Shad Valley Open Day July 24, 2008

What happens when a diverse group of high school students from across Canada come together in the spirit of science, technology, and entrepreneurship? What will the Shads of 2008 dream up?

Visit Open Day on Thursday, July 24 at one of our twelve host campuses to find out that and more… Open Day includes opportunities to witness and appreciate the abilities of exceptional high school students from across Canada. Participants will present the fruits of their Shad Valley labour and answer questions about their innovations.

A variety show will follow. These events are free and open to the public. Don’t miss this opportunity to get a glimpse at the leaders of tomorrow.

Become part of the Shad experience: it’s fun, it’s entertaining, and it’s truly amazing to see what these students have accomplished in four short weeks.

Visit this link to see the Open Day schedules for each Shad Valley campus: http://www.shad.ca/shad/myweb.php?hls=10171

Shad Valley International announces new Chairperson, welcomes former Group President, Health Care of MDS Inc., John Morrison

WATERLOO, ON –– Shad Valley, an enrichment program targeted at youth grades 10, 11, and 12 with a focus on science, technology, engineering and entrepreneurship, announced today that John Morrison has been named as Chair of the Board of Directors. Mr. Morrison replaces outgoing Chair, Edmée Métivier, who served for a successful term.

“I have been involved with Shad Valley as a parent, as a regular board member over the past five years, and more recently, as the Chair this past year. It has been a great honour to serve with my fellow board members and I am proud of the work we have done together,” says Edmée Métivier Executive Vice President, Financing & Consulting, Business Development Bank of Canada. “I am thrilled to see my esteemed fellow Board member, Mr. Morrison as the new Chair, as he brings extensive business acumen and expertise to this very special organization. I wish him great success.”

“We have been so fortunate to have outstanding professionals on the Shad Board during my time as President. The governance and guidance of leaders like Edmée and John, and others before them, has moved Shad towards higher levels of success,” explains Barry Bisson, President of Shad Valley International. “We continue to advance in positive ways as an organization, and we look forward to demonstrating our effectiveness in inspiring 600+ high potential students to achieve their goals and reach their highest academic and career objectives.”

John Morrison has been a member of the Shad Valley Board for two years. He is a business consultant whose past experience has included the positions of Group President and CEO of Healthcare at MDS Inc., a health and life sciences company, and President and CEO of MDS Nordion, a supplier of isotopes to the global nuclear medicine and sterilization communities. John was also President and CEO of Continental Can Canada, a diversified packaging company.

“I feel privileged to be part of an organization that can contribute to Canada’s future knowledge economy, says John Morrison. “I look forward to leading this exceptional team of professionals, and continue the outstanding work that has been done over the past 27 years stimulating exceptional students.” John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick. In addition to serving on the board of Shad Valley International, he is a board member and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and a member of the International Expert Panel of the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation. He is a past Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Guelph.

About Shad Valley:
Shad Valley identifies outstanding talent at a young age; helps them develop an entrepreneurial mindset; encourages them to consider fields of study that will increase Canada’s innovation capacity; and motivates them to take advantage of their advantage. Shad is a Canadian not-for-profit registered charity based in Waterloo, Ontario. The award-winning Shad Valley program was launched in 1981, and is hosted at 12 leading Canadian universities each summer. 600+ high-potential students benefit from the Shad Valley experience each summer and Shad currently boasts a network of over 10,000 Shad Valley alumni, including 18 Rhodes Scholars, and numerous award winning business and academic leaders.

Province recognizes importance of innovation, provides funding for Shad Valley youth enrichment program

EDMONTON AB and WATERLOO ON– Funding to support the development of Alberta’s high school students who have been identified as top performers, innovative thinkers, and future leaders continues to be invested by the Government of Alberta.

2008 marks the second instalment of a three-year funding commitment to Shad Valley International. The Waterloo, Ontario based organization offers summer enrichment programs to students in grade 10, 11 and 12. The four week program helps students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, encourages them to consider fields of study that will increase Canada’s innovation capacity, and motivates them to take advantage of their advantage and make an impact.

