• Shad alum brings hands-on STEM workshops to Indigenous students

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  • A look into Shad’s real-world design challenge

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  • What’s possible in a month online at Shad

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  • Canada’s first ever spaceflight experiment with Blue Origin is selected.

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  • Shad alum solving complex problems with systems design and capital.

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Canada’s STEAM & Entrepreneurship Program

Shads working on a project

Every summer 1,000 trailblazing students spend 27-days at a Canadian university in seminars, labs and hands-on learning. Oh, did we mention Shad is life-altering?

Why Shad?
Robot within Shad logo hexagon

Real-World Design Project

Shad’s signature design project. Design a prototype that solves a social issue in 27-days. Beyond the obvious thrill of this project, some provinces offer a full credit for participating in Shad’s program.

About Shad

National Reach

Shad representation across a map of Canada

The Shad Network has over 19,000 Shad alumni across Canada. From rural and remote regions, suburbs and the downtown cores, it is not about where Shads come from but what their passion is fuelling

Life after Shad

Shad alumni across North America, and around the world, are leading businesses, making discoveries, innovating and using STEAM as a force for good. Meet some of the alumni in our Network who are making a difference.

Neil Pasricha

Neil Pasricha

Best-selling author, Book of Awesome series Founder, Institute for Global Happiness Shad 1998
Paul Lem

Paul Lem

Founder, Spartan Bioscience Shad 1994
Cathy Han

Cathy Han

Founder & CEO, 42 Technologies Shad 2006
Nana-Owusua Kwamena

Nana-Owusua Kwamena

Environmental Risk Assessment Specialist, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Shad 1996
Christina Stachulak

Christina Stachulak

Senior Policy Advisor, National Research Council Canada Shad 1996
Ali Asaria

Ali Asaria

CEO, Tulip Shad 1997
Dean Prevost

Dean Prevost

President, Rogers for Business Shad 1985
Sarah Gauthier

Sarah Gauthier

Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan College of Engineering Shad 1994
Darlene Lim

Darlene Lim

Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center Shad 1989
Jay Shah

Jay Shah

Director, Velocity Shad 2005
Emily Ma

Emily Ma

Lead in Food Systems, X, the moonshot factory Shad 1998
Andrew Sloss

Andrew Sloss

Founder and CEO, Owl Practice Shad 1989

Shad by the Numbers

85%

85%

of Shads graduate in
Science or Engineering
85%

85%

of Shads live
and work in Canada
55%

55%

Majority female – always
[for the past 40 years!]
85%

85%

of Shads invest in or
advise start-ups
20%

20%

of Shads launch at least one
start-up of their own
The Right Honourable David Johnston, 28th Governor General of Canada
"Shad is an ingenious program that more Canadians need to know about. I wouldn’t start a university today without experiential learning for every student. The reason is, it combines theory and practice."
The Right Honourable David Johnston, 28th Governor General of Canada