Adopting Resolution No.52-NQ/TW on September 27, 2019 on a number of guidelines and policies on active participation in Industry 4.0 and Directive No.16/CT-TTg issued on May 4, 2017 by the Prime Minister on strengthening capacity to respond to the 4th industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), the Ministry of Education and Training has introduced a specific mechanism for IT majors in higher educational institutes.
From 2019, major universities in Vietnam began to develop AI-related majors such as data science and AI, robotics and AI. Some have closely cooperated with businesses in the field to share both experience and current resources.
Deputy Rector of School of ICT (under Hanoi University of Science and Technology) Huynh Thi Thanh Binh informed that her school formally launched the Data Science-AI major in 2019 with 60 students, and this number increased to the fix figure of 100 in 2021 onwards to ensure quality.
The school’s curriculum was developed under the consultation of foreign professors and leading IT corporations like IBM, Got IT, Samsung in order to get in touch with advanced technologies. Students can choose their own interests to focus on when entering the specialized training period: machine learning, deep learning, recognition methods/technologies, natural language processing, machine vision, bid data processing.
Similarly, HCMC University of Technology and Education began accepting students into the Robotics and AI major in 2019, with 20 students each year. All are offered scholarships, and lessons are taught in English with the support of the most modern learning equipment, many of which are sponsored by multi-national corporations and foreign universities.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thien Phuc, Deputy Director of HCMC University of Technology (under Vietnam National University – HCMC), shared that AI has been one important part of the IT/Computer Science Department in this university since the beginning. At present, a large number of undergraduates and postgraduates in this department choose to focus on AI technology, especially after the launch of the master program for AI technology in 2022.
Despite the efforts of various technological universities in Vietnam, there is still a serious shortage of capable human resources in the AI field, as the current workforce can only answer 10 percent of the market demands. This is because among 55,000 IT graduates each year, only 30 percent can fulfill AI-related tasks. These people have to train themselves continuously to quickly adapt to the real needs of businesses as technologies advance non-stop.
Director of VinBigdata (under Vingroup) Vu Ha suggested that there should be a specialized training program for AI engineers like the one run in VinBigdata now. It concentrates on in-depth theories and practical applications of AI to maximize the capacity of students. It also offers a valuable chance for learners to participate in ongoing projects of the business to gain experience. Outstanding students will be welcomed to work for VinBigdata with an attractive salary.
After two years, the program has successfully trained 180 learners, 70 of whom have obtained national and international achievements and titles. They are able to directly join in international technological projects.
Aware that it will need AI engineers for smooth operation and customer services, besides pouring a vast amount of investment in AI human resources development, MoMo launched its AI-First strategy in June 2021 with the purchase of all core AI technologies of Pique.
FPT Group has also invested a large sum of money in attracting famous AI scientists, software engineers, and senior product developers that have won prestigious international awards. In addition, FPT University is a source to provide high-quality AI human resources for the Group.
Facing the competition for capable AI employees from leading technology corporations in the world like Google, Microsoft, domestic enterprises pay much attention to retain their workers via beneficial compensation policies and encouraging working environment to foster innovation and ensure employee satisfaction.
