About the author

Information Technology Scientist and Advocate for the Protection of Northern Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage

Dr. Nguyen Chi Cong is a pioneering Vietnamese information technology scientist and an independent cultural researcher whose career uniquely bridges modern computing science and the preservation of Northern Vietnam’s historical and cultural heritage.

Early Contributions to Information Technology

Dr. Cong emerged during the formative period of computer science in Vietnam. In 1983, he served as chief editor of Microprocessing Technology (Statistics Publishing House), one of the earliest Vietnamese textbooks addressing microprocessors and computer systems. In 1990, he continued this effort with the first Viet Nam Informatics Schoolbook (Institute of Educational Sciences), contributing to the introduction of informatics into national education system.

In 1988, he was among the founding members of FPT, one of Vietnam’s earliest and most influential information technology enterprises. From 1991, he served as Director of the Information Systems Center (ISC) at the National Institute of Technology Research, where he led research and applied projects in information systems.

Dr. Cong was Principal Investigator of a national research project on Vietnamese language processing (1995–1997) under the KC-01 Program, focusing on text encoding, linguistic data processing, and the long-term digital preservation of Vietnamese-language resources. These studies played a significant role in safeguarding Vietnamese linguistic heritage in digital environments.

Between 1995 and 2001, Dr. Cong lectured at the Francophone Institute for Informatics (IFI), educating generations of Vietnamese IT engineers. From 2001 to 2005, he was appointed Chief Architect of the national project “Computerization of State Administrative Management”, a cornerstone initiative in Vietnam’s early development of E-government.

He later held key professional roles, including:

• Head of the Science and Technology Committee, Vietnam Association for Information Processing (2002–2009)
• Head of the TCVN/JTC1 (Vietnamese IT Standards Technical Committee), contributing to national IT standardization efforts

Since 2020, Dr. Cong has run a private museum on information technology located in his home (GoogleMap: 2R4M+75, Đống Đa, Hà Nội, Vietnam).

Commitment to Cultural Heritage Preservation

Beyond his technological career, Dr. Cong is deeply committed to the documentation and protection of Northern Vietnam’s historical and cultural heritage, particularly village-based heritage such as communal houses (đình), temples (đền), pagodas (chùa), shrines, and vernacular belief systems.

He is the founder, author, and curator of several open-access heritage documentation platforms, including:

• https://dongtac.hncity.org
• https://v-mit.net
• https://360.hncity.org

These platforms function as digital heritage archives, integrating field surveys, historical texts, Hán–Nôm sources, royal decrees, maps, photographs, and local oral histories.

A defining principle of his work is methodological rigor:

• All materials must be verifiable, source-based, and historically grounded; conjecture and fictionalization are strictly avoided.

Methodology and Legacy

Dr. Cong applies a scientific approach to cultural heritage, emphasizing authenticity, contextual analysis, and the strategic use of digital technologies for long-term preservation and public accessibility. His work exemplifies how information technology can serve as a powerful instrument for safeguarding collective memory.

His enduring legacy lies not only in his contributions to computer science, but also in the comprehensive digital documentation of Northern Vietnam’s cultural landscape, ensuring that historical knowledge remains accessible to future generations.