Desarrollo de un asistente académico inteligente para la comunidad estudiantil de la ESPOL

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PUBLICATION OF PROJECT. the existing academic support options in higher education institutions require strengthening and improved accessibility, since students often lack motivation to participate and have limited time. This project aims to develop a voice-based virtual assistant on Amazon Alexa that facilitates access to academic information and enhances student support, under the hypothesis that such a tool can help in making informed academic decisions. The assistant was implemented with the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) in Python, using DynamoDB and official data from Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL). Multiple intents were designed to address topics of student interest, along with the expected activation phrases for each intent. The evaluation, carried out with 11 students from different semesters, showed that the assistant provided useful and timely information. However, it was found that in specific cases students required more detailed responses, and that queries needed to be semantically correct and close to the expected phrases recognized by the assistant. In conclusion, the project demonstrates that the virtual assistant is a functional tool to address frequently asked questions and strengthen academic support at ESPOL. Keywords: Virtual assistant, Amazon Alexa, Academic support, Higher Education.