“Increasing Alberta’s innovation is a priority for future business and economic prosperity. The province is in need of strategies to advance its environmental, social, and economic growth,” explains Doug Horner, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology Minister. “These strategies will be initiated and implemented by our future leaders who are developed in programs like Shad Valley.”

This year, close to 60 students from Alberta will benefit from the Shad Valley program during the month of July. Currently, Alberta has the third highest provincial enrollment rates in the program.

The province and Alberta businesses also engage strongly in Shad’s internship program, which complements the academic Shad Valley session with real-world business experience. 20% of all Shad Valley internships nationally were offered in Alberta to Alberta participants in 2007. This number reflects both the vibrant economy in the province as well as the desire by Alberta companies to introduce bright, innovative talent to their companies at an early stage. In 2007, five placements were offered by the Alberta Government in the departments of Education, Environment, Sustainable Resource Development, Agriculture and Food, and Advanced Education

“Canada faces the growing problem of a shrinking labour force and retiring baby-boomers. The youth of today will affect our national and global economy tomorrow. Alberta has recognized the need for student programs where youth can be exposed to the business arena,” says Horner.

“Our three-year plan with Alberta solidifies their commitment to providing leadership and innovation opportunities for students,” said Barry Bisson, President of Shad Valley International. “As well, it raises other provinces’ awareness and encourages them to provide their youth with the same competitive advantage that Albertan students have: the chance to be part of a life-directing, life-changing experience and to take their places as the leaders of tomorrow.”

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Shad Valley International is a not-for-profit registered charity. The award-winning Shad Valley program was launched in 1981, and is hosted at 12 leading Canadian universities each summer, including the University of Calgary since 1984. Over 600 high-potential students benefit from the Shad Valley experience each summer and Shad currently boasts a network of over 10,000 Shad Valley alumni, including 18 Rhodes Scholars, and countless award winning business and academic leaders.

Shad Valley: The Olympics of entrepreneurship – where dedication, passion and drive produce champions of innovation

Shad Valley’s alumni entrepreneurs are the athletes of business, stretching to attain business goals of Olympic proportion

While the 2008 Olympic summer games will have the world’s eye focused on athletic talent, there is no particular time of the year when people are scheduled to tune in to business. Daily, leaders of innovation are showcasing their strengths, ideas and talents that are shaping the economy year-round. However, during the month of July, for the past 28 years, students from across Canada have been taking part in their own Olympic event, dedicated to focusing on academic talent.

Shad Valley is a program that offers youth in Grades 10, 11, and 12, with strengths in science, math, and technology, the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Students emerge with a better concept of the business world at a young age and can begin exercising their entrepreneurial muscle. From the get-go, these young entrepreneurial athletes are equipped with the skills to enter the real-world of business, to think and plan like leaders, and develop innovative ideas that will fuel the economy in the coming years.

“At Shad, students are given the opportunity to think and come up with ideas on a larger scale than they would initially conceive. Shad Valley is the training ground for tomorrow’s global business leaders,” explains Barry Bisson, President of Shad International. “We have alumni working on the multi-national front, whose ideas are influencing global changes. They got there because they each carry a torch for innovation.”

With many established alumni since the program began in 1981, and 620 new students welcomed every summer, Shad Valley has conceivably a very large roster of intelligent, motivated leaders. Those who have made it to the proverbial Olympic level are among these alumni. They have embraced their talents, pursued a marketable idea, and expanded that idea into their own business.

So where is the Olympic level for Shad Valley’s entrepreneurs? “It is always growing and changing,” explains Kunal Gupta, a 2005 Shad Valley alumnus. Kunal’s organization, Impact, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a non-profit organization which promotes entrepreneurship to youth across the country. “To compete on a global scale, you have to think globally or else your venture will never break into other markets. Shad Valley taught me to embrace my talents and transfer them to a larger degree of entrepreneurial thinking.”

