January 30, 2015

High school students get taste of uni life at Discovery Days

More than 5000 senior high school students from across NSW and Victoria descend on UOW.

More than 5000 senior high school students from across New South Wales and parts of Victoria will descend on UOW over five days this week to get a taste of university life.

The annual UOW Discovery Days, from 2 to 6 February, give 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 151 high schools in the Illawarra, Southern Sydney, South Western Sydney, South Coast, Goulburn, Southern Highlands, ACT and many regional schools from as far away as Victoria over the five-day period.

All UOW faculties have been heavily involved in the planning of presentations for this event. Over the week, students register at the University Hall and are then dispersed across the campus for activities in various lecture theatres and seminar rooms.

Students will witness lectures on the big issues in public health, theatre performances, computer technology demonstrations and solve engineering problems in hands-on workshops.

Concurrently, UOW is hosting 210 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 it was important for students to get taste of university life to help ease the transition from high school.

“Going to university can be daunting for some but the Discovery Days show that life at university can also be exciting,” he said.

“Students will be thinking about what they want to study after high school and the lectures and workshops offer a chance for them to test the water in courses that might interest them.

“We also want to reach out to regional areas where university is not seen as a viable option and show them not only the career options but also how UOW can support them and enable them to get into higher education.”

Note to media
Media are invited for photo and interview opportunities from 10.30am, Monday 2 February to Friday 6 February.

Media contact
Grant Reynolds, UOW Media Communications Officer, +61 417 010 350 or grantr@uow.edu.au.