My practicum project was my internship with Jarus Technologies over the summer 2024. This internship was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My goal with Jarus was to develop an AI based application that would analyze claims documents in PDF form and provide answers about the content in the documents, along with highlighting the relevant text. A typical work day would require me to research different technologies such as JavaScript, Flask, and pdf.js, as well as REST APIs to create a working prototype to present to my team. Additionally, I would have to check in with my boss, Sundar Vallinayagam, often to update him on my progress.
My project started out as a research project that analyzed services that already analyze pdf documents using AI. This would have included services such as ChatPDF, pdf.ai, and AskYourPDF. Given a sample claims document, I was looking for accurate responses and accurate highlighted text. I found ChatPDF to be the most accurate, and I subsequently used its RestAPIs to create an interactive application using Python that communicated with ChatPDF. Lastly, I made a website using pdf.js, Flask, HTML and CSS that would display the document, a place to ask questions along with the answer below, and the accurately highlighted text.
Interestingly, the most relevant experience from the SGC colloquium came from the lectures about using HTML/CSS to create a portfolio. When it came time for me to create an application that would display the pdf, I needed those HTML and CSS skills I learned when creating my SGC portfolio to help me develop the best possible application. Throughout this internship, I gained a lot of technical skills. I learned how to work with APIs, JavaScript, and Flask, and I created a web application that I was proud about.
Throughout this internship, I also gained quite a lot of clarity about what I want my professional and academic journey to look like. I was able to learn skills that are important to my career field but that I would not necessarily learn in my 100 and 200 levels, such as JavaScript, APIs, and Flask. With that being said, I would have liked to have at least create a website before I started that used JavaScript. If I had come in with some background knowledge, I could have worked with more advanced technologies such as React.js. Going forward, I want to pursue either AI related internships or software engineering, and I decided to do an ML concentration for my CS major. I definitely think the skills I gained from this internship will help me grow and set me up well for future internships and jobs.
I did not have to work with a team, as my project was an individual assignment. With that being said, I had to present in front of the entire Jarus team at Pittsburgh, and that was an interesting experience. I learned how to present effectively, and the team was very pleased with my work.
I would recommend this opportunity to SGC computer science students, as it gives them the necessary technological background to progress as a computer scientist. I learned new concepts and technologies that I would have otherwise not learned in class, and I am forever grateful to Sundar Vallinayagam and his team for giving me that opportunity.