February 3, 2016
NSW/ACT/Victorian Year 12 students sample university life at UOW
Year 12 students from across NSW, the ACT and as far afield as Rutherglen in Victoria are sampling what university life is like at UOW’s Discovery Days running this year from 2-8 February.
The annual Discovery Days give the Year 12 students an insight into university including how to enrol, choosing subjects for their courses as well as experiencing lectures and interactive workshops in their areas of interest.
This year the University is hosting students from 166 high schools in the Illawarra, Southern Sydney, South Western Sydney, South Coast, Goulburn, Southern Highlands, ACT, many NSW regional schools and students from Rutherglen in Victoria.
All of UOW’s faculties have been heavily involved in the planning of presentations. Over the five-day event period, students register at the University Hall, listen to an introductory talk before dispersing to their particular areas of interest.
Students will witness lectures on the big issues in public health, the new pre-medicine courses, theatre performances, computer technology demonstrations and solve engineering problems. Budding engineers will even get the chance to build their own miniature helicopters.
Concurrently, UOW is hosting 220 Careers Advisors from schools across the state, to keep them up to date with what the University can offer their students.
Schools Liaison Coordinator Patrick O’Connor said Discovery Days were critical to help students ease their transition from high school.
“It can be a daunting time for some senior high school students so our aim is to show that life at university can be exciting,” he said.
“Students will be thinking about what they want to study after they leave school so our lectures and workshops offer a chance for them to see what courses might interest them.”
Mr O’Connor said it was particularly important to reach out to regional areas where university is not seen as a viable option and show students the potential career options available to them and how UOW can help support them make the move including meeting their accommodation needs.