About Me
Hello, I'm Ishika Tarin, but you can call me Ime.
I am currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in Fall 2025. My expected year of graduation is Fall 2030.
I completed my undergraduate B.Sc. degree in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
I served as a Research Assistant in the Next-generation Computing (NeC) Research Group within the Department of CSE at BUET from July 2024 to July 2025. In this role, I was actively involved in a major project funded by the Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) under the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of Bangladesh. The project focused on applying advanced technologies to enhance groundwater data imputation and forecasting, particularly for the North Western region of Bangladesh.
In addition, I contributed to a funded project by the World Bank titled "Developing a Bangla-based Tool for Quantitative Data Analysis." This initiative aimed to create accessible, user-friendly computational tools for statistical and quantitative analysis in Bangla, promoting inclusivity and empowering local researchers, students, and policymakers. Being part of these projects not only strengthened my research and technical expertise but also allowed me to contribute meaningfully to solving real-world problems with both national and global significance.
Outside of academics and research, I love painting, dancing, singing, travelling, trying new food items, and capturing memories through photography — in short, I love to do all the things that make life colorful. I am always eager to learn new things and take on new challenges. I believe that each and every moment should be enjoyed, for this youth won't come twice.
Latest News
- One paper "ReflectEd: Evaluating Reflection-Driven Learning in an AI-Assisted System" got accepted in AIED'26.
- First PhD paper "When There Is No Right Answer: How Computing Students Navigate Open-Ended Problems through Collaborative Discussion and Peer Evaluation" got accepted in ITiCSE'26.
- Joined University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) as a PhD student in Computer Science
- One paper "How Social Media and Websites Shape the Future of E-commerce in Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study From Buyers' and Sellers' Perspectives" got accepted in COMPASS'25.
- Two papers got accepted in CHI LBW'25.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering
Fall 2025 - Present
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Awarded a fully funded Graduate Teaching Assistantship, supporting research and teaching in the CSEE Department, where I am specializing (Ph.D.) in Computer Science.
Degree of Bachelor of Science
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
2019 - 2024
Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology; Dhaka, Bangladesh
In the highly competitive admission test for Bangladesh's top engineering university, I secured the 157th position among millions through a rigorous two-tier selection process, earning a place in its top-ranked CSE department, which admits only 120 students.
Higher Secondary School Certificate
Science
2016 - 2018
Holy Cross College, Dhaka, Bangladesh
I secured admission to this as one of Bangladesh's top institutions for higher school secondary, through a competitive test among 15,000–20,000 female students. Despite the intense academic pressure, I earned 5th place in the Dhaka Board for the Higher Secondary Talentpool Scholarship, competing with half a million students, and ranked 1st among 750 in my college. GPA: 5.00/5.00
Secondary School Certificate
Science
2012 - 2015
Monipur High School, Main Girls' Branch, Mirpur-2, Dhaka
I achieved 1st place in the Junior School Certificate Talentpool Scholarship for Mirpur Thana under Dhaka Board, earning a perfect GPA of 5.00/5.00.
Building on this success, I later secured 35th place in the Secondary School Certificate Talentpool Scholarship for Dhaka Board,becoming 1st in my institution again with a perfect GPA of 5.00/5.00.
Primary School Certificate
2009 - 2011
Vidyamoyee Govt' Girls High School, Mymensingh
This instituition being the most prestigious in Mymensingh, I secured 8th place in the highly competitive admission test among the whole Mymensingh. Later I secured 11th position in the whole Mymensingh in Primary School Certificate Talentpool Scholarship, earning a perfect GPA of 5.00/5.00.
HCC Portfolio
Interaction Design Principles
Project Details
Course: HCC 629: Fundamentals of Human-Centered Computing
Instructor: Dr. Tera Reynolds
Date: Feb 22, 2026
Team: Ishika Tarin, Soham Khisa
Role: Redesigned the interface and contributed in writing.
Context & Problem Statement
This project centered on evaluating and improving the usability of two websites: the Zara website and the Toronto Cupcake website. Although these platforms serve different domains, both exhibited several shared usability challenges that negatively affected user interaction. The key issue was that multiple interface components violated important interaction design principles such as visibility, consistency, feedback, constraints, and mapping. These shortcomings made navigation less efficient, increased user effort, and introduced confusion during task completion. The objective of this work was to identify these design issues and redesign the interfaces to enhance usability and overall user experience.
