From sustainable building materials to assistive technology for people living with speech challenges, OCAD University students tackled a range of real-world challenges in projects recognized at Rocket 2026, a competition for Ontario’s graduating industrial designers.
The annual event, hosted by the Association of Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario (ACIDO), invites graduating students from Carleton University, Humber Polytechnic, OCAD U and Sheridan College to pitch their final-year projects to a jury of industry professionals. The recipients were announced at the Rocket Awards Ceremony on June 8.
Award-winning projects
Four students from OCAD U’s Industrial Design program were among the ACIDO Rocket 2026 awards recipients.
Jenny Chan, the 2025-26 recipient of the OCAD University Medal for the Industrial Design program, received the Swave Studios User Centric Design Award and the Veradek Outdoor Launch Award for her project, Reframe with Pulse.
Reframe is a speech-support system for adults who have difficulty speaking in high-pressure situations. The app transforms users' notes and recordings into personalized learning modules that support speaking preparation and reflection. An add-on provides users with personalized vibrotactile cues during live speaking moments to support fluidity and pacing.
Chan, the OCAD U 2026 Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal recipient, was a category finalist for Health, Safety and Human Wellbeing.
Kashish Bhut received the Third Place Rocket Award in the Sustainability and Environmental Systems category for ThirdForm, a modular building block system that makes use of rice husk, an agricultural byproduct often treated as waste. The project explores how this material can be transformed into a functional and sustainable construction material for interiors and furniture, supporting cleaner air in farming communities across the “smog belt” of rural India.
Damisi Adeleye, a finalist in the Play, Learning and Recreation category, received the Nienkamper Craft Award for The Slumberwear Kit. The project explores how modular textiles can support minimal, lightweight outdoor treks and activities.
As backpacking pilgrimages grow in popularity, the Slumberwear Kit addresses the challenge of packing clothing for different environments without adding weight.
Adeleye’s work proposes a multi-layered pocket system that stores modular clothing designed for a range of weather conditions while also functioning as a sleeping bag.
Giancarlo Alessandro Martinez Magarelli received the Umbra Originality Award for SAND, a digital, variable hourglass. The project helps those who live with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and time blindness improve their time-management abilities. The timer can toggle between allowing a user to focus on a single task and dividing time between two different activities. Magarelli was a finalist in the Play, Learning and Recreation category.
Category finalists
In addition to the award recipients, several OCAD U students were selected as category finalists.
Frank Obano was a finalist in the Furniture, Domestic and Spatial Experiences category for Embur, a lighting fixture that encourages individuals to disconnect from their mobile devices as an intentional way of encouraging personal time. Embur activates when the user deposits their mobile phone in a dedicated slot, starting a timer and providing light while they engage in other activities. As time passes, the colour of the lampshade deepens, providing a visual cue of the time the user has spent away from their digital screen.
Lily Li and Senthurri Thiruchenthooran were both finalists in the Play, Learning and Recreation category.
Li’s project, Investie, is a “gamified” financial literacy app designed to help members of Gen Z build confidence with money. Inspired by popular language training programs such as Duolingo, the app divides complex topics such as budgeting, investing and credit cards into short, interactive lessons that adapt content based on real financial behaviours and life events.
Thiruchenthooran’s operationColossus{: is a microelectronics kit that supports neurodivergent high school students by creating learning opportunities in STEM fields.
The kit includes electronic modules that can be easily wired together to create small projects and remove the barriers that typical engineering kits create. This allows neurodivergent students who are overwhelmed by existing school subjects to engage with cross-disciplinary learning. operationColossus{: also includes an inclusive, low-pressure workbook delivered in a comic style to help ease users into simple electronic projects.
The ACIDO Rocket Awards highlight the breadth of innovation from OCAD U’s graduating students as they become emerging professionals. The University congratulates the award recipients and finalists.
