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  3. Trent’s Shad Valley Students Win National Competition

Trent’s Shad Valley Students Win National Competition

November 1, 2007
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Marks First Tie in Competition's 10 Year History

A zero-waste technology project designed by a group of high school students who participated in the Shad Valley program at Trent over the summer tied for top honours at the 10th annual RBC/Shad Entrepreneurship Cup awards, Canada's only national project-based entrepreneurship competition for high school students. This is the first time in the competition’s ten year history that two teams have tied for Best Overall project and were both awarded the gold medal.

 

The project, one of six zero-waste inventions created by the 45 students at Trent in July, is entitled the Solesco Lighting System and is a product that decreases energy waste by balancing artificial with natural light. A surveillance camera is used to measure the amount of sunlight present in an area. This information is sent to a light controller that wirelessly adjusts the artificial light level, by turning off a certain number of lights or by dimming all of the lights. Existing technology combines with new technology to produce a reliable system that reduces material waste. This innovation will appeal to the environmentally friendly customer and recognizes the economic implications of reducing energy and retrofit costs, as well as extending bulb life.

 

The team from Trent shared the top spot with a group of Shads who participated in the program at Memorial University in Newfoundland and created a self-powered, wireless keyboard.
 
In addition to winning best-overall project, the team from Trent also placed second in the Best Marketing category and third in the Best Business Plan category. 

Each summer, the Shad Valley program encourages entrepreneurship and innovation among outstanding senior high school students. All teams from Shad Valley's summer program were involved in this year's national competition, showcasing innovation around the theme Zero-Waste Technology. In addition to being financially viable enterprises, the innovations must meet the highest standards of social responsibility and environmental sustainability. 

 

Trent University is one of twelve universities across Canada to offer the Shad Valley program, which combines entrepreneurship with science and technology, and gives students an opportunity to attend lectures and workshops and get involved with group projects. Some participants are also offered a five-week, paid work experience with a Shad partner company upon completion of the program. This year, 620 students were selected to participate in this award-winning summer program, hosted simultaneously at campuses across Canada from July 1 to 27.

 

For more information about the Shad Valley program, please visit the Shad Valley program website.

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