Design Process
The design workflow followed a systematic evaluation and redesign methodology. We began by performing a heuristic evaluation of both websites based on established interaction design principles from HCI literature. This involved carefully analyzing how users engage with navigation menus, product displays, and other interactive components. We then identified usability concerns under several design principles.
Visibility
Essential controls and navigation elements were difficult to identify at first glance.
Consistency
Page structures and interaction patterns varied between sections, reducing predictability for users.
Feedback
Actions performed by users, such as clicking or selecting options, often did not provide clear or timely responses.
Constraints
The interface lacked sufficient guidance to prevent invalid actions and support smoother task completion.
Signifiers / Affordances
Certain clickable components were not visually differentiated from static interface elements.
Mapping
The relationship between user controls and their outcomes was not always clear or straightforward.
Fitts' Law
The sidebar featured multiple small, tightly arranged buttons placed away from the natural cursor position, which increased effort and the chance of interaction errors.
The redesigned interfaces were created using Figma and Microsoft Paint, focusing on larger interactive elements, improved spacing, simplified navigation structure, stronger visual hierarchy, and more explicit feedback mechanisms.
Final Outcome
The final redesigns led to noticeable improvements in overall usability by making the interfaces more consistent with key interaction design principles. A major improvement was that we redesigned the menu sidebar by including the categories such as new arrivals and jackets, along with their corresponding product listings for each selection, such as WOMAN, MAN, and KIDS. This made interactions easier, reduced user effort, and improved navigation efficiency.
Additionally, we introduced a new feature such as OTP-based verification in the proposed redesign. Better use of spacing, alignment, and visual hierarchy helped users identify important actions and interface elements more quickly. These changes improved visibility, reduced confusion, and created a smoother browsing experience. Overall, both websites became significantly more intuitive and user-friendly than their original designs.
Reflection
One of the most valuable takeaways from this assignment was understanding how user experience is shaped by details that are often overlooked at first glance. Elements like spacing, button placement, and visual hierarchy can strongly influence how easily users complete tasks and navigate an interface.
This project also helped me connect HCI concepts from the classroom to real design problems. Rather than viewing principles such as visibility and Fitts’ Law only as theoretical frameworks, I was able to see how they directly inform better interface decisions. Overall, this experience improved my ability to approach design problems from a user-centered perspective and think more critically about usability improvements.
Process of Interaction Design
Project Details
Course: HCC 629: Fundamentals of Human-Centered Computing
Instructor: Dr. Tera Reynolds
Date: May 6, 2026
Team: Ishika Tarin, Soham Khisa, Sudipta Mondal, Raabit Hassan
Role: Took part in conducting user studies, contributed in idea generation, redesigned the interface, and contributed in creating the slides for presentation.
Context & Problem Statement
This project focused on testing and improving a redesigned prototype inspired by NotebookLM. The main goal was to identify usability problems in the original interface and evaluate whether the redesigned prototype helped users complete tasks more efficiently. The project examined three key interaction issues: excessive vertical space in the content grid, hidden affordance in the user feedback carousel, and a gulf of execution in document summarization.
Testing Process
We tested the prototype with users through task-based evaluation. For the content grid, users were asked to browse the page and understand the first four content blocks. For the hidden affordance issue, users were asked to locate the source links in the feedback carousel. For the gulf of execution issue, users were asked to upload a document and summarize only one or two specific paragraphs instead of the entire document.
Grid Layout
The original design required users to scroll more than necessary because of excess white space. The redesign allowed users to consume almost twice the content in the same space.
Hidden Affordance
The original feedback carousel did not clearly show that review cards were clickable. The redesign added visible link buttons and later improved carousel control.
Gulf of Execution
The original design did not clearly support summarizing a selected section of a document. The redesign allowed users to select exact paragraphs for summarization.
Iterative Redesign
Based on user feedback, the second redesign added carousel arrows and restored the option to summarize the whole document.
Testing Results
The redesigned grid reduced the time needed to understand the first four content blocks from around 15–20 seconds to about 10 seconds. For the hidden affordance task, the original design did not help the user find the source links within 10 seconds, while the redesign enabled the user to find the button within 5 seconds. For the paragraph-specific summarization task, users reduced their steps from 5 steps in the original design to 3 steps in the redesigned prototype.
