A bot is invented by three talented students in Canada to solve the problem of international students in finding out the ways all through the Canadian visa application process. And it will work through Facebook Messenger, giving a hand to future potential international students.
Dhivya Jayaraman, Ruhi Madiwale and JeyaBalaji Samuthiravelu(originally Indian natives) are all doing their post-grad from Dalhousie University in Halifax Nova Scotia, in the subject of computer science.
As the idea strike out due the reasons they all faced when applying for visas to study in Canada before they arrived
“I had problems with the process, including with time zones affecting my ability to talk to advisors in Canada and gaps in specific information”. Samuthiravelu said.
“The information given by the government website is more general and is not catered to any specific individual… or understanding their needs,” he added.
Another issue which they all identified was about universities’ international student support services, as each time they forced to spend a plenty of their time answering the same and basic questions repeatedly.
“The bot is going to help universities answering the basic questions, so advisors could respond more complex questions”
And that’s how the idea for RovBOT was hit it off.
This technology would be helpful in the institutions’ current systems, to manage the workload for counsellors and advisors who are dealing with the ever-increasing numbers of internationally mobile students to get study in Canada.
Currently, they are working on the beta version of the project. They started it in May and have already developed a user interface.
“We are developing our algorithms… so we can go and test it with the user at the end of January,” Madiwale said.
There are many sources behind the fast succession, counting the university’s own ShiftKey Labs and the ‘Innovation Bootcamp’, part of Nova Scotia Community College’s Sandbox entrepreneurship project. But the crucial and significant part of the project is funding – has also come from government sources.
“As of now we are funded by the Nova Scotia government, and we also got a warm response from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration,” Madiwale said.
The plan is to fully incorporate and integrate with university international offices all across Canada.
“Universities like our idea. And they are looking for a way to take this into their systems and use it for the benefit of international students,” said Madiwale.
Even though RovBot is currently in its early phases but it is obvious that the group has positioned itself firmly on international growth.
“As of now, we are training the bot with information specific to Canada… but other countries like the US, UK will be our future target market ” Samuthiravelu said.
