## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/) 2. [News and Stories](/index%2Ephp/news) 3. [OCAD U students win international award](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/3199) March 14, 2025 # OCAD U students win international award ![Award-winners Arian Shariaty (left) and Eli Saghbini (right) standing together in a meeting room. ](/sites/default/files/styles/1_5_1_large/public/2025-03/Mar12_NicoleIn_IMG_0784.jpg.webp?itok=AmmvEgmr) Award-winners Arian Shariaty (left) and Eli Saghbini (right). OCAD University students Arian Shariaty and Eli Saghbini have won a New Talent award at the [Spring 2025 UX Design Awards](https://ux-design-awards.com/winners/awards-spring-2025), presented by the [International Design Center Berlin (IDZ)](https://idz.de/). The IDZ is an independent German institution promoting design as a driver of business and social innovation. Shariaty and Saghbini received the award for creating [IntelliCourse](https://www.intellicourse.ca/), an AI-driven platform that generates personalized educational courses tailored to a learner’s unique needs. Through user-driven prompts, IntelliCourse creates custom assignments, quizzes, presentations and detailed feedback to enhance engagement, continuous learning and micro-credential achievement. The two students and their colleagues have been working on the startup project for the last 10 months. They say their ultimate goal is to democratize and personalize learning. “Our mission was to design a platform that was not only functional, but intuitive,” says Saghbini in [an introductory video](https://youtu.be/NpDu3WJBcX0). “Whether you’re a beginner exploring a new skill or someone fine-tuning your expertise … every element has been designed to provide the ultimate user experience.” The duo are the only Canadian award-winners in the New Talent category. They were selected from a pool of 440 contenders representing 38 countries. Other recipients included post-secondary students from China, Germany, Italy and the United States. ## Other Recent News [### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals. November 6, 2026 ](/news/2026-27-call-funding-proposals-student-groups-support-creative-entrepreneurship-campus) [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026) Related Stories ## Related Stories [### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals. November 6, 2026 ](/news/2026-27-call-funding-proposals-student-groups-support-creative-entrepreneurship-campus) [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026)