She was one of the special guests at the Vietnam Global Leaders Forum - VGLF 2024 held by AVSE Global (Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts) on March 30-31 in Paris, which included more than 100 Vietnamese-born scientists.

Dr Quy Vo is a pioneer in using blockchain in the healthcare sector in Vietnam. She is passionate about innovation activities that bring new technologies to the medical field to create maximum convenience for users. She was voted "Most Influential Woman in Blockchain in Europe" in 2018, and recognized as a "Female Digital Innovator of 2020" in Switzerland.

She is also a member of the Board of Directors of many Vietnamese Associations around the world such as the International Vietnamese Academics Network and Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals and Experts in Switzerland.

Please tell us about the path to success which you followed to become the most influential woman in blockchain in Europe?

The concept of success is different for different people. For me, this means utilizing and bringing new technologies into life to solve people’s questions.

In 2011, a mother in HCM City sent an email to me, asking for help when I was a PhD student in Germany. Her kid suffered from a rarely seen disease, and they underwent a long process before the causes of the disease were discovered.

This made me think a lot about medical data issues. I study biomedical computing technology and I want to use it in real life. For patients, especially those who suffer from rarely seen diseases, sharing data is very necessary.

Many years later, when I finished the training course and worked at different posts in different fields, I met a professor at Zurich University, who also had a passion for blockchain application. We decided to create HIT Foundation, specializing in extracting medical records using blockchain. We hope that the apps can be used effectively by users and patients.

Settling down and having a successful career overseas, you continued to think about Vietnam and wanted to apply your research in your homeland. Quy Vo is known as one of those people holding important roles in the project on blockchain in healthcare at many medical facilities in Vietnam. What is your view about contributing to the country’s development?

I think that it is not important where you are, but what you do. The spirit of our AVSE is "if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together". This principle is true in different fields, especially in pioneering use of new technologies.

Could you please tell us about the projects you were and are now doing under the framework of AVSE Global?

AVSE Global is an organization of Vietnamese-born intellectuals. Our network is present in over 20 countries and in different fields, from healthcare to education to sustainable development.

When trying to connect overseas Vietnamese intellectuals, we found that there should be a network where Vietnamese scientists can meet and exchange views with each other. We found that there are many excellent Vietnamese scientists overseas and they are ready to transfer their knowledge and research results to Vietnamese youth.

Our initial goal when setting up V-Space Global was creating a space where people can connect and support an innovation ecosystem for Vietnam. The name of the network includes the letter V which, of course, means Vietnam. Also, V is the first letter of Verify.

At the same time five years ago, in 2019, you were a panel speaker of Vietnam Global Leaders Forum held by AVSE Global. How did the 2019 forum impact the connection of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals, a valuable resource of the country?

At the 2019 event, I was a speaker who shared knowledge about science and technology and innovation. Over the last five years, AVSE has been making unceasing efforts to connect the community and bring many projects to Vietnam, such as offering consultancy about development to cities and provinces and training projects at universities.

I live in Switzerland and every time I come to Paris, I feel as if I have returned home because I can meet like-minded people, though we live and work far from each other. As our slogan says "if you want to go far, go together"; in order to do something for Vietnam, it is necessary to converge Vietnamese intellectuals all over the globe and run useful projects.

Thai An - Nguyen Duc