Emerging lecturer Nguyen Thanh Luan from the Faculty of Information Science and Engineering at VNUHCM – University of Information Technology will embark on his journey at Michigan State University (MSU) from August to November 2024 through the Visiting Scholar Program (VSP) under the USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform project. Mr. Luan’s research aims to explore and apply the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in preserving and reviving endangered languages.

Graduating with a Master’s degree in 2023 in Japan with remarkable results, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Luan continues his passion for research in translation and speech processing, social media data collecting, text classification, and natural language processing at VNUHCM – University of Information Technology. Mr. Luan’s research interests are rooted in leveraging artificial intelligence to preserve and revitalize endangered languages. During his exchange term at MSU, he aims to harness large language models and digital resources of minority languages to develop advanced machine translation systems tailored for Vietnamese texts.

“As I have conducted research in computational linguistics, my fascination with exploring the unique features and differences among languages from an IT perspective has deepened. Additionally, Vietnam, with its 54 ethnic groups, each preserving their own language and cultural heritage, further motivates my desire to study these languages in greater depth.” – expressed Mr. Luan on how his research interest started. It is expected that language models will understand and translate ethnic minority languages ​​into Vietnamese. In addition, this research also provides high-quality machine translation datasets to serve the research community at home and abroad. The results of this study can be applied to popularize the languages ​​of ethnic minorities, which are at risk of disappearing because they are no longer commonly used in daily life.

“My hope is that this study can create the premise and motivation for future research projects to preserve the languages ​​of ethnic groups, making an important contribution to the preservation and development of the diverse and unique cultural identity of Vietnam” – said Mr. Luan.

Conducting research at MSU under the guidance of prestigious and experienced professors in the field of natural language processing is a great opportunity for Mr. Luan to gain experience and improve his professional skills. In addition, being equipped with high-configuration computer systems that meet the needs of training large language models is a plus point to optimize the research process and use time effectively.

Upon completion of the program, he plans to integrate his newfound knowledge and experiences into his teaching and research activities at VNUHCM – University of Information Technology, fostering international collaboration in the field of language processing in Vietnam. He also shares a strong commitment to enhancing international cooperation, aiming to bring significant academic value to Vietnam and the global community through research in speech processing technology.

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.