Four Vietnamese students won gold medals at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from July 5 to 14.
This marks the first time in history that the Vietnamese team has secured four gold medals at an IChO that was held in person.
The two team members ranked in the top 10 were 12th grade student Ngo Quang Minh from Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted in Bac Ninh Province, who won seventh place, and 12th grade student Nguyen Hoang Khoi from the High School for the Gifted under the Hanoi National University of Education, who made it to 10th place.
Other team members included Giang Duc Dung, Grade 12, from the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences at Vietnam National University - Hanoi's University of Science, who ranked 14th, and 11th grader Nguyen Manh Tuan from Hanoi's Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, who placed 37th.
In the medal table, Vietnam tied with China and the US in the number of gold medals.
This year’s achievement continues the impressive performance of the Vietnamese team in recent IChO editions.
From 2020 to 2025, all 24 participating Vietnamese students earned medals, amounting to 21 gold and three silver in total.
These results confirm the quality of Vietnam’s education system and demonstrate the effectiveness of the Ministry of Education and Training’s strategy for identifying, selecting and nurturing gifted students.
The IChO consists of a theoretical exam and a practical exam, each lasting five hours.
In this year's IChO, the practical exam required contestants to demonstrate proficiency in a wide range of laboratory skills, including the synthesis and analysis of coordination compounds, identification of amino acids, detection of organic compounds using thin-layer chromatography, titration and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. This section demanded accuracy, logical thinking and fluency in laboratory techniques.
Meanwhile, the theoretical exam addressed real-world applications with problems using seawater desalination, solar energy, tennis balls and lanterns as examples.
It required participants to apply integrated knowledge and critical thinking to solve the problems. This year’s exam structure was praised for being creative and relevant to real-life contexts while maintaining scientific depth.
IChO is the most prestigious and large-scale global competition for high school students in the field of chemistry.
The 57th IChO featured 354 contestants from 90 countries and territories and took place from July 5 to 14 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with the participation of delegations.