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OCAD U CO
Customer Insights

Understanding your customer’s needs, motivations & behaviours is crucial to realizing lasting business success.

Our Customer Insights program equips businesses and teams with the skills to cultivate customer empathy, uncover valuable insights and generate concrete outcomes to improve their products and services. 

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The program is designed to give participants the knowledge and know-how to take a human-centred approach to user research in order to develop impactful and resonant value propositions that align with customer needs, motivations and behaviours. 

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Participants will learn the basics of AI-enabled user research techniques throughout the program. They will explore tools and practices that enhance efficiency and provide a deeper understanding of customers, focusing on when and how AI can be most effectively utilized.

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Participants engage in collaborative exercises and discussions, gaining insights from expert instructors and diverse peer perspectives, which enriches their understanding and creates a dynamic learning environment.​

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The program is funded by NRC-IRAP and primarily offered to their portfolio companies across Canada.

Program Components

  • Identify research objectives
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  • Interview 4 – 6 real users
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  • Create user personas
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  • Design user journey map
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  • Uncover insights into the pain points, needs, and desires of users
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  • Develop value propositions for how to better serve customers
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  • Effectively and responsibly apply AI tools throughout the design research process

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  • Design an implementation plan to test hypotheses coming out of the research

A group of people working on a white board with sticky notes.
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Program Structure

The Customer Insights Program is 10 weeks long. Each week involves: ​​
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  • 2.5 hour virtual, synchronous participatory sessions to learn new tools and methods
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  • 1:1 weekly check-ins with the program instructor
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  • Approximately 3 hours of independent work per week including conducting interviews, analyzing responses, and developing insights​

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  • Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be issued a Certificate of Completion.

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Applicants must send at least one person consistently each week, but they can extend the experience to up to three people from each company.

Who should apply?

Are you struggling to understand what your customers really want?​

Are you looking to build your individual and team capabilities in user research, value proposition design and product positioning?
 

Is your small team looking to design an AI-enabled user research process that delivers faster, deeper insights?

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Could your team identify 4 to 6 users to interview?

2025-26 Instruction Team

Learn from industry leaders who bring real-world customer research expertise.

Learn from our featured guest speakers throughout the course, as we welcome experts from organizations Google, GitHub and Workday, all offering their own experience with leading AI-enabled customer research.

INVESTMENT
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The Customer Insights program offers more than 20 hours of instructor time over the course of 10 weeks. The expectation is that companies invest up to 6.5 hours per week, split between ‘live’ virtual sessions and independent work.

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For IRAP clients, the cost of the program is covered by IRAP. Accepted applicants will only be required to cover a $750 admin fee. There is a 3-week payment window, and the payment in non-refundable.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must meet the following criteria to be considered for this service:

  • Minimum of one full-time employee receiving a T4,

  • Less than 500 employees,

  • The firm is operating in Canada and has a CRA Business Number,

  • The firm has demonstrated a desire to grow and generate profits,

  • The firm has a clear understanding on the value of user research

  • The firm meets IRAP program eligibility criteria.

Interested?

The Customer Insights Program has limited capacity. All interested companies must submit an application in order to be considered for participation.

Still have questions? Contact us.

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