A Review on IT Assistant Application (An Educational RAG App)

Abstract

The increasing reliance of college students on digital systems has created a need for immediate IT support and easy access to career and placement-related information. Conventional support mechanisms often struggle to provide quick technical assistance or placement guidance, particularly beyond regular working hours, resulting in delays and reduced efficiency. To overcome these limitations, the College IT Assistant App has been designed as a smart Android-based platform that combines secure user authentication with an AI-powered Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) chatbot and a dedicated Training & Placement (T&P) module. The application enables students to receive real-time IT assistance, customized placement notifications, and access to previously asked interview questions categorized by academic branch and year. This paper surveys existing AI-driven educational support and placement solutions, highlighting how the integration of RAG models with Android and FastAPI frameworks improves information retrieval accuracy and enhances overall user experience. Additionally, the study discusses the advantages of a modular system architecture, ERP-based secure authentication, and the adoption of Jetpack Compose for modern user interface development. The findings indicate that combining hybrid AI–API architectures with personalized data analytics can greatly enhance the accessibility, dependability, and scalability of IT and placement support systems in higher education.

Introduction

The paper presents the design and implementation of a College IT Assistant App, developed to address common technical, academic, and placement-related challenges faced by students in higher education institutions. Traditional IT helpdesks and placement cells often rely on manual processes, limited availability, and delayed communication, which reduce efficiency and student satisfaction. With the increasing adoption of digital platforms, there is a strong need for an intelligent, secure, and centralized support system.

To overcome these limitations, the proposed application integrates an AI-powered Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) chatbot for real-time IT support with a Training & Placement (T&P) module that provides personalized placement updates, company details, and interview questions based on students’ academic branch and year. Unlike conventional rule-based chatbots, the RAG approach combines information retrieval with natural language generation, ensuring accurate, context-aware, and reliable responses grounded in verified institutional data.

The system is built using a modular architecture, featuring an Android frontend developed with Jetpack Compose and a scalable FastAPI backend. Secure access is ensured through ERP-based authentication with bcrypt password hashing, protecting sensitive student information and maintaining data privacy. RESTful APIs enable smooth communication between the mobile app, backend services, and AI components, supporting scalability and efficient performance even under constrained network conditions.

The literature review highlights the growing adoption of AI chatbots, RAG-based information systems, secure authentication methods, and hybrid AI–API architectures in educational environments. The methodology focuses on constructing a structured institutional knowledge base, implementing the RAG chatbot, delivering personalized placement support, and ensuring secure and reliable system integration.

Results show that the College IT Assistant App provides timely, accurate, and personalized support, improves accessibility through 24/7 availability, and enhances student readiness for placement opportunities. Overall, the study demonstrates that integrating AI-driven support, secure backend services, and modern mobile UI design can effectively bridge the gap between institutional IT services and student career development, contributing to smarter and more student-centric campus support systems.

Conclusion

The development of the AI-enabled College IT Assistant application represents a meaningful advancement in digital campus support systems. By integrating an intelligent chatbot with Retrieval-Augmented Generation, secure authentication, and a scalable backend architecture, the system transforms how students access IT assistance and placement-related information. The use of modern Android technologies and API-driven communication ensures fast, accurate, and user-friendly interactions. The application successfully delivers real-time technical support, personalized placement updates, and structured access to interview preparation resources, reducing delays and improving overall efficiency. As the platform evolves, it can be extended with advanced analytics, deeper personalization, and expanded institutional datasets. This project demonstrates the practical potential of AI-driven solutions in creating reliable, adaptable, and student-centric support systems for higher education

References

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Bilingual chatbot powered by artificial intelligence for academic advice. Global Conference on Technologies and Information Communications (GCITC). https://doi.org/10.1109/gcitc60406.2023.10426517 Inspired multilingual support for diverse student populations.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Dr. Nikita Hatwar, Miss. Anushri Mule, Miss. Aditi Sawarkar, Miss. Astha Fulzele, Mr. Ayush Randive, Mr. Prasanna Gajbhiye. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.