Hundreds of secondary students attend TUS College Awareness Week

Hundreds of secondary students across the Midlands visited the Technological University of the Shannon’s (TUS) Athlone campus this week to get a taste of third level as part of College Awareness Week.

The event, which runs annually, is designed to help students learn about the experiences they could have at university and the subjects they may want to study.

While all students can benefit from the week, College Awareness Week is particularly important for those who may not previously have considered third-level education or who may not know many people who have been to university.

Among the schools who participated in the week’s activities organised by TUS in the Midlands were Tullamore College, Offaly; Coláiste Chiaráin, Roscommon; St Joseph’s Rochfortbridge, Westmeath; Mercy Ballymahon, Longford, and Portumna Community College, Galway.

The fifth-and sixth-year students enjoyed a wide-range of fun, interactive activities designed to pique their interest in the subject areas of their choice and also got a chance to explore the university’s state-of-the-art academic and sporting facilities.

Interactive workshops included a demo of a Meta Quest VR headset, green screens and branding for those interested in studying digital marketing, while those interested in engineering got to see robotics and automation in action.

Elsewhere, future nursing students attended a cannulation demo in the university’s Nightingale training ward, while other students headed up to the TUS Athlone’s kitchen training facilities to learn about food sustainability and pastry-making.

Claire Connor, student recruitment officer for TUS Athlone, called the week “a resounding success”.

"College Awareness Week is a crucial time for second-level students to explore their educational possibilities and has the potential to be truly transformative; it can open the door to higher education and help students envision a future they might never have considered before,” she explained.

“Through interactive workshops and demos, we showcased the diverse opportunities awaiting future students who choose to study at TUS and reinforced the belief that higher education should be easily accessible to all.”