A group of young entrepreneurs are brainstorming a name for their new product, an environmentally friendly coffee cup made from cork. "What message are you trying to convey?" an adviser asks. "Cork clean," says one member of the group. There is a stir of interest. CorClean?

Shad Valley participant Alex Bayrak in a lecture at Queen's University. Part of the program's aim is to introduce high-school students to university life.

Shad Valley participant Alex Bayrak in a lecture at Queen's University. Part of the program's aim is to introduce high-school students to university life.

Or maybe eCork, another participant suggests. Not bad — but does it sound too much like e-commerce? Is the e prefix overused?

The scene might occur at any start-up company, but this circle of chairs is in the basement common room of a Queen's University residence in Kingston, Ont. The coffee cup entrepreneurs are high school students, and in the same room are five other groups working on their own innovative business proposals.

They're all participants in the Shad Valley program, a technology and entrepreneurship summer program for senior high school students that operates on 10 university campuses across the country for a month each summer. Just over 500 students participated this year.

Queen's has participated in Shad Valley since 2002. The other nine universities hosting Shad programs this year are Carleton, Dalhousie, Lakehead, Laval, McMaster, Memorial, University of British Columbia, University of New Brunswick and Waterloo. Founded in 1981 by Dr. Derek Lane-Smith at St. Andrew's College, a private high school in Aurora, Ont., the program moved to Waterloo — where its headquarters remain - two years later.

The participants — Shads, as they're called during the program — are smart, high-achieving senior high-school kids. They spend four weeks in a program that combines a focus on science, engineering and entrepreneurship with recreation. About a fifth go on to summer internships with companies such as Research in Motion, CP Rail and RBC.

Many students hope to leave the program with new friends — and a network of contacts that could help them later. Philippa Gosine, who is in Grade 11 in St. John's, Nfld., says that, because of the wide variety of experience and knowledge among the group, whatever she might be interested in later, "there'll always be someone you can call up about it."

Although there are Shad Valley programs from St. John's to Vancouver, Shads don't usually go to the closest one. Part of the program's value lies in seeing new places and meeting people from across the country, notes Kayla Shea, one of the directors of the Queen's program.

"The people that we're meeting are such a wide variety of people," says Verena Facundo, who is in Grade 11 in Whistler, B.C.

"You get to see a broader world," says Winnipeg Grade 11 student Liumei Liu.

The standards are high. These are the smartest students in their class or even their school. Part of what makes Shad Valley unusual for them is being surrounded by intellectual peers. At home, says Alex Bayrak, a Grade 11 student from Calgary, "it can be difficult to meet people who are really like you."

Ms. Gosine sees the program first as "a chance to meet people who have similar goals and interests."

And the students enjoy working with others as bright and motivated as they are. In group projects, says Jean-Louis Shi, a Grade 10 student from Montreal, "the people here are more active than in a normal class."

The month on campus — which includes living in residence and attending morning lectures — is a preview of university life. "At high school they really don't tell you so much about university," Mr. Bayrak says.

Participating costs Canadian students $2,500, which includes university residence accommodation and meals. The program actually costs about $6,000 per student to run (a handful of international students pay the full cost), with the balance coming from corporations and five provincial governments, says Barry Bisson, Shad Valley's president.

Shad Valley offers bursaries for students who need financial help to attend, as well as scholarships for the strongest applicants. Sometimes local service clubs provide students with financial support. Mr. Bisson says he encourages students to apply without worrying about the cost. "If you meet our standards, we're going to turn over every stone to make it happen."

The program can open students' eyes to new career options. Alison Gamble is a Dryden, Ont., Grade 11 student interested in both chemistry and genetics. At Shad Valley she discovered the field of genetic chemistry. "I had never heard of that before," she says, "so it's something that I might look more into."

For Mr. Bisson, that's what Shad Valley is all about. He says the program gives kids confidence to pursue their interests. Three quarters of Shad alumni earn a postgraduate degree, he says, and 30 per cent start at least one business.

"We believe," says Mr. Bisson, "that we change lives."

Special to The Globe and Mail