Vo Thu Trang graduated as valedictorian of the Artificial Intelligence program at the University of Science, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, with a GPA of 9.42 out of 10. She belongs to one of the first formally trained AI cohorts in Vietnam.

No roadmap for those who go first

Trang entered university in 2021, at a time when artificial intelligence was rapidly gaining momentum and the Covid-19 pandemic had pushed classrooms into virtual space.

While many students chose AI for its popularity and career prospects, Trang saw it as a field with long-term impact. The program’s strong emphasis on mathematics and algorithmic thinking also aligned with her strengths.

“It wasn’t an impulsive choice. I felt this was a path I could pursue in the long run,” she said.

As part of the university’s first AI cohort, Trang had no senior students to consult, no shared experience to rely on, and even some courses were still being refined.

“I didn’t know in advance which subjects would be difficult, so I couldn’t prepare in the usual way. Sometimes only after finishing a course did I fully understand how challenging it was,” she recalled.

That sense of “moving through uncharted territory” brought both pressure and motivation. Trang developed her own learning methods, from reading additional materials to restructuring knowledge independently, learning through trial and error.

Instead of studying for exams, she focused on understanding. Instead of waiting for guidance, she actively searched for answers. In such an environment, self-learning became essential for survival.

If studying a new field was already challenging, doing so entirely online during the pandemic made it even more demanding. Without the structure of a physical classroom, each student had to build their own discipline.

“No one reminds you to study, and there’s no direct pressure from the classroom. Without self-discipline, it’s easy to drift,” Trang said.

She created a personal study schedule, broke down goals into manageable steps, and regularly tested her own understanding. These habits later became crucial as she moved into more advanced stages of study.

Online learning also pushed her to seek out resources independently, read academic materials in English, and follow international research sources - advantages that proved valuable in her academic development.

The method behind a 9.42 GPA

Asked about her approach to achieving such a high GPA, Trang emphasized one core principle: understanding concepts at their deepest level.

“I always try to explain knowledge in the simplest way possible. If I can’t do that, it means I don’t understand it well enough,” she said.

Rather than memorizing, she focused on “digesting” knowledge by rewriting it in her own words, asking reverse questions, and explaining concepts to others. For her, a course did not end after the exam but continued as she explored it further.

This approach not only helped her achieve high scores but also built a solid foundation - crucial in a field like AI, where knowledge evolves constantly.

If the first three years were about accumulation, her graduation thesis marked a turning point. For the first time, Trang entered the realm of research, reading academic papers, developing ideas, experimenting with models, and confronting problems without ready-made solutions.

“There were times I tried many directions without results, but that process helped me understand the problem more deeply,” she shared.

Research required her to embrace uncertainty and persist through it. This experience made her realize that she was more drawn to deep exploration of knowledge than to simple application. She has since set her sights on pursuing graduate studies and becoming a lecturer.

As an AI valedictorian, Trang also highlights the human dimension of technology. According to her, AI is not merely a technical challenge - it directly affects privacy, fairness, and how society functions.

“People working in AI need to care about transparency, model interpretability, and especially data privacy,” she said.

As AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, ethical questions grow more urgent. For Trang, this responsibility belongs to everyone involved in building such technologies.

Looking ahead, she hopes AI in Vietnam will move beyond research and experimental products to solving real-world problems.

Education, healthcare, urban management, and sustainable development are all areas she believes could benefit significantly if AI is applied effectively. More importantly, she stressed the need for stronger connections between universities, research institutes, and businesses, so that knowledge does not remain confined within academia.

As for herself, Trang hopes to link AI with education - a field she believes can create deep and lasting impact.

“Technology only truly matters when it creates value for the community,” she said.

 
Le Huyen