Dr. Michel Toulouse, School of Information Technology and Communication, is the first foreign lecturer at HUST. In the interview with HUST’s newspaper, he impressed us with his modest appearance, friendly smile, and interesting stories about his career choice and his love for HUST and Vietnam.
Interviewer: As the first foreign lecturer at HUST, you must receive lots of questions about your background. Would you mind sharing about your hometown?
Michel Toulouse: I was born in a small rural village in Quebec. It is close to the US-Canada border. Just like other families in the neighborhood, my family struggled to make ends meet when I was young. The one good thing is that education is free. Normally, after studying at high school, most chose to work and get married to settle down.
I was a little different from other kids. I was an outlier, not fitting in any patterns. I don’t like to follow what others usually do. I was always curious about everything. Instead of spending time chitchatting, I enjoyed wandering and exploring the forest.
At the end of high school, I decided that I wanted to continue my exploration. I am the only person in the 5 siblings to study further after high school graduation.
Interviewer: Why do you choose IT?
Michel Toulouse: When entering college, I chose Philosophy as suggested by my high school teacher. But I realized it is quite difficult to find a job with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. I even tried to study Business for 1 year, but this major was not for me. After speaking with a university professor about computer science, I decided to study higher in this field.
Computer science is very interesting, intellectually. It allows me to be curious and to constantly learn. It is an open topic. You might use a bit of knowledge in physics, or maths… There are no limitations in what we can explore in Computer science. The basic of computer science is simple, but if we applied them to solve problems in other fields, it can become very exciting.
When I was 7-8 years old, I observed electricity workers fixing devices in front of my house. They spent one day repairing a problem which I thought could be fixed in one hour. Most of the time, they sat in their car and did nothing. ‘How could they do that?’, I asked myself. 70-80 years of our lives are not enough to learn.
Interviewer: You used to teach in Canada and the US before coming to Vietnam. Are you a traveler?
Michel Toulouse: One reason of my moving from Canada to the US is I cannot strive if working under too strict policies. In the US, there is total freedom. Job promotion is based on performance. Universities make great efforts to ensure each individual’s success, because they understand that the success of one professor can lead to the success of a whole university.
I felt very happy there, but then I fell in love with a Vietnamese girl. She had to come back to Vietnam, and I decided to go with her.
Interviewer: It must have been a big decision. Were you hesitant to move to another country while you were already contented with what you had that time?
Michel Toulouse: No, I always wanted to go to Asia.
I felt that Asian people are deeper and not as superficial as Western people. They understand what are important: family, friends, or sets of values. The superficial values can only stand for 20 years, 50 years, or 100 years, but strong values can cross all kinds of situations, just like the way Jewish people survived for 3000 years by being faithful to their beliefs.
I have been to many places and met many people from different countries. In Montreal, I lived with immigrants. I have no prejudices against them. Many of them made a great impression on me, as smart people know a lot about other cultures and can talk about subjects outside their expertise.
I also met a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Philosopher, Physicians, Physicists, Mathematics… Meeting them gave me a lot of encouragement to continue on my path. I learned to be honest because lying or cheating is a sign of weakness.
Interviewer: Why did you choose to work at HUST? What did you know about our university before you came here?
Michel Toulouse: Before teaching at HUST, I worked at Vietnamese-German University (South of Vietnam). I had worked there for 6 years as a Computer Science Program Coordinator. The working condition was good, but I could not live far away from my wife so I decided to move to Hanoi.
I had a few options about workplaces in Hanoi but then decided to become a lecturer at HUST, because of its history, tradition, and excellent reputation of student and alumni network. I have met some HUST’s lecturers through research conferences, so I knew the University’s staff are very active in research activities.
HUST has outstanding development targets in training and academics. Besides, the working environment and salary policy for oversea workers are very competitive compared to the conditions of other institutes in Hanoi.
Interviewer: To your knowledge, how is HUST different from other higher education institutions in the world?
Michel Toulouse: The culture of each country differs so it is actually hard to make a comparison. But I think students here are very active and serious with their learning.
When I was teaching abroad, I used to guide 3 Vietnamese PhD students. In the research career, many have to drop out in the middle of the path. My Vietnamese students, however, were very dedicated, diligent, and well-prepared for their job. It is important that they finished what they started. Some even managed to graduate with the top scores of the university in Montreal.
Research activities at HUST are significant. In the research environment, students are interested in learning for learning, not only learning for getting a job. As far as I know, all of my students are excellent learners with top national university entrance exam grades in Vietnam.
Now I am still trying to find a way to interact with HUST students. Students in Canada or the US are very comfortable talking with lecturers. I don’t think Vietnamese students are shy. If I make the right first step, I believe they will be more open in communicating with teachers.
There is one thing that does not change: the frontline students in class (laugh). They are very interested to learn and highly interact with teachers by posing questions in class. Some students in the back might not understand my presentations due to the language barriers, which is fine if they are more comfortable with the class notes.
My teaching style is quite different from the Vietnamese teachers’ approach. I want my students to sit in my class because they want to be there willingly. The western-style allows the freedom of study. I offer the learners my knowledge, they can take it or not, but there is no force.
HUST also has many masterful lecturers with different personalities. With all the knowledge to gain in university, students need lecturers with clear, systematic and logical presentation.
Interviewer: Can you share your viewpoint on teaching and learning?
Michel Toulouse: To me, teaching is a service we make to the society. For people who want to get a job, we teach them the necessary and practical skills. For others who want to research, I hope to tell something that inspire them.
When I was young, the reason why I study is I want to become a good citizen who is useful to my country or the society. Being well-educated or behaving correctly in the community is already a good result from education.
Interviewer: What about making money for yourselves?
Michel Toulouse: Making money for myself? How is it useful to anybody? I never thought about just myself. Education is the greatest investment. I hope our students can take advantage of every opportunity, since a good study environment is invaluable.
Each student can find a suitable learning method. If they cannot learn from the class, then learn from their friend, the internet, or real-life lessons. Never limit yourselves! Be creative and hunger for knowledge!
Interviewer: Thank you very much for your interview!
Michel Toulouse received Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1996 from École Polytechnique, Montréal University, Canada. His research interests include parallel and distributed algorithms, combinatorial optimization, search algorithms, distributed consensus algorithms, distributed ledgers (blockchain), and network security.
He has held several research grants in Canada, published about 60 referred scientific communications, and contributed to supporting international scientific activities as an international conference organizer, a reviewer, an associate editor, and a guest editor for different journals, a board member of Canadian and international scientific organizations.
He received the Best Researcher Award, Vietnam-Germany University (2017) and was ranked the third most influential researcher in the field of Metaheuristics among 1559 scientists in a study measuring the contribution of scientific dissemination and co-authoring activities.
Michel Toulouse is currently teaching Algorithms and data structures, and Operating systems.
