Nine Surrey students have been chosen from more than 1,000 applicants across Canada for the award-winning Shad Valley program this July.
The program – which takes place at 10 universities across the country – sees 500 of the nation’s brightest secondary school students exposed to topics that aren’t regularly featured in the high school curriculum through lectures, workshops and team-building activities run by university faculty and industry leaders.
Surrey participants include Pradeep Venkatesh (Semiahmoo Secondary), Kevin Wang (Elgin Park Secondary), Fred Zhu (Fleetwood Park Secondary), John Lee (Fraser Heights Secondary), Joye Kwon (Relevant High School), Dan Bajj (R.E. Mountain Secondary), Eric Bhatti (Southpointe Academy) and Rio Hong (St. Michaels University School).
Shad Valley looks for students in Grade 10-12 with high academic achievement and a passion for science, engineering, math or technology, among other criteria.
The month-long program is meant to give the students a strong advantage when applying to university and in their future careers.
“Entrepreneurial thinking is crucial to increasing productivity in Canada and keeping the country competitive on the world stage,” Shad Valley president Barry Bisson said. “Shad Valley is playing its part by planting the seeds of innovations and entrepreneurship early in high school students.”