St. Thomas University Joins Shad Canada’s STEAM Program, Will Host High School Students from Across Canada
St. Thomas University is the newest university partner of Shad Canada. Beginning next summer, grade 10 and 11 students from across Canada will enjoy the ShadOnCampus experience on STU's beautiful campus in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The goal of the Shad program is to gather some of the most motivated students in the country and provide them with an academically demanding, intellectually nurturing, and community-engaging education. Working in mentored teams, Shad participants boost their creative and analytical thinking by developing sustainable, modern, and efficient plans to solve the most complex problems facing society.
“We are very excited to bring Shad Canada to our campus. By every measure, STU is one of the top teaching and learning universities in the country, and Shad students will benefit from our expertise and beautiful, inspiring campus learning environment,” said St. Thomas University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. M. Nauman Farooqi.
“Our Shad STU program will be a unique experience where creativity, critical thinking, and student engagement will be at the forefront. We plan to bring STU’s strengths—a distinctive curriculum taught by award-winning faculty and leading experiences in experiential learning—to the Shad programming,” he added.
“We are thrilled to have St. Thomas University join the team so more students can discover new areas of study, access academics and business leaders, and reach new heights of personal development,” said Tim Jackson, CEO, Shad Canada.
Dr. Farooqi noted that STU has recently launched new programs in sustainability and social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management which complement the core skills sets emphasized by Shad Canada.
Shad Canada
Shad Canada is a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) and entrepreneurship program for students in grades 10 and 11. During the month-long program, students live on campus and participate in a real-world design challenge that prepares them to take on social and economic challenges.
Shad’s program is transformational and life-changing, and many Shad alumni go on to innovate and start their own businesses. Shad has 26 campus partners, a network of more than 23,000 program graduates and has been running STEAM programs since 1980.
Shad Canada applications for July 2025 are open to community-minded, creative, engaged, and curious students who want to make an impact in Canada and the world.
• Students can apply now and applications close December 1.
• Learn more at shad.ca
About Us
Established in 1910, we are a primarily undergraduate institution with a full-time enrolment of more than 1,600 students and offer bachelor’s degrees in Arts, Applied Arts, Education, and Social Work, and a Master of Social Work. Faculty members are distinguished teachers, researchers and scholars, and the university holds two Canada Research Chairs and a New Brunswick Health Research Foundation Chair. The university prioritizes teaching and learning so that each student is prepared for personal and career fulfillment.