MS SDM Students Win First Place at the Rotman Design Challenge 2025

We’re excited to share that five students from the MS SDM took first place at the 2025 Rotman Design Challenge (RDC)—an international competition focused on applying design thinking to complex business problems.

The challenge, sponsored by Intact Insurance, invited students to reimagine the future of insurance by designing services that go beyond the standard claims experience to create deeper, more meaningful customer engagement.

Meet Team North Star

, Team North Star included:

• Ananya Harshini
• Alana Rhodin
• Yash Sonwaney
• Youngjun Shin
• Meenu Jain

The team was supported by their mentor, Kriti S., whose insights and encouragement helped guide them through the process.

Designing for the Gig Economy

Team North Star focused on a critical and growing user group: gig economy workers—specifically those who use personal vehicles for commercial purposes. In Canada, approximately 7.3 million people participate in gig work, with 43% relying on it as their primary source of income. Many of these workers are underinsured due to the mismatch between traditional insurance models and their flexible, often unpredictable work schedules.

Through research and user-centered design, the team identified key challenges facing this community:

• A lack of flexible insurance options that align with gig workers’ variable schedules
• Confusing and inaccessible insurance language
• High levels of stress and financial pressure, increasing accident risk

To bring their insights to life, they created a persona—Greg the Gig Worker—to tell a relatable story about the gaps in existing insurance experiences.

The Solution: Flexible Coverage + AI Support

The team’s concept, Flexible Commercial Insurance, introduced several user-driven features:

• Adjustable coverage durations that match work periods
• The ability to pause insurance when not working
• A custom AI model, Polaris, that translates complex insurance terms, supports multilingual interactions, and automates claims processing through personalized voice-based interfaces

The result is a service that meets gig workers where they are—offering clarity, control, and peace of mind.

We congratulate Team North Star on this well-earned recognition. Their work is a strong example of how strategic design can be applied to address emerging societal and business needs.