Elsana Kanybek

About Me

Hi, I'm Elsana!

I’m a Computer Science student at Concordia University with experience in machine learning research and software development. I also serve as VP Finance at HackConcordia, helping organize ConUHacks X.

I love building innovative solutions, growing as a developer, and collaborating in fast-paced environments. I also enjoy attending tech events, hackathons, reading, and dancing.

Projects

🔍 WhatsIt

June 2024

Designed an AI assistant for individuals with aphasia, helping users predict missing words through voice input, potentially benefiting over 2 million stroke survivors annually in North America.

Improved UI usability by 30% through stakeholder sessions with McGill’s Chronic Aphasia Group. Proposed features like audio playback and multilingual support, achieving 80%+ accuracy in early testing across multiple language inputs.

Source Code

🐔 Save The Chicken

December 2024

Developed a top-down action-adventure game for the Game Programming course at John Abbott College with Joseph Lehman, where players escort a chicken through three levels filled with obstacles and enemies to reach the exit.

Created mechanics that disable combat when carrying the chicken, added health bars and power-ups, and defined clear victory and failure conditions to deliver a challenging and whimsical gameplay experience. Achieved a final grade of 93% for this project.

Source Code

Experience

Software Developer - IT Applications

Business Development Bank of Canada - Internship

Contributed to full-stack development across 3 fintech applications using C#, ASP.NET, EF Core, Angular, and TypeScript.
Redesigned the UI of a fintech platform based on product requirements, created RESTful API endpoints, and implemented two new project types, which improved navigation and reduced user task time.

Data Specialist - Data Analytics

Business Development Bank of Canada - Internship

Analyzed metadata usage patterns in Databricks & Power BI for internal reports, including report access frequency and user behavior across teams. Contributed to building a Power BI Usage Metrics dashboard.
Built a Power BI–Azure DevOps pipeline to enable version control. Assessed environment setups and design configurations. Delivered a Power BI theme that standardized visuals across current dashboards, improving consistency and reducing design time by 95%.

Software Engineer - Next Generation Fellowship

International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies

Reviewed 50+ academic articles on ADHD to inform evidence-based well-being strategies. Led user research and accessibility-focused design sessions with volunteers, finalized UI with 95% user approval.
Developed DeficitIA, a mental health Android application, writing 2,000+ lines of Kotlin code.

Machine Learning Fellow - AI4Good Lab Fellowship

Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute

Studied machine learning and data science techniques including neural networks, generative AI, and deep learning. Conducted project coordination, market research, and UX planning with ethical focus.
Developed WhatsIt with a multidisciplinary team and collaborated with Google mentors to improve model performance. Presented the project to judges, ML researchers, and over 200+ attendees.

Awards