Developing chatbot to support female students in mountainous areas

Vo Nguyen Tuong Minh, a 10th grade student at Concordia International School Hanoi and founder of the Future Uplift Foundation, has just created a unique technological solution with his friends, developing a chatbot with the goal of providing educational, gender and psychological information to female students in mountainous areas.

In this interview, Minh shares about his journey of developing chatbots, the difficulties, as well as his and his group's future dreams .

Greet Tuong Minh! Can you share what inspired you and your team to create this chatbot?

The idea started after volunteer trips to the northern mountainous provinces during Tet. During those trips, I met many ethnic minority female students with difficult circumstances. Although they were very smart and hard-working, they lacked basic information about health, psychology and study orientation. I realized that although there were many organizations that provided material support, they lacked knowledge that was close to their actual needs. This was what motivated me and my team to develop an accessible chatbot specifically for female students in the highlands.

Secretary of the Central Youth Union, Chairman of the Central Council of Young Pioneers Nguyen Pham Duy Trang (in blue ao dai) and the research team of the project "AI friend of female students" on the sidelines of the 15th "Uncle Ho's Good Children" Congress in Hanoi .

So How was the journey for you and your team to develop this chatbot ? Especially the difficulties that you and your team encountered?

We used the ZeroChat platform from VedaX to build this chatbot. First, we collected and cleaned the data, then put it into the RAG model so that the chatbot could search and give answers effectively. The first version was Callbot, then developed into Chatbot. The biggest challenge was how to make the chatbot content easy to understand, accurate, and still make users feel comfortable when chatting.

So your chatbot What information do you provide to female students? What is the feedback from users?

The chatbot currently focuses on three areas: sex education , mental health, and learning. To access the chatbot, female students can use this link: https://zerophone.us/customerEmbed/bvte/sk_KKhRGRVPBUCFxM2MMf2qtgDntDy8ElJkuCXfZC3ZvKBSTQgA6E2rHnXaquWmkw to chat via phone. In addition, we also have a website to introduce more about the project: https://hotronusinh.org/.

At first, many people were hesitant to talk to AI, but after a while, they felt more comfortable. The number of questions and the frequency of interactions also increased. So far, the feedback has been quite positive. People often ask about topics such as nutrition, cooking, and health care.

How do you ensure that the information chatbots provide is accurate and age-appropriate for users?

We always want to ensure that the chatbot is not only friendly but also provides accurate content. During the data building process, we worked with Dr. Tang Ky Ninh to review and select information, ensuring that the chatbot conveys knowledge safely and appropriately.

In the future, the Do you plan to expand the chatbot with any features?

We plan to develop a multilingual feature, not only in Vietnamese but also in English and some popular ethnic minority languages such as Thai and Mong. Adding languages will help the chatbot reach out to you in specific areas. In addition, we also want to develop a text reading and interpretation feature to help female students in mountainous areas review more effectively.

How do you think AI technology can change the way girls in mountainous areas are educated ?

We believe that AI is a powerful bridge between hard-to-reach areas and knowledge sources. For female students in mountainous areas who face barriers in learning conditions, AI can provide a friend who listens 24/7, always ready to help and encourage without judgment.

Thank you for sharing this very useful information! Wish you and your team every success in your upcoming projects!

Thank you Vietnam Women Newspaper! I am very happy to share my dream of applying the knowledge I have learned to develop a fund to support female students in the future, providing more practical help to female students in mountainous areas.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/phat-trien-chatbot-ho-tro-nu-sinh-vung-cao-20250509105709211.htm