“Real-world deployments across education, health, government, and beyond”
Active Research Projects
Institutional vs. Retail Information Channels for Cryptocurrency Market Intelligence
Authors: Varsha Ravindra Shetty | Mahesh Balan | Prajwal Vinod Naik | Nihaad Saleem Lnu
This study investigates how institutional channels (Google News) and retail channels (Reddit) differ in signal quality and temporal dynamics for Bitcoin market intelligence. Using sentiment analysis, Granger causality, and VAR modeling across 55,282 records, findings reveal that Reddit functions as a leading indicator with predictive power at 3–7 day horizons, while institutional news remains reactive.
Key Finding: Reddit sentiment significantly predicts Bitcoin returns at 3 and 7-day lags, while Google News shows no predictive power — suggesting community-driven platforms surface emerging sentiment before it impacts prices.
Methods: TextBlob & VADER sentiment analysis, LDA & NMF topic modeling, XGBoost classification, Granger causality testing, VAR(3) modeling.
Data: 55,282 records across Google News RSS, Reddit r/Bitcoin, CoinCompare, and Binance (2017–2025).
Reimagining Competency Development in Higher Education
Author: In collaboration with AI for Humanity Lab Team, CISAT
This whitepaper documents a proof-of-concept study exploring whether AI-assisted evaluation can generate credible, structured competency evidence from existing graduate-level coursework — without redesigning curriculum or adding new assessment burdens. Conducted in partnership with the AI for Humanity Lab at CGU in the context of IST 697: AI for Digital Transformation Practicum.
Key Finding: Across 31 stakeholder engagements, 88.4% reported a positive or strongly positive stance toward AI-assisted competency evaluation. The approach demonstrates that course-level competency evidence can aggregate into program-level profiles, supporting accreditation and institutional decision-making.
Focus Areas: Competency framework design, AI-assisted rubric evaluation, faculty-AI judgment alignment, graduate workforce readiness, accreditation evidence infrastructure.