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The RMIT student team, 3Knights, participated in the prestigious ICPC Asia Hanoi 2024 held at the Hanoi University of Industry from December 10 to 13. Unfortunately, I was unable to accompany the team to Hanoi. However, a colleague from RMIT Hanoi happily stepped in to provide comprehensive support to the students throughout the contest. This ensured that the team was well-prepared and could focus on the competition without any logistical worries.

Throughout the ICPC season, including both the provincial and national contests, the 3Knights team has consistently shown a strong commitment and dedication to the competition. Although their overall result at the ICPC Asia Hanoi 2024 did not place them at the top of the rankings, they previously achieved a significant milestone by earning a silver medal at the Northern Provincial Contest.

I was honored to be invited as a mentor for the Emerging Leaders Project 2024 - AI for Sustainability at RMIT University Vietnam. As a mentor, I reviewed student proposals and provided feedback and recommendations based on my expertise. Throughout this process, I was truly inspired by the students' innovation and enthusiasm.

I could not attend the final showcase event due to other responsibilities. However, I am thrilled that the two teams I mentored both won prizes. "Women 2024" won the first runner-up prize for their project "RuWell - Are You Well?", and "RLC" secured the second runner-up prize for their project "Smart Parking System".

It was a rewarding experience to support these talented students and witness their dedication to creating impactful solutions.

On Tuesday, December 10, I was invited to participate in TestCon, the first industry conference for software testing in Vietnam. During the event, speakers covered a variety of topics, ranging from testing trends in 2025 to the use of large language models (LLMs) in test automation, and how academia and industry can collaborate to advance the field and enhance student career preparedness in software testing.

I also had valuable discussions with industry professionals, which helped me build connections to potentially organize guest lectures on testing for RMIT students. These conversations also gave me new ideas on how to integrate software testing more effectively into my courses at RMIT.

I recently participated in a two-day event co-organized by RMIT University and the Can Tho Department of Education and Training as a trainer. My role was to deliver foundational AI knowledge and skills to primary, secondary, and high school teachers in Vietnam, aiming to enhance teaching and learning activities.

The training sessions, held in Can Tho city on December 7 and 8, focused on key aspects of using AI in education, such as prompting techniques, preparing content, creating assessments, and developing interactive images and videos for lessons. The teachers greatly appreciated how these tools made their educational content more engaging and interactive.

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to share my expertise in AI and contribute to the integration of technology in Vietnam's educational landscape, helping to improve teaching and learning experiences.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to join the Industry Advisory Committees (IAC) meeting along with my colleagues. This meeting serves as a venue for open discussions between academics and industry experts about how to collaborate more effectively. In fact, there were suggestions from both sides on how to enhance student learning and better prepare them for the job market. Interestingly, the course that I've been coordinating at RMIT, Algorithms and Analysis, received much attention from the industry. One of the main reasons is that this course equips students with core knowledge and problem-solving skills that help them succeed not only in other courses but also in their future careers. I'm so happy to hear such positive feedback about my courses.

The new semester started on March 4th. I've just returned to normal teaching after a semester free from teaching-related activities. For me, teaching is what I love most, even more than other academic activities such as research or industry engagement. This is purely a personal feeling, but I find teaching to be fun, motivating, and meaningful. Although I had no formal teaching activities last semester, it was a valuable period for reflection on my past efforts and how I can further improve my teaching.

From December 5th to 8th, 2023, we traveled to Hue city to compete in the ICPC (team-based) and OLP (individual) contests. In the ICPC category, the RMIT team was ranked 84th out of a total of 125 teams. In the OLP category, we achieved one second prize, and one third prize.