An Intelligent Career Guidance Chatbot for Bindura University of Science Education · Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author

Mvicha Cryson Itai

Title

An Intelligent Career Guidance Chatbot for Bindura University of Science Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Increasingly we observe that newly graduated university students in Zimbabwe struggle to find employment, often ending up in fields completely different from those that they studied in, and employees reporting low levels of satisfaction in the careers that they choose. One of the reasons for this could be a lack of adequate, useful career guidance when an individual got enrolled into the University. Chatbots are useful resources and a topic of interest in the domain of Artificial Intelligence for their ability to mimic experts in different applications, as well as being able to replicate human interaction to varying degrees.

Research suggests that the use of a chatbot in offering career guidance can serve as an efficient means to provide this useful service in environments where a dedicated career guidance counsellor may not be available. A lack of appropriate, adequate career counseling means students may wind up pursuing careers that are chosen for them by their parents or only chosen for the promise of high salaries. These decisions may be made without taking into consideration whether or not they align with the individual's interests and values. This can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction in one’s career, which is detrimental not only to the wellbeing of the individual but also to the overall productivity of the organizations in which they are hired. Hence, the development of the chatbot will better inform students, assisting them in the ways of choosing a career. This will allow them to consider careers they may not have thought available to them, that would be more fulfilling and satisfactory than one that does not align with their interests.

This research adopted both research methodology and software development methodology. Under research methodology, surveys and interviews were conducted to gather information about student’s opinions regarding their possible career choices, and what types of career advice they would like to receive from the system. This information was used in chatbot system development for the University using various tools and algorithms. The chatbot understands user input and give relevant and appropriate responses, reliably and in real-time. In conclusion, the results obtained are hoped to result in positive results towards adopting the system, thus serving as a useful asset to the University.

Date

JUNE 2024

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Chatbots, Artificial Intelligence, chatbot system development

Supervisor

Mr Chikwiriro