EPICS ASU Transcryption

Team & Achievements

The Project

ASU Transcript Automation

I'm part of a unique engineering initiative called "Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS)" working on a project named ASU Transcripts. Our goal was to automate the extraction of information from US high school transcripts which is a task commissioned by Arizona State University's Admissions Department. I worked on this project over two semesters through FSE 104 and FSE 404 as part of a team of five students. During the early days of the project, I discovered Amazon Textract as the right tool for reading and extracting data from images and PDFs. It turned out to be the most critical tool in the project since these high school transcripts don't have a standardized format and are available in different file types such as PDFs, Images converted to PDFs, and XML format. I learned to use AWS and various image processing techniques to build out the solution and also assisted my teammates in getting up to speed with AWS and using the Textract service effectively.

One of the most unique aspects of this project was working directly with ASU's Admissions Department as our community partner, which meant our work had real consequences and had to meet the expectations of a client rather than just a course instructor. This also meant that our team had to communicate regularly with the Admissions Department to understand their requirements, present our progress, and incorporate their feedback into our solution. Working in a team also taught me to divide responsibilities effectively, resolve disagreements about technical approaches, and hold each other accountable to deadlines. This engineering experience has helped me learn Amazon Web Services and Amazon Textract in depth which are essential for my future career goals as a Software Engineer. Ultimately, this experience helped me understand the process and approach of engineering by enabling me to work on an industry-level project.

The interdisciplinary thinking I developed in FSE 150 was directly applicable here since the project required me to think beyond the code and consider the people who were gonna use my solution. Additionally, presenting the project at Venture Devils and EPICS Elite Pitch gave me experience communicating a technical solution to a non technical audience which was also an essential skill in ENT 360 where I was pitching PeerRent to investors.

I completed my service learning competency over two semesters through FSE 104 & FSE 404 as part of EPICS program because I saw it as a great way to provide something back to my school and the Sun Devil community. Moreover, the ASU Transcripts project directly contributed to my GCSP theme of Joy Of Living because the application of this technology can immensely change the way Arizona State University admission's team process the high school transcripts. Our solution enables ASU to significantly reduce the time taken to process transcripts and helps to roll out admission decisions faster. Moreover, time is of the essence in the college application process and faster roll-out of the decisions by universities can greatly help reduce the anxiety of the high school student and help them in making timely decisions about their future. Thus, making their life easier and better. Hence, this ASU Transcripts project under EPICS is directly related to my GCSP theme of Joy of Living.

Participating in the EPICS project has been an insightful experience in my GCSP journey, enriching my academic and career goals profoundly. It has not only fortified my technical expertise but also honed my problem-solving skills, particularly in tackling real-world issues in hackathons with innovative engineering solutions. Additionally, the experience has strengthened my professional profile by providing me with numerous opportunities to present our project to potential employers, venture capitalists, and my peers through platforms like Venture Devils and EPICS Elite Pitch. These presentations have been instrumental in demonstrating my ability to apply classroom knowledge to address genuine community needs which is a valuable skill in any career path. Furthermore, this project has reinforced my commitment to using technology for social good, aligning with my broader interests and goals within the engineering field.

FSE 104: EPICS Gold Feasibility and Planning & FSE 404: EPICS Gold: EPICS in Action — Presentation