Dr. Nguyen Huu Nhat Minh, Director of the Research Program at the Digital Science and Technology Institute, Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology, The University of Danang, will join the USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform’s Visiting Scholar Program (VSP) at Indiana University South Bend from September to November 2024. 

Specializing in distributed AI systems, natural language processing, computer vision, network optimization, and edge computing, Dr. Minh’s research focuses on enhancing federated learning and democratized learning systems. Dr. Minh’s project aims to develop efficient model aggregation methods to tackle the non-independent and identically distributed (non-i.i.d.) properties of client data in federated learning. His research will delve into knowledge transfer techniques between global and local models using methods like knowledge distillation, contrastive learning regularization, and class-based prototype representation.

This research plays a critical role in building large-scale distributed AI systems capable of collaborative complex learning tasks without sharing private data. – said Dr. Minh on the potential impact of his research.

One of the major objectives of Dr. Minh’s project is to facilitate the transfer of federated learning technology from the United States to Vietnam, ensuring it is compatible with local technological infrastructure and conditions. This endeavor is expected to enhance the capabilities of Vietnamese research groups and contribute significantly to the country’s innovation landscape in AI and machine learning.

During his term, Dr. Minh plans to present a seminar on his research at Indiana University South Bend, collaborate with U.S. researchers, and publish his findings in a WoS/Scopus journal. Additionally, he will submit a report on his activities to the University of Danang and mentor colleagues on research methodology. “The VSP will give me the opportunity to extend our research projects towards high-quality outcomes and discuss with experts for future joint research collaboration. The experience may initiate my future applied AI research for solving important social problems” – said Dr. Minh on his expectation for the program.

Dr. Minh’s participation in the VSP is anticipated to foster collaboration between Vietnamese and U.S. research institutions, advance the development of distributed AI systems, and contribute to Vietnam’s technological progress.

The Visiting Scholar Program (VSP) under the USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform project supports scholars from (1) Vietnam National University, (2) the University of Danang, and (3) Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City. The goal is to improve the research and teaching capacity of scholars across Vietnam while expanding partnerships with higher education institutions in the United States. In the Summer and Fall of 2024, the VSP will send a total of 21 scholars from Vietnam’s three major public university systems to host institutions in the United States for academic research and exchange experiences.