The third annual Concordia International Research Conference Hanoi (CIRCH) conference took place on April 2, at which students presented papers and abstracts on their research findings, sharing first-hand analysis of data or experiments. 

“This year we expanded the conference beyond only STEM topics to any research that met our criteria, and also expanded to schools in Thailand and the Philippines,” said Mirae (G12), one of the conference chairs. “Our aim is to help students be producers of knowledge.”

Featuring student presenters from schools around the region, students presented on such topics as traffic accidents in South Korea, algae use in fertilizer, forest development in the Philippines, YouTube keyword searches, and even whether football teams fare better with or without Jose Mourinho as their manager.

The conference was held in hybrid format, with some presenters on campus in person, and others presenting via Zoom. Led by faculty advisor Dr. Emmanuel Santos, the organization, logistics, promotion and paper selection was entirely run by Concordia students. 

“Though the hybrid format was an added challenge, I felt really proud to see the work that we did come to be,” said Yu Hyeon (G11).

“Because this year we had specific standards for the presentations, the conference went really well,” said Cathy (G12).

“I was proud of our team. We had a complete team including media and communications, and I think that made the conference complete,” said Olivia (G12), adding, “I really enjoyed looking at the papers, and the keynote speakers were very interesting.” 

The conference also invited two keynote speakers: Dr. Hui-Huang Hsu, Director of Technology at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi; and Dr. Eric Dziuban, Country Director of the US Center for Disease Control in Hanoi.

Dr. Hsu discussed the history of data and AI development, where the field is today and what we may see in the future. 

Dr. Dzuiban showed how data has been used to track covid. Dr. Dzuiban also stressed the importance of ethical use of data, and mentioned that it was up to these students’ generation to determine whether or not the world would face another pandemic. 

“The presenters were very well organized, and had put a lot of time into their preparation. I like how we had presentations from other schools in other countries,” said Nahyun (G12).

“We received engagement from more people than we expected,” said Linh (G12), co-chair. “The conference was well-advertised, and we achieved our goal of expanding from last year, so it was a huge success.” 

Concordia hopes to grow the conference for next year to include more schools from around the region and beyond. 

For more information, please visit the CIRCH website.