Hanoi university Vietnam's first to train GenAI engineers

Updated: 20:36, 18/06/2024

Hanoi University of Science and Technology announced last weekend that it is going to launch a specialized engineering program in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

GenAI uses advanced machine learning models trained on vast datasets to learn how to simulate and generate new data, including text, images, sound, and video.

Students at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology during class, May 2024.

Dinh Viet Sang, who has been named program's director at the university, said the applications of GenAI were very broad, ranging from art and design, content creation, to e-commerce, marketing, finance, medicine, and education.

He said investment in GenAI worldwide last year reached $25 billion, a five-fold increase from 2022, and is expected to rise to $45 billion this year.

A Market Insights report by Germany firm Statista estimates that the GenAI market in Vietnam will grow at an annual rate of about 23%, reaching nearly US$1 billion by 2030.

"Faced with the explosion of GenAI, leading technology companies and banks are making significant investments in human resources, infrastructure, and technology related to GenAI."

"Training high-quality human resources in the field of GenAI is an urgent need," Sang said.

According to official data, there are over 1,000 universities worldwide offering programs in Data Science and AI, but only two specialize in GenAI.

Before Hanoi University of Science and Technology, no other institution in Vietnam has offered training courses in this field.

Ta Hai Tung, Dean of the School of Information and Communication Technology at the university, said this was the motivation for the university to take the lead in GenAI.

"Over the past three months, with the help of experts, we have successfully developed the program," he said.

The GenAI program at the university lasts 1.5 years and comprises 48 credits.

Only students with a bachelor's degree in Information and Communication Technology can apply. Students who pass will receive an engineering degree.

During the course, they will be provided with foundational knowledge in AI and specialized knowledge in GenAI, such as: machine learning, deep learning; operation, deployment, and supervision of machine learning models; building GenAI applications; generating text, images, videos, sound; applying GenAI in various fields; AI ethics and building trustworthy artificial intelligence.

Tran Viet Hung, founder of Got It, a tech startup in Silicon Valley, believes that GenAI remains innovative and only became widely known with the advent of ChatGPT. Therefore, there are not many GenAI products on the market. This gives engineers well-versed in GenAI many opportunities to create breakthroughs.

"I am pleased that Hanoi University of Science and Technology has quickly introduced a program on GenAI. It is one of the few formal programs in the world to offer specialized training, not just in Vietnam," he said.

Hanoi University of Science and Technology is a leading university in Vietnam in the training and research of information technology.

The School of Technology and Communication enrolls more than 1,100 students each year, all within the top 1% of the country in terms of high school graduation exam scores.

The university is ranked in the 451-500 group worldwide for studying computer science & information systems in the 2024 QS rankings by the U.K.-based education organization Quacquarelli Symonds, which evaluates 1,499 universities.