And while they say many other international students they\u2019ve spoken to at UConn also have someone here they can look to for help, routine things can still be a struggle \u2013 like accidentally going to the Communication Department in the Arjona Building for a meeting instead of University Communications in the Lakeside Building clear across campus.<\/p>\n For someone new to the University, never mind new to the country and its culture, campus life can be daunting. Knowing that struggle, Zare and Farhadi had an idea to help.<\/p>\n In spring 2023, they teamed with two other students in associate professor Heejo Gwen Kim\u2019s DMD class, Experimental & Alternative Techniques, to develop an app that at first was meant to help international students navigate airports in the United States.<\/p>\n They pivoted to test a smaller area first and instead developed NavGenie<\/a>, an application that provides users a GPS-like, augmented reality map of the UConn campus \u2013 one that\u2019s unlike existing programs because it can show the inside of buildings and locations of classrooms and offices.<\/p>\n At the culmination of the experimental techniques class, Farhadi and Zare agreed to keep going.<\/p>\n They successfully applied for funding from UConn\u2019s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI)<\/a>, in which they were members of the 24th cohort<\/a> of Accelerate UConn<\/a>, the University\u2019s National Science Foundation I-Corps site. That\u2019s allowed them to develop the concept further.<\/p>\n Farhadi says all new students could benefit from NavGenie, but it is geared specifically to international students like them. She and Zare recently added a social component like what someone might find on Discord, which offers channels and rooms for people to converse in.<\/p>\n It also can be tailored to any school\u2019s specifications.<\/p>\n \u201cEven before international students come to America, they have lots of questions, so we tried to create a way for them to ask their questions and find their answers,\u201d Farhadi says. \u201cNavGenie will help them get familiar with their new environment and ease the transition and sense of isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n They surveyed about 50 international students at UConn, starting with people they knew and asking for the names of others and soliciting through the Daily Digest, to discern exactly what app features could be beneficial.<\/p>\n One student told them he lined up a place to live on a popular app that offers homes and apartments for short- and long-term rent, paid in advance, and when he got here learned it was a scam and there was no place to stay.<\/p>\n Zare says that when she arrived in the U.S., she not just leaned on her sister for help, but also relied on gut instinct and moved into a slightly more expensive apartment because she knew it would be safe. This is, after all, not her first time abroad.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my third master\u2019s degree,\u201d she says, explaining that she got her bachelor\u2019s in painting and her master\u2019s in animation in Iran. She then moved to Italy and got a second master\u2019s, this one in art history.<\/p>\n![\"Maryam](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maria-Farhadi-300x300.jpg\")
![\"Zahra](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Zahra-Zare_FAV-300x300.jpg\")