The first AI graduate with honors becomes a university teaching assistant at the age of 22.

As a student in the first cohort of Artificial Intelligence students nationwide, Trung pursued a research-oriented career, aiming to become a lecturer in training and developing AI human resources.

In June 2025, Le Pham Hoang Trung (born 2003) graduated with honors with a GPA of 9.08 and a total training score of 94, becoming the first new bachelor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Science , Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

After 6 months of graduation, Trung was a teaching assistant at the Department of Communication, Faculty of Computer Networks and Communication, University of Information Technology, Ho Chi Minh City National University at the age of 22.

Trung will become a new graduate in Artificial Intelligence in June 2025. (Photo: Provided by the interviewee)

In 2021, the Physics major from Tien Giang High School for the Gifted, Dong Thap entered the university gate and studied a completely new major - Artificial Intelligence. Unlike many students majoring in IT and math with a foundation of specialized knowledge, Trung entered the AI ​​industry with limited knowledge.

In the early lessons, he often fell behind the pace of the lectures, especially in foundational subjects that required mathematical and algorithmic thinking.

Feeling "out of breath" compared to his friends made Trung spend most of his time after school relearning all the content, from advanced math, basic programming to the first AI models. He built for himself the habit of reviewing lessons during the day, looking at more reference materials, doing advanced exercises to grasp the knowledge. Trung said that it was this slow period that helped him gradually catch up with the learning pace, creating a solid enough foundation to persevere with the field of study.

From his first year, Trung set a goal of graduating early to continue his master's studies. Initially, Trung aimed for a job as a software programmer - a stable and familiar choice for technology students.

However, during an academic exchange, the instructor guided Trung to try his hand at research, because his ability to study regularly and his systematic thinking could be suitable for this direction.

Since then, Trung has gradually shifted his focus from “making products” to “understanding the nature” of AI, actively participating in research projects with lecturers at the school. During this process, he has had some results published in prestigious journals in the industry and international conferences - an important stepping stone to help Trung determine his long-term goal of becoming a researcher in the field of AI.

Trung participated in the International Conference on Collective Computing Intelligence (ICCCI 2025) in November 2025 (Photo: Provided by the interviewee).

When preparing for graduation, Trung faced great pressure when many students in his class switched to business internships to find job opportunities, while he focused on his research topic and the goal of graduating early.

“Seeing my friends doing internships while I was still trying to cram my studies to graduate early, I felt like I was falling behind,” Trung said.

Thanks to the guidance from his instructors and clearly defined academic goals, Trung maintains a busy work schedule, going to school in the morning and spending time doing research in the evening.

Trung graduated with a GPA of 9.08, being one of the three students with the highest academic results in the first AI course. This achievement helped Trung receive a Certificate of Merit from the Director of the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

Trung is studying for a Master's degree, majoring in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and is also teaching at the University of Information Technology, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

Scientific research achievements:
- Lead author of 1 article published in an ISI-Q1 journal, Impact Factor 15.5.
- Co-lead author of one international conference paper (rank B).
- Co-authored 2 papers for international conferences.

Academic and extracurricular achievements:
- Certificate of Merit from the Director of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City for outstanding academic achievement (2025).
- Certificate of Merit from the Rector of the University of Natural Sciences for outstanding achievements in scientific research activities (2025)
- Awarded the title of "Outstanding Student" at the university level (2022–2023).
- Title of Advanced Youth Following Uncle Ho's Teachings (2022, 2023, 2024).
- Exemplary young Party members for the period 2022–2024.

Giang Pham

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cu-nhan-ai-dau-tien-tot-nghiep-xuat-sac-22-tuoi-tro-thanh-tro-giang-dai-hoc-ar991619.html