Winners announced for the 8th annual Mayor’s Innovation Challenge

Two teams of post-secondary students were selected as winners of the annual Mayor’s Innovation Challenge hosted by the City of Kingston. 

In partnership with Queen’s University, St. Lawrence College and Royal Military College, the Mayor's Innovation Challenge provides a unique opportunity for current or recently graduated post-secondary students to apply their knowledge to real-world issues and help shape the future of Kingston. 

During Friday’s Pitch Competition held at City Hall, eight teams of students presented their pitches to a group of panelists, including: 

• Mayor Bryan Paterson, City of Kingston;
• Rob Beck, Client Executive, Bell Canada;
• Jim McLellan, Academic Director and Co-Founder, Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre;
• Shelley Hirstwood, Director of Business Development, Kingston Economic Development Corporation;
• Harold Parsons, CEO, BGC South East.
• Jen Probert, Full-time student, Royal Roads University and previous winner of the challenge.  

“The judges had a great discussion about the wonderful pitches we saw today,” says Mayor Paterson. “These exceptional students worked incredibly hard on their pitches, showing creativity and commitment to improving our community. Every year, students never fail to amaze me.” 

After deliberation, the panel announced the following winning projects: 

Dunin-Deshpande Innovation Centre Prize 

Handfluence

A solution that bridges the communication gap between Deaf and hearing individuals in critical settings like banks, hospitals, and government offices. Using AI-powered computer vision, we translate ASL to English in real-time, while an animated avatar converts English to ASL with proper grammar and structure. For Deaf-Blind users, our haptic technology translates speech into tactile sign language through a robotic hand. 

• Emil Mathew, 4th year Mechatronics and Robotics Eng - Queen's University
• Derek Youngman, 4th year Computer Science - Queen's University
• Christopher Gill, 3rd year Computer Science - Queen's University

The team will gain admission to the Queen’s Founders and Innovators Initiative (QFII) program, a transformative, part-time program that helps aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs take their early-stage startups to the next level. They will receive world-class entrepreneurship training, mentorship from industry professionals, and the opportunity to unlock up to $4,000 in seed funding. The team will also compete for a chance to win seed funding from a prize pool of up to $80,000 in the DDQIC Regional Pitch Competition.

Public Sector Innovation Prize 

Lawtonica

Lawtonica is an AI tool designed to simplify the process of finding and comprehending local bylaws. Our specialized AI you can chat with, Tonica, handles all the heavy lifting by searching through hundreds of pages of legal documents with lightning speed. Tonica makes complicated legal jargon easy-to-digest, while still preserving the original information to maintain accuracy. 

• Ethan Stassen, 1st Year Computing - Queen's University
• Zain Al Sudani, 1st Year Computing - Queen's University
• Yafet Beyene, 1st Year Computing - Queen's University
• Walelign Sumoro, 1st Year Computing - Queen's University 

Sponsored by Bell, this prize includes a $10,000 cash award to help bring a great business idea to life. But the support doesn’t stop there—winners will also gain access to the Summer Company Program, funded by the Government of Ontario and delivered by Kingston Economic Development Corporation, which provides hands-on training, mentorship, and financial support to young entrepreneurs aged 15 to 29.  

Through this immersive program, the winning team will gain essential business training, marketing insights, and strategic mentorship—equipping them with the tools needed to sustain long-term success. More than just a prize, this is a launchpad for young entrepreneurs to build a business, refine their skills, and establish themselves as future industry leaders. 

The Pitch Competition was livestreamed and can be viewed on Kingston City Council’s YouTube channel. The Mayor’s Innovation Challenge was made possible through partnership and collaboration with local post-secondary institutions, the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, and a sponsorship from Bell Canada.