Final Outcome
The second redesign addressed the main issues found during testing. We added arrows to both sides of the feedback carousel so users could control navigation more easily. We also added back the option to summarize the whole document, which had been unintentionally removed in the first redesign. These changes improved flexibility, reduced user effort, and made the interface better aligned with user goals.
Reflection
This project showed the importance of user testing in interaction design. Some design decisions that seemed helpful at first created new problems, such as removing the full document summarization option. Through testing and revision, we learned how iterative feedback can reveal hidden usability issues and guide more user-centered interface improvements.
Blog
1st ever Job interview experience - DSi
I didn't take any preparation for any software job, but still attended a few interviews to have the experience. I don't know if they were worth it, but at time of professor interview I felt much confident because of those days.
BUET MSc Admission experience (Computer Science) '24
Although I didn't start MSc here, as I already got offerletter from an American University, I had attended the rigorous admission process. All my experiences and all the notes are written in the link.
My Journey to phD Admission
My PhD journey has been full of challenges and blessings. From countless emails and interviews to final acceptance with full funding, it was a path of persistence, patience, and faith.
Research
Research Topics
Human Computer Interaction
Social Computing
Accessible Computing
Interactive computing
Visualization
Deep Learning
Image Processing
Computer Vision
Systems
Research Works
Revealing Influences of Socioeconomic Factors over Disease Outbreaks
Published in ACM SIGCAS & SIGCHI Computing and Sustainable Societies (COMPASS 2022) (Acceptance rate: 37%)
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing, Exploratory data analysis
Artifact: Scraped Data; Correlation Analysis: Pearson and Spearman correlation; Tech: Pandas, Numpy, Scikit-learn, NetworkX
My contribution: I did a literature review and contributed to the academic writing.
A COVID Story: Corresponding Perspectives Dissection for COVID-19 Pandemic
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing, Exploratory data analysis
Artifact: Questionnaire; Method: Survey study; Data: Survey;
Participant: People of all classes from Bangladesh, India, the USA;
Analysis: Pearson correlation; Tech: Pandas, Numpy, Scikit-learn, NetworkX
My contribution: I made the questionnaire, did a literature review, and contributed to the academic writing.
Women-Friendly: Exploring Perspectives and Experiences of Women Owners of Small-Scale Online Business Ventures in Bangladesh
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al IslamResearch topics: Human-centered computing, Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing
Artifact: Questionnaire; Method: Interview study; Data: Interview; Participant: Women doing business of all classes (especially young and middle-aged) from Bangladesh;
Analysis: Qualitative. My contribution: I took interviews and contributed to writing.
Paper Under Review Mar 2023-Dec 2023
A New Benchmark Dataset For Logo Image Retrieval
Undergraduate Thesis Work
This thesis aims to enhance existing deep-learning models and develop a specialized dataset, involving meticulous annotation of self-made datasets and rigorous two-step refinement.
Supervisor: Dr. Md Monirul Islam
Research topics: Computer vision, Deep learning, Image processing
Method: Deep learning CNN model; Dataset:Self made logo annotated dataset of 927 images;
My contribution: Did the whole project single-handedly as thesis work and also did the academic writing alone.
"It’s Too Hot Under the Sun": Unveiling the Impact of Prolonged Heat Exposure on Rickshaw Pullers’ Brainwaves
Accepted as a short-paper in 11th NSysS'24.
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Systems, Social computing
Data: Self made dataset, data collected using EEG acquisition device;
My contribution: Did literature review and the academic writing.
Visualizing Groundwater Level in Bangladesh: Using Heuristic Evaluation for Dashboard Enhancements
Accepted as a poster in 11th NSysS'24.
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Data visualization, Human-centered computing, Interactive computing
Artifact: User study; Frameworks: ReactJS;
My contribution: : I developed the user interface and did heuristic evaluation single-handedly.
“Social Media or Websites?”: A Quantitative Investigation on Preferences of Customers in Bangladesh
Accepted as a poster in 11th NSysS'24. Paper Published in CHI LBW'25.
