The seventh Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Challenge was a new experience for our studio – and, of course, our entrants. As we adjusted to working from home, students across the province juggled a pivot to virtual education while also (somehow) finding time to participate in our yearly competition.
Needless to say: With over 250 submissions, we are incredibly impressed to see how students persevered.
Winning students will make the transition to hands-on game development in the coming weeks. They will join teams at Ubisoft Toronto for three-month long paid apprenticeships, working alongside some of the industry’s brightest minds. While we aren’t able to bring this year’s apprentices into our studio just yet, our teams are looking forward to collaborating remotely with these emerging talents in the meantime.
Though it wasn’t possible to gather together in person to celebrate, it was important for us to celebrate the NEXT finalists’ achievements and we were thrilled to do so by hosting a digital awards ceremony. Judges from each of the seven categories shared their appreciation and praise for the hard work submitted by Ontario students.
So, without further ado, here are the 2020 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT winners in 3D Art, Animation, Concept Art, Level Design, Programming, Technical Art, and User Interface.
The 2020 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Winners
3D Art
1st Place
Dong-Hoon Choi – Centennial College
2nd Place
Acie Suralta – George Brown College
3rd Place
Lynden Sylvestre – Durham College
Animation
1st Place
Bruno Sampaio Leme Dias – George Brown College
2nd Place
Ashutosh Chawla – Centennial College
3rd Place
Thedrick John Lancaon – George Brown College
Concept Art
1st Place
David Mattiacci – Toronto Film School
2nd Place
Adam Homonylo – Max the Mutt College
3rd Place
Nan Shi – Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD)
Level Design
1st Place
Sukhraj Johal – Sheridan College
2nd Place
Kyle Richardson – George Brown College
3rd Place
Julian Disterheft – George Brown College
Programming
1st Place
Jacob Pratley – Ontario Tech University
2nd Place
Oktay Comu – University of Toronto
3rd Place
Robin Vandenbrande – Centennial College
Technical Art
1st Place
Mohamad Salame – Durham College
2nd Place
Dongyoon Lee – Humber College
User Interface
1st Place
Shane Saxton – Niagara College
2nd Place
Wilson Truong – Sheridan College
3rd Place
Vicky Tran – Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD)
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! Watch last night’s awards ceremony below.
Ubisoft Toronto NEXT
Ubisoft Toronto NEXT is an annual competition designed to display the talent of video game development students in Ontario, and to kickstart their careers in the industry. With paid apprenticeships in hand, winners of each category receive the opportunity to learn from top talent and further hone their skills.
