Students from UBC Okanagan and UBC Vancouver recognized for assistive technologies designed to improve lives and advance accessibility
Student innovation, empathy and engineering ingenuity were on full display as teams from UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science claimed top honours at the 11th Annual Simon Cox Student Design Competition.
Held on April 25 at the Blusson ICORD Centre in Vancouver, the competition challenged post-secondary students from across British Columbia to design technologies and home automation solutions that enhance quality of life for people living with disabilities. All told, twenty teams comprised of more than 110 students from institutions across the province vied for four awards.
This year, UBC Engineering teams from both the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses swept the podium—earning recognition for their creative, human-centred designs.
Winners
- 1st Simon Cox Principal Award $3,000: UBC Okanagan ODIN
- 2nd Achievement Award in honour of Marco Pasqua Second Prize $2,000: UBC Okanagan AceLace
- 3rd Innovation Award in honour of Ari Kinarthy $1,500: UBC MindTap
- Peer’s Choice Award in honour of Neema Nafisvand $1500: UBC Okanagan AceLace
Blending technical excellence with meaningful community impact
“These results reflect both the dedication and the compassion our students bring to engineering,” says James Olson, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC. “Across both campuses, these teams demonstrated not only technical excellence, but a deep commitment to designing solutions that can really improve people’s lives and strengthen communities. We are incredibly proud of what they have achieved—and of the values-driven engineering education that made these innovations possible.”
UBC Okanagan team earns Principal Award
Taking the competition’s top honour, the Simon Cox Principal Award, was Team ODIN from UBC Okanagan for its Omnidirectional Drive for Independent Navigation.
Designed to improve wheelchair traction, stability and mobility across uneven terrain, the lightweight, portable system addresses challenges associated with navigating gravel and other difficult surfaces. Compatible with approximately 90 per cent of wheelchair frames, the device aims to reduce physical strain while increasing safety and independence for users.
The team also recently competed and honed their project through the School of Engineering’s Capstone Design Showcase and Competition on April 10 in Kelowna.
Team ODIN received the competition’s $3,000 Principal Award.
Team ODIN members: Caden Lee, Gordon Zheng, Jaylyn Kaban, Advik Puri, Andrew Sheh and Ryan Pitre
Faculty mentor: Dr. Alon Eisenstein
AceLace earns Achievement Award and Peer’s Choice recognition
UBC Okanagan’s Team AceLace earned the Achievement Award in Honour of Marco Pasqua for its accessible shoelace ratchet system.
The device functions as an attachment compatible with any laced shoe, enabling users to tighten their laces by turning a dial. Pulling upward on the dial disengages the ratchet mechanism to release tension. Designed to support individuals with dexterity or mobility challenges, the system offers a simple yet effective solution to an everyday task.
The team received a $2,000 prize and was also recognized with the Peer’s Choice Award in Honour of Neema Nafisvand.
Team AceLace members: Jules Ke and Ishita Julka
Faculty mentor: Dr. Sabine Weyand
UBC Vancouver team recognized for brain-controlled accessibility technology
Rounding out the podium, Team MindTap from UBC Vancouver earned the Innovation Award in Honour of Ari Kinarthy.
MindTap is an EEG-powered assistive headset that enables individuals with physical disabilities to control smartphones using brain signals. The technology translates neural activity into real-time commands, allowing users to send messages, make calls, navigate applications and control smart devices without touch.
Using non-invasive EEG data and machine learning, the system interprets intentional mental patterns and maps them to smartphone actions through a custom interface. Designed to adapt to users over time, MindTap reduces calibration requirements while promoting accessibility, independence and digital inclusion.
The team received a $1,500 prize.
Team MindTap members: Danish Hakim, Thomas Becaria Valero, Guneev Dhillon, Carter Stratton, Helia Ahmadzadeh and Vivian Qin
Faculty mentor: Calvin Kuo
Designing with purpose
The Simon Cox Student Design Competition continues to provide students with hands-on design experience while supporting the development of assistive technologies that respond to real-world needs.
This year’s competition included students from BCIT, Simon Fraser University, Thompson Rivers University, UBC, UBC Okanagan and the University of Victoria. Participating teams partnered with individuals living with physical disabilities to ensure designs reflected lived experiences and practical needs.
For UBC Engineering students, the strong showing highlights the power of experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and community-focused design.
Across both campuses, these award-winning projects demonstrate how engineering can be a catalyst for inclusion—turning creativity and technical skill into solutions that help make everyday life more accessible.