STEM is a difficult field to study in; the academic nature of the courses alone is enough to dissuade many. Yet for some, the biggest hurdle is the first: the interview process to start your studies at university.
Angelina Aziz, a student currently on pause from her Master’s in Systems Engineering at Loughborough University, has taken time out to help out students on just that problem, by co-founding Auralyze.ai.
What is Auralyze.ai?
Auralyze.ai is a platform designed to assist students in preparing for university admissions interviews, particularly in STEM fields. The brain child of Aziz and fellow Co-founder Dr Faris Elsayad, Auralyze.ai first started in Feburary 2023 a couple of months after the pair meet. “I really liked the concept and we both really knew the need for something like this. Faris because he had worked in admission for the last five years and ran a Youtube channel focused on helping people get into Dental school. And me because I knew the need for it following my experience going to a poorly performing state schools; I had also helped run a charity for over 3 years that focused on helping disadvantaged young people with their employability and interview skills.”
Utilising advanced AI models from LLM to computer vision, the platform analyses user responses to practice questions, focusing on communication clarity, content relevance, and confidence levels. The AI provides tailored, near-instant feedback, enabling students to improve their interview skills.
Yet as Aziz tells Student Circuit: “Auralyze AI is more than just an interview prep tool; it’s a cutting-edge platform that leverages AI to help students nail their university admissions interviews.”
Although AI tools like ChatGPT can more generally help students with their interview questions and even suggest how to prep, what sets Auralyze AI apart is not only the fact that Aziz’s experience with universities are fresh in her head, but because of her and her Co-founder’s work experience: “Our deep understanding of the interview process, shaped by my and Faris’ diverse backgrounds in admissions and youth employability, has given us an empathy-driven approach that has informed every aspect of Auralyze AI, from our initial rough prototype to the sophisticated-ish tool we have today.”
Why Auralyze.ai?
“When Faris and I founded Auralyze.ai, we were driven by our personal experiences navigating the challenging admissions process for top UK universities. I tackled the journey for Computer Science, and Faris for Dental School,” says Aziz. “These experiences underscored a crucial gap in the educational landscape – the lack of accessible, effective preparation for university admissions interviews.”
This specific aspect of educational inequality, Aziz believed, could have a transformative impact if addressed, as often, students from diverse backgrounds don’t have adequate resources to prepare. This disparity can unfairly limit their opportunities, yet “The beauty of AI in this scenario is its impartiality. It doesn’t care about your background, your gender, or where you grew up,” explains Aziz.
Aziz believes this platform and approach will be particular useful for women, who previously may not have been prepped properly to enter a male-dominated field like tech or engineering, and South Asian women in particular: “South Asian women venturing into STEM fields often grapple with cultural expectations and a noticeable scarcity of role models. This backdrop can lead to a lack of encouragement for pursuing non-traditional careers and can contribute to a sense of isolation in these fields.”
Aziz hopes that Auralyze.ai helps more South Asian women enter the tech sphere by helping them quell their anxiety with the knowledge they know what to expect and can practice beforehand.
“Our goal with Auralyze.ai is not just to prepare students for interviews but to empower them to walk into these career-defining moments with confidence. By doing so, we’re helping to chip away at the barriers that South Asian women face in STEM, one interview at a time,” explains Aziz.
What next for Auralyze.ai?
With a 2023 UCAS study showing only 31% of core STEM students in Higher Education in the UK are women or non-binary, the need for platforms like Auralyze.ai remain clear. Having only ‘seriously’ been running since Oct-Nov 2023 since this year’s university admission cycle began, however, the effects are yet to change that figure significantly.
Yet with Aziz having taken a sabbatical from her Masters and her job as a Senior Platform Engineer at L&G to go full time on Auralyze.ai, and with plans to support many more subjects on the platform, incorporate an analysis of non-verbal cues, and more ‘exciting things on the way’, the time that it does begin to take some effect could soon come.
Yet, for any other student, post or current, looking to create tech to help themselves or their fellow students, Aziz offers some advice.
“Honestly Brace yourself is a wild ride, a fun ride but a wild one indeed. My two pence for anyone diving into edtech. First, get comfortable with the problem, know it like the back of your hand. But heads up, edtech isn’t a sprint; it’s more like a marathon… with hurdles. It’s slow-going, and you’ve got to be as stubborn as a mule. Be ready to tweak your tech so it actually fits into the real world of education. To sum it up, if you’re stepping into edtech, gear up for a bumpy but exhilarating journey. Remember, you’re not just building an app or a platform; you’re shaping futures.”
