University of Guelph Partners with Shad Canada to Create University Simulation for High Schoolers

A select group of high school students will get their first taste of a university experience early, thanks to a new summer program at the University of Guelph. 

A select group of high school students will get their first taste of a university experience early, thanks to a new summer program at the University of Guelph. 

U of G is partnering with  Shad Canada, a non-profit focused on youth education, to organize an annual STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) summer program, which also covers business and entrepreneurship topics, that begins next summer. 

More than 60 high school students are expected to come to U of G in July 2025 for the first iteration of the four-week experiential learning program. The students will live in residence and eat in  U of G’s award-winning dining halls as they take part in learning on campus.  

The competitive Shad program selects 1,500 students out of thousands of applicants across the country. These Grade 10 and 11 students select from campuses across the country, attend lectures, join community field trips, participate in workshops and collaborate in team-based projects. All of it culminates in a capstone design project that lets students showcase the skills they learned over the month.  

Summer program will offer distinct U of G experience to high school students

Purvi Patel, program director of the U of G and Shad program, brought the partnership to the University. She recognized that high school students need more opportunities to experience campus life before choosing where they want to study. 

“Opportunities like this are a unique trial of living away from home, getting to know new people, being challenged academically and being exposed to subjects you would have never considered before,” Patel says.  The program is a “university simulation” and a “distinctly U of G experience,” as Patel describes it.

Organizers will create a tailored U of G academic curriculum for students to experience U of G’s diverse disciplines, including animal, food and environmental sciences, and interdisciplinary arts programs. Field trips might include visits to various U of G research stations and farms.  

Patel adds that students will get the uniquely U of G experience of working with the  Ontario Veterinary College and instructors in the  Bachelor of One Health program. 

Dr. Leonid Brown is a professor in the Department of Physics and acting associate dean (academic) of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, which will host students from Shad. “I’m excited to welcome the next generation of scholars to the U of G community over the summer,” Brown says. “These students will experience first-hand how committed our faculty and staff are to getting them ready for the future and will understand why U of G is a destination of choice for many students interested in STEAM.”

Explore local community in Guelph

Outside of academic opportunities, on- and off-campus activities will be organized and will provide the students, who may not be from Guelph, a chance to explore the local community. 

Upon completion of the summer program, participants join an alumni network of 23,000 Shad graduates, which includes Rhodes scholars and successful entrepreneurs.  

After shadowing Shad programming on other campuses, Patel says, “A program like this makes the transition to university a lot easier, and it’s been rewarding seeing so many new friendships form. I’ve seen students who were set on one path but then realized coding and programming, for example — something that they never had a chance to do at their high school — were their true interest.” 

Applications for the 2025 year open Sept. 15 and close Dec. 1.  Shad encourages interested students to sign up to be notified.