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing, Social media, Exploratory data analysis
Artifact: Questionnaire; Analysis: Cramer's V and thematic analysis Data: Both survey and interview study;
Participant: People who sell and buy things online from Bangladesh;
My contribution: : I surveyed the sellers, contributed to thematic analysis, did a literature review, and contributed to academic writing.
How Social Media and Websites Shape the Future of E-commerce in Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study From Buyers' and Sellers' Perspectives
Paper Published in COMPASS'25.
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing, Social media, Exploratory data analysis
Artifact: Questionnaire; Analysis: Thematic analysis Data: Both survey and interview study;
Participant: People who sell and buy things online from Bangladesh;
My contribution: : I surveyed the sellers, contributed to thematic analysis, did a literature review, and contributed to academic writing.
Sentiments and Resilience: Understanding the Impact of Recent Internet Shutdown in Bangladesh on Communication and Well-being
Accepted as a poster in 11th NSysS'24.
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing, Natural Language Processing
Artifact: Questionnaire; Analysis: Cramer's V and thematic analysis Data: Both survey and interview study;
Participant: People who sell and buy things online from Bangladesh;
My contribution: : I took interviews and contributed to the analysis and writing.
It Just Can’t Read My Religious Self": Unveiling the Tensions and Frustrations with Religious Content Recommendation and Design Guidelines
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing, Exploratory data analysis, Recommendation system
Artifact: Interview; Analysis: Thematic analysis Data: Interview study;
Participant: Religious people of Bangladesh
My contribution: I did the transcription from the interviews, contributed to thematic analysis, and the academic writing.
uReporter- An Open Public Reporting System LINK
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social computing
My contribution: I contributed to host the website.
Completed September 2024-now
An Unconventional Tale on Sentiment Analysis over Anonymous Online Reporting by the People in Bangladesh during an Outburst Period
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Social Computing, Natural Language Processing
My contribution: : I contributed to the sentiment analysis and writing.
Paper Under Review September 2024-now
Enhancing Usability of a Groundwater Level Visualization Dashboard
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Visualization, Usability study
Artifact: Questionnaire; Method: Heuristic Evaluation, Expert Review;
Participant: Water experts and CSE experts
My contribution: I have led this project, developed the user interface, taken the interviews single-handedly.
Sentiments over Post-Revolution Street Wall Arts in Dhaka
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing, Thematic Analysis, Sentiment Analysis, LLM
Artifact: Manual Labelling, LLM generation; Method: Prompt Engineering, Thematic Analysis;
Data: Self made dataset; My contribution: I have led this project, did thematic analysis and wrote the paper single handedly.
Beyond the Blackout: Qualitative Insights and Sentiment Analysis on the Impact, Adaptation, and Design Solutions During the Recent Internet Shutdown in Bangladesh
Paper Published in CHI LBW'25.
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al Islam
Research topics: Human-centered computing,Thematic Analysis, Sentiment Analysis
Method: Interview and Survey, Thematic Analysis, Sentiment Analysis;
Data: Interview transcription; My contribution: I have contributed to transcription, thematic analysis and wrote the paper single-handedly.
Sentiment analysis of the Dhaka’s Wall Art with a Custom Dataset
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al IslamResearch topics: Human-centered computing, Natural Language Processing
Method: Using BERT; Data: Self made dataset;
My contribution: I am leading this project so far, contributing to the data collection to do sentiment analysis further
Ongoing September 2024-now
Developing a Bangla-based Tool for Quantitative Data Analysis
Supervisor: Dr. A.B.M. Alim Al IslamResearch topics: Human-centered computing, User Interface, Visualization, Social computing
Data: Self made dataset from surveys
Frameworks: ReactJS, NodeJS, Python, Django
My contribution: I am working as the main RA of this project.
Ongoing January 2025-now
Funded Projects
Developing a Bangla-Based Tool for Quantitative Data Analysis
Funded by:
Here I am the main appointed research assistant, with some other assistants too. This project is funded for six months. We will design and develop a Bangla-based Quantitative Survey tool.
January 2025 - NowLeveraging Advanced Technologies for Enhanced Groundwater Data Imputation and Forecasting in the North Western Region
Funded by:
Here I have been developing a user-friendly dashboard single-handedly, leveraging the developed models for forecasting groundwater level, to enable users to visualize and interpret forecasted groundwater level data for facilitating the NoC issuance process.
