• Home
• Media
• News
• 2025
• Western Engineering hosts Automotive Innovation Challenge in partnership with OVIN and General Motors

Western Engineering hosts Automotive Innovation Challenge in partnership with OVIN and General Motors

With backing from both academia and industry, the Western Engineering Automotive Innovation Challenge offered students a chance to enhance their problem-solving skills, develop practical technical knowledge, and gain insights into the future of automotive mobility.

Western Engineering, in collaboration with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and General Motors, recently hosted the Western Engineering Automotive Innovation Challenge. The event brought together undergraduate students from Western’s Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science to tackle pressing issues in the automotive and mobility sector.

Experiential Learning

The competition featured 38 teams, comprising 152 students, who engaged in a collaborative, hands-on experience to develop innovative solutions in areas such as autonomous mobility and smart transportation systems using programming and AI-based data analysis. Stephanie Tigert, director of Experiential Learning and Student Support at Western Engineering, highlighted the significance of experiential learning in engineering education.

“Competitions like this provide students with an opportunity to bridge theory and practice by applying classroom concepts in real-world settings,” Tigert said. “They enhance problem-solving skills, foster technical competency and encourage teamwork, communication and adaptability. Most importantly, they allow students to stretch their learning without the risk of failure.”

Tigert also emphasized the importance of industry involvement in such initiatives. “Industry partnerships ensure that curricula align with workforce needs, provide students with access to cutting-edge technology, expand job and internship opportunities and foster valuable mentorship connections.”

In his remarks, Jeff Wood, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies at Western Engineering, welcomed participants and underscored the importance of innovation in the automotive sector.

“This is such an incredible opportunity, not just for us as an institution, but for all of you—our talented and innovative students—to dive deep into one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving sectors,” Wood said. “Automotive innovation is no longer just about building cars. It’s about creating solutions that address real-world challenges and that’s exactly what we are here to celebrate today.”

Wood expressed gratitude to OVIN and General Motors for their support, acknowledging GM’s significant contributions in shaping the competition’s problem statements. “GM’s insight and expertise bring so much value to this competition and to your learning experience,” he said. “Their commitment to nurturing the next generation of engineers, innovators and problem-solvers is truly commendable.” 

GM worked closely with Western's civil and environmental engineering professor Mohamed Zaki and graduate students Syed Mostaquim Ali and Muhammad Haris Ikram to develop the challenges students would be addressing. They also spent the weekend mentoring students and supporting them.

Tackling real-world challenges

Students worked in teams to develop solutions for three key problem areas, deploying their ideas on smaller devices to simulate real-world applications:

1. Smart Perception: Enhancing Autonomous Vehicle Safety in Urban Environments – Winning Team: Sean Teoh, Luca D’Agostino, Isabella Li, Barsa Moghareh Abed
2. The Parking Puzzle: Unlocking Urban Mobility – Winning Team: Abdelrahman Amin, Lama Abdulal, Elijah Cook, Joseph Kim
3. Hidden Insights: A Privacy-Preserving Approach for Safe Navigation – Winning Team: Ethan Yuming Zhao, Benjamin Namayandeh, Mohammed Owda, Aly Soliman

Prizes and Industry Recognition

Each winning team received a $1,000 cash prize and an exclusive opportunity to visit GM in Markham, Ontario, where they will pitch their solutions to GM leaders. The experience includes a tour of a GM lab to see how automotive engineers develop products, as well as a visit to the CTC McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track for an EV and Super Cruise experience.

With support from academia and industry, the Western Engineering Automotive Innovation Challenge provided students with an opportunity to engage in problem-solving, develop real-world technical expertise and gain valuable insights into the future of automotive mobility.