Source: Massey University
National Events and Sponsorships manager Kelly Douglas.
Massey University will launch its first completely virtual live Open Days event this Friday and Saturday, with two days of livestream events inviting potential students to explore the university from their own homes.
The event will feature hosted live sessions as well as pre-recorded content with academic staff on all Massey’s programmes. People will be able to engage with the hosts through a short Q&A or connect via a live chat function.
Being held online, virtual Open Days will also cater for distance learners, international students and offer information on learning and cultural support for Māori and Pacific students.
The annual Open Days events for prospective students on Massey’s three campuses in Palmerston North, Auckland and Wellington were impacted by the COVID-19 alert levels, so Massey’s National Events and Sponsorship team began planning a digital approach earlier this year.
“We started to explore the idea of using a digital platform for Open Days during the Level 4 lockdown, which forced us to change our ‘business as usual’ events approach and produce platforms that deliver the same objectives, regardless of the alert level Aotearoa may be in,” says National Events and Sponsorships manager Kelly Douglas.
“We decided to bring a ‘live event’ online, and being New Zealand’s leading university for online learning, it was an opportunity for us to showcase what online learning actually is.”
The event will be delivered over two days with the same information being delivered twice. A Friday and Saturday were chosen to accommodate a larger audience and provide more flexibility for busy schedules. The virtual event will feature livestream delivery of university-wide and college level content, alongside purpose built, pre-recorded school/course specific content on the platform.
“Our annual Open Days are significant events for people to visit and get a feel for our university, so we wanted to bring as high-quality an event as possible. We are really happy with the platform we’ve created and we’re excited to deliver this unique virtual event, which will give people a taste of what our programmes are like, and also what life at Massey is like,” says Miss Douglas.
By registering, attendees can register for a Digital Goodie Bag and collect codes from each session, which will include offers from Torpedo 7, Noel Leeming, Sal’s Pizza and more. They will also go in the draw to win a virtual Open Days Prize Pack including an iPad.
Massey University’s Open Days is streaming here from Friday 4 and Saturday 5 September from 9am – 5pm. https://opendays.massey.ac.nz/livestream
