OCAD University students in the Strategic Foresight and Innovation (SFI) and Digital Futures programs have been honoured with awards by the globally recognized Association of Professional Futurists (APF) Student Recognition program.
The APF competition receives submissions from futures and foresight programs around the world. This year, OCAD U submitted projects for the Master’s Individual, Group Master’s and Group Undergraduate categories. There are three recipients in each category.
This year, the Master’s Individual Best Work award went to SFI student Danny Ghantous, who received Best Work for his master’s research paper (MRP), Between the Self and the Signal. SFI student Nathalie Robertson received a special nomination for her MRP, The Futures of Value.
In the Master’s Group category, Alba Au, Alison Clarke, Megan Christofield, Stephanie Holko, Lesley Jeannotte, Lauren Tollifson and Momen Zakaria received special nominations for their Foresight Studio Dossier projects, while Laura Marín Hurtado and María Sanz de Santamaría received a special nomination for their MRP.
In the Undergraduate Group category, the Best Work award was presented to Helsa Aliaghaei, Usman Khawaja, Charlotte Michaud-Tardif and Lana Mousa for Bioprinting, their course project for the Leadership in the Digital Economy course. Claire Pardy, Maya Jacinto, Karina Kozlov, Yuhui Ma, Weijun Wang and Kaiqi Zhang received special nominations for their projects in the Digital Economy course.
The internal OCAD U jury responsible for selecting student work submissions included Zan Chandler, adjunct professor, Strategic Foresight and Innovation program, and Suzanne Stein, associate professor, Faculty of Arts and Science, and special advisor: strategic foresight, School of Graduate Studies. The SFI program has constantly received top awards since the APF launched the international student competition.
Founded in 2002, the APF is a global community of futurists dedicated to promoting professional excellence and demonstrating the value of strategic foresight and futures studies. The APF defines the competencies of professional futurists, the knowledge base of futures studies and the standards by which their work can be evaluated.
Congratulations to the 2026 award recipients!
