Waterford News
Virtual open day for adults considering return to full-time education announced
Apr
Adults considering a return to full-time education will be able to explore their options from the comfort of home on the morning of Wednesday, 22 April 2020.
As part of its week-long festival of open days (20-24 April), Waterford Institute of Technology is holding a virtual open day especially for mature students of the future.
“The return to education can be an intimidating prospect for adults,” says Conor Phelan, Student Life and Learning Department at WIT. “Asking questions at an open day can be an important first step,” he says. A prime example is Tom Boyle, who last year graduated from WIT in his early 80s. Boyle had begun his return to education by attending a number of open events before he applied to WIT as a mature student.
“People who have not yet applied to the CAO can do so up to 1 May 2020 at 5.15pm which is the closing date for late applications. WIT accepts mature applicants (except on restricted courses) up to this date. Each year we are contacted by adults who have missed out on this deadline by a day or two, so we strongly encourage people interested in a return to education to log onto www.wit.ie/virtualopenday on Wednesday, 22 April to find out about life as a mature student.”
The mature-student focused virtual open day running from 10am-12pm on Wednesday, 22 April is for adults (over 23) interested in one of WIT’s 70 CAO courses which start at two-year level 6 Higher Certs.
Prospective students of all ages can ask questions about courses each afternoon that week. Each day is dedicated to an academic School at WIT.
During each virtual open day prospective students or parents of CAO applicants will have the chance to chat live with lecturers from the academic School as well as support staff. They can also take an interactive tour of the WIT campus to get a flavour of what to expect.
Marketing and outreach officer at WIT, John Power says people can join the conversation online and see the questions other prospective students have.
“A big part of each virtual open day is the chance to talk with lecturers who deliver our undergraduate programmes and the support staff from right across the institute. Online each day you can chat with staff from our admissions, schools liaison, outreach, fees and grants, accommodation and student life and learning departments,” he adds.
According to Phelan the trend for adults considering a return to education is they are interested in upskilling, a change of career, or having better options.
The majority of WIT’s mature students are Waterford based or commute daily from nearby counties, Wexford, Tipperary and Kilkenny.
In addition to having a dedicated WIT Students’ Union officer, WIT also has a Mature Student Society, and in recent years a network was also established for students who are parents.
WIT’s Virtual Open Days schedule
2pm-4pm Monday, 20 April 2020 School of Business Virtual Open Day: Business, Accounting, Digital Marketing and Retail Management CAO courses.
2pm-4pm Tuesday, 21 April 2020 School of Engineering Virtual Open Day: Engineering, Built Environment, Engineering Technology and Architecture CAO courses.
10am-12pm Wednesday, 22 April 2020 Mature Student and Student Supports Virtual Open Day.
2pm-4pm Wednesday, 22 April 2020 School of Health Sciences Virtual Open Day Nursing, Health Sciences, Sport and Exercise Sciences CAO courses.
2pm-4pm Thursday, 23 April 2020 School of Humanities Virtual Open Day: Arts, Social Science, Law, Psychology, Culinary Arts, Hospitality, Art, Design and Music CAO courses.
2pm-4pm Friday, 24 April 2020 School of Science and Computing Virtual Open Day: Laboratory Science, Land Science and Computing CAO courses.