Meet 3 outstanding WASSers who recently made their mark at the Vietnam AI Contest, as they share insightful stories about their journey of applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve real-world problems.
Without starting from grand or ambitious ideas, the journey of WASSers Dao Gia Minh, Ton Long Nguyen, and Trinh Vu Duong Dai at the Vietnam AI Contest began with something very familiar: curiosity.
For WASSer Dao Gia Minh, the Career Advisor AI project started simply from an interest in coding and a desire to create something useful for others. As he shared: “We realized that many students often worry about what comes next. Our program helps guide them through hard choices about their careers.
Before developing the project, the team explored existing solutions and found that most career-orientation quizzes treat users like data points – rigid, impersonal, and lacking empathy. Therefore, we chose a more open and conversational approach, allowing users to feel as if they are speaking with a trusted guide who truly listens. With a clear goal in mind, the team used Python alongside Google’s Gemini AI to lower the barrier to advice, making the experience more natural and engaging, so students feel supported rather than judged.”
If Gia Minh is the “brain” behind the project, WASSer Trinh Vu Duong Dai played the role of connecting technology with users. With a designer’s mindset, Duong Dai understood that even the most advanced technology would fail if people could not understand how it works. As he shared: “A technology, no matter how advanced, will fail if no one understands it. We asked ourselves how to make the judges see the “human” side of our product. Together, we transformed complex algorithms into clear, visual storytelling – turning dense technical content into an engaging and accessible narrative.”
Working alongside the team, WASSer Ton Long Nguyen emphasized that their topic was chosen not only for its innovation but also for its practical value.
“Our team wanted to solve a problem that is close to students – career orientation. This direction was also suitable for our abilities, allowing us to focus on developing the product effectively and achieving good results in the competition.
In addition, I realized that AI is an extremely useful tool. However, through this competition, I also understood that humans still need to nurture creativity and emotions – things that technology cannot replace, especially in fields such as the arts.” – Long Nguyen shared.
Coming from different perspectives but sharing the same goal of creating meaningful solutions for society, the 3 “engineers” successfully developed a well-rounded product, where technology, creativity, and human understanding intersect. Achieving success at the Vietnam AI Contest is not only a recognition of the WASSers’ academic capabilities, sharp thinking, and strong teamwork, but also a testament to their courage to take on challenges, eagerness to learn, and continuous self-improvement.
The journey of Gia Minh, Long Nguyen, and Duong Dai has become a strong source of inspiration for the WASS community, showing that AI is not only for those who can code but for anyone driven by the desire to solve real-world problems.
