Now in its 15th year, previous HSC Booster Days comprised of hands-on sessions held at UNE’s campus in Armidale. Because of the restrictions brought about by COVID-19, event organisers Briony Looker and Sally Strelitz had to take a different approach this year.
“We settled on a combination of pre-recorded videos and live panel discussions,” Sally Strelitz, Outreach and Engagement Manager, Faculty of SABL, explained.
“Academic sessions were pre-recorded and sent to participating schools last week. Year 12 students could view the sessions beforehand before meeting up virtually with academics and subject matter experts for a live question and answer session to discuss what they have seen.
“While we were disappointed not to be able to welcome the students on to the UNE Campus we were excited to work with our academics and presenters and come up with a new concept to give the students the same opportunities they would experience at UNE.
“We were able to attract schools from a much wider area as they did not have to travel to UNE to participate. Subsequently, we had students from as far away as Hay and Jindabyne register. Last year we had 900 students on campus and this year we have over 1,500 students registered online together with 125 teachers which we are really happy about.
“Briony should be congratulated for the huge amount of work she has undertaken to turn this event into a new and innovate online activity,” Sally said.
The UNE HSC Booster Days is an annual event where Year 12 students attend presentations by UNE academics and external experts on a range of HSC subjects including Agriculture, Business, English, Economics, Legal Studies, Maths and Science. Students stay in colleges on campus and have the opportunity to explore UNE on campus tours.
The popular event ticks many boxes for teachers and students, including being a “fun way to revise”, undertaking hands on activities that they can’t do at school and offering a glimpse of University life.
"Lake Munmorah students look forward to attending the HSC Booster Days each year, so it was exciting for us that they were still running despite the disruption of COVID-19. This event allows our students to link with The University of New England in a positive way, and see what kinds of resources are out there for when they finish high school,” Shae Martin, Head Teacher Instructional Leader at Lake Munmorah High School said.
“I would like to thank the organisers of this event for helping our HSC students during this time, and we look forward to making the trek north next year when things return to normal.”
