[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/MacShad1.jpeg” caption=”MacShad students”]”RainBowl,” a product developed by Shad Valley McMaster University students, won second best overall at the sixth annual RBC/Shad Entrepreneurship Cup Awards Ceremony.

Teams from each of Shad Valley's 10 university campuses were involved in the national competition, showcasing products developed to reflect this year's theme of child and youth safety.

The “RainBowl” is a heat-sensitive bowl that alerts adults and children when the food it contains it too hot for safe consumption. This plastic bowl contains thermochromic material that begins changing colour at 35 degrees Celsius. The durable material is dishwasher and microwave safe and is available in two colours.

The “RainBowl” (www.burn-me-not.com) earned the award for best video, third best prototype and business plan, and second best overall.

“Shads are some of the best and brightest students in Canada, and it's
amazing what they can accomplish in just five short weeks,” said Pat St. John, Shad International president.

“This year's theme of youth and child safety is particularly compelling and we're very proud to be involved,” said Louise Mitchell, RBC Financial Group's vice-president, Business Markets. “The inventions that the Shad teams have created show real innovation. RBC's support of Shad is one way we are encouraging tomorrow's young leaders to develop the entrepreneurial skills
they will need to ensure our country's future prosperity and health.”

Over the past 23 years, the award-winning Shad Valley program has proven to be a life-changing experience for senior high school students interested in pushing their creative and intellectual capacity to the limit. This four-week residential program encourages students to open their minds and explore new career opportunities.

Students are immersed in interesting lectures, labs and workshops that prepare them for the team-based entrepreneurship project. Each
campus selects one team to further develop its prototype and business plan and represent the campus at the RBC/Shad Entrepreneurship Cup.

During the month of August, the finalists work with mentors from RBC Financial Group and Shad Valley to finely tune their projects for the RBC/Shad Entrepreneurship Cup competition.

Shad International is a Canadian not-for-profit organization based in
Waterloo, Ontario. The Shad Valley program was launched in 1981, and currently boasts a network of 7,800 Shad Valley alumni, over 200 benefactors, and thousands of educators at schools nation-wide. There are 13 Rhodes Scholars among the Shad Valley alumni. For information on Shad Valley 2004, visit www.shad.ca.

Jonathan Liu and Tamara Chan, both 17, of Team McMaster, display heat sensitive bowls developed by their team as part of the RBC/SHAD Entrepreneurship 2003 Cup at a Toronto ceremony, Thursday, Oct. 16. The bowls feature thermochromic materials that react to heat and change colour. (Canada NewsWire Photo/Shad International)