Spotlight on Rupali
Rupali Dalvi | Principal UX Architect
As part of our Spotlight series, we catch up with leaders, doers, and inspiring employees of LearningMate to see the personalities behind the work. We ask them a few questions about what they do, what excites them, and to ponder how they've grown in their careers. Below is part of our chat with Rupali...
What is your role at LearningMate?
I have been associated with education for over twenty years, initially starting my journey in advertising design years ago. When I first transitioned to education, I was leading the design team in the content side of our services. Now, I am the lead designer for all our products, including Frost and Kadal. So I mainly focus on user experience interfaces. I love it.
What’s interesting is just how much my role means staying updated with changing trends, from social media interfaces to payment systems. I always place the user at the center of our design process, advocating for their needs amidst various business functions. Our user-centric approach is so important. It’s practicing and using empathy to build products that feel really good to use.
What has been one of the most rewarding moments on your journey with LearningMate?
It’s not every day that you get a chance to reflect on such moments. I’ve been with LearningMate for the last 18 years, and what stands out the most is the variety of interesting projects I’ve worked on. The work here is never boring; every project brings its unique challenges and targets. Even our standard tasks are made interesting by the way we approach our customers.
One particularly exciting project has been Frost. Coming from a design background, I see so many opportunities to make it a truly delightful experience for our users. With Frost Next-Gen, which incorporates AI, we have the freedom to visualize and create solutions that redefine our approach to education technology.
What excites you most about the future of LearningMate?
One aspect that excites me is the rapid pace of our growth and the amazing opportunities it brings. The integration of AI in education is going to revolutionize our work. LearningMate is at the forefront of this change, and it's thrilling to be part of it.
I think AI will greatly enhance efficiency in education, helping to create content that supports diverse learners. This technology will address the challenges educators face in aligning content for different types of students, making our solutions even more impactful.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Embrace the principles of design thinking early on! The success of any product lies in its user experience, and it takes a whole team to achieve that. Empathize with users and always advocate for their needs.
Recently, I’ve been working with our training team on a workshop that shows how design thinking can bring operational excellence to the whole organization. We’ve also collaborated with the talent acquisition team, creating service blueprints that have already started changing how we approach it. My goal is to spearhead the adoption of this design thinking framework across the entire company.