Another alumna making big waves is Jennifer Corriero, Shad ’98, co-founder of Taking IT Global, bringing technology and communication to nations around the world. She describes her hard work in business as being, “The marathon of a lifetime.” She explains that to compete with others on a larger scale, you have to envision something outside of your realm and break boundaries frequently. “Shad Valley prepared me to become a leader and opened my eyes to the winning formula of entrepreneurship. Sacrifice, success, hard work, team work, and of course innovation – these are the elements of a gold winning team.”

Michael Brown, a fellow alumnus, would agree. He has held a position at Research in Motion in Waterloo, Ontario since his Shad work placement there in 1995. Working in software development, Michael’s work has led to many patents under his name and a spot in a globally recognized company. “Shad provided the launch pad for my career and readied me for the high stake world of business at RIM. There is so much investment put into innovation – all great ideas were once in someone’s mind – and Shad recognizes the key to unlocking them and generating success.”

Some people are born with the ability to compete in either physical or mental situations. Similar to the role that the Olympics play in recognizing the most talented athletes around the world, Shad Valley has done the same for youth in education.

Shad Alumna receives prestigious thesis award

Amanda Jernigan, a 1996 Shad Valley alumna, has received the prestigious Master’s Thesis Award from the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools. Amanda was honoured in April of this year at the awards luncheon ceremony in New York City for her thesis in the category of Arts and Humanities. As a recipient, she also received a monetary award of $1,000, from UMI Dissertation Publishing.

The Master's Thesis award rotates, on a four-year schedule, amongst the following subject areas: Arts and Humanities; Agricultural, Biological and Health Sciences; Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering; Social Sciences and Education. The prestigious award is open to students at all leading Eastern Canadian universities (Ontario to Newfoundland) and all Northeastern U.S. universities, including the Ivy League schools. The Arts and Humanities award will be granted again in 2012.

Amanda earned her Bachelors degree in English from Mount Allison University, followed by her Master of Arts from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Her winning dissertation focuses on the work of Canadian poet Richard Outram, specifically on the significance of whole-part structures, in theme and form, in Mr. Outram's oeuvre.

Congratulations to Amanda for this outstanding honour!

Three Shad Valley alumnae amongst Chatelaine’s ‘Women to Watch’

Waterloo, ON – Shad Valley International is excited to inform the Shad community with the news that three alumnae have been recognized in Chatelaine magazine’s May 2008 article entitled ‘80 women to watch’, which is now available in print only.

Jennifer Corriero, Skawenniio Barnes, and Sharon Wei, have been named amongst the 80 women featured in the national publication’s 80th anniversary special. Both Jennifer and Skawenniio were recognized under the category of Politics & Community, while Sharon was noted under Arts & Culture.

Sharon Wei, a 1994 Waterloo Shad, is a musical prodigy who met three other equally talented artists and formed the chamber-music ensemble Made in Canada. Sharon, who attended the University of Western Ontario and the Curtis Institute of Music, also received a diploma from Yale and now tours North America and Europe with an orchestra, often performing as a soloist.

Jennifer’s organization, TakingITGlobal, is considered one of the world’s premiere online communities for youth with 1.8 million hits a day. Jennifer, a 1998 Calgary alumna, co-founded the non-profit organization, and has been called a global leader and a shaper of the future.

Chatelaine highlighted Skawenniio’s efforts and initiative in organizing the creation of a community library at age 13, drawing global attention and a donation of 30,000 books. She attended the Shad Valley program in 2005 at the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at Yale University.

We would like to congratulate our alumnae for this national recognition! There is certainly a feeling that these women will continue to pursue excellence.

