Lakehead U’s Shad Students Walk Away with Four Awards at National Ceremony

(Thunder Bay - November 6, 2006) The Shad Valley Team Lakehead 2006 picked up four medals at the RBC Shad Cup Competition last week. The team was awarded gold for Best Business Plan, silver for Best Overall Presentation and another silver for Best Prototype, and bronze for Best Marketing Plan.

The RBC/Shad Entrepreneurship Cup is a team-based entrepreneurship competition designed to showcase entrepreneurship, science, and technology in a format for young adults. Teams of Shad students (high school level) who have won Shad regional entrepreneurship competitions, are invited to fine-tune their prototypes and business plans with the help of mentors from both business and technological fields.

Students have five weeks following the completion of the Shad Valley program to upgrade their prototypes using their mentors, fellow Shads, Shad alumni, and any entrepreneurial contacts. Using their original ideas, students develop and submit working prototypes, complete business plans, prepare a marketing/promotional piece and design websites for their creations.

The Lakehead Shads created Prodigy! Inc. According to their website, "Prodigy! Inc. is dedicated to improving both the environment and the lives of hearing aid users worldwide. With the creation of our latest product, the Artis Life--Quae, hearing-impaired individuals will no longer be straining to hear everyday sounds such as the sound of rain beating against the window, birds chirping outside, or conversations with friends and family."

"We are very proud of our Shads," says Sultan Siddiqui, Lakehead's Shad Valley Program Director and Engineering Faculty member. "The students showed innovation, dedication, and a level of professionalism that proves they will go far in their careers and in life."

For more information, contact Dr. Siddiqui on his cell phone at 252-2162.