{"id":96704,"date":"2025-07-28T10:06:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=96704"},"modified":"2025-09-30T14:12:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:12:37","slug":"carleton-if-design-award-snowstride","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/carleton-if-design-award-snowstride\/","title":{"rendered":"Design with Purpose: Carleton Student Wins Top International Design Award with SnowStride"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Design with Purpose: Carleton Student Wins Top International Design Award with SnowStride\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Devang Ghosh didn\u2019t expect to win when he submitted his class project to one of the world\u2019s most prestigious design competitions. He just wanted to see how far he could take it. And he\u2019s glad he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third-year Carleton University Industrial Design<\/a> student received a “Best of the Year”<\/a> title in the 2025 International Forum (iF) Design competition’s Student Design Award, beating more than 7,000 entries globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carleton University Industrial Design student Devang Ghosh holds his award for “Best of the Year” at the iF Design Student Awards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ghosh’s project, SnowStride<\/a>, is one of just nine recognized with the competition\u2019s highest student honour. In June, he was celebrated on stage at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, in front of an audience of peers, judges and design leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At what he calls the \u201cOscars of industrial design,\u201d the win wasn\u2019t just a personal milestone \u2014 it was a first for Carleton and for Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rehabilitation Reimagined Through Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ghosh\u2019s winning design is a snowshoe-inspired mobility aid for people recovering from lower-leg injuries. SnowStride is a fully functional, field-tested and user-focused rehabilitation device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I wanted to make rehabilitation more accessible and fun,” says Ghosh.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“I looked at different physical activities to see if there\u2019s an overlap between the activity and something that\u2019s useful for rehabilitation. I noticed that the biomechanics of snowshoeing is very similar to lower-leg injury rehabilitation.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He spent months building and refining the design, testing it on snow and hilly terrain. He also tested different handle orientations to figure out what feels natural. Designing for lower-leg rehabilitation forced Ghosh to think differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design components of the snowshoe-inspired mobility aid, SnowStride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Empathy was the biggest challenge,” he says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“I\u2019ve never had a lower leg injury myself, so I tried everything \u2014 strapping weights to my leg, testing different gait patterns and researching rehab tools.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The final design features a wide snowshoe base connected to telescoping handles that rotate in a motion like an elliptical machine. Users engage their upper body to generate assistive force, helping lift weaker legs with each stride. A tension system adjusts the level of support for each leg, a feature that gradually decreases assistance level as the legs slowly regain strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also designed custom packaging that doubles as a carrying case, considering the user\u2019s unboxing experience, usability and storage. Even the instructions were included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, Ghosh thought of everything, from accessibility and ergonomics to storage and sustainability. That attention to detail \u2014 what Ghosh calls a holistic approach \u2014 helped his work stand out on the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n

Design for Real-World Impact: Carleton’s Competitive Edge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Originally a mechanical engineering student, Ghosh transferred into industrial design after discovering a passion for creativity and applied problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says Carleton\u2019s hands-on, technically grounded approach is what allowed SnowStride to evolve from a class project into something award-worthy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“One of the main reasons I chose Carleton was because of their technical focus in industrial design and their constant push towards iterative prototyping and making something actually work,” Ghosh explains.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

“A lot of design schools focus on aesthetics, which is important, but aesthetics can only get you so far. You really need to prove the concept and Carleton is great for that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also values the program’s integration within the Faculty of Engineering and Design<\/a>, giving the program a strong interdisciplinary foundation. He was even taught to conduct patent research \u2014 uncommon in other design schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n