Role:
Product Designer
(Design Bootcamp)
Time Frame:
Sept. 2024 - Dec. 2024
Organization:
Bits of Good
The Vision
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech / GT / Tech) is home to 1,000+ international undergraduates, representing 7.9% of the student body. Navigating the process of maintaining my international status was frustrating to say the least. From managing visa appointments to understanding rigorous employment restrictions to scrambling for storage options over the summer, I, along with thousands of others, have dealt with the burden of being out-of-country, not to mention most of us were thousands of miles from home. Along with my partner, I sought to understand others' pain points and creatively design a solution that abstracts the process of being international.
Phase I: Research
Ideation
Research Goals
Secondary Research
Primary Research
Synthesize Findings (Insights)
Design Recommendation
Phase II: Product Design
Interpret Design Recommendation
Low Fidelity Wireframes
High Fidelity Wireframes
Prototyping
Final Product
Phase I: Research
Ideation
We identified various personal or anecdotal pain points and frustrations that international student face. The broad topics included Visas & Immigration, Work/Employment, Housing, Credits & Academics, etc. We discussed problems students may face in these domains and created user flows for existing infrastructure.
In this example, we assumed how a student may resolve an international-specific query. Friction points included navigating the dense and unintuitive OIE website and emailing OIE's help desk who can take days to respond to a query. Creating these flows narrowed our problem scope and, though they were assumptions, they guided us toward specific bottlenecks. During interviews, being cognizant of these user flows allowed us to probe general areas of frustration and further pinpoint specific struggles.
Research Goals
Identify Key Challenges for International Students
Understand Visa and Immigration Complexities
Evaluate Awareness of Employment and its Barriers
Analyze Social and Academic Integration
Evaluate Pre-Georgia Tech Onboarding Processes
Gauge Effectiveness of Existing Resources
Secondary Research
To identify whether a solution was needed, we began by researching existing infrastructure designed to help international students, targeting research goal number 6. Our first and most crucial observation — the insight that indicated the need for a solution — was that we had no direct competitors. There was no platform designed to make international students' lives easier that holistically addresses work and employment, visas, credits, housing, and more.
We identified Reddit, specifically Georgia Tech's subreddit and various international student subreddits, and Halp as indirect competitors in our problem space.
We examined GT subreddit posts and it became clear that international students mostly fall on the platform to answer questions that should be directed toward OIE. One student even expressed clear frustration with the OIE that is up-voted by many other users.
While Reddit is accessible and easy-to-use, it has its own issues. Any user can join GT's subreddit and post and reply. It's unorganized and difficult to find specific information and there is no specific subreddit for international students at GT. Its one benefit is that it facilitates a dialogue between students. For example, one user made a post inviting international students staying on campus during Thanksgiving to their home. No other platform has this level of outreach.
Various international students' posts on the GT subreddit
Halp
Halp is platform that helps international students through the university admission process, claiming to make "being an international student easy and accessible". The app is significantly more focused on the pre-university admissions process, connecting students with mentors that guide them from start to finish with applications, documents, scholarships and financing, and more.
However, Halp focuses too heavily on high schoolers. It is also not unique to a school and does not support students already enrolled in university or college. Furthermore, Halp mentors are not knowledgeable enough to advise students about school-specific protocols and information.
Images from Halp's website
Primary Research
Sample Size:
4 User Interviews
User Demographic:
GT International Students
Mode:
In-person & Virtual
Length:
25-30 Minutes
Each interview consisted of thorough questions relating to interviewees biggest challenges, experiences as an international, immigration, and travel, work and employment, essential services, and effectiveness of existing resources. We also tested their technical knowledge about terms like CPT/OPT work authorization, Designated School Officers (DSO), SEVIS, I-20, and more.
Key observations from user interviews
Key Findings & Insights
Unawareness of Employment & Restrictions
All of our interviewees expressed frustration with employment; policies like CPT/OPT are confusing and sources of information like OIE or online websites and forums are often conflicting, convoluted, and difficult to follow. When asked pointed questions such as duration of and difference between CPT and OPT, most interviewees could not produce an accurate response.
3 of our 4 interviewees indicated notable difficulty in getting securing visa sponsorship and internship offers due to their out-of-country citizenship, feeling significantly disadvantaged. This is especially prevalent in fields like Aerospace Engineering. As international students have a limited, total allotted work time, an interviewee mentioned this adds a layer of complexity when planning for the future.
Visa Maintenance, Travel, Summer Storage, and Holidays
None of our interviewees knew the correct process of maintaining their I-20 (you need a signature every year for it to be valid). International students at GT may not have a complete understanding of their visa and its limits as none of the interviewees knew they had a Designated School Officer (DSO) assigned to them to help them with such matters. However, international immigration and leisurely travel was not an issue among any participants.
Participants also said convenient storage of items during the summer is difficult. 3 out of 4 rely on family or friends but they are sometimes unreliable (they must travel, they live far away, etc).
During Thanksgiving, long weekends, and other holidays, 2 interviewees faced hurdles since the dining hall was shut, the Campus Recreation Center was closed, and friends were gone.
Design Recommendation
Central Information Portal with Forum Integration
Based on insights from our primary and secondary research, we suggested a web platform that extends the OIE's existing capabilities. This platform would integrate a forum alongside OIE’s official information database, creating a centralized hub for international students to access resources and engage in a streamlined dialogue between the OIE and themselves.
Key Features:
Resource Compilation
Allows users to share and compile resources relevant to international students, such as:
Lists of companies willing to sponsor work visas.
Internship opportunities for international students.
Guides and tips for navigating campus life.
Enhanced Communication with OIE
Facilitates easier dialogue between international students and the OIE.
Allows users to ask questions, receive responses, and engage with OIE staff in a more streamlined manner.
Forum for Peer Interaction
Enables students to make posts, reply to threads, and pin useful posts.
Contextual tagging system for posts to improve discoverability (e.g., "Visa Help," "Summer Storage").
Coordination for Summer Storage and Break Planning
Provides a centralized location for students to coordinate logistics for summer storage.
Facilitates planning of outings or group activities during academic breaks.
Phase II: Product Design
Interpretation of Design Recommendation
The user flow above effectively integrates the key features of our final design recommendation. It streamlines access to official OIE resources and email reminders for timely updates while fostering peer collaboration through a user forum where students can post, reply, and share curated resources like company sponsorship lists or break plans. The flow also supports logistical needs, such as coordinating summer storage, and ensures first-time users are guided with platform highlights, creating a comprehensive, user-friendly system to address the common challenges faced by international students at Georgia Tech.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Mid and High Fidelity Wireframes
Prototyping
Final Prototype
