Benefitting from an Independent Project

Shraddha Ravishanker (MSIT '24) spent six years in India working on cloud infrastructure technology before she moved to the United States.

She enrolled in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program to develop her technology skills and learn how to make better business decisions. To earn her degree, Ravishanker completed an independent study project that demonstrated how much she learned in the program — and that ultimately prepared her for her current job as a senior consultant at Deloitte.

"The MSIT program helped me think beyond just technical solutions," she said. "I learned how to weigh technical decisions to meet business expectations, which is something I am applying on a daily basis in my role at Deloitte."

Ravishanker's independent study project was about sustainable cloud architecture design using Amazon Web Services (AWS). Her goal was to broaden her understanding of the cloud while incorporating strategic thinking to a business challenge. She also wanted to work with an adviser whose industry experience could provide real-world examples and practical insights for working with AWS.

Ravishanker found that adviser in Sausan Yazji.

Yazji is a member of the MSIT Industry Advisory Board and a global strategic industry leader at AWS, where she has worked since 2016.

Ravishanker's project focused on an education company and involved designing a sustainable solution architecture to help the company transform from printing books to offering digital products. She routinely found herself trying to balance using emerging technologies like generative artificial intelligence while making sure her proposed solution was secure, scalable, and cost-effective.

Ravishanker created a detailed solution architecture design for the project and presented it to a panel of MSIT faculty and IAB members.

Independent study projects are not required in MSIT, but Ravishanker was grateful she took advantage of the opportunity.

"Independent study projects give students the flexibility to work on concepts that are closely aligned to their career goals," she said. "They provide the opportunity to work directly with industry experts. In my case, the independent study helped me prepare for a career in cloud architecture and security."

Ravishanker joined Deloitte last December after graduating from MSIT. In her role, she helps clients improvise their cloud application architecture design and security. Her job is to understand their challenges and provide solutions that fit their needs.

Her MSIT experience is helping her do that.

"The MSIT program helped me grow both professionally and personally," she said. "I learned how to connect technology and business strategies. I also learned the value of teamwork and how different perspectives can help solve problems more effectively. These are skills I use every day in my career."