2025 CapCHI Student Showcase

Our last and favourite event of the 2024/2025 season! Join us as we welcome emerging HCI, Design, and UX talent from Algonquin College, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. Each team will present their projects in under 10 minutes, followed by an open discussion with the audience.

Projects & Presenters

1) Let’s Fix Fun Together: A Co-Design Approach to Creating Engaging Youth Programs
Paula Lucia Morella, Shimi George, Sana Randhawa, Tszkwan Li (Algonquin College)

Based on insights from over 50 youth and 14 youth coordinators, the team developed "CityConnect" - a guide to help the City of Ottawa partner with Ottawa's Youth Councils, transforming participants into co-creators of recreational programs that reflect authentic youth priorities.

Paula holds a Bachelor's in Public Affairs and Policy Management from Carleton University, and recently completed a graduate certificate in Human-Centred Design at Algonquin College. She has multiple years of federal government experience and is currently a User Experience Researcher Co-op at Nokia. Shimi began her design career with a Bachelor's in Fashion Design from India. She transitioned into User Experience Design through postgraduate studies in UX Design at Humber College and Human-Centred Design at Algonquin College. She is currently preparing for a co-op with the Ottawa Police Service. Sana holds a Bachelor’s in Product Design and recently completed a post-graduate certificate in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human-Centred Design from Algonquin College, where she was introduced to the world of UX Research and Service Design. She is currently preparing for a role with Algonquin’s Human-Centred Design Lab.

2) From Hesitation to Action: Understanding and Improving Cybercrime Reporting Behaviour
Charlotte Carr (Carleton University)

This project explores how the design of digital interfaces can affect the way people report cybercrime. Participants were asked to report fictional scenarios using either a standard online form or a conversational AI chatbot and their experiences were compared to examine level of comfort, report completeness, and overall user preferences.

Charlotte is a Master's of HCI student at Carleton University. Her thesis is part of a collaboration with the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre, exploring how to improve digital reporting tools for cybercrime victims. She aims to bridge research and design to build more thoughtful and supportive systems for users.

3) Odyssey: Making Learning Work for Every Child
Malavika Mahesh (University of Ottawa)

Designing for neurodiverse users means rethinking pacing, predictability, and the small details that build trust. This project presents a learning tool that helps autistic children build daily habits, while giving adults simple ways to track their progress and turn small tasks into big wins.

Malavika is a UX designer from the University of Ottawa who designs tech that puts people first. She’s worked on tools for educators, researchers, and other public sector teams, to bring clarity to complex systems. Her projects often involve redesigning learning platforms, improving onboarding in government institutions, and helping teams apply ethical design in real-world settings.

4) Beyond the Game: Engaging and Retaining Youth in Urban Recreation
Nirmal Panchal, Pragya Gouti, Alice Cheung, Swaathy PS (Algonquin College)

Beyond the Game explores how urban recreation can better meet the needs of youth. Through collaborative research with teens and community partners, the project examines barriers such as accessibility, relevance, and inclusion. It proposes design interventions that make recreation not only available but also engaging, inclusive, and worth returning to.

Nirmal is a Human-Centred Design student at Algonquin College with a growing interest in UX research. He has contributed to the research planning and analysis phases of the project, supporting the team in understanding youth perspectives on recreation. Pragya is a graduate student in the Human-Centred Design program at Algonquin College. Her work focuses on participatory research, inclusive design, and reimagining systems through empathy and strategic thinking.

5) The Journey
Alex Di Nobile, Cole McMullin, Daniel Gagne, Conall Nelligan (Carleton University)

The Journey is an interactive multi-platform experience that is an allegory for self-discovery and the figurative paths we take throughout our lives. Users are confronted with decisions and their choices influence the representation of their avatar. The Journey concludes in a virtual gallery that shows how users’ choices have shaped them.

Alex is a fourth-year Interactive Multimedia and Design student at Carleton University. She is very passionate about storytelling and utilizes many mediums, including design, illustration, and literature. Cole is a fourth-year student in the Interactive Multimedia and Design program at Carleton University. He loves to code and is inspired by media’s ability to bring people together, tell captivating stories, and evoke emotions in those who experience them. Daniel is an Interactive Multimedia and Design student at Carleton University. He has an ever-growing passion for anything related to film, video games, and other forms of creative media. Conall is an undergraduate student in Interactive Multimedia and Design at Carleton University. He is an avid 3D artist who loves designing characters and using visuals to tell stories.

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A Space for Community and Support

Beyond the talk, we recognize the importance of fostering a strong UX and design community—especially in light of the recent news about Algonquin College suspending its Human-Centred Design program. The decision to halt new student admissions after Fall 2025 is a significant loss to the local UX ecosystem.

Now, more than ever, we must come together to support, uplift, and advocate for the growth of human-centered design. Events like this serve not only as learning opportunities but also as spaces for connection, mentorship, and solidarity.

We hope to see you there. Let’s keep the spirit of UX alive.
Spread the word and bring a friend!

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We look forward to seeing you there!

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Our Sponsors

We are extremely grateful to these organizations for their generous support of CapCHI and the local UX community.

Design Centered Co.
[https://designcentered.co/ ](https://designcentered.co/)
We use design to enable organizations deliver value by focusing on opportunities that align with their purpose, understand the people they aim to serve, and define processes that are sustainable and impact focused.

DFFRNT
https://dffrnt.ca
We’re an exceptional team of highly experienced behavioural researchers and design strategists. We apply a fundamental understanding of human behaviour, strategic design and human-computer interaction to deliver product and service design value.

Human-Centred Design Lab
[https://www.human-centred.ca](https://www.algonquincollege.com/applied-research/)
An interdisciplinary applied research lab at Algonquin College focused on community-based research and experience design. We situate evidence-based product and service transformation within complex environmental, social and economic systems.

Jumping Elephants
https://www.jumpingelephants.ca
A full-service, consulting group based in Ottawa and specializing in user-centred solutions design and business process management for the public and private sector.