UCAS Exhibitions and Open Days

So last week we hosted the UCAS higher education exhibition at our Bedford campus. For anyone that hasn’t heard of this event before, it’s our biggest recruitment event in the year. Located at our Bedford campus, we host many other universities and higher education institutions on campus, and are visited by approximately 10,000 students from schools and colleges within the region.

This year I was one of the staff working on the University of Bedfordshire stand. Over the course of two days I spoke to many students about the various courses that we offer, provided information about our accommodation and transport links, and was asked by a couple of students what was the best thing about Bedfordshire (to which I replied “Go Global – I wish my university offered something like that when I was a student!).

There were a couple of questions however that have really stuck with me.

What exactly am I meant to be doing here?

Excellent question! Stupidly I assume every year (well, this is the third year I’ve worked at the UCAS exhibition), that students will come into the exhibition with a plan of action, but not all students know exactly what they want to do at this point – I certainly didn’t. So for those students who don’t know what, or where, they want to study, or even if they want to go to university, it’s a chance to attend subject talks, which will give you an insight into what you may learn from a degree in that area, and where it could lead you. It also gives you a chance to speak to universities and find out a little more about them. Even if you’re not sure what you want to study at this point you may be able to find out what universities offer placement years, internships, scholarships, and opportunities to work abroad, to name just a few, which may influence your final decision.

I don’t need to attend an Open Day now do I?

At the exhibition I invited many students to come along to our next Open Day and a couple asked why they needed to, if they’d spoken to us at the fair – another excellent question! Although the UCAS exhibition is a great way to gather information, you will probably end up speaking to many universities and institutions, and you may feel like you have been overloaded with information. I would recommend using the UCAS exhibitions as a starting point – speak to as many universities as possible and, from this, choose your favourite universities and book to attend an Open Day at those institutions.

At an Open Day you’ll be able to take a tour of the campus, which will help you to really get a feel for the university. You’ll also be able to meet current students and hear about their experiences, and find out exactly what that university offers in terms of extra-curricular activities, career support, internship opportunities and facilities etc.

At the exhibitions the stands are typically run by someone from the Recruitment team. At an Open Day you’ll have the opportunity to speak to academics from your chosen department – the people that you’ll be dealing with on a day-to-day basis if you chose to study at that institution – and they’ll be able to talk in detail about your subject and how it is taught at that institution.

And finally, I can't talk about Open Days and UCAS exhibitions without talking about the freebies! Most institutions will at least have some free pens which you can stock up on. And if you do attend our UCAS exhibition next year make sure you grab your friends and visit our photobooth. 

Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes UCAS Exhibition

This week the University of Bedfordshire hosted the annual Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes UCAS Exhibition. The event was held over two days at our Bedford campus and welcomed thousands of students on campus to find out more about the different options available to them in the future. 

It was a great two days. The sun was shining (ok that might be an understatement - it was very hot!) and there was a great atmosphere on campus. As well as representatives from over 150 higher education institutions, there were representatives from the Army, gap year organisations, and information on apprenticeships. 

I was helping out on the University of Bedfordshire stand, talking to students about what they want to do after college and giving them more information on the various courses we offer, the benefits of undertaking a year in industry, and how we can offer them more than a great degree. It was a non-stop couple of days but it was a great opportunity to speak to students, staff from local schools and colleges, and staff from other higher education institutions. 

The event also made the ITV news so if you weren't able to attend the event take a look at the news story here. I make a small cameo (ah!).

I'm also helping out at another UCAS exhibition tomorrow at the University of East London (UEL) where I'll have another opportunity to talk to students about the different opportunities available at the University of Bedfordshire! I'm hoping for an air conditioned room!

Thanks for reading!

Sara

Marketing Assistant

A varied few weeks

Over the last week or so I’ve been away from my desk more than usual; helping with photoshoots and filming, and attending media presentations. The last few weeks and been super busy and really varied, from the more creative aspects (photoshoots) to the less creative (proofreading publications). But that’s what I enjoy about marketing, it can be so varied and it keeps you on your toes!

As Sara mentioned last week, we’ve had three days of photoshoots for our clearing and annual campaign. They were hectic but exciting, and we’ve just received the images from the photographer. We’ve been looking through all of the images and choosing the best ones to take forward for our campaign, taking into consideration the different platforms they will be used for. It’s now over to the photographer to work more of his magic and edit the selected pictures. We’re hoping to get these next week so our designers can start working on the visuals and we can start working on the microsite.  

I’ve also been filming student videos for a forthcoming e-zine edition – and as the weather has been so nice, I even took the opportunity to do the filming outside which was great! So I’ll be editing these over the coming weeks as a start to put my e-zines together.

There are also a few publications I’m currently working on:

1. The PG 2017 prospectus – this is at first proof stage, so I’ve been proofing my allocated sections; five sections down, one to go…  

2. The UCAS visitor guide – we’re hosting a UCAS Exhibition in June at our Bedford campus for the third year running and I’m working on the main guide. This is at final proof stage and I’m expecting to send it to print on Tuesday

3. Welcome 2017 guide – each year we produce a welcome guide that we send out to all of our applicants following results day. This gives an overview ahead of students starting with us – how to register as a Beds student online, social events taking place in the first week, finance, student support, campus maps and lots more! I briefed this in to the designer yesterday and first proofs are due wc 16 May

Our UCAS Exhibition guide

We’re also looking ahead to the 2017 cycle – I sent the first enquirer edition of our B4Beds e-zine last month, and we’ve got some email communications going out over the next month or so. This is the part of the year when it can often get confusing as we’re working on the 2016 cycle and the 2017 cycle at the same time. All in a day’s work! 

Speak soon,

K