Cambrian College students earn second place at hackathon competition – June 12

SUDBURY, ON –   A team of three Cambrian College students has earned a second-place finish at a hackathon challenge focused on the defence industry.

The students were competing in the 2026 Red Team DefTech Hackathon Series in Ottawa, which is part of Canada’s National Defence-Tech Innovation Challenge. Cambrian was the only college team in the competition, with the rest of the competitors being drawn from university students.

In the hackathon, students tackled a real-world defence procurement issue: develop a secure system to verify whether suppliers to the Canadian Department of National Defence meet Canada’s “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” requirements.

Participants were tasked with designing a solution capable of tracking and validating supplier claims throughout complex supply chains. The challenge focused on improving transparency and accountability by creating a system that could verify the origin of materials, labour, and manufacturing processes through a secure and auditable framework.

Under federal guidelines, a product can be labelled “Product of Canada” when at least 98 per cent of direct production costs, including materials and labour, are incurred in Canada and the last substantial transformation occurs in Canada. To qualify as “Made in Canada,” at least 51 per cent of direct production costs must occur in Canada, with the final substantial transformation also taking place domestically.

The Cambrian team developed a solution designed to strengthen the current self-reporting and self-verification process by providing greater confidence in origin claims and supply chain transparency.

Team members included Zhengshen (Ashton) Shu, a Graphic Design student; Laxman KC, a graduate of Computer Programming – Internet of Things; and Sikai Han, a student in Cambrian’s new Bachelor of Applied Computing program.

“Unlike a typical competition, this hackathon felt like actually shipping a real product,” explains Zhengshen Shu. “It was not only about using what I had learned in class; it was about thinking like a designer and telling a clear, convincing story while the clock was ticking. Everything I have been practicing in the Graphic Design program, including copywriting, information hierarchy, and brand storytelling, went directly into the work.”

“This result is a strong reflection of what happens when students are given the opportunity to work on real-world R&D challenges,” adds Cheick Maiga, a research engineer with Cambrian R&D and team coach. “The hackathon required technical depth, teamwork, problem-solving under pressure, and a strong understanding of both software fundamentals and emerging AI tools. I’m extremely proud of the Cambrian R&D student team for earning 2nd place against strong competition.”

To learn more about Cambrian’s various programs in such fields as information technology and creative industries, visit https://cambriancollege.ca/programs.