News Archive

UWA's Crawley campus was a hive of activity during the July school holidays, with nearly 250 students in Years 11 and 12 attending four separate ‘A Day in the Life of a Uni Student' events. Budding architects, keen chemists, prospective engineers and business leaders of tomorrow all enjoyed the opportunity to explore their areas of interest with a variety of hands-on workshops.

The July program began with ‘A Day in the Life of an Architecture Student', where students toured the end-of-semester exhibition of the Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Visual Arts; immersed themselves in the software Occulus Rift, which blends gaming and architecture in highly real virtual spaces; and designed a new exhibition space linking the ALVA Student Hub with the Faculty, drawing and modelling their designed spaces to the group. They also heard from Assistant Professor Marco Vittino, who provided examples of work from his firm vittinoAshe, and also highlighted the potential future travelling studios that students studying Architecture at UWA can take to Milan, as well as other locations of Athens, Olot, Bali and China.

Chemistry students took part in an interactive lecture on the chemistry of water ("When arsenic isn't arsenic") as well as two laboratory sessions. In the first they learned about Chemical Equilibrium, and in the other they synthesised aspirin with banana oil. Students also enjoyed getting a valuable insight into studying Chemistry at UWA via a ‘Q & A' session with current undergraduate and Honours students.

Engineering -enthusiasts explored the wide range of opportunities available at UWA, through a variety of interactive workshops. Students explored Petroleum Engineering by finding the most effective way to clean up a simulated oil-spill using straws, paper towels and detergent all the while considering cost, ease and impact on the environment and ecology of the water. They also saw how salt water, made visible by using dye colour, travels into a scale model of the Swan River. Some students even enjoyed the opportunity to sit in the driver's seat of the Motorsport and Renewable Energy Vehicles as they were being demonstrated to the rest of the group.

Last but not least, students who visited the Business School were exposed to marketing, accounting, management and finance through lectures and interactive sessions. They had the chance to hear from passionate current students, and experience a ‘real' campus tour from students of the Economics and Commerce Society!

The feedback received from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with most now seriously considering pursuing their chosen subject at UWA after developing a more thorough understanding of what it involves. In particular, students enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the activities on offer, and finding out what they could expect from their future studies at UWA first-hand from currently enrolled students.

Our popular ‘Day in the Life of a Uni Student' events are available to Year 11 and 12 students, and are generally held during the April and July school holidays each year. As well as the events stated above, in 2014 students also explored the opportunities available in the areas of Music, Landscape Architecture and Health Science. Be sure to keep an eye out for our 2015 schedule of events in the coming months.

For further information about our 'Day in the Life of...' events, contact the Prospective Students Office .