Otago Open Days - FAQs

General

When is Otago Open Days this year?

Sunday 4 and Monday 5 May 2025
Presentations are from 9:30am to 3:30pm on Sunday and 9am to 3pm on Monday. Colleges are open for tours from 9am to 4pm each day.

How many people do we expect to be there?

There are thousands of young people, most with parents or caregivers, expected to come from around the motu to attend.

What will they all be doing?

The day is a chance to show off the best Otago has to offer. There will be presentations giving primers on subjects, expos allowing prospective students to have more focused chats with their future professors, and activation areas to keep people fuelled up and entertained across the days.

What do Open Days mean for me?

A huge number of people are presenting, having conversations at expo booths, and organising the running of the day. There are also a lot of professors who have kindly moved their teaching online (or have changed venue) to accommodate this activity. If that isn’t you this year, you’re still involved: every point in the right direction or chat in line for a coffee builds the impression of our outstanding close-knit campus.

Where are the Information Tents located?

Information Tents are located near the Staff Club, outside the St David Complex and outside Auahi Ora.

What food outlets will be open over Open Days?

There will be food trucks open for Otago Open Days. In addition to this, the following outlets will be open.

Sunday 4 May 2025

Café Albany, Auahi Ora, Campus Shop, St David Café, Link Pop Ups (closed), Te Matiti

Outlets open at 9am and close at 3pm.

Monday 5 May 2025

Café Albany (8am), Auahi Ora (9am), Campus Shop (8am), St David Café (8am), Link Pop Ups (11am open, 2pm close), Te Matiti (8am), Staff Club (8am).

Outlets close at 4pm. Cafés will have takeaway cups on offer for Otago Open Days.

Presentations

I’m presenting. What do I need to know?

After you’ve finished preparing your engaging and informative presentation, upload it to the shared Dropbox and also put it on a USB flash drive. Make sure to check all embedded media still works after you upload. The Open Days team will not have a copy of your presentation.

How long is each session?

Presentation times vary, but the presentation schedule can be found in the pamphlet.

When do I need to be there?

Please arrive ten minutes before your listed start time – while a lot of effort goes into spreading the time table logically, some students will inevitably have to leave one presentation and go straight to another. That means starting and finishing, as punctually as possible, has a real impact on the running of the day.

What if I’m sick, or late, so can’t make my booked presentation?

Please think about who could present in your place, if you, for whatever reason, cannot make it. Uploading your presentation to the shared Dropbox will help make sure your colleague is able to step in. If you do need to cancel and a replacement can’t be found, please contact opendays@otago.ac.nz, as soon as possible.

I’m in an ‘interlinked’ Castle 1 & 2 presentations, where do I present from?

For larger presentations, we will use both Castle 1 & Castle 2. You will present from Castle 1, which is the Host, and we will fill Castle 1 first before opening Castle 2.

What’s the Health and Safety plan?

There will be a short health and safety briefing in each lecture theatre that is being used for a presentation venue for Open Days, in the form of a pink piece of paper on the lectern. Please familiarise yourself with the emergency exits and assembly point for the building and be ready to direct attendees to safety, in the unlikely event of an emergency. There will be an allocated First Aid representative from the Events Team for both days. If an emergency arises, please follow the procedure in this briefing (dialing 111, if required). For activity/tour venues, please familiarise yourself with the flipchart located in your venue.

Expos

What are the expo hours?

Sunday 4 May – 10am to 2pm
Monday 5 May – 9am to 3pm

Where is my subject/department/area based?

Health Sciences and Sciences are based in the Link, Humanities and Business in the Otago Business School Atrium, and Student Experience in two heated, enclosed marquees on Union Lawn. You can find your spot from 2pm on the Saturday 3 May or prior to 10:00am, on Sunday 4 May. Please ensure that everything is in place by expo start time. Equipment can be left in venues overnight but please take any valuables with you. The marquee on Union Lawn will be monitored by security from 5pm to 7am, Friday to Monday.

What is at my area?

For academic divisions, your subject/department/area will have a large display board behind you, along with two seats and a power outlet. Those who are part of the Student Experience expo will be contacted directly with what will be included in their space. This year, there will be a dedicated place to have a breather near each expo, some hot drinks and treats for those staffing the booths.

Business – Business School bar leaner and stools (one bar leaner will be shared between 2 exhibitors as they’re too long for the space of one exhibitors)
Humanities – Business School low square table and 2 chairs
Health Sciences & Sciences – Trestle table and 2 chairs (Bachelor of Health Sciences and Health Sciences First Year are the only exceptions with 2 trestle tables and 4 chairs)
Student Experience – all different arrangements, based on discussions with individuals (a mixture of chairs/table, soft seating, bar stools etc.)

Is there someone to talk to if I have questions on the day?

Yes, our Open Days team will be in hi-vis on both days (and our student engagement crew will be in bright yellow t-shirts). If you get any questions that you don't know the answer to, please direct them to our team.