In the pandemic, universities attract students online

09.04.2021

Instead of traditional methods, meetings are held on YouTube and Facebook. Digital open house days will attract prospective students under pandemic conditions. Meetings on YouTube and Facebook and webinars have replaced traditional visits to universities, schools, or high school students at individual faculties, "Monitor" reports. Online open house days provide the same opportunities as in-person ones. Prospective students can get acquainted with different faculties and specialties, the infrastructure and laboratories where they will study, career opportunities after graduation, and get answers to additional questions. The Technical University – Sofia will attract them to a specially organized studio, which will broadcast on the university's YouTube channel and Facebook. Online meetings will be held every Thursday from 14:30 to 16:30 from February 11 to April 22. Bachelor's specialties offered by the 14 faculties will be presented. During the presentation of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Technologies on YouTube, questions from two high schools interested in TU – Sofia were shown. Graduates of TUES and PG "John Atanasov" had the opportunity to ask about details of interest. Will there be changes in the grading scale this year, what are the fees for exams and specialties, what is the advantage of the university over others, can studying be combined with work, what preferences do applicants receive with a diploma from "John Atanasov". Their teacher, in turn, asked about the material base for practical exercises. Graduates of TUES were interested in master's programs, as well as the differences in curricula for the specialties "Electronics" and "Automotive Electronics". To what extent is programming covered in these specialties, what practical activities will take place over the four years, will there be disciplines taught by industry professionals, were other questions. This year, HTMU also started its admissions campaign with webinars on the topic "Why choose engineering education at HTMU". On April 2, the university also held an online Open House Day. Within an hour and a half on the university's Facebook page, prospective students had the opportunity to get acquainted with specialties in different faculties with the help of presentations and video messages from department representatives, who shared what would be studied and in which laboratories future students would work. Those who participated in the online Open House Day also heard the opinions of current students, who shared their impressions and the advantages of studying at the university. At the beginning of the week, HTMU also launched a new series on Facebook, where they present different laboratories and departments in the university with the help of videos. Short videos with some of the specialties at the University of Rousse "Angel Kanchev" can also be found on the university's YouTube channel. In them, candidates can hear the opinions of successful graduates, in which laboratories they have the opportunity to work, what preparation they will receive during their studies, where and in what positions they could work afterwards. On April 20 from 10:30, the Department of "Economics and Construction Management" at IU – Varna will present its master's specialties "Construction Entrepreneurship and Real Estate" and "Project Management". Participation in the meeting will be via Google Meet or the YouTube channel of IU – Varna. Opportunities for career development and challenges for professions such as construction consultant, real estate consultant, real estate appraiser, facility manager, project manager, and program and project expert will be presented. Technical University – Varna, on the other hand, has been uploading videos to its YouTube channel since last year to attract prospective students. In them, they list seven reasons to choose the university and show part of the educational infrastructure. A career counselor advises on choosing a specialty at Thracian University. Thracian University also organized a virtual Open House Day on Google Meet. On April 9 between 14:30 and 18:30, prospective students could follow 4 different panels. First, teachers and students will present the university, the "Erasmus +" program, and questions can be asked. They will introduce university life – what are the accommodation options in dormitories and apartments, as well as interest clubs. Candidates will receive counseling on choosing the most suitable specialty from the counselor with long-term experience in career guidance Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veneta Uzunova. Finally, they will get acquainted with the specialties in individual faculties. The Medical College at TUs also presented in short videos on YouTube the specialties by which future students can study. In them, they will learn what knowledge they will acquire during the course of study, hear which part of the studies is the most interesting according to students, where they can find employment after graduation. Shumen University demonstrated chemical experiments to students. The Faculty of Natural Sciences at Shumen University "Bishop Konstantin Preslavski" plans to hold an Open House Day on April 12. The event will be online on the Google Meet platform, explained Dean Prof. Tsvetoslava Ivanova. Each department in the faculty will prepare a presentation and pre-record clips with attractive experiments and demonstrations in chemistry, physics, and astronomy, biology, geography, botany, and zoology. The invitation will be sent to schools in Shumen with the option to choose what time of day to join – before or after lunch. Interest has already been expressed by the Profiled Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School "Nancho Popovich" and SU "Sava Dobroplodni" in Shumen. In addition, the Faculty of Natural Sciences intends to declare the entire month of June as Open House Month and invite schools from the region to participate. They will be held outdoors – at the Center for Natural Sciences on the Shumen Plateau. The Student Council of UNSS shares about sports and digital services. The admissions campaign of UNSS is also oriented towards the digital environment. "The Open House Day will not be in-person due to the still complicated epidemic situation, but we will do everything possible so that, even online, students feel the spirit of UNSS", explained Prof. Tsvetana Stoyanova, Vice-Rector for Institutional and Business Cooperation and Student Policies. The university relies on online meetings between high school students and prominent representatives of the university. Together with representatives of the Student Council, they will tell about the most important moments of the university's activities related to education, living conditions, sports, as well as digital services provided for students.

See the article here
 
Dnes.bg, 09.04.2021