Shirin Shujaa, a 23‑year‑old Syrian woman, arrived in Vietnam in 2022 to study software engineering. Her curiosity soon led her to an accelerated master’s in AI at RMIT University Vietnam, where she now plans a PhD in France.

During her accelerated master’s in AI at RMIT University Vietnam, Shirin contributed to seven research publications on natural language processing and responsible AI. She presented two co‑authored papers at the 2025 International Conference on Asia‑Pacific Digital Libraries in the Philippines. Her master’s thesis defense was named one of the two best presentations in the program.

Her curiosity about bias in language models turned into concrete projects. She helped create a platform that assists autistic people in preparing for job interviews, and she worked on studies that examine gender and cultural bias in large language models.

An internship at DIGI‑TEXX let her train AI models using Vietnamese medical data, while a collaboration with Intel Vietnam produced automated workflows that cut processing time from about four hours to less than 15 minutes without losing accuracy. She also won first prize at the CoverGo AI Hackathon and earned runner‑up positions at the RMIT × Katalon Testathon and the 2025 Accessibility Design Competition. From 2022 to 2026 she received the academic excellence scholarship for international students, which supported her research and travel.

Shirin’s story shows how curiosity, hands‑on research and a supportive scholarship can transform a software‑engineering student into an AI researcher who creates real‑world impact. She will continue her journey with a PhD in France, aiming to build fairer AI systems for everyone.