Few high school students embrace the opportunity to pursue knowledge during their time off in the summer. However, the Shad Valley program attracts an elite kind of student.
Through participation in this international program, exceptional students in Grades 10 to 12 will spend a month living in residence at a Canadian host university and will engage in a summer enrichment program that focuses on the sciences, engineering and entrepreneurship.
"The McMaster Shad Valley program has been helping top students in high school find an edge in the world of academia and research for about 10 years," said Doug Boreham, associate professor in the Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences and director of the McMaster Shad Valley program. "It's an adventure that these young high achievers would not be able to benefit from except in a University setting, and it provides exposure to different disciplines for a multi-faceted experience."
This year, the Shad Valley participants will complete a special component, only available at McMaster. The Faculty of Science and the McMaster Shad Valley Program will spend one week prototyping a new Honours Integrated Science (iSci) B.Sc. program that will start in September 2009.
This component of Shad Valley ran from July 10 to 15, during which time the high school students planned a mission to Mars and met Canadian astronaut Dave Williams.
"We hope that we will eventually see some of the Shad Valley students applying to the iSci program," said Carolyn Eyles, professor in the School of Geography & Earth Sciences and chair of the Development and Instructional Committees for iSci. "They are just the kind of extremely focused, high achieving, well rounded students we are looking for in the program."
Eyles continued, "The iSci program is designed to produce students that will be able to understand how scientific thought is created and communicated. Students will be taught by interdisciplinary teams of instructors in laboratory and field settings as well as in lectures, workshops and tutorials. Much of the program content will be taught as thematic modules such as 'Deflecting an Astroid,' or 'Averting a Pandemic.' This thematic approach will allow students to understand the connections between various scientific disciplines and the relevance of science to modern society."
The Shad Valley students were expected to complete the one-week iSci component in much the same way as future iSci undergraduate students, albeit simplified due to the condensed time frame. The students demonstrated their work during a poster competition on July 14 and met Dave Williams, astronaut, physician and director of the new McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics.
"Shad Valley is an excellent enrichment program and it gives us an opportunity to showcase and model the iSci program," said John Capone, dean, Faculty of Science. "The goal of the iSci program is to produce broadly-educated individuals who will have an exceptional level of scientific literacy and will be able to contribute to any modern field of science and beyond."
For more information about the iSci program, please contact Eyles at eylesc@mcmaster.ca or Boreham at boreham@mcmaster.ca.
Lynn Easson-Irvine
McMaster Daily News
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
PSN announces partnership with Shad Valley
July 8,2008 – PSN (Production Services Network) is proud to announce a new partnership with the Shad Valley program. This partnership will see PSN supporting work experiences in its Newfoundland and Labrador office, allowing students to experience the job opportunities available within the oil and gas industry.
As a leader in the oil and gas sector, PSN is committed to supporting the development of youth throughout the Province. Robert Hunt, Vice President of East Coast Operations for PSN, said "The young people of this province are the future leaders of our organizations. We are pleased to support programs such as Shad Valley that help provide educational experiences and insight to the potential opportunities offered by our industry."
Long involved in providing learning experiences and programs in Canada, Shad Valley links youth and teachers to programs and work experiences to help them develop leadership abilities, creativity, entrepreneurial passion and other skills that are essential for success in business community.
The student placed with PSN will be exposed to a variety of engineering disciplines and will have the opportunity to move around the office to participate and assist wherever possible gaining hands on experience. This will afford the student valuable experience and foresight into the oil and gas industry and an awareness of the career opportunities that exist for these young students as they plan for their future careers.
This new partnership between PSN and Shad Valley will see young students enter into the workforce to learn essential skills they will need to ensure their future success. "We are very pleased to have PSN as a partner. Without the support of organizations such as PSN we would not be able to provide these much needed opportunities to our young people. These internships provide great learning opportunities and allow youth a competitive advantage in planning their future," said Mary Dever, National Director of Development for Shad Valley.
Shad Valley is a four week summer enrichment program. Students spend a month living in residence at one of the host university campuses across Canada. The program is offered to students currently completing grade 10, 11 or 12, with a focus that includes the sciences, technology and entrepreneurship. The Shad Valley program provides an academically stimulating, mind expanding adventure for top well-rounded students.
PSN is a major global service contractor to oil, gas and other process industries and is one of the top ten largest private Scottish companies. It provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to Petro-Canada's East Coast Canada operations and to the Hibernia offshore oil and gas field off the coast of Newfoundland, and is considered the major brownfield service provider in the region.
Media Contact:
Kristie Cochrane for PSN
Office: 709-738-5116
Cell: 709-697-1107
kristie@m5pr.ca
As a leader in the oil and gas sector, PSN is committed to supporting the development of youth throughout the Province. Robert Hunt, Vice President of East Coast Operations for PSN, said "The young people of this province are the future leaders of our organizations. We are pleased to support programs such as Shad Valley that help provide educational experiences and insight to the potential opportunities offered by our industry."
Long involved in providing learning experiences and programs in Canada, Shad Valley links youth and teachers to programs and work experiences to help them develop leadership abilities, creativity, entrepreneurial passion and other skills that are essential for success in business community.
The student placed with PSN will be exposed to a variety of engineering disciplines and will have the opportunity to move around the office to participate and assist wherever possible gaining hands on experience. This will afford the student valuable experience and foresight into the oil and gas industry and an awareness of the career opportunities that exist for these young students as they plan for their future careers.
This new partnership between PSN and Shad Valley will see young students enter into the workforce to learn essential skills they will need to ensure their future success. "We are very pleased to have PSN as a partner. Without the support of organizations such as PSN we would not be able to provide these much needed opportunities to our young people. These internships provide great learning opportunities and allow youth a competitive advantage in planning their future," said Mary Dever, National Director of Development for Shad Valley.
Shad Valley is a four week summer enrichment program. Students spend a month living in residence at one of the host university campuses across Canada. The program is offered to students currently completing grade 10, 11 or 12, with a focus that includes the sciences, technology and entrepreneurship. The Shad Valley program provides an academically stimulating, mind expanding adventure for top well-rounded students.
PSN is a major global service contractor to oil, gas and other process industries and is one of the top ten largest private Scottish companies. It provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to Petro-Canada's East Coast Canada operations and to the Hibernia offshore oil and gas field off the coast of Newfoundland, and is considered the major brownfield service provider in the region.
Media Contact:
Kristie Cochrane for PSN
Office: 709-738-5116
Cell: 709-697-1107
kristie@m5pr.ca
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
