Nguyen Hoang Bao Dai, 27, a scientist based in HCMC, "is a musician who is quite keen on applying machine learning techniques to enhance his own pieces," reads a Google Developers Experts (GDE) Program expert directory entry.

"He is the author of the music generation model which can generate Vietnamese pop songs."

"Besides composing, he is also an AI Research Scientist majored in Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision. In March 2021 Bao Dai became the 3rd ML (Machine Learning) Google Developers Expert in Vietnam."

The other two Vietnamese machine learning experts are Ba Ngoc, the founder of AI education organizations ProtonX and VietAI Hanoi, and Binh Nguyen, a machine learning engineer working for the Vingroup Big Data Institute.

To join the GDE program, one needs to be referred by either a Google employee or a Google Developers authorized partner. For many, this could be a challenge, but Dai received help from Luong Minh Thang, an AI researcher for Google in the U.S. and the CEO of VietAI.

The most important factor in becoming a GDE is one's contribution to the community, Dai said. It could be in the form of blogs and videos one has shared or events and talks one has attended as a speaker, he said.

Following a profile review, a GDE candidate is interviewed to see if they have enough expertise to join the program.

As Vietnam's latest GDE, Dai hoped he could exchange and learn more from the global GDE network, collaborate with his peers in Vietnam to develop novel technologies and himself become a bridge between talented Vietnamese engineers and the GDE program.