15 TMU students win top awards on global stage
The Global Undergraduate Awards were founded in 2012 to help students recognize the potential their work can have in making real change. Credit: Matthew Rose.
This year, 15 Toronto Metropolitan University students went to Dublin to receive a Global Undergraduate Award (external link) , which recognizes top undergraduate academic work and shares their research with an international audience.
“I congratulate and applaud all of these students for their tenacity, commitment and talent,” said Jen McMillen, vice-provost, students. “This is an opportunity on the global stage to highlight the important, creative and meaningful work of TMU students at the undergraduate level. The work that was submitted by these students is awe-inspiring and an important contribution to scholarship.”
Students submitted projects on topics ranging from promoting corporate accountability for human rights to the link between lifestyle and well-being domains. We caught up with the three regional winners for Canada and the U.S. to learn about their academic work, how they felt about getting the prestigious award and what they did in Dublin.
Samuel Osorio Marino’s paper was focused on the design of a 3D-printed transportation drone to be used inside industrial plants. Credit: Matthew Rose.
Name: Samuel Osorio Marino
Program: Aerospace Engineering ’25
When Marino first found out that he was one of the regional winners, he thought it was a phishing email.
“I truly couldn’t believe it – I called my mom and she was so happy for me,” said Marino.
In his submission, titled “Generative Design for 3D Printing of Advanced Aerial Drones”, Marino explored an idea that started while he was a lab intern pursuing his bachelor’s of engineering. He designed and developed a drone frame that could carry heavy loads from different locations inside a warehouse. Marino created the design using generative AI to create optimal structures from a set of inputs.
Marino was excited to go to Dublin because he had never travelled to Europe. He arrived in Ireland one day before the summit to do some sightseeing and enjoyed visiting various museums and historical sites.
In terms of what the future holds, Marino is pursuing his master’s of applied science at TMU with a focus on aerospace engineering. He is a graduate assistant at the Facility of Research on Aerospace Materials and Engineering Structures (FRAMES) where he continues to work on designing the 3D-printed transportation drone.
Rayane Belateche, who has Algerian roots, was influenced by his family's flight from political injustice in his home country and this shaped his interest in fair access to justice. Credit: Matthew Rose.
Name: Rayane Belateche
Program: Business Management ’24
While taking a criminal law course, Belateche learned about a 2016 case where a man was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman with whom he shared a casual relationship. The contentious issue in the trial was the introduction of the accuser's past sexual behavior as evidence, particularly a text message, underscored the problematic aspects of using an individual's sexual history in sexual assault trials. Belateche was inspired to learn more about the case and to explore the divisive nature of the law, so he wrote a paper, titled “Canada's Rape Shield Law and the Protection of Victims' Rights.” In it, he explored the tension between safeguarding sexual assault accusers while also ensuring the accused isn’t unduly restricted in their independence.
He was blown away when he learned that his paper snagged a regional winner spot.
“I had spent countless nights researching this subject, second guessing my arguments and pouring my heart into this paper,” said Belateche. “Getting the recognition from the Global Undergraduate Awards was a nod to the hard work I had done.”
Belateche had been to Europe before, but never Ireland, so he was happy to explore the country with a close friend. He also enjoyed meeting other undergraduate students from across the world and learning from their interesting perspectives.
The future is looking bright for Belateche – he hopes to go to law school next fall and is leaning towards exploring litigation. He hopes to strengthen the idea of access to justice in Canada and continue digging into interesting legal topics.
Kamron Zahedi is passionate about bringing awareness to the environmental destruction that accompanies large-scale natural resource extraction operations in developing countries, and its implications for human rights and international justice.
Name: Kamron Zahedi
Program: Criminology ’23
Growing up, Kamron Zahedi felt discouraged because he was never formally recognized for his work dealing with social justice. Being recognized as a Global Undergraduate Awards regional winner gave him the encouragement he was looking for after pouring his heart and soul into his project.
“Winning this award was wonderful and humbling because it was a moment of recognition for a topic that I feel passionately about,” said Zahedi.
In his paper, titled “Canada's Natural Resource Extraction and Ecocide in Colombia,” Zahedi explored how Canadian companies approach natural resource extraction in Colombia and the history of political and economic instability in the country. Innocent civilians, Zahedi argued, get lumped into revolutionary movements which are labeled terrorist organizations by the companies seeking to exploit their land. This label has been used as justification for foreign companies to criminalize and displace Indigenous populations by using the media and paramilitaries, and then pollute the environment by extracting the precious resources in these hotly contested regions, effectively rendering the minerals harvested as conflict resources.
In Dublin, Zahedi was thrilled to see the other winners and learn about their research projects. He hadn’t boarded a plane since he was six years old and was excited to see the greenery and wildlife in Ireland. He was also eager to explore a new public transit system.
Zahedi is working at the John Howard Society of Toronto, a non-profit organization focused on making Toronto safer through programs focused on crime prevention, intervention and reintegration. He’s also applying for master’s of social work programs because of his passion in social justice policy.
There were nine award submissions from TMU at the Global Undergraduate Awards this year:
- Regional Winners:
- Samuel Osorio Marino, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
- Rayane Belateche, Ted Rogers School of Management
- Kamron Zahedi, Faculty of Arts
- Highly Commended:
- Jake Kroft, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
- Aleeza Khan, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science; Maria Butt, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science; Isha Baxi, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science; Khushi Tailor, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
- Nillan Nimal, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science; Abishek Menon, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science; Daniel Velyvis, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science; Mitchell Carlos-Caneiro, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
- Ariana Guaragna, Faculty of Arts
- Sara Sadeghi, Faculty of Science
- Nicole Agyenim Boateng, Faculty of Community Services
Related stories:
- Arts students, Kamron Zahedi and Arianna Guaragna, win Global Undergraduate Awards
- TMU undergrads snag top spots in global competition and celebrate in Dublin
- Fourth-year student gets a taste of Ireland at the Global Undergraduate Awards