On May 28, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF) celebrated a remarkable group of young innovators at the Ingenious+ National Awards Ceremony, held during Canadian Innovation Week. These young changemakers, aged 14 to 18, are this year’s national winners and finalists of RHF’s Ingenious+ youth innovation challenge, which supports youth-led ideas with financial support, learning opportunities, and mentorship.

“Ingenious+ is all about empowering today’s young changemakers through wrap-around support that will help them grow their innovations and create positive impact in their communities. We are thrilled to be celebrating these outstanding young people during Canadian Innovation Week.”

Teresa Marques, President and CEO of the Rideau Hall Foundation

Five national winners and eleven finalists were selected by the RHF for national recognition from a group of 150 regional winners from across Canada. The national winners were chosen as the top entry in each of the five Ingenious+ categories: Community and Civic Engagement, Climate Change and the Environment, Equity and Inclusion, Health and Well-being, and Technology and Entrepreneurship. The national finalists were selected as the top entry in their province, regardless of category.

This year’s top projects range from point-of-care skin cancer detection software to banana-peel-powered batteries, to a predictive tool for wildfire outbreaks. Together, they receive over $70,000 in funding, in addition to learning and ongoing mentorship opportunities from industry experts.

Meet the winners

Anthony Efthimiadis
M-SCAHN: A Point-of-Care Digital Dermoscopy Software System: M-SCAHN is a digital tool that uses image analysis to deliver rapid, non-invasive, and bias-aware skin cancer screening at the point of care.
(Health and Well-being)

Jasmine Wang
Wildfire Monitoring and Prediction System: This AI-powered system improves wildfire detection and forecasting accuracy through a scalable data pipeline and custom transformer models, outperforming current methods.
(Climate Change and the Environment)

Céline Zhang
Student Innovation Lab: A youth-led initiative advancing equity through education access, policy engagement, and mentorship for marginalized students across Quebec.
(Community and Civic Engagement)

Joti Gokaraju
TouchTalk: TouchTalk bridges communication for the Deafblind using a mobile app and custom braille device, enabling two-way interaction with sighted and hearing individuals.
(Equity and Inclusion)

Warren Chen
Naturacell: A Novel Biodegradable Cellulosic-Based Battery Cell: Naturacell creates biodegradable batteries from agricultural waste, offering a sustainable, low-cost alternative to lithium-ion cells for everyday and industrial use.
(Technology and Entrepreneurship)

About Ingenious+

The RHF’s Ingenious+ is a national innovation challenge that empowers youth aged 14–18 to create solutions that make a positive difference in their communities. Innovation can mean improving an existing product, service, or system—or inventing something entirely new to solve a pressing issue.

Through regional and national rounds, participants receive funding, tailored learning opportunities, and access to experienced mentors who help bring their ideas to life.

This initiative helps advance the RHF’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive and innovative Canada by investing in the creativity, leadership, and problem-solving capacity of the next generation.

🔗 Explore this year’s winners and learn more at IngeniousPlus.ca.