For my internship, I worked as a product manager at the Open Climate Curriculum (Open CC), part of the Business and Climate Change Initiative at the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia Business School. My work focused on developing a generative AI autonomous agent for recommending climate-related educational resources and research papers. This project aligned perfectly with the organization's mission to advance climate change education courses at business schools worldwide. I worked on revamping the platform's capabilities by integrating cutting-edge generative AI tools. The goal was to increase platform adoption by business school professors worldwide and enhance user engagement by reducing course creation time. The AI-powered teaching assistant we developed directly supports the goal of providing easy access to a wide range of teaching resources on climate change and business topics. The scope of my project also contributed to the platform's aim of becoming a comprehensive source for climate change education in business schools globally. By implementing advanced search functionality and integrating AI-assisted course development, we're helping to transform individual contributions into a collective powerhouse of knowledge.

During my time with Open CC, I applied various skills from my MBA program, particularly in product management and strategy. I managed the complete product life cycle of the generative AI autonomous agent, which required a deep understanding of product development processes and user-centric design principles. My MBA coursework in data analytics and product management proved invaluable when revamping the product strategy from an RAG-only model to a hybrid approach. This decision, which integrated a Plan-and-Solve AI search engine API using Langchain, demonstrated my ability to analyze technical solutions and make strategic decisions to improve product performance. The data management and processing framework I designed based on client interviews and feedback showcased my ability to translate user needs into technical requirements, a crucial skill for product managers in technology-driven environments.

One of the main challenges I encountered was balancing the technical aspects of the project with user needs. While the RAG-based generative AI technology offered powerful capabilities, ensuring its effectiveness and accuracy required careful consideration of user input and community contributions. We needed to ensure robust search functionality for the repository while maintaining data privacy and security for contributed materials. This required close collaboration with the technical team to implement appropriate filters and guidelines on usage and ownership. I had to design the AI assistant to access information quickly and synthesize it in a way that was immediately useful for course development. The solution was iterative, tackling one error at a time as I started testing and refining the tool based on internal team members and user feedback. This experience was a training ground for dealing with ambiguity in the form of the AI black box, but teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking helped me through this journey.

This experience has significantly enhanced my product management skills, particularly in the realm of AI-driven educational technology. I've gained valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of integrating advanced AI technologies into user-facing products. I've learned the importance of user-centric design in developing educational platforms. Our project's success hinged on understanding and addressing the specific needs of business school professors teaching climate-related courses. The project also reinforced the value of cross-functional collaboration. Working with engineers, designers, and subject matter experts taught me how to effectively communicate across disciplines and leverage diverse expertise to achieve product goals. Perhaps most importantly, I've developed a deeper appreciation for the role of technology in addressing global challenges like climate change education. This work has inspired me to continue pursuing opportunities where I can apply my skills to create a positive social impact.