Understanding how to use AI isn't enough, you need to know how to do it right

The program focuses on three key elements that are directly impacting how we learn, work, and find jobs in the digital age: (i) applying AI to brand development and support business on digital platforms, (ii) designing images, videos, and audio for communication, and (iii) creating short content and implementing affiliate marketing on TikTok. 

The conference was organized to enhance skills and develop human resources in e-commerce in the digital age, with the participation and sharing of expertise from experts from the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade). Attendees included leaders from the Department of Industry and Trade, the school's Board of Directors, faculty members, and representatives of K14 and K15 college students, creating a multi-faceted exchange space between management agencies, training institutions, and students, aiming to improve the capacity for implementing e-commerce in a systematic and practical manner.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Deputy Director of the Bac Ninh Department of Industry and Trade, emphasized the orientation of linking training activities with the practical implementation of digital transformation in the locality, so that students not only "know the tools" but also quickly develop professional thinking and the ability to operate systematically. At the same time, Mr. Phuong also pointed out that in the province, many students at educational institutions today, despite having the advantage of youth and access to technology, still face many difficulties when entering the digital business environment.

According to Mr. Phuong, common obstacles stem from a lack of practical implementation methods: from building personal/team sales brands on digital platforms, producing short, goal-driven content, to organizing store operations and measuring effectiveness. In addition, many students struggle to choose suitable tools, easily follow trends, and engage in many activities without a systematic approach, leading to inconsistent results and difficulty in long-term sustainability.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong – Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Bac Ninh Province

Based on that reality, Mr. Phuong affirmed that the collaboration between the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy in organizing the training program at Bac Ninh Industrial College is essential. This aims to support the school and students in accessing in-depth content shared by the Department on the application of AI in brand development, digital content production skills, and a systematic e-commerce implementation model. This will help students improve their adaptability and become more confident when participating in the labor market and the digital business environment.

E-commerce: From Local Practices to Global Trends

In recent years, along with the trend of digital transformation, e-commerce has moved beyond its role as a supplementary sales channel to become a strategic business model. According to Mr. Cao Qui Long, an expert from the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, this explains why programs for students need to focus directly on the "on-the-go" capabilities of the market such as AI, multimedia digital content, and conversion-driven short content—areas that businesses need immediately and young people can participate in early.

Looking at the world, international forecasts indicate that the global e-commerce revenue in 2025 will continue to be very large (depending on the statistical method, many forecasts place it in the range of 6.4–7.4 trillion USD), while the growth rate remains stable. 

Notably, Southeast Asia is seen as one of the fastest-growing regions thanks to its young population and high internet penetration rate, creating a favorable environment for students to participate in the digital business ecosystem.

In Vietnam, many sources indicate that the retail e-commerce market surpassed $25 billion in 2024. Some forecasts suggest that the transaction value could approach $28 billion in 2025, with continued positive growth prospects. Simultaneously, reports on e-commerce indicators show that the share of e-commerce in total retail sales of goods and consumer services has increased significantly in recent years. 

Mr. Cao Qui Long, expert from the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy

Based on that reality, Mr. Cao Qui Long emphasized that students are facing a "golden opportunity," but it will only truly become an opportunity if learners can shift from an interest in tools to the ability to implement them correctly and sustainably.

AI applications: from understanding correctly to doing it right.

According to Mr. Cao Qui Long, a common misconception among young people is that AI is like a "magic wand": that with just a few commands, AI can do everything for them. Therefore, instead of chasing after a large number of tools, Mr. Long recommends that students master the skill of making effective requests to control the quality of the output. According to Mr. Long, the key point when working with AI is not "knowing many tools," but knowing how to make the right requests and control the output results. 

To provide specific guidance, within the framework of the Conference, experts directly "guided" students step-by-step so that they could practically apply AI in their studies, research, and report writing. From identifying topics, collecting and filtering information, building outlines, to editing content and presenting reports according to academic standards, students were guided on how to use AI as an "assistant" to speed up the process while ensuring logic and consistency.

Simultaneously, students are also guided on how to "create AI assistants" specifically for their e-commerce studies and research. Accordingly, these AI assistants not only support content writing but can also help students systematize knowledge, suggest market analysis frameworks, business models, customer journeys, communication content, and steps for implementing an e-commerce project in a systematic way. 

Notably, Mr. Long stated that a new trend helping learners "work quickly while maintaining a process" is the use of "canvas" platforms, which are intuitive workspaces that consolidate multiple creative tasks into one place. 

During the training, Mr. Long also delved into the operation of online stores on e-commerce platforms, focusing on image, video, and audio design, and content planning supported by AI. 

According to Mr. Long, knowing how to use new tools is only the first step; more important is having a "systematic sales" mindset. Mr. Long shared that students often make the mistake of "putting all products on the platform and waiting for luck," while a more effective approach is to build a product structure based on roles. Accordingly, there should be product groups to attract new customers, product groups to retain customers and generate stable revenue, and product groups to maximize value (combos, upgrade packages, etc.). Once the product structure is clear, the content has a basis for proper implementation: each product group will require a different type of message, format, and measurement objective.

When entertainment drives shopping behavior

Ms. Tran Quynh Trang, expert from the Center for E-commerce and Digital Technology Development, Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy

At the conference, Ms. Tran Quynh Trang, an expert from the Center for E-commerce and Digital Technology Development, Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, shared insights on short content and affiliate marketing on TikTok. Ms. Trang stated that the emerging trend is "shoppertainment." According to her, consumers, especially young people and students, often watch entertaining content first before making a purchase decision. Therefore, short content is no longer a "secondary" element, but has become a crucial touchpoint for building trust and triggering purchase behavior.

According to Ms. Trang, shopping combined with entertainment is often associated with formats such as livestreaming, short videos with product links, and gamification to increase interaction and conversion rates. Industry reports also note this trend as a notable growth axis for e-commerce in recent times.

Sharing her thoughts on tools supporting digital content production, Ms. Trang stated that the short video ecosystem is changing rapidly, especially thanks to the development of AI-powered editing and production technologies. Ms. Trang shared that many "all-in-one" video editing solutions now integrate features that shorten clip creation time, optimize cutting and splicing, add effects, subtitles, and process audio in just a few steps.

Alongside this, Ms. Trang stated that text-based video creation models are also developing rapidly, allowing users to describe ideas using commands and the system automatically generates appropriate footage, motion, or video clips. According to Ms. Trang, the pace of innovation in this field is constant, with many major developers worldwide continuously releasing new versions of their models, creating an increasingly high technological standard and rapidly changing how young people approach content production.

However, Ms. Trang emphasized a key point: from a training perspective, the important thing is not to "know a lot of tools," but to know how to choose the right tools for the right goals, how to integrate those tools into a workflow, and finally, how to measure effectiveness to gradually optimize over time.

At the conference, students, experts, and leaders from Bac Ninh Industrial College and the Department of Industry and Trade unanimously agreed that the most valuable aspect of the program lies in delivering training content that "meets the needs" and "addresses the specific challenges" faced by learners. 

From that consensus, the Conference affirmed a consistent message: the value of training lies not in simply "learning a few more tools after listening," but in learners developing an implementation mindset, knowing how to set goals, organize workflows, measure effectiveness, and proactively control risks when participating in e-commerce activities in the digital environment.