This year’s University of Canberra (UC) Open Day is going virtual, so future students can get to know the campus – and staff – from the comfort of their very own home.
Prospective students are invited to register for this Saturday’s event (22 August), which will include virtual tours of key facilities and buildings and sessions with academics and current students.
UC Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President Academic, Professor Geoff Crisp, is expecting thousands of people to participate in the event, taking place from 9am to 4pm.
“This is the first time we have done this, and we have had up to 4,000 people on campus before so I would be expecting a number in the thousands,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how it all goes.”
For those who can’t make the live virtual event this Saturday, content will remain online to access later and there will be additional sessions run the following week.
Those who register will be provided with an individual log-in to access the relevant content, with some resources also tailored to parents.
Professor Crisp said despite the inability to take on international students, the university had seen an increase in applications this year.
“It’s not too surprising in the sense that when there is a major disruption, whether that is economic or social, and because there is uncertainty around employment, we often see an increase in interest in education,” he said.
Current and future UC students can still expect a combination of both on-campus and remote learning during their studies for the near future.
“At the moment it is a mixture of remote and some on-campus learning. We are really keen to get our students back on campus where we can do so safely,” Professor Crisp said.
“For the first semester next year we are planning on something similar with the combination of remote and on-campus learning, but it’s very uncertain and we will have to wait and see what happens in the ACT and the rest of the country.”
Last week, Good Universities Guide saw UC retaining its top spot for the fourth year in a row for the highest percentage of full-time employment and starting salary for graduates.
It was also placed in the top 20% of Australian universities.
Those interested can register for the UC Open Day here.