Below are the excerpts from Chatelaine Magazine, May 2008:

Made in Canada, 28 TO 30
Angela Park, Judy Kang, Sharon Wei, and Rachel Mercer are Made in Canada, a chamber-music ensemble that’s leading the next generation of classical musicians, picking up CBC’s Galaxie Rising Stars Award (selected by the nation’s music critics) in 2006. The members, who met at Banff Summer Arts Festival and have since scattered across North America, make it a point to reunite annually in Canada to play together

Jennifer Corriero, 27
She’s been called a digital dignitary, a global leader, a shaper of the future and the Wired Woman Young Woman of the Year. When she was just 19, Jennifer Corriero co-founded TakingITGlobal, a non-profit group based in Toronto dedicated to using the internet to strengthen young people’s abilities to be socially aware, globally responsible citizens. Considered one of the world’s premiere online communities for youth, it has 188,000 members in 261 countries and receives 1.8 million hits a day.

Skawenniio Barnes, 20
Hailing from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory near Montreal, Skawenniio (whose first name means “one beautiful word”) started her life in activism at age 13 by writing an award-winning essay for CosmoGirl! about her community’s need for a library. Her prize included a trip to New York, a scholarship of US$10,000 and global attention. Before long, 30,000 donated books from all over the world began landing at her door. Barnes worked at the library until last fall, when she began her first year of studies at Yale University.

Providing a top education key to growth, summit told

04/09/2008

Providing students with a world-class education is the key to economic growth in the province, two panelists told the Fullsail venture capital conference Monday in Saint John.

"We don't have oil in the ground. Our oil is brain," said Barry Bisson, president of Shad International, a company providing a program called Shad Valley that is designed to encourage entrepreneurship learning amongst students.

Also an adjunct professor in engineering at the University of Waterloo, Bisson returned to New Brunswick for the summit to share his expertise in teaching entrepreneurship to young people. He agreed to act as panelist because, he said, "New Brunswick is very close to my heart."

So is education in New Brunswick: Bisson spent eight years obtaining a bachelor and a masters degree in engineering and 21 years teaching with the faculty of education in New Brunswick before he moved on to his current Ontario posting.

During Monday's early morning panel, moderator Ian Hanomansing from the CBC posed a question to Bisson: "Can you teach entrepreneurship?" Without a doubt, you can, was Bisson's response. In fact, you have to. Education is the only way to change.

When Bisson was teaching in New Brunswick, he said he too often saw students who didn't know how to think big.

"I saw a lot of business plans for a lot of restaurants in Moncton. We have to get these students thinking 'the world is my market', as opposed to 'Fredericton is my market.' I call it grantrepreneurship, the idea students have had that they have got to get a government loan or a government grant."

Shad Valley takes students beyond that line of thinking and moves them toward thinking about how to build a business plan or a concept that will attract investors.
Bisson said that New Brunswick is fourth nationally in terms of student participation rates, which is a good sign.

"My goal is to see between 40 and 50 each year and get them connected to New Brunswick businesses to show them you can have a great career in the province. That can stem the brain drain. If one or two every year stay here and begin a business, the impact can be huge."

Key, however, is for students to receive a first-rate education in mathematics and engineering, so they have the skills needed to build the gadget that everyone in the world wants to buy.

"I'm so, so optimistic about this province right now," said Bisson. That's something the technology manager with the University of Waterloo's Intellecutal Property Management Group, Scott Inwood, has seen first-hand. Inwood, who also acted as panelist at the summit, explained that Waterloo has a reputation for the amazingly profitable business spinoffs that have been created from its strong academic core.

There are three things the University of Waterloo has done to encourage an entrepreneurial way of thinking, Inwood said. Firstly, he said that the university focused on science and math education - because those are the streams that generate products, systems or concepts that lead to businesses. Secondly, the university moved ahead with a co-operative education program, which matches students with real-life businesses in their chosen field in order to move their creativities toward solution-based entrepreneurial ideas. Thirdly, the university allowed inventors to own the intellectual property developed at the school.

The school has been working on this since 1957, Inwood said. "It takes time, but it grows. As students see success it becomes contagious."

Michelle Porter
Telegraph-Journal
Published Tuesday April 8th, 2008
Appeared on page B3