On the morning of Wednesday, May 21, 2025, a special seminar was held at Nong Lam University, focusing on two main topics: “Generative AI for Everyone” and “Applications of AI in Scientific Research”. The seminar was chaired by Asoc. Prof. Quan Thanh Tho, accompanied by his assistant, Vo Thi Nhu Quynh, who supported him throughout the program. Scientific research has always been an important yet challenging task for the professors at Nong Lam University. Therefore, this seminar was organized to guide the faculty on how to use artificial intelligence as a powerful assistant to optimize their research efforts and overcome these challenges.
The first session focused on Generative AI—a rapidly emerging branch of artificial intelligence in recent years. Asoc. Prof. Tho provided a detailed explanation of how Generative AI works, tracing its development from the emergence of OpenAI and ChatGPT, to its widespread adoption across numerous computing systems today. He also highlighted the limitations and ongoing challenges associated with generative AI.
The second session focused on AI applications in scientific research. Asoc. Prof. Tho traced AI’s evolution from the 2012 Transformer breakthrough to the launches of ChatGPT and DeepSeek in 2020 and 2025. These technologies have profoundly impacted education and academia, improving accessibility, lowering costs, and enhancing user experience. He stressed the importance of leveraging AI to tackle research challenges.
The seminar concluded with a live demonstration by Nhu Quynh on how to apply AI tools to search for information sources and scientific papers related to research topics. Useful tools and websites such as Google Scholar, Grok, Semantic Scholar, Connected Papers, ChatGPT, and NotebookLM were introduced and showcased interactively. This demonstration enabled the faculty to easily follow and apply these methods to their own research work. The attentive participation and positive feedback from the professors affirmed the success of the seminar. URA also pledged to continue organizing similar valuable programs in the future.