RMIT President’s Scholar recognised for innovative mindset

RMIT President’s Scholar recognised for innovative mindset

This year, one of the RMIT President’s Scholarships was awarded to a student who not only demonstrated outstanding talent in computer science, but also an innovative social-entrepreneurial mindset.

Nguyen Hoang Minh Khoi received the President’s Scholarship from Vice-President Academic and Head of School of Communication & Design, Professor Rick Bennett at the RMIT Scholarship Award Ceremony. Nguyen Hoang Minh Khoi received the President’s Scholarship from Vice-President Academic and Head of School of Communication & Design, Professor Rick Bennett at the RMIT Scholarship Award Ceremony.

Former student of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted Nguyen Hoang Minh Khoi was recently awarded the prestigious scholarship to attend RMIT Vietnam, to develop his career in science through a Bachelor of Information Technology.

During his years in high school, Khoi first showed signs of his natural ability in computer science when he entered the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2018 final in the United States with his project, NeoEyes: Smart Glasses for the Blind. In this project, Khoi used artificial intelligence to create a pair of smart glasses for visually impaired students, which could recognise Vietnamese language and read words out loud.

Visually impaired students trying on NeoEyes smart glasses. Visually impaired students trying on NeoEyes smart glasses.

He was inspired during his time as a volunteer at Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the Blind where he worked closely with visually impaired students, empathised with their difficulties and decided to find a more sustainable way to assist with their learning.

“Enterprises and organisations tend to overlook the need of disabled people,” Khoi said. “Education materials are often designed for the mass. I want to break that barrier and provide these people with an inclusive support on their education journey."

After the competition, Khoi shared the formula and guided technical staff from other organisations how to assemble the smart glasses. With financial support from philanthropists, 50 smart glasses were made and distributed to students in need.

As well as assisting student learning, Khoi is passionate about spreading his love of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to youngsters, to build upon the country’s national science and technology development.

Khoi co-founded the community project inspireX in 2018 to inspire students to learn STEM through fun activities. Within a year, inspireX collaborated with industry experts and organised five workshops where students gained practical experience and changed their perception about STEM.  

“The scale of the workshops expanded over time, from 30 people to 150 people per workshop. However, the number is still minor compared to the majority of students out there,” Khoi said.

“I hope the knowledge and networks that I gain from my student life at RMIT will be a great source to expand inspireX and bring STEM to rural areas, and hence contribute to the potential development of Vietnam’s science, technology and engineering industries.”

Although Khoi appears to be a model student, he experiences similar challenges with other young adults his age. After finishing high school, he turned down two university placements at HCMC University of Technology and HCMC University of Science to take a gap year to get to know himself more as a person.

“It is very normal to not know what you want to do fresh out of school. Don’t be afraid,” Khoi shared.

Besides computer science, Khoi also loves photography.  Besides computer science, Khoi also loves photography. 

Khoi advised his peers to step out of their comfort zones and try as many things as they want while they still have a lot of time to experiment and explore.

“We have to try and fail many times in order to know what we want. Each person has their own self-discovery journey, so do not stress out,” he said.

Story: Cindy Tran

13 November 2019

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