Record-breaking Open Day for 2019

Victoria University’s 2019 Open Day was a huge success. More than four and a half thousand visitors explored VU’s Footscray Park Campus, discovering exciting new career paths, touring our world-class facilities and mixing with key industry partners.

From Civil Engineering, Paramedicine, Law, Teaching, Nursing to VU Polytechnic’s new Cybersecurity Training Centre in St Albans, Open Day visitors accessed the information they need to make their dream careers a reality.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Dawkins said:

“It was wonderful to see the campus buzzing with excitement and activity, and the smiling faces of our staff who made our visitors feel so welcome. We are an inclusive University, and this really came across strongly in our interactions with guests on the day.”

Student Ambassadors, Academics and Professional Staff welcomed prospective students, parents, guardians, researchers, and mature-age students with warmth and enthusiasm. And while the food trucks, free massages, haircuts, African drummers and other entertainment were big drawcards, many of the visitors turned out to hear about VU’s revolutionary Block Model and discover The New Way To Do Uni. 

“It was a fantastic day. Everywhere you looked, prospective students were engaging with staff, asking great questions and really getting a sense of what it would be like to be a student at VU. The enthusiasm was contagious. It was also great to hear Frankie and Rosie, current First Year Model students, talking to prospective students about their positive experiences. There was also enormous interest in VU Guaranteed, VU’s early offer program for Year 11 and 12 students, with over a hundred applications so far,” said Alex Sims, Director of Future Students.

Along with high visitor numbers, Open Day engagement across all VU Social Media platforms was also extremely high, with more than 138,650 impressions (VU post viewings) across all channels. Social Media Manager Jessie Burns said: “These figures are impressive and give you an idea of VU’s reach. It was great to see so many people engaging across Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.” 

Bianca Frachea, Open Day Coordinator, said: “VU Staff and students, especially the VU Ambassadors all did an outstanding job. Compared with last year, we had roughly 500 more visitors to Footscray Park, and 4600 pre-event registrations, which are both fantastic results. It’s a big day for VU and everyone worked together to showcase the best we have to offer.”