Nguyen Dang Minh graduated as valedictorian from the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) with a GPA of 3,85/4 after four and a half years. Just a week shy of receiving his excellent engineer degree, Minh has already accumulated nearly half a year of experience at one of the top five "big tech" companies in the US.

"I chose to work in an international environment with many demanding requirements to push my own limits", Minh stated. "My experiences at PTIT are helping me adapt effectively".

While not disclosing specific details, Minh mentioned his role as an associate AI/ML delivery consultant, focusing on implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for businesses.

Nguyen Dang Minh participating in the NUS Young Fellowship 2025 program at the National University of Singapore. *Photo: Provided*

Originally, Nguyen Dang Minh excelled in chemistry during middle school, initially planning a career in the field, influenced by his maternal grandfather and uncle who worked in the industry. However, after failing the specialized chemistry entrance exam for 10th grade, he attended Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary and High School in Hanoi. During this period, he developed a passion for computers, which led him to shift his career focus.

In 2021, Minh was admitted to PTIT's high-quality information technology program, where he began learning programming with fundamental languages such as C and C++.

"That was my first exposure to programming, unlike many of my peers who had studied it since high school in specialized informatics classes", Minh recalled.

Driven by peer pressure and the numerous competitive programming contests organized by the school, Minh dedicated himself to his studies, seizing every learning opportunity. He promptly joined the school's ProPTIT programming club for additional practice and formed a private study group.

Minh found group study to be an especially effective method. Students provided mutual support, helping each other identify and address gaps in their knowledge and skills.

By his third year, Minh faced his most demanding period, simultaneously engaging in two laboratories focusing on natural language processing and startup innovation. During this time, he was also interning at a company, and the club had several in-depth projects, requiring him to manage multiple commitments concurrently.

"A common aspect of project work is late nights. It was quite normal for our team to hold meetings at midnight", Minh shared, adding, "But I didn't feel overly pressured".

This period proved to be his most significant learning experience, allowing him to acquire extensive knowledge, skills, and practical experience. He found it stimulating to immediately apply what he learned, exploring various industry areas such as app and web development, backend and frontend engineering, and artificial intelligence.

For instance, in the natural language processing lab, Minh gained experience with data processing and training artificial intelligence models. In the startup innovation lab, he engaged with socially impactful projects, most notably an application designed to translate and teach sign language for the hearing impaired.

Among the dozens of projects he participated in, Minh was most proud of Vilutra, an artificial intelligence system designed to locate lost children in public spaces like playgrounds, parks, and shopping centers. The team conceived the idea after frequently hearing lost child announcements over shopping mall loudspeakers.

Minh and his team dedicated six months to its development, facing initial challenges in obtaining camera data from public venues. Acting on advice from their instructors, the group filmed footage at various locations themselves and sourced additional data from the internet.

After securing third prize in a startup idea competition hosted by PTIT, the Vilutra project advanced to international platforms, earning excellence awards at competitions organized by the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Sydney in Australia.

The project also led to Minh co-authoring a scientific paper for the SOICT 2025 international conference on information and communication technology, and it earned a perfect 10 from the university's council when developed into his graduation thesis. Furthermore, PTIT selected Minh to compete in the Global Start-up Design Thinking Hackathon Day in Korea, where he secured third place.

This robust foundation of knowledge and experience enabled Minh to successfully navigate the rigorous selection process, securing an offer from the US corporation late last year.

Minh (third from left) and his team accepting the Excellence in Technology for Social Good award from the University of Sydney. *Photo: Provided*

"Minh possesses strong logical thinking, a systematic approach to work, and a continuous eagerness to deepen his understanding", commented Doctor Dang Hoang Long, head of the Computer Science Department, Faculty of Information Technology 1.

Doctor Long recalled that during the Vilutra project, Minh and his team encountered technical hurdles in designing a precise system for complex environments like shopping malls and parks, and in efficiently processing large volumes of input data. Minh actively sought solutions, constantly refining methods, re-testing, and learning from each iteration, demonstrating remarkable perseverance and determination.

The 23-year-old aims to continue developing his knowledge and skills to enhance his value, contributing to both his employer and the wider community.

Duong Tam