How Shad is their valley?

Seven local high school students will spend four weeks at university campuses this summer.

The students have been chosen from more than 1,000 applicants to participate in the award-winning Shad Valley program in July.

Shad Valley takes place at 10 universities around the country, and participants gain first-hand experience of campus life.

Staying in residence, 500 of the nation’s brightest high school students converge in an atmosphere centred on fusing innovation, entrepreneurship, science and technology.

Through lectures, workshops and team-building activities run by university faculty and industry leaders, students are exposed to advanced topics that don’t regularly feature in the high school curriculum.

The local participants are:

• Eric Bhatti of Southpointe Academy;

• John Lee of Fraser Heights Secondary School;

• Pradeep Venkatesh of Semiahmoo Secondary School;

• Yehan Yun of Semiahmoo Secondary School;

• Kevin Wang of Elgin Park Secondary School;

• Fred Zhu of Fleetwood Park Secondary School; and

• Joye Kwon of Relevant High School

“Entrepreneurial thinking is crucial to increasing productivity in Canada and keeping the country competitive on the world stage,” said Barry Bisson, president of Shad Valley.

“Shad Valley is playing its part by planting the seeds of innovation and entrepreneurship early in high school students. As a means of helping to develop their entrepreneurial mindset, a key part of the program is a national entrepreneurship competition that simulates a start-up venture, requiring student teams to prepare business plans, complete patent searches and design prototypes.”

For more information, visit www.shad.ca

Surrey Now Leader