Vietnamese? The conference “Windows on the Universe,” an important part of “Meet Vietnam” was opened on August 12 morning with the participation of the world’s five well- known physics - the Nobel prize winners, and 200 scientists from all over the world.  The conference addressed the core issues of particle physics and cosmology. Only some 10 Vietnamese students and postgraduates have attended the conference. Prior to that, within the frame of the ninth “Meet Vietnam,” the two integrated conferences themed --"Cosmology of the Planck era," "General relativity and gravitation" did not see any Vietnamese young scientists. “I heard about the conference a long time ago, but I cannot attend the event. In order to get an admission ticket, I would have to pay $400, and I would have to pay for my meals and accommodations as well,” said Nguyen Hung Tuan, who is a student of the HCM City University Natural Sciences. “I would really love to attend the big event. But I cannot arrange such a big sum of money,” he added. Nguyen Hoang Dai Nghia, a fourth year physics majoring student of the HCM City University of Natural Sciences, said he was so lucky when he was chosen to attend the event. When hearing about the conference, Nghia and more than a half of the classmates registered to attend the event. However, the school informed that it would choose three students only, who have good English skills and professional knowledge enough to introduce to “Meet Vietnam.” Finally, Nghia became the only student accepted. “I was luckier than my friends who could not attend the conference. I received the strong support from Professor Tran Thanh Van, while the expenses were covered by the organization board. Nghia said that Vietnamese students in general, don’t have many opportunities to meet big scientists. The conference should have been the golden opportunity for them to learn more about the scientific research trends being followed by the big scientists. Prof Tran Thanh Van, Chair of Meet Vietnam, said he always thinks about what to do to help Vietnamese young scientists, but Meet Vietnam alone would not be able to cover all the issues. The inspirations which cannot be nurtured After finishing the Hanoi University of Natural Sciences, Hoang Thu Trang has been working for the Institute of Materials Science (the Academy of Science and Technology of Vietnam) for one year. “I have been meeting big obstacles in following my scientific research. Though it is a big research institute in Vietnam, it cannot provide sufficient experiment equipments,” Trang complained. The young scientist said there were 150 students at the physics majoring class at the university. However, only 10 of them still continue physics studies. “They really want to follow scientific research, but they can’t, because they cannot be equipped with the most essential instruments for conducting research,” Trang said. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hien from NASA, noted that Vietnam cannot provide necessary equipment for the scientists to conduct their research works. This explains why a lot of Vietnamese researchers have to go abroad to seek what they want. Source: NLD