Hands-On at Otago is a University of Otago programme designed to immerse secondary school students in the University experience for one week, each January. Thank you to Arwen, Benedict, and Sajin, for their reports on this awesome programme!
Benedict
During my experience at Hands on Otago, I was really anxious at first as there were so many people there. But after mellowing down and getting to know lots of new people, it made it easier to be there. My main project there was anatomy, where we did animal, and human dissections, using microscopes, ultrasound, and other various things. Being there felt as if I was a university student. My favourite aspect of Hands-on was the big night out! There we had dance competitions, and then we all danced to the music. Usually I like to consider myself an introvert and easily anxious when it comes to parties, but being there, with so many kind and amazing people, I was able to enjoy myself and have so much fun. Personally, Hands-on Otago has been one of my favourite memories. Where you can fully understand what it is to live that life, it was a wonderful and unforgettable experience! I highly recommend to anyone to go to Hands-on Otago, as it will change your life!
Arwen
During Hands-On Otago 2024, I was lucky enough to experience a week of university life at Otago University at the brand-new hall of residence, TeRangiHiroa College. The project I was apart of at Hands-On was Marine Science which took place at the Otago Marine Studies Centre in Portobello, where we got to learn all about marine ecosystems. During the week, we got to identify plankton under a microscope, dissect squid and sharks, survey mudflats, reefs, and beaches, and meet several sea lions while visiting Allan's beