Business trip to Free University of Brussels (VUB), Brussels, Belgium

In August-September 2023, Prof. Nguyen Linh Trung and Dr Dinh Tran Hiep visited the Artificial Intelligence Supported Modeling in Clinical Sciences (AIMS), Centre for Neurosciences, Free University of Brussels (VUB), Brussels, Belgium. During their stay, several collaboration opportunities were discussed with Prof. Guy Nagels, chair of AIMS, and his VUB colleagues.

1. Collaboration in federated learning and security in federated learning: leveraging the strengths of both parties in cyber security (AVITECH, UET) and federated learning (AIMS, VUB). Both parties share a common target in MOU signing, joint publications and student internships, aiming a research proposal in 2025 for the joint project in Natural Sciences and Engineering, co-funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the National Foundation for Science & Technology Development (NAFOSTED).

2. Organization of an International Workshop in Neurodegeneration and Artificial Intelligence in Hanoi, Vietnam in March 2024 to attract interest and create collaboration opportunities for Vietnamese and Belgian scientists. Prof. Sebastian Engelborghs, Chair of Neurology, University Hospital of Brussels (UZ Brussels), and Prof. Nagels are interested in joining the workshop. Scientists and researchers from VNU University of Medicine and Pharmacy and some major hospitals in Hanoi are expected to join. Possible joint research in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and treatment can be considered, leveraging the expertise of Prof. Engelborghs.

3. Joint research projects in i) multiple sclerosis patient classification using non-periodic information and ii) schizophrenia classification using a vision-based smoothing filter. The projects involved Prof. Nguyen Linh Trung, Dr. Dinh Tran Hiep, Prof. Guy Nagels, students from both institutions. The expected outcomes are two papers submitted to the 32nd European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO 2024). Two graduate students from UET will tentatively have an internship with AIMS in 2024 and present their papers at EUSIPCO, given the papers are accepted.