However, he struggled to find and motivate students to help build the app. Then, he talked with Marie-Eve Sylvestre, uOttawa president and vice-chancellor, at an open house and learned he could take a self-directed course to further develop Next Room.
For Aidan, it was a revelation. He was able to take a for-credit course and get free access to students’ talents in software development, operations, event planning, community outreach and content creation. The course ran during the winter 2026 term. It brought together a group including Rime Nasser Eddine, second-year software engineering student; Melvyn Avoa, third-year computer engineering student; Sophia Dang, second-year psychology student; and Elliot Renaud, Louis Marcellu and Auguste Nathanaël Hazen, third-year Telfer students.
“The self-directed course really helped accelerate the app development to work on key components, especially related to the verification technology that we’re building,” says Aidan. “I think it’s really good that the University of Ottawa offers self-directed courses. Students have a lot of great ideas about how to tackle the real-life challenges they’re facing, but if they’re taking five courses, they don’t have much time to bring those ideas to life. But when you can enact an idea as one of your courses, it’s a little bit different.”
How to make renting less stressful
Aidan created Next Room after seeing a real need to make renting less stressful for students. It offers information on things like how to sublet, how to spot potential scams, what the risks are if you’re not included in a lease agreement and where to find official housing and legal advice. Aidan lived on campus in residence at 90U during his first year. But like many other students, he decided it was time to explore living arrangements off campus afterwards.
“I didn’t know a lot of people when I came here from Muskoka,” he says. “I was navigating Facebook Marketplace and Rentals.ca and the off-campus housing billboard. There were a lot of options, and it was overwhelming. I didn’t initially even know what a sublet was. It was a very confusing process.… I didn’t know what to do.”
For Aidan, the platform is all about connectivity. Built for students by students, it provides a trusted resource to rent properties as a group, find roommates, see prices and locations, book viewings and explore virtual tours. Aidan hopes to launch Next Room before September 2026. He says 1,200 students have signed up to use the app when it goes live.
“The biggest skill I learned was teamwork. Working with a team is rewarding, but it also introduces challenges that you must overcome. With that comes leadership and project management.”
Aidan Fitzmaurice
— Second-year political science student and Next Room founder
Social impact: Sprint Against Student Homelessness
As an addition to the self-directed course, students involved with the Next Room project organized the Sprint Against Student Homelessness on April 1 to raise awareness about the issue. More than 50 students participated in a series of Amazing Race–style challenges, competing to build shelters, debunk housing myths, simulate a real-life move-in and create budgets. The sprint was organized in partnership with the Koi Foundation student club, the Career Corner and the Faculty of Social Sciences. It raised over $500 for the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, along with donations of essential items.
One challenge was to source research about student homelessness in Ottawa. Aidan says there’s not much information available, but a York University survey found around 5% of students were couch-surfing or at risk of homelessness at their university.
Another issue is students with informal living agreements who aren’t named in a lease contract. “Their friend has said, ‘Come live with me,’ but if there’s an argument and they’re kicked out, they won’t have any recourse from the Landlord and Tenant Board because there’s no formal documentation in place to protect that student,” says Aidan. He adds that Next Room aims to prevent informal living arrangements and to research the rate of student homelessness.
Support from the University community
Aidan says support from the University community has been incredible. For the sprint, more than 20 students helped as volunteers. The Faculty of Social Sciences donated $1,000 and found space on campus for some of the sprint challenges. The Career Corner provided two volunteers, and the Community Engagement team made sure volunteers’ time appeared in their co-curricular records.
Next Room is strong evidence of how self-directed experiential learning can empower students to turn ideas into meaningful real-world outcomes. It’s also a shining example of how the uOttawa community welcomes and fully supports innovative ideas.
What you can learn by taking a self-directed course
Other students in the self-directed course earned recognition for their efforts through course codes related to their fields.
Elliot translated documents into French, created content, helped plan the sprint and found sponsors.
“I was able to gain experience and knowledge that will pave the way for my future career,” he says. “I refined my organizational skills to a much higher level and developed negotiating skills by getting shopkeepers to sponsor prizes worth around $700 for winners of the sprint. The experience was a great stepping stone towards my professional career.”
“Before joining this team, I had no experience with creating a custom AI model. I created a tool that allows landlords to scan a property and pick up different features within that unit.”
Rime Nasser Eddine
— Second-year software engineering student
Rime adds: “(The custom AI model) will also enable GPS access at the time of the scan to verify that the person is at the listing’s address. On top of that, it will provide students with a 3D tour of the unit, so it’s more interactive, and they’re able to see what their unit looks like. The benefit is when they move into the unit, they’ll be encouraged to scan, which will allow our system to overlay the scans to figure out how accurate that landlord was in their listing’s advertising.”
She says the self-directed course fostered independent learning, curiosity, initiative and problem-solving, all skills that will benefit her future career.
“I assisted with content creation, such as filming Next Room Instagram reels and planning events. The role has taught me a lot about marketing and networking. These skills will help me navigate the professional world and expand my contacts.”
Sophia Dang
— Second-year psychology student and Next Room marketing rep
If you want to discover new strengths, gain confidence and explore topics that fascinate you, attend a self-directed course information session this May or June.
To learn more about off-campus housing, check out the University of Ottawa off-campus housing information and resources website. Discover top tips for off-campus housing, links to resources and details about different neighbourhoods.