Manoj J. Chacko

AI Aware Writing Environment (AAWE) Project

Fostering Ethical and Scalable AI Use in Education

The AI Aware Writing Environment (AAWE), founded by Dr. Megan Kane and Stephen Malkowicz, is designed to help students responsibly use AI tools under instructor-set guidelines. AAWE provides instructors with flexible assignment controls and insights into student engagement and AI use, both authorized and unauthorized.

In partnership with the Digital Innovation Foundry (DIF), AAWE is working to enhance its capabilities. Moa Al Balushi, a management information systems student guided by Manoj Chacko, is currently helping advance the project.

Key goals include building a scalable AWS cloud infrastructure for 1,500+ users and improving AI detection and feedback algorithms to ensure high-quality results and academic integrity.

Potluck, An Innovation in Meal Sharing

Empowering Communities Through AI-Driven Meal Sharing

Potluck is a pioneering AI-powered meal-sharing platform founded by Shannon Amspacher, designed to address pressing challenges such as food affordability, social isolation, and the fatigue associated with meal planning. By connecting individuals and communities through shared meals, Potluck fosters both economic relief and social bonds.

The Digital Innovation Foundry (DIF) has partnered with Potluck to support the creation of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that will enable users to begin benefiting from the platform’s unique offerings. Currently, Yuval Shimoni, a computer science student, is spearheading development efforts under the guidance of Manoj Chacko for DIF.

The project’s goal is to thoroughly review the existing development plan for Potluck and collaborate in building a functional, user-friendly MVP app. This partnership represents a crucial step toward launching an accessible, tech-driven solution for meal-sharing and community-building.

Digital Innovation Foundry Scholarship 2025

Digital Innovation Foundry (DIF) Scholarships are awarded to high performing students who demonstrate exceptional achievement and accomplishment. Moa Al Balushi and Abby E Dorotov are the recipients of the Fall 2025 endowed DIF Scholarships.

Abby E Dorotov

Persson-Barbour Endowed Scholarship
Fall 2025

Moa Al Balushi

Persson-Barbour Endowed Scholarship
Fall 2025

Rethinking the UX of TU Portal

Temple Information Technology Services (ITS) provides access to a wide range of university resources through TUportal—a centralized hub for the Temple community. ITS has launched an initiative to reimagine TUportal, with a focus on improving accessibility, efficiency, and overall user experience.

DIF Role

In phase 1, DIF reviewed the current state of the Portal and conducted focus group with each stakeholder group to understand their needs and concerns. And in phase 2, reviewed the results from above and suggested a new redesign with help of reviews from students and other stakeholders.

Project Owners

DIF Consultant

Rhenece Andrew
MIS student
Fox School of Business

Impact

“Being able to work on the DIF project was a great experience that gave me a better understanding of user-centered/focused design. Having the opportunity to contribute to the redesign of the Temple University portal allowed me to see firsthand how thoughtful UX/UI decisions can significantly improve how students interact with and navigate digital platforms. ” Rhenece Andrew

“Working on the redesign of the TUportal was one of the more rewarding opportunities that I’ve had at Temple. Collaborating with a cross-functional team of students, faculty and administration, we focused on improving the user experience for the Temple community by simplifying navigation, streamlining access to key resources, and ensuring the design reflected real user needs. It was a powerful example of how thoughtful UX design can transform a digital environment into something intuitive, accessible, and genuinely supportive of the student experience. It is terrific to see how the ITS department integrates the needs of the community in their design framework” Amy Lavin

Manoj Chacko managed this project for DIF

IntelePeer’s AI Revolution – Enhancing Benevis LLC’s Patient Call Experience

Benevis LLC, a dental practice management company serving 1.2 million patients annually, partnered with IntelePeer to resolve call center inefficiencies affecting Medicaid patients. Facing high call volumes and extended wait times, Benevis implemented IntelePeer’s SmartAgent AI platform.

An intent study revealed that 61% of calls involved appointments while only 13% required live agents. SmartAgent automated appointment scheduling, rescheduling, and confirmations, allowing human agents to focus on complex cases.

Results included dramatically reduced call center workload, faster service delivery, and hundreds of thousands in operational savings. The AI solution integrated seamlessly with existing systems and provided scalability for future automation. IntelePeer’s conversational AI delivered measurable ROI while enhancing patient experience and maintaining compliance standards.

Click here to read the full summary of the case study!

The case study was led by Neha Mittal and Munir Mandviwalla for the Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) at Temple University. The case has been accepted for publication by Ivey Publishing, a leading case publisher in over 136 countries.