To meet An for this article, at exactly 1:30 p.m., we were on the 21st floor at NTQ headquarters. When we arrived, we saw him sitting waiting in the meeting room, his face focused in front of the laptop screen, his shirt and pants neatly dressed, making us look both "curious" and "shy" at the same time. However, after just a few minutes of chatting, we were surprised by his friendliness and humor.

After nearly 4 years with NTQ, Mr. An has always maintained the same demeanor: friendly, approachable, and willing to share with everyone. Therefore, many colleagues share that "Mr. An is very sincere and enthusiastic." And then many interesting stories were gradually shared naturally. 

Dedicated to the passion for researching Artificial Intelligence

Having a passion for information technology (IT), after graduating from high school in Vietnam, Mr. An planned to hunt for university scholarships abroad by learning more foreign languages, actively participating in extracurricular activities, preparing paperwork… After more than a year, in response to constant efforts, Charles University in the Czech Republic invited him to study Computer Science with a 100% scholarship. This is one of the world’s oldest universities and the largest and most famous university in the Czech Republic. After completing his Bachelor's degree, he continued to win a full scholarship for the graduate program at Czech Technical University in Prague. 

During his years studying abroad, Mr. An focused on participating in in-depth IT research activities, especially the research project in which he and his team built a flight management system for the Czech Republic Airlines - the national airline of the Czech Republic. This project, when successfully applied, not only contributes to improving operational efficiency and optimizing costs for Czech Airlines but is also acquired and used by many airlines in countries around the world. 

In 2015, Mr. An returned to Vietnam, deciding to develop his career in his homeland. Mr. An said that the opportunity to return to NTQ was completely unexpected. After receiving the introduction of a friend, he had a meeting with NTQ's Board of Directors and became interested in the direction of AI that NTQ wants to deploy in the coming years. Having experienced many large and small companies both foreign and Vietnamese, "the old companies he worked for were all in the field of Software Engineering and worked on many different technologies while he loved and wanted to focus on development in the AI segment". And so, Mr. An's invitation to NTQ to take on the position of AI Leader came to "the right person, at the right time". In 2020, he officially joined NTQ Solution.

Working in an environment where I can push myself to the limit is the best thing

Research about AI is Mr. An's passion, and NTQ gives him the environment to do it. His job is to focus on research and development of AI technology, applying AI models to products and solutions for customers. As a person with a purely technical background, Mr. An's initial challenges when working at NTQ did not come from his expertise but from the nature of his leadership duties. Being empowered to lead and own the team helped him learn and develop a lot about human resource management. Mr. An said "This is also the reason why NTQ is the Vietnamese company he has worked for the longest and wants to stay for a long time", he found the motivation to develop and work harder than ever. 

Starting to lead SDC AI from its inception with only 5 people, the team he has built has now grown to 20 members, with many key members, and is growing stronger. During the past 4 years, he and the SDC AI team have implemented more than 50 successful projects for many large partners and customers around the world. Among them, we must mention the project of analyzing errors in the medical equipment manufacturing process, using AI's GAN algorithm to create 3D tooth models, and also the research system automation system for large customers in Europe. In addition, the AI team led by him also actively participates in major competitions and has obtained a series of impressive achievements, such as second prize in the "VAIPE: Medicine Pill Image Recognition Challenge" 2022, first prize in the Zalo 2021 contest in the Voice field and ranked 4th in Zalo 2022 contest in natural language processing field, second prize in Vietnamese Language and Speech Processing (VLSP) 2023 contest. 

His colleagues consider Mr. An to have excellent technological skills, and to work professionally efficiently. At NTQ, "enthusiasm and responsibility" have become his trademarks. Regardless of whether it's late night or early morning, weekend or workday, every time a project needs him, he is there and ready to support. On stressful project days, he is always standing by his computer to research, review, and bring the project through the difficult phase for a successful release.

Mr. An is like strong spiritual support for everyone on the team, who is devoted to his work and not afraid of hardship. Wherever you are, that place seems to be filled with strength and positive energy. If you choose one of the five colors that represent the core values of NTQ people to describe Mr. An, it will be the red color of passion and enthusiasm that is becoming increasingly brilliant in helping NTQ people. highlight and mark AI technology at each stage of development.

Willing to accept all challenges 

With many years of experience in the industry and many achievements in his career, Mr. An is still constantly searching for a more perfect version of himself. Admitting that he is a perfectionist and has high requirements for his work, he is always careful in thinking and planning everything. "Everything I do, I want to finish it before the deadline. I'm afraid if it's not good, it will affect others". Always focus on the problem, never give in to challenges, and strive to find the optimal path to achieve the goal. Those are the things that make people feel secure when working and accompanying Mr. An. 

He shared, "I always like to do new things that are difficult". Because the more I walk, the more I realize that there are many things ahead that need to be conquered. Even though he is managing a software production center, Mr. An is always willing to fly abroad to explore markets and build relationships with partners and customers in the spirit of "Beyond Global". In 2023, he successfully led SDC AI to the earliest finish line in the NSD sector, reaching 137% of the revenue target compared to the set plan.

Now, Mr. An is constantly learning Japanese and in-depth knowledge to devise development strategies for the unit, challenge himself in collaborative projects, and bring many other values to the company. This is also something that greatly inspires other members because, no matter what position you are in or where you start from, daring to engage, constantly learning, and upgrading yourself is always appropriate and at the right time.

According to Mr. An, SDC AI's 2024 plan, instead of growing sales, will focus on developing products within NTQ.AI's ecosystem to support internal work. "Leveraging the power of Generative AI, we will develop 4 Virtual Assistants to support Sales, Dev, and Comtor. For example, for Sales, when you ask NTQ's chatbot, these are the questions I need to ask. What is the customer in the first meeting? The chatbot will suggest it to you. These tools support NTQ to operate intelligently, optimize processes, and improve operational efficiency."

At the end of the interview, when we asked what he wanted to say to his colleagues, Mr. An conveyed: "Out there, opportunities are very open, when you step out to work with businesses and companies. international, you will learn a lot. You can see how big the world is and what you can do. When you have both a foreign language and a strong foundation of expertise, you will certainly encounter many opportunities to learn and develop."

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*This article is part of the series: "NTQ Rubik - series about NTQ people across the globe." 

As a Global IT Service Provider, NTQ Solution aims to create a working environment that brings together diverse technological talents with a shared passion, ambition, and unity to innovate and propagate numerous values. At NTQ Solution, we empower our employees to "shine" by providing a diverse, free, and flexible space to hone their skills and conquer the global market.