For Arshdeep Kaur, choosing a career in artificial intelligence started with a love of solving problems. That choice led her to Centennial College's Artificial Intelligence - Software Engineering Technology program, where hands-on artificial intelligence and software engineering learning, co-op opportunities and industry experiences prepared her for one of the biggest accomplishments of her student career.
As the Lead AI Engineer on a multidisciplinary team at the 2025 NASA Space Apps Challenge – Toronto, hosted at Centennial College's Downsview Campus, Arshdeep helped develop an innovative AI solution that earned three major awards and a global nomination. Today, she has turned that experience into a successful career as an application developer, using artificial intelligence, machine learning and emerging AI technologies to help shape technology decisions at the University of Toronto. She credits Centennial College with giving her the confidence, practical experience and opportunities that made it possible.
Choosing Centennial College's Artificial Intelligence Program
"In high school, back home, we had to choose paths in grade 11," Arshdeep says. "At that time, I chose mathematics. I like math, because I have fun solving problems. I never get bored."
"Knowing my interests, one of my uncles said, why don't you try artificial intelligence?" she says. "It was very new back in 2022. I decided to give it a try, because I am the kind of person who likes solving problems and seeing the solutions right before me."
When Arshdeep began researching programs, Centennial College’s Artificial Intelligence - Software Engineering Technology program quickly stood out.
"Centennial was one of the first few colleges at that time who were providing artificial intelligence as one of their programs," she says. "When I looked at what they provided, it was very hands-on, which is what I wanted. A lot of programs these days, especially in universities, are very theoretical. I can read theories, but I need the hands-on experience."
"That's what made my choice very clear," she says. "I wanted to be at Centennial if I wanted to pursue this field."
Hands-on Learning in Centennial College's AI Program
Throughout Centennial College's Artificial Intelligence - Software Engineering Technology program, Arshdeep found that her learning was reinforced through labs, group work and increasingly complex projects.
"Since my first semester, we have done loads of hands-on work," she says. "The group projects that we do provide a very different kind of learning that you don't really get when you are working on assignments yourself."
Her favourite experience was the final capstone project.
“I felt like I was doing an actual industry-led software engineering project,” she says.
The program also encouraged students to pursue learning opportunities beyond the classroom.
"One of the best things being in this program, or just at Centennial, is that whenever there are these challenges or hackathons going on, we are notified by the professors themselves," she says. And one of these opportunities would gain her recognition from NASA itself.
Competing at the NASA Space Apps Challenge Toronto
Hosted at Centennial College's Downsview Campus, the annual NASA Space Apps Challenge – Toronto brings together students, developers, scientists, designers and innovators to solve real-world problems using NASA's open data. Arshdeep first heard about the event in 2024 while completing a co-op placement in Centennial College’s IT department.
"I had always been interested in space growing up, but I never got a chance to learn about it," she says. Although she registered that year, self-doubt stopped her from participating.
"I signed up in 2024, but never went to the challenge itself, because I was too scared," she says. "I felt like I wasn't ready. I think IT can be a field where you can feel like the knowledge that you have is not enough. That's what held me back." When the competition returned in 2025 during her final semester, she decided not to let fear hold her back.
"This is my last semester," she says. "I wanted to do something before finishing college."
Arshdeep joined a team of students from several colleges, and were given a set of potential topics to work on. Together, the team selected a challenge focused on identifying exoplanets.
"Exoplanets are planets outside of our solar system," she says. "The current process is very manual. Once you get the data from those telescopes, scientists manually try to make sense out of the data."
The team's goal was to make that process faster and more efficient.
"Our main motivation was how to make this more automatic," she says. "To do this, we built a hybrid system where we decided to keep what the scientists were doing, and combine it with AI and Machine Learning."
"We pass the data through a transformer,” she continues. “This is where deep learning comes into play. It will give you a probability of yes or no, whether that planet exists or not. Our main idea was if this ended up getting big, we wanted to make this model public, so that the scientists of tomorrow can use this model."
"Everything that I learned in my classes was needed for this challenge," she says.
Three Awards in One Weekend
When the winners were announced, Arshdeep hoped her team might receive a single award.
Instead, they walked away with three.
"It was so unreal," she says. “The first award was best use of technology. We got the first prize, and it was a very overwhelming moment."
"Our name was announced again, for best mission concept," she says. "Then there was a third award, for best use of science, and our name came up again. We were just going back and forth, looking at each other like, is this happening? Is this real? And then after that, we also got nominated globally."
"It was an overwhelming experience, and I was grateful," she says. "I'm glad I decided to participate at the last moment. It was worth it."
From Centennial College Student to AI Career
The NASA Space Apps Challenge Toronto quickly became a career opportunity.
"My network expanded a lot after that challenge," Arshdeep says. "Even when I apply for jobs today, one of the first things they ask about is the challenge. It really opened a new door for me." Today, after graduating from Centennial College's Artificial Intelligence - Software Engineering Technology program, she works at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Arts & Science as an application developer.
"The main reason that they brought me in is for AI,” she says. "AI is booming in Canada right now. For public sectors, they need to think a lot before introducing anything new. My role is evaluating tools, evaluating the environment, and giving them suggestions on next steps."
Advice for Future Centennial College Students
Looking back, Arshdeep encourages students to take advantage of every opportunity available to them.
"I highly recommend that students go through the co-op path," she says. "I did three co-ops during my program. Those internships helped me expand my network and get that experience on my resume."
She also hopes students won't let self-doubt stop them from trying something new.
"Don't be intimidated," she says. "And even if you're intimidated, take on challenges anyway. In three years at college, I only participated in two hackathons, when I could have done more. Just take on the challenge. You end up learning a lot when you participate."
Networking is another lesson she believes every student should embrace.
"Go out, put yourself out there, go to networking events," she says. "Even when you get a job, make time for those. It helps you a lot in the long run."
Most importantly, she says students should enjoy the experience.
"Make sure you have fun through this journey," she says. "I met a lot of people, and I think what made my college life very memorable is having those friends around."
Arshdeep's journey from Centennial College student to award-winning NASA Space Apps Challenge participant and AI professional demonstrates how hands-on learning, co-op opportunities and industry experiences can prepare graduates for careers in one of Canada's fastest-growing technology sectors.
By: Anthony Geremia