Territory turns out for taste of uni
More than 200 remote secondary school students from across the Northern Territory joined thousands of Top Enders to explore the world of university at CDU’s Open Day today on Casuarina campus.
Prospective students filled their show bags with information about CDU’s courses, including trades, medicine, graphic design, law, education, sciences, tourism, humanitarian and community studies, psychology, and the arts.
More than 5000 visitors attended Open Day, seizing opportunities to try their hands at making pasta, saving a life with CPR, tyre changing and printmaking, and enjoying equipment demonstrations in areas including automotive, aquaculture and electrotechnology.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Maddocks said he was delighted that so many people from across the Territory spent part of their Sunday on Casuarina campus to learn about CDU, not only the education and training opportunities it offers, but also the benefits it delivers to the Territory community.
“We’ve welcomed a fantastic range of people today – from toddlers and grandparents, to remote school students and industry leaders. It has been gratifying to see them enjoying the displays and activities on this beautiful campus,” Professor Maddocks said.
“While some of the visitors today will return in the future as members of our student body, others will have discovered broader opportunities for engagement with the university – these will be great outcomes for everyone.”
Mal Nairn Auditorium brimmed with people eager to discover the scientific secrets behind love and relationships, and a crocodile dissection, led by Tertiary Enabling Program bioscience lecturers, fascinated an intimate crowd.
Children enjoyed activities including face painting, baking, turning on the sirens in “Beat the Heat” police road safety vehicle and digging with a mini excavator.
CDU’s reputation as a research-intensive university was on display with key research groups holding information stalls, including Northern Institute, Menzies School of Health Research, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Darwin Bushfire Centre, the Centre for Renewable Energy and the National Environmental Science Program.