Shaan Chopra — User Experience Intern

From New Delhi, India, Shaan’s passion for inclusive designs have driven her to work with different people across different continents on a variety of topics closely related to health, education or financial inclusion.

A current grad student at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Masters in Human-Computer Interaction, Shaan’s skills in user-centric design and her admiration for our culture, made Appruve a great match for her.

In this instalment of People of Appruve, we learn about Shaan, — our newest addition to the team.

• What role do you currently occupy at Appruve?

User Experience Intern

• Where are you from and where do you currently stay?

I am from New Delhi, India and am currently pursuing a Masters in Human-Computer Interaction (MS-HCI) at the University of Maryland, College Park. So I am currently based in College Park, Maryland, United States.

• Tell us a bit about yourself

I am a grad student at the University of Maryland, College Park specializing in Human-Computer Interaction and have a background in computer science and engineering. I like to apply user-centred methods to design culturally-responsive technologies for health, education, and financial inclusion.

• How did you find your way to Appruve?

I found out about Appruve when I contacted Paul — the CEO, on Twitter after seeing a post reply mentioning how he is hiring interns for the summer.

I immediately contacted him over email to get more insight into the company and about the kind of interns he was looking for. We had a brief phone interview and conversation after which he gave me a task to complete. It was not long before I received an email from Paul saying that the team would be happy to have me and put me in touch with Kwame — the Head of Product.

• At what moment did you know you wanted to work at Appruve?

After my first conversation with Paul when he shared the mission and vision of the company. I have always been interested in working towards healthcare, education, and financial inclusion, especially in developing countries (given my background of working in India on similar projects related to taboo topics such as menstrual health education). So when I heard about Appruve, I knew this was a place for me. Not only did the project/work requirements match with my interests, but the philanthropy did too.

• How did your previous work experiences prepare you for your role at Appruve?

I am pursuing a degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and have a background in computer science engineering. The role I am hired for lies at the exact intersection of the two. So my coursework so far has prepared me well for this position.

Moreover, I have worked on many different projects which have helped me develop the skills required for this internship. I interned at The National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) — a national research institute for digital science and technology, Paris in summer 2018 wherein I collaborated with multi-cultural teams and improved my technical skills such as coding in python, applying machine learning, and performing qualitative analysis.

I recently worked on a project related to improving the mobile interface design of existing health information-providing websites such as healthfinder.gov to make them more accessible, scannable, and comprehensible for people with low health literacy skills in the US. Here, I built on a variety of skills such as contextual inquiry, affinity diagramming and ideation, developing user stories and experience models, usability testing, and wireframing.

In another previous project, I studied menstrual health education and accessibility to menstrual hygiene in urban India. Here, I conducted participatory design, think-aloud sessions, surveys, and other qualitative research to understand the current practices of people and provide design recommendations for potential interventions. Based on this project, I co-authored two peer-reviewed publications at top HCI conferences.

• What are you most proud of?

I am not sure how to answer this question. I believe I am most proud of my computer science and HCI background. It allows me to look at things from a different perspective, taking into account both the human and computer parts of technology. I love being able to design what I know can be developed and I love developing what I design.

Also, I am really happy that through my research and work experiences so far, I have gotten the opportunity to work with different populations in different countries on a variety of topics closely related to health, education or financial inclusion.

Appruve is providing me with another opportunity to do the same. As I mentioned, I am fascinated by inclusive design and wish to create culturally-responsive technologies to tend to the needs and desires of different populations. I love being able to do that through my internship this summer.

• What do you like the most about working at Appruve?

I love how despite this time of COVID-19, Appruve is hosting virtual interns like me and is doing a really good job at keeping everyone productive. The weekly stand-ups and use of the Kanban Board for tracking productivity help me stay productive and keep working towards my internship tasks.

I further really enjoy interacting and collaborating with my team members, having frequent discussions via Slack and love how everyone is ready to help. My interactions so far with Paul and Kwame have been great, they are always ready to help and provide clarifications when needed.

In fact, everyone in the team is helpful and nice to interact with. I would have loved to meet everyone in person. Overall, I feel Appruve is doing a great job in hosting us virtual interns, their set-up is very efficient and ensures productivity.

• When you’re not working, what are you doing?

I am a national-level discus thrower and can be found working out at any point in the day.

• Any last words?

I am really excited to start my journey with Appruve and look forward to learning a lot from the amazing people here!