From silver medalist in the International Math Olympiad to a female PhD with aspirations to develop AI

"In Japan, things I couldn't do, many others could. Things I can do for students in Vietnam would probably be more meaningful," Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Phi Le shared, explaining his reason for declining to stay and teach in Japan.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Phi Le - Photo: Provided by the interviewee

Since 2019, many students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology have become quite familiar with the image of Ms. Phi Le in the research lab, accompanying students in scientific research. However, to be able to stand in this position and support students, she once turned down an offer to become a lecturer at a university in Japan in order to return home.

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Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Phi Le, 42 years old, is currently the director of the Artificial Intelligence Research and Application Institute (AI4LIFE) and a lecturer in the Computer Science Department, School of Information Technology and Communications, Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Previously, in 2000, while a student at Lam Son High School for the Gifted (Thanh Hoa), she won a silver medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2000), becoming one of only 11 female Vietnamese students to win a medal in the history of the IMO. Upon entering university, she chose to study the gifted program in Electronics and Telecommunications at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. After her first year, she received a scholarship from the Japanese government and studied information and communication technology at the University of Tokyo, graduating with honors in 2007 and a master's degree in 2010. "I wanted to return because I think I could find work anywhere, not necessarily in a place with better conditions. Each place has a different role, and it's important to do my job well. Therefore, I decided to return to Vietnam," Phi Le shared. In 2010, upon returning to Vietnam, she started working at the research and development center of Viettel . However, after a while, she felt this job didn't suit her interests, so she returned to Hanoi University of Science and Technology to dedicate herself to research and teaching until now.

Dr. Nguyen Phi Le at the doctoral graduation ceremony - Photo: Provided by the interviewee

In 2016, she returned to Japan as a doctoral student, becoming the top student at the National Institute of Informatics in Japan in 2018; in 2019, she received her PhD in Information Technology from the National Institute of Informatics in Japan. This was also the second time Phi Le faced the choice of staying or returning. "In Japan, I might be like a grain of sand; if I don't do it, someone else might. The things I can do for my students in Vietnam are probably more meaningful. For those reasons, I refused this rare opportunity. To this day, I still believe my decision was the right one," Phi Le recounted. Welcoming students into the research group from scratch: After refusing the opportunity to become a lecturer at a university in Japan, in 2019 Phi Le returned to Vietnam and continued her research and teaching work at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

She said she rarely sets long-term goals because she doesn't have time to think about them and has many immediate tasks to do. At that time, since the research group didn't have any students, during the first semester she taught classes to "promote" the group's work and help students understand what it would be doing in order to recruit them. This was also the only semester she did this; in subsequent semesters, students spread the word and applied to join her research group. She explained that in the field of artificial intelligence, new models and techniques are created almost daily, and without guidance, students find it very difficult to keep up, sometimes feeling confused about where to begin. To support students in conducting effective research, she called on her friends, who are Vietnamese professors and researchers working around the world, to participate in mentoring the students. Each student joining a research group will work with at least one professor from abroad, receiving dedicated and close guidance.

Ms. Phi Le (on the right) and her research team on a field trip for a project applying AI in agriculture - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Ms. Phi Le stated that for information technology students to excel in scientific research, they must possess a strong mathematical foundation, excellent logical thinking skills, and, most importantly, a passion for research. Scientific research is a demanding, arduous, and challenging endeavor that often fails to generate immediate financial returns; conversely, it requires significant investment, and research products are not always marketable. There are times when students participate in research but are unable to generate income, and Ms. Phi Le often has to allocate funds from her salary or personal research projects to support them.

Ms. Nguyen Phi Le and her fellow students celebrated her birthday at the lab - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

She admitted that she sometimes felt disheartened and saddened that almost none of the students stayed with her for the long term. When they joined the research group, they knew nothing, starting from scratch. Once they became relatively proficient in research skills, they had to leave to learn new things. "This cycle repeats itself, requiring patience and sometimes even endurance. In about 4-5 years, hopefully, the first batches of students who studied abroad will return. If any of them continue working with me, that would be incredibly wonderful," said Phi Le.

Workspace at AI4LIFE - Photo: Provided by the interviewee

Ms. Phi Le is currently the leader of a research group comprising over 30 talented undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Her research group has published over 120 papers in numerous prestigious journals and conferences, including Neurips, ICML, EMNLP, ECML, IPDPS, ComNet, Comcom, JNCA, IEEE Sensors, and ACM TOSN. Ms. Phi Le has also won numerous outstanding paper awards at prestigious conferences, including ISSNIP'14, SoICT'15, ICT-DM'19, CCGrid 2023, and CANDAR 2023.

Key positions driving AI development in Vietnam

In March 2021, Ms. Phi Le was appointed director of the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research (BKAI), and in October 2024, she was assigned the task of managing the Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application (AI4LIFE). The AI4LIFE Institute's mission is to conduct research on AI and apply the research results to practical situations, collaborating with businesses and government agencies to solve real-world problems. Additionally, the institute aims to participate in postgraduate training and expand cooperation with international organizations to promote interdisciplinary AI research and application at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

Nguyen Bao - Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-giai-bac-olympic-toan-quoc-te-den-nu-tien-si-mang-khat-vong-phat-trien-ai-20241119230829415.htm