Recently, the SoICT International Conference (Symposium on Information and Communication Technology) accepted the paper titled "Lite FPN_SSD: A Reconfiguration SSD with Adapting Feature Pyramid Network for Small Object Detection" by Nguyen Dang Duc Manh, a second-year student in the Computer Science program.
Let's hear the thoughts of Duc Manh about this published paper.
A Second-Year Student Excellently Completes a Scientific Research Paper
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What motivated you to conduct scientific research in your second year?
In my first year of university, I had a lot of free time that I used to play games. I realized it was a waste of time, so I started learning new things like Python, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and currently, I'm studying Computer Vision.
I had a meeting with senior students and learned about the Video Understanding problem. However, at that time, I didn't have enough knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of that problem. So, I chose a simpler problem to start with, which is Object Detection.
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How did you feel when you found out your paper was selected to be published at the SoICT International Conference?
Surprised, truly surprised. I knew I still had many limitations in this field, and the paper was done from my own perspective. So, when I received the email from the Organizing Committee, I was quite surprised and somewhat happy because the scientific research achievement was recognized.
This is also my first step in this field, motivating myself to carry out future plans.
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What advantages and challenges did you encounter during the research process?
English was the first and biggest barrier when I started the research. I struggled a lot with it because my upbringing didn't emphasize learning languages. My English proficiency was poor; speaking and reading were not good, and I had limited vocabulary, making it difficult to search for literature.
The authors of research documents are master's and doctoral groups with many years of experience. So, during the reference process, I encountered many specialized knowledge that I hadn't grasped yet. Fortunately, I always received support and guidance from Dr. Duong Viet Hang. She accompanied me throughout the implementation, helping me excellently complete the scientific paper and fulfill my research passion.
Additionally, the Research Fund of the University of Information Technology provided financial support throughout the project. This was a great help from the university, helping me excellently complete the scientific paper.
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In your opinion, what is the learning environment like at UIT?
For me, UIT is an environment that highly values the spirit of self-learning. I really like this because the technology field changes every day, every hour, requiring each student to enhance their awareness of self-learning and update new knowledge every day without relying on anything.
Besides, the teaching staff of the university is also young, dynamic, always explaining our questions in the most approachable and understandable way possible. This is what I desired when entering university.
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Any words for UIT students?
On the journey to achieve dreams, difficulties and hardships are inevitable. But remember, we are not alone. Those around us are sources of motivation, significant support helping us overcome all challenges. Spiritual fortitude combined with determination in each of us is what will lead us through the "twenties crisis" towards our goals. Believe in your abilities, continue to step forward with patience, and don't forget your burning passion!
Nhu Y - Quynh Lam - Collaborator of the University of Information Technology
