Thinking about 2017 and beyond
It is not easy deciding what you will do with the ‘rest of your life’ once you leave school. The width and variety of options now open to young people make can make that decision overwhelming - university, polytechnic, a gap year, volunteer work overseas, apprenticeships, and the workforce. Tertiary institutions around the country hold open days to allow students an insight into what they can offer and what to expect.
The University of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic opened their doors to students from Dunedin, Otago and further afield on Monday 9 May. As always, the presentations on first year health sciences, law, commerce and computer science were popular. We had students explore psychology, criminology, film, media, classics, carpentry, and automotive engineering.
The open day allows students to familiarise themselves with the halls, with campus, and with what to expect from university and polytechnic life. Feedback from our Year 12s and 13s who attended indicated that they found it valuable to hear more about what courses offer, how they are structured, and what a lecture is like. Individual students indicated that it made them more interested and excited about tertiary study and others found that they now had more information about options they had not previously considered.
We will build on this day with visits from old boys who have chosen different pathways, visits from tertiary providers and information sessions.