If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that anything and everything is possible when you take educational events and apply virtual tech.
This applies to any institution, regardless of the country they operate out of, what courses they offer, and the types of prospective students they hope to target. You see, virtual tech is universal and understood in any language when presented the right way.
And we have the proof to back it up.
In this post, we are going to look at 5 examples that showcase the flexibility of virtual tech when bringing educational events online. After reading that, some of you might wonder:
How do we know so much about these particular case studies? After all, we’re sharing details here that you wouldn’t pick up on from a standard online search.
For clarity, we worked in partnership with each institution on all 5 of the events mentioned in this post. Everything you see moving forwards was designed by us using our bespoke virtual event platform, but more on that later.
Let’s start with the City of Glasgow College and go from there.
Type of Educational Event: Clearing Day for Student Recruitment
When the Event Took Place: We have helped City of Glasgow College with 4 events since August 2020.
Clearing is very important for a wide range of students looking at courses that appeal to them. We worked with City of Glasgow College to provide an easy way for students to get the information they needed once their results were announced.
As you can see from the image we’ve included, the event platform we created comes complete with all the relevant branding and imagery – which also applies to the other educational events covered below.
“Lots of ways for attendees to interact across the platform, including the announcements feature, the CTA button and the collab rooms. Great reporting and data giving you a really detailed understanding of your visitors and their behaviours and activities.”
– City of Glasgow College
Clicking on each of the tabs took prospective students to relevant pages/environments within the platform. We say environments, as the auditorium was simply that, a full recreation of what you’d expect to see in person, only virtual.
The ‘Networking Lounge’ you see is an area for conversations to be had. It’s here that prospective students could speak with teachers, or whomever, at the college to ask questions and receive answers directly, again, as they’d typically be able to do in person.
Virtual tech makes all of it possible.
Type of Educational Event: Subject Selection in Open Day Format
When the Event Took Place: These events have taken place every September since 2018.
From Scotland to Australia, the next educational event we’d like to bring your attention to is quite similar to the first, in that our goal was to provide a hub for students looking to take the next step in their education.
Through the platform, prospective students could enjoy tours of the university, engage in subject presentations, and check out a range of support services.
The feedback they gave us following the last educational event we helped them deliver was very kind:
“This year (2021) we had our best experience with Ivent to date. We have been a client for 4 years and found the communication this year to be super responsive considering the time zone difference.
The support was also outstanding. Katie’s support during the lead-up and on the day was superb. Also helpful and went the extra mile to ensure we were ready – she even cross checked out presentation time zone conversions which was greatly appreciated.”
We’ve been working with James Cook University Australia since 2018, and have continued to provide event support whenever needed. You see, virtual tech can be tough to maintain and adjust without the help of a dedicated provider.
Type of Educational Event: Degree Specific Open Day
When the Event Took Place: Twice a year going all the way back to 2020.
With this London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine project, our goal was simple:
To provide applicants with access to subject talks, a support and advice centre, and any resources they may need. In other words, pretty much everything they need to make a decision and begin taking their next steps.
Everything any prospective student needed to get started, pretty much.
Since we’ve included feedback in the past two educational event examples, it’s only fair that we keep the trend going:
“We are very happy with and grateful for the level of support we received ahead of the event. Grace and Beth were both fantastic at talking us through our options and ensuring we were taking everything into consideration and meeting key milestones.
We also benefited from design support from Jemma and technical support from Katie. The Monday board was very helpful for staying in touch and everyone was extremely responsive. Definitely the best support we have had for any of our virtual events to date.”
Like the James Cook University Australia project, the virtual tour was, and continues to be, a big hit. People love taking a peek inside of these institutions, and who wouldn’t when they’re as prestigious as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine!
Type of Educational Event: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Open Days
When the Event Took Place: Multiple events taking place in the last 2 years.
The University of Cork, Ireland is another institution that has leveraged virtual tech to bring educational events to a wide range of prospects. We’ve been helping them attract the right kind of attention for the better part of 2 years now.
From the image we’ve included above, you can see that there is quite a lot going on. There are tabs dedicated to:Providing support
You might have noticed there is a prospectus download button in the top right corner. Do keep in mind that all of this is fully customisable and can be adjusted to meet your own requirements.
This particular educational event turned out really well from a design perspective, it’s very different to what you might expect from a university, but it works in grabbing your attention while highlighting the buttons you see in the centre.
What do you make of it?
Type of Educational Event: Open day and Content Hub
When the Event Took Place: One in September and one in December of 2020.
We can’t champion the look of one virtual event design and not talk about Charles Sturt University in the same breath – especially when talking about the look of educational events that successfully used virtual tech.
Visual praise aside, we very much enjoyed working with Charles Sturt University in all aspects of this project back in late 2020.
In terms of the specifics, we helped them become an open advice hub for students, allowing them to ask questions relating to their chosen course with ease. This was during something known as the ATAR Advice Days.
We also helped them deliver a virtual open day in a bid to boost student recruitment on a much larger scale. Again, tours of the institution were very popular amongst guests.
Virtual tech has changed the way countless institutions approach student recruitment, student care, and employment following university thanks to things like virtual career days.
The benefits almost speak for themselves.
Speaking of benefits, we should probably look at why the institutions we’ve mentioned, and why so many others, seek the help of virtual event providers like us to give their events an online edge.
Choosing to leverage virtual tech can save event organisers a lot of time and money. With virtual events, there aren’t nearly as many fees. It’s cheaper for prospective attendees too, as they won’t need to pay to visit your institution in person!
Any event that exists in a virtual environment is a lot more accessible compared to its in-person alternative. By presenting your events online you open yourself up to the rest of the world, and we know how important it is for universities to appeal to international students.
Unlike in-person educational events (take open days, for example), organisers can choose to keep the event live for attendees to visit 24/7 at a time that suits them. Virtual events are incredibly flexible in that way.
When you run a traditional event, gathering data can be tough. This isn’t the case with virtual events where organisers can monitor everything from session length to the number of attendees downloading your prospectus.
An underrated aspect of using virtual tech is how good it is for the planet compared to running events the old fashioned way. According to Meetgreen, a one-day physical event can produce up to 170kg of CO2 emissions. It can also create an excess of over 5 tonnes of refuse waste.
Are you ready to get started?
City of Glasgow College, James Cook University Australia, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Cork, Ireland, and Charles Sturt University, all of them have leveraged, and continue to leverage virtual tech to great effect.
We were beyond thrilled when the opportunity came up to talk about these case studies in a single blog post, given the quality of the results and the strength of the relationships formed in the process.
Outside of looking at a handful of educational events, we also looked at the benefits of utilising virtual tech to bring these events to life. To recap, here are the benefits of running a virtual education event:
Do you want to bring your educational events online using virtual tech?
If you do, talk to iVent.
Our virtual event platform is fully customisable from the ground up, allowing you to include only the things you need to ensure that you meet your event goals time and time again.
Virtual tours, full 360-degree environments, live chat functionality, and in-platform resources. Simply tell us what you want and we’ll take care of the rest!
The term ‘educational events’ refers to a range of events that are unique to the education sector. For example, Open days, career days, and graduation ceremonies are all examples of educational events.
There are multiple benefits that come from running a virtual educational event. Events that leverage virtual tech is a lot more accessible, they can be replayed, and are great for capturing data and reporting on said data.
To run any virtual educational event, you’ll need an optimised event platform capable of running it in an online setting. Seeking the help of a dedicated virtual event platform will be key in bringing your events to life.
The best people & tech for your virtual & hybrid events.
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