Traveling over 6,000 miles, Sinan Ozler spent his summer helping develop cutting-edge technology right here on campus.

The computer science and engineering student at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey, is entering his sophomore year with a greater understanding of what technology is being utilized in the industry. As an observation-based intern for UNLV’s information technology (IT) team this summer, Ozler helped propel multiple projects while developing the skills he needs to excel in his future career.

Creating AI Models for Easier Social Media Use 
Ozler’s first project tackled using Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to help make reading Reddit threads a smoother experience for users. These servers enable artificial intelligence (AI) platforms to seamlessly interact with a webpage, allowing for large amounts of content found on subreddits to be quickly summarized.

“With this server, we established a connection between a user's front page and large language learning [AI] models,” Ozler explained. “Because it's a completely open source project, meaning anyone can see and interact with the source code, I had to learn how to make good documentation, quality code, and build a project for an entire software community rather than just for myself or a small team.”

These skills aren’t just applicable to one project. According to Ozler, writing code and creating accurate documentation helped him complete a case study for an internship application this upcoming semester, showcasing his understanding of the latest technology trends.

The flexibility of these servers makes this project a valuable tool for UNLV, as it can be modified for multiple uses.  

“We are exploring integrating MCP servers into tools our team uses daily, such as Salesforce. Projects like these broaden our AI expertise and allow us to leverage these tools for innovative solutions in the future,” explained assistant vice president for digital services and solutions Bob Soulliere, who oversaw the project.

Their project received recognition on GitHub, a platform that stores and distributes code made by developers, for its innovative use of AI integration with social media platforms.

Processing Data to Improve UNLV Mobile App 
Ozler continued to expand his knowledge of programming by helping develop a new AI chatbot for the UNLV Mobile app. His role included processing data from various websites and turning it into information that the team can use to improve responses given by the chatbot.

“The chatbot’s AI model trains with language that is readable by humans. However, there are a lot of websites we use to train the chatbot that have raw data it cannot comprehend,” Ozler said. “I helped with cleaning up that data into a format that is easy to understand and that we can use to train the model successfully.”

The UNLV Mobile app is a central location for students to find their class schedule, grades, and various buildings around campus. With Ozler’s help, users will soon have a better experience navigating the app and receiving quick answers to their questions.

Pursuing Similar Projects in the Future 
After summer ends, Ozler is planning on applying the skills he learned from creating a quality open source project to further contribute to the open source software community.

“It was such a delightful opportunity to work at UNLV IT. I learned critical things about software engineering, and living in Las Vegas and traveling to neighboring states was an excellent experience,” Ozler said. “I believe this was the best way to spend my summer.”