Passion for spreading knowledge
After nearly 25 years of teaching and working in many countries, from the Middle East to North America, Associate Professor Ali Al-Dulaimi - Head of the Faculty of Computer Science & Technology at British University Vietnam (BUV) - feels that the greatest joy lies not in high positions or million-dollar projects, but in the moment when students smile when they understand a new concept.
Associate Professor Ali Al-Dulaimi holds a PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Concordia University, Canada, and has completed postdoctoral research at Concordia University and York University. With 25 years of experience, Associate Professor Ali Al-Dulaimi has held senior positions in various capacities, from lecturer, department head to research team leader and project manager, business leader. He also had a period of time associated with Concordia University and York University as a postdoctoral researcher.
Despite his success as an engineer, Associate Professor Ali has spent most of his life in academia, with over 20 years of teaching experience at international educational institutions in the United Arab Emirates and Canada. “Teaching has always been my passion. I find true happiness in the classroom, where I can impart knowledge and ignite passion in the next generation,” he shared.
But it was his time studying in the richest places in the world that made him choose Vietnam as his next destination without much thought. More than anywhere else, education will bring a truly remarkable difference to developing countries like Vietnam. And he wants to contribute to this humane process.
“The fact that Vietnam has set aside more than VND380 trillion in 2024 to develop the education system, especially higher education, further strengthens my belief in the Government’s vision here,” he said.
Besides the tradition of studiousness, the Associate Professor realized that Vietnam also has a young generation with excellent academic and thinking abilities. That is also the reason he chose to come to BUV. He believes that this place has the potential to become a leading university in the region.
Associate Professor Ali highly appreciated the abilities of BUV students, especially their solid mathematical foundation and their tenacious spirit and willingness to learn. He told a memorable story about a third-year student’s graduation project: “I challenged this student with my own research in my doctoral thesis, asking him to find a new and better approach. The student not only understood but also improved the method, achieving results that were superior to my original plan.”
Proactivity is also a big difference in BUV students. Many students actively seek him out for guidance, even asking to collaborate on research projects even though they are only in their first or second year, many of which are progressing very well.
Efforts to change stereotypes
There is one thing that makes Associate Professor Ali worried when coming to Vietnam. Most of society thinks that technology is the exclusive domain of men. This conservative concept has long been outdated in developed countries.
Even at BUV, the number of female students studying technology used to be only about 5%. He had some female students who “failed” to get into the Faculty of Technology just because: “Their parents did not want their daughters to study information technology”.
“I believe that women have a unique ability to think in detail, empathize, be creative and have a problem-solving ability that is extremely well suited to modern technology,” he said.
To find and motivate potential candidates, Associate Professor Ali directly participated in hundreds of technology scholarship interviews with candidates. As expected, many talented women impressed him.
A female student applying to the Game Graphics Program was given a test by him to choose three colors to design a game promotion poster specifically for him.
Without rushing to solve the problem, the female student asked him about his age. Then, navy blue, gold and white were the three colors chosen. The reason she gave was: "At your age, your eyes are weaker, these three colors have good contrast, are easy to see, and are luxurious."
“The answer completely convinced me. She was not only competent, but also had a professional and humanistic perspective on design as an expert,” Associate Professor Ali recalled.
Expanding into the tech industry, a female perspective would make things more humane, diverse, and certainly more effective.
Concerns about the gender gap prompted him to create the Tech Queens Scholarship - dedicated to female students pursuing technology at BUV. The initiative not only contributes to promoting gender equality in the technology industry, but also creates conditions for women to develop their potential, becoming a pioneering force in creating a more diverse, humane and sustainable digital future.
Creating a leading destination for innovation
When talking about Vietnamese education, Associate Professor Ali praised Vietnamese students for their logical thinking, solid mathematical foundation and professional working style. However, he also pointed out that the areas that need improvement are the ability to think critically, creatively and interdisciplinary knowledge - which are the strengths of Western education systems.
With the philosophy of “education cannot be separated from practice”, he and his team at BUV designed a special training model: Students not only learn theory but also “touch” real technology; combining the strong mathematical foundation of Vietnamese students with the British standard training method – promoting multidimensional thinking, creativity and solving practical problems.
BUV's Faculty of Computer Science & Technology offers five of the most sought-after undergraduate programs globally: Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Game Design and Programming, and Game Graphics.
Under the guidance of Associate Professor Ali, the curriculum at BUV is updated every semester, is highly balanced, integrates practical skills, systemic thinking and interdisciplinary knowledge - in line with the needs of modern businesses.
The environment at BUV builds a culture of research and innovation right from the undergraduate level. Instead of passively receiving lectures in the traditional way, students experience a real “makerspace”, where they actively learn and freely create.
Every lecture, every assignment, even every test is imbued with the spirit of research and discovery. Students are given the opportunity to freely exchange and discuss with lecturers in subjects and projects.
Instead of just listening to lectures, they are encouraged to ask questions, express their personal opinions, and even challenge existing ideas, thereby practicing critical thinking and sharp reasoning skills.
BUV is also the only school that uses advanced programming teaching and learning platforms such as Codio, as well as applying AI directly to teaching. With the increasing market demand for AI skills, according to him, this is very necessary for future technology graduates.
“We do not see AI as a ‘cheating’ tool. Instead, we guide students to use AI as a tool to support thinking, programming, design and problem-solving. While most universities still limit students’ access to AI, at BUV, we encourage the responsible and creative use of AI,” Associate Professor Ali shared.
As the leader of the technology training faculty, Associate Professor Ali Al-Dulaimi hopes to make BUV the leading destination for digital innovation in Vietnam - a center where students not only join leading technology corporations, but also confidently start their own businesses.
“We do not only train engineers, we train leaders – Vietnamese technology creators of global stature,” the Associate Professor concluded.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/vi-pho-giao-su-bo-xu-so-giau-nhat-the-gioi-sang-viet-nam-boi-duong-tai-nang-cong-nghe-post1776467.tpo
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