Graduate’s Innovative Use of Artificial Intelligence Makes a Powerful Impact
Srivarini Mandali, MS’25, information systems, integrated her passion for technology and social change to develop innovative projects during her time at Northeastern.
Srivarini Mandali is a graduate of the MS in information systems program. She earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology from G. Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a passion for using technology to create social impact—exemplified by her award-winning project, “Automatic Image Captioning for the Visually Impaired.” She also completed an internship at JPMorgan Chase & Co., which led to a full-time role as a software engineer after graduating with her undergraduate degree.
Mandali’s decision to join Northeastern was driven by its industry-aligned curriculum and the program’s unique blend of technical and management courses, which perfectly matched her goal of bridging technology and business strategy. In addition, the renowned co-op program offered the chance to apply academic knowledge to real-world challenges. The university’s vibrant research environment presents opportunities to explore cutting-edge technologies and contribute to innovative solutions. Finally, the strong emphasis on hands-on experience resonated with her belief in the practical application of theoretical knowledge.
The master of science in information systems program particularly appealed to Mandali because it offered advanced technical coursework in modern technologies, opportunities to develop management and leadership skills, industry collaboration, and a platform to pursue innovation and research.
Mandali’s career at Northeastern has been transformative, especially in the areas of software engineering, cloud computing, and product development. The program’s structure provided an ideal balance of technical depth, hands-on application, and opportunities for innovation. The curriculum equipped her with both technical expertise and strategic vision, particularly through specialized courses such as Network Structures and Cloud Computing, Web Design, and User Experience.
Northeastern’s research environment also enabled her to explore cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence. As a research assistant, Mandali investigated fact-checking mechanisms for generative AI using ontology-driven biological graphs. Through this work, she developed specialized knowledge in AI verification systems—a critical capability for building trustworthy enterprise solutions.
Mandali secured a co-op opportunity at McKinsey & Company as a software engineer. In this role, she managed the publication of 26 developer tools and services in McKinsey’s internal platform marketplace and authored technical documentation that simplified complex cloud infrastructure concepts. She also implemented strategic content improvements following portal migrations and developed comprehensive service provider FAQs to enhance knowledge sharing. This experiential learning opportunity reinforced her commitment to innovation and demonstrated how technical expertise, combined with strategic thinking, can transform enterprise platforms.
Mandali was recognized by the director at McKinsey for successfully leading the publication of 26 developer tools on the internal platform marketplace. She spearheaded feature deployments in close collaboration with engineers, product owners, and cross-functional Agile teams, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and alignment with business goals.
Two faculty members have significantly shaped Mandali’s academic development. Adjunct Professor Vishal Chawla, through Web Design and User Experience, provided comprehensive training in human-centered design principles and front-end development methodologies—fundamentally changing how she approaches application design with user experience at the forefront. Adjunct Professor Tejas Parikh, in Network Structures and Cloud Computing, delivered essential knowledge in distributed systems and cloud architecture. His hands-on approach to AWS and containerization technologies directly contributed to her enhanced performance in software engineering responsibilities.
Josie Cuccinello, Mandali’s Co-op Advisor, has been an invaluable mentor. Her guidance on career strategy, professional networking, and skills development significantly enhanced Mandali’s ability to secure and excel in competitive roles. Her mentorship specifically helped Mandali navigate career transitions strategically and position herself effectively for high-impact opportunities.
From January to May 2025, Mandali served as a Research Assistant, focusing on fact-checking generative AI models in biomedical research. Her work involved verifying disease-gene linkages using ontology-driven biological graphs to ensure the reliability of AI-generated biomedical information. She contributed to the development of AI-driven knowledge validation techniques aimed at improving fact-checking and knowledge extraction in the healthcare domain.
Personal and Group Projects
Throughout her time at Northeastern, Mandali worked on a variety of impactful projects. One standout project was FITVIBE, a comprehensive wellness solution designed to help students track their daily activities across nutrition, physical exercise, rest, and academics. Recognizing that health challenges can affect academic performance and overall well-being, she led a team in building a responsive web platform using React.js, SASS, Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. This project underscored the importance of holistic well-being and provided students with an intuitive tool to monitor and improve their lifestyle habits.
TensorFlow, the system utilized a CNN-RNN model trained on 6,000 diverse photographs to ensure high-quality image recognition and captioning. The application also features multilingual audio narration, making digital interactions more inclusive for visually impaired users. This project won “Best Industrial Project” within the IT department as part of departmental recognition.
Every project comes with its own set of challenges, and Mandali shares how she tackled them. For the FITVIBE project, one of the key challenges was integrating multiple wellness-tracking features—such as nutrition, exercise, rest, and academics—while maintaining a smooth and user-friendly experience. She addressed this by implementing modular architecture and conducting extensive user testing with fellow students, refining the interface based on real-world feedback.
With the Automatic Image Captioning project, the initial model produced generic descriptions that lacked specificity. To improve accuracy, she expanded the training dataset to include edge cases and implemented attention mechanisms in the neural network architecture. Additionally, she worked directly with visually impaired testers to ensure the captions were meaningful, relevant, and supportive of user needs.
Future Perspective
Mandali’s experience at Northeastern University has been truly transformative, equipping her with technical expertise, industry exposure, and research-driven problem-solving mindset necessary for a thriving career in technology. Through rigorous coursework, hands-on projects, and the experiential learning opportunities offered by the co-op program, she built a strong foundation in software engineering, cloud computing, and enterprise solutions.
Looking ahead, Mandali aspires to leverage emerging technologies to drive innovation and efficiency. She aims to lead at the intersection of AI, cloud computing, and enterprise systems, with a focus on building scalable and ethical AI applications. Her goals include taking on leadership roles where she can drive technological advancements, optimize workflows, and mentor aspiring engineers. Ultimately, she hopes to contribute to tech-driven decision-making and automation—using her expertise in data science, software engineering, and DevOps to develop impactful, future-ready solutions.