This year, in July 2024, Shad Manitoba inspired young minds, showed them the potential of pursuing an education at UM and presented them with opportunities all around Manitoba. Shad is a 1-month program for grade 10 and 11 students where they get hands-on experience, collaborate to design innovative solutions for crucial problems and explore post-secondary institutions. This year’s challenge theme was “helping youth in Canada integrate affordable and reliable green energy sources into their everyday lives to create more sustainable communities”.

The program was revived last year at UM after a long hiatus. This is the second year of offering the program with Danielle Pahud as the program director. Pahud is an instructor at the department of physics and astronomy. When asked about her experience at the end of the program, Pahud said, “It has been a lot of fun to teach, learn with and learn from the Shads over these last four weeks. Coming together from across Canada, it has been very rewarding to see the community grow. I am grateful for all the support that Shad Manitoba received so that we were able to highlight many things that this University and indeed the province have to offer. The trip to Churchill and kayaking with beluga whales were spectacular and won’t soon be forgotten. All in all, I’ve had a wonderful July.”