In the list of the top 2% most influential scientists in the world in 2024, Professor Tan Sze-Chieu ranked first in Hong Kong (China) in both categories of scientific career and number of cited articles in 2023, in the field of Industrial Engineering and Automation. Sharing with China News Service , he said that this is an important achievement in the research process but not the final goal.

Professor Tan Tu Chieu was born in 1963 in Shandong (China). At the age of 16, he entered Tsinghua University with a major in Control and Automation Engineering. He graduated from university in 1984 and continued his master's studies there. During this process, he received a full doctoral scholarship at the University of Maryland (USA).

During his doctoral studies, he switched to Chemical Engineering. According to him, changing majors suddenly requires a strong will. This was cultivated during his time at Tsinghua. With constant efforts, after 2.5 years, he completed the training program.

In 1992, after receiving his doctorate, he worked in a control systems research and development company. Three years later, he was invited to the University of Texas as an assistant professor. After eight years of working there, at the age of 40, he was appointed a professor.

After 1 year as principal of the university, it is ranked among the top universities in the world in terms of dental science.jpg
Professor Tan Tu Chieu is in the top 2% of the world's most influential scientists in 2024. Photo source: Baidu

In 2007, he left the University of Texas for the University of Southern California. In 2014, after nearly 30 years in the US, he decided to return home to contribute. From 2014 to 2016, he served as Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"At that time, at the age of over 50, I did not set a big goal in research but focused on developing teaching methods to both preserve traditional values ​​and help students integrate internationally," he said. Therefore, since then, his work has revolved around this goal.

In September 2023, he was appointed as the President of Lingnan University, Hong Kong. After 1 month of taking office, Professor Chieu and the school's leadership decided to purchase the copyright of ChatGPT to provide it for free to students and lecturers. While many schools ban or restrict the use of AI tools for fear of student cheating, he has a different view.

He believes that the emergence of AI is not only a technological revolution but also a humanistic revolution: "People think that humanities and technology are two separate fields, but in fact, AI has changed creativity and thinking in the humanities. This is a technological revolution in the humanities."

"If students are not exposed to AI, how will they know how to use it effectively? Students should be allowed to use it under the guidance of lecturers." He emphasized that education must keep up with the times and grasp AI so that it does not replace humans.

After 1 year in office, the university is ranked 2nd in the world in dentistry.jpg
Professor Tan Si-Chieu - President of Lingnan University, Hong Kong (China). Photo source: Baidu

As president, he built Lingnan University into a school of humanities education in the digital age. He considered this the ultimate goal of his career. "This model emphasizes comprehensive training in both depth and breadth, aiming to train students in critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills," he said.

According to him, the main goal of humanities education is to help students form a philosophy of life and a world view. "The concepts of 'teaching the way (transmitting moral principles), receiving and imparting knowledge (receiving and transmitting knowledge) and solving problems (solving problems)' in traditional Chinese culture are essentially early humanities education," he said.

With more than 30 years of dedication to world science, he has served as an academician of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Hong Kong Academy of Science and Technology (HKAE) and the European Academy of Sciences,... For him, this title is just an honor, not a goal to pursue.

"What I have achieved is the result of my efforts. I have also gone astray. If I had gone straight to my goal, I would have definitely achieved more." Looking back on his journey, he advises the younger generation to focus on doing what they like and always set new goals.

He believes that the most important mission of learning is to contribute to society: "10 years ago, I rarely gave interviews, but recently I started sharing my knowledge and experience. It's not that I'm better than others, but because I benefit from modern education, I share what I've learned with society."

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