AIT Student Recruitment Officer Claire Connor.

Athlone IT goes virtual for Spring Open Day

Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) will host a virtual open day on Saturday, April 24 to help prospective students make an informed decision as they navigate the CAO decision-making process.

The virtual event, which will kick off at 11am and run until 2pm, will feature a series of live departmental talks with heads of department and other academics, live chat sessions with current students across a range of disciplines, panel discussions, and virtual campus tours.

Attendees can also expect to find a plethora of CAO videos and podcasts relevant to their course(s) of interest embedded onto the institute's bespoke virtual open day platform in addition to a live web Q&A feature, which will run for the full duration of the event.

Though the window for normal CAO applications closed on February 1st, students have an opportunity to change their mind and make amendments to their CAO application until July 1st next.

Drone footage of the AIT campus.

According to AIT Student Recruitment Officer Claire Connor, this is the time for Leaving Certificate, QQI and mature students to really evaluate their CAO options and ensure that they are making the best decision for them.

“When making your CAO choice, it’s important to really think about what you want to do after you finish your two/three or four years,” she explains, adding that events like the upcoming open day are the ideal forum to ask lots of questions.

“Attending the event in a virtual capacity actually offers a lot of advantages: you can attend from the comfort of your own home and ask as many questions as you’d like.

“You might be wondering how many hours a week you could expect to work in a particular field or if you’d be working in an office environment all day; these are just some of the really important questions that you can get answered at an open day."

Researching courses and preparing your questions in advance is key to getting the most out of the open day. This is a common pitfall Claire says can be easily avoided.

“Have your questions prepared beforehand and don’t be afraid to ask them – whether it is to a student ambassador or an academic,” she stresses.

“Make sure that every question you need answered for your decision-making process is asked so that you can leave and say ‘ok, I’m happy with my decision.” In advance of the open day, Claire recommends checking out the AIT CAO Hub to learn more about the courses on offer across AIT’s four faculties, student supports, sporting and leisure facilities and lots more.

“It’s the perfect ‘one-stop-shop’ for prospective students to find out everything and anything they need to know about the transition to third level and what’s on offer at AIT," she ends.