Education

1. Master of Science

   Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

   2024 - 2026

   3.50 GPA

   Specialization in Computer Science. Relevant coursework includes Data Structures & Algorithms , Database , Applied Natural Language Processing and Web Technologies.

   
   

2. Bachelor of Technology

   Indus Institute of Technology & Engineering, Indus University, Ahmedabad

   2020 - 2024

   3.86 GPA

   Specialization in Computer Science and Engineering. Relevant coursework includes Data Structures, Algorithms, Machine Learning, Web Development and Operating System.

   
   

Experience

1. Teaching Assistant

   USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center

   Apr 2025 - Present

   Supported Dr. Darin Gray in delivering the “Discover Engineering” course—a four-week, 3-unit program introducing high school students to various engineering disciplines—by collaborating on lectures and hands-on projects, and designed comprehensive instructional materials including class presentations, detailed notes, weekly overviews, and structured activity plans to ensure alignment with the course’s interdisciplinary objectives.

2. Research Assistant

   Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC) @ USC

   Mar 2025 - Present

   Collaborated on the design and implementation of an interactive “POI Game” crowdsourced data collection platform to gather labeled training data for machine learning models by presenting users with timestamped latitude/longitude points and prompting them to identify the most likely visited point of interest; and worked under the guidance of Dr. John Krumm, engaging in interdisciplinary discussions to align technical developments in location data privacy and mobility analysis with real-world applications.

3. Student Worker

   USC Auxiliary Services

   Dec 2024 - Mar 2025

   Assisted hundreds of students, faculty, and visitors at the USC Bookstore by providing tailored product recommendations that enhanced their experience through attentive and efficient service; served as a front-line greeter during peak hours, managing store flow and offering first-touch support to both new and returning customers; and handled invoicing and point-of-sale operations with accuracy and strong multitasking skills in a fast-paced retail environment.

4. Software Engineer Intern

   Microsoft Corporation , Hyderabad, India

   June 2023 - July 2023

   During my internship at Microsoft, I contributed to the ODSP (OneDrive and SharePoint) team, focusing on enhancing operational efficiency and monitoring systems. A key achievement was the development of interactive dashboards to track the online performance of Microsoft’s products. These dashboards provided real-time insights, empowering the team to make informed decisions and address performance bottlenecks effectively.I also spearheaded the creation of a Power Automate tool that generated automated alerts whenever key processes, such as loaders, exceeded their expected execution times. This tool streamlined incident response, minimized delays, and optimized system reliability.By leveraging technologies in data visualization and workflow automation, I improved existing workflows and contributed to maintaining high standards of product performance. This experience honed my skills in data-driven problem solving, process optimization, and collaborating in a dynamic, technology-driven environment.

Projects

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Artist Search App

• Node.js
• ReactJS
• Tailwind CSS

Created as part of USC's CSCI 570 Web Technologies course, this app integrates the Spotify API with a Node.js and React stack to let users search for musicians, explore albums, and preview top tracks in the browser.

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Predictive Maintenance Research

• Python
• Tensorflow

Investigated LSTM-based models in Python and TensorFlow to forecast equipment failures using industrial IoT sensor data, demonstrating how predictive maintenance can reduce simulated downtime by 15%.

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Splitwiser

• Next.js
• Node.js
• Tailwind CSS

An open-source alternative to Splitwise that manages shared expenses, built with Next.js, Node.js, and Tailwind CSS to track balances, create groups, and settle debts effortlessly.

Brief Bytes

• Node.js
• JavaScript
• Tailwind CSS
• Tensorflow

Designed and developed Brief Bytes, an innovative web platform using Svelte, JavaScript, Node.js, and PocketBase, aimed at simplifying news consumption for time-constrained users. The platform employs web scraping techniques to gather articles and machine learning for summarization, delivering concise yet informative summaries while offering the option to access full articles. Enhanced usability through intuitive UI/UX design and implemented a scalable backend to ensure seamless content delivery. This project empowered users with actionable insights, driving increased engagement and fostering an efficient news consumption experience.

Scholarship Finder

• Python
• Streamlit

Developed a web scraping system using BeautifulSoup to collect and parse scholarship data from multiple online sources,creating a comprehensive scholarship database.Implemented data cleaning and normalization techniques leveraging pandas to process and structure the collected scholarship information into a well-organized dataset.Devised a machine learning-based matching algorithm with scikit-learn to analyze user input and generate customized scholarship recommendations, improving search accuracy by 40

Movie Recommender System

• Python
• Streamlit

Engineered a content-based movie recommender system with TF-IDF vectorization and cosine similarity algorithms, attaining a 30% improvement in recommendation relevance for a dataset of 5000+ movies .Optimized data preprocessing pipelines with NumPy and pandas, cutting down processing time for a large movie dataset .Designed and deployed a responsive web application using Streamlit, achieving a 95% user satisfaction rate based on feedback from 100+ beta tester

About Me

I’m Akshat Divyang Shah, a passionate software engineer and a driven computer science graduate student at the University of Southern California(USC). With a strong foundation in programming and a knack for creating innovative solutions, I thrive in challenging environments where I can push the boundaries of technology. My expertise spans across developing impactful mobile applications, web platforms, and machine learning-driven projects, with scalability and performance optimization as my guiding principles.

During my journey, I’ve had the privilege of interning at Microsoft, where I developed Power Automate solutions and dashboards to monitor online product performance. My most challenging project, UniSphere, a cross-platform mobile app to enhance campus engagement, demonstrates my ability to manage large-scale applications. Additionally, I’ve explored diverse areas like data visualization, blockchain technology, and financial markets, enriching my technical and analytical skills.

Beyond academics and work, I am deeply committed to sharing knowledge. As a tutor to over 20 students, a social media strategist, and a food content creator behind thegajabfoodie, I combine technical expertise with creativity and communication. I also actively engage in crypto trends and decentralized finance discussions, aiming to contribute meaningfully to emerging tech ecosystems. At USC, I am excited to explore cutting-edge courses in Web Technologies and Natural Language Processing, ensuring continuous growth in my learning.

Let’s connect and create technologies that make a difference!