June 2024 - NowAcademic Projects
Filter by one or more genres(Selecting multiple genre will show the intersection).
A machine-learning project to classify book genres based on cover designs, utilizing CNN with limited dataset success and thus implementing the CBIR pipeline for improved accuracy.
Methods: Deep learning CNN, CBIR pipeline
Year: 2024
An improved deep learning model by incorporating a number of convolutional layers with optimized hyperparameters to expand the overall performance of logo detection and enhance feature extraction.
Methods: Deep learning, CNN, Python, Tensorflow, Keras
Year: 2024
A tour planning and management system automating tour organization based on user preferences, offering customization, and logging visited locations.
Frameworks: NodeJS ,ReactJS ,PostgreSQL
Year: 2023
A deep learning project that involves building a feed-forward neural network from scratch and experimenting with three models using various convolutional layers, minibatch sizes, optimizers, and learning rates.
Frameworks: Python, NumPy
Year: 2023
Learning about zeek, a fully customizable and extensible platform for traffic analysis. Zeek interprets network traffic in real-time, and provides comprehensive logs for network traffic analysis.
Frameworks: Zeek, linux
Year: 2023
A graphics project focused on implementing a ray tracing model from scratch. The main aim is to generate realistic images for a few geometric shapes using ray tracing with appropriate illumination techniques..
Frameworks: OpenGL, C++
Year: 2023
A classic game of minesweeper implemented using the minimax algorithm for AI to play against the user. The game is designed to be played on the console.
Frameworks: Python , Pygame
Year: 2022
A microcontroller project consist of a traffic light controller for 4 ways crossing and a barricade controller for trains
Frameworks: Arduino UNO R3, IR sensors, LED, C++
Year: 2022
A database project for managing information about staff, doctors, and elderly patients, including room and grocery management, bookkeeping, and hobby lists in a senior care facility.
Frameworks: NodeJS , ReactJS ,Oracle
Year: 2021
A javaFX project intended to manage a car warehouse, tracking the buying and selling of cars in parallel using multiple threads.
Frameworks: Java, JavaFX
Year: 2020
Experience
Professional Experience
Research Assistant [ July 2024- now ]
Department of CSE, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka
Currently contributing to a WARPO-funded project on leveraging advanced technologies for enhanced ground water data imputation and forecasting in the North Western region.
Software Intern [May 2023-June 2023]
Pubali Bank Ltd, Dhaka
During this one-month long internship, facilitated through the BUET Virtual Internship program, a straightforward module with FDR functionality was developed for the mobile app for online banking.
Technical skills
Programming Languages:
C, C++, Java, JavaFX, Python, Javascript, Assembly, Bash
Designing Tools:
Figma, CSS, Bootstrap, HTML, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sketchbook
Security Tools:
SSH,Zeek
Database:
Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL
Networking Tools:
Cisco Packet Tracer, NS2
Other Tools:
Git, LaTeX, VSCode, JetBrains Products, Atmel Studio
Extra-Curricular
Organizations
Bangladeshi Women in Computer Science and Engineering, BUET [2021-2024]
Vice president
Entrepreneurship Development Club, BUET [2020-2024]
Vice President
Dance Club, BUET [2020-2024]
Vice President
Charcoal Club, BUET [2020-2024]
Media Co-ordinator
Painting
Dancing
BUET CSE Fest Flash mob 2023
Supervised the whole flash mob as the main planner,choreographed and executed almost all songs single-handedly.
[Click to watch]
Interval'18 Flash mob
Organized flash mob of Interval'18,the annual batch mob of batch 18, choreographed all songs as the lead choreographer.
[Click to watch]
Dance Club Flash mob 2023
Co-organized flash mob of BUET dance club as the vice president, choreographed and handled videography.
[Click to watch]
Singing
Bhromor koiyo giya, a very old bengali folk song, performed at BUET CSE Fest Cultural 2023
[Click to watch]
Ahare jibon, originally from band chirkutt, performed at BUET CSE Fest cultural 2022.
[Click to watch]
Sokhi vabona kahare bole, a Rabindra sangeet, performed at BUET CSE reception of Batch 19
[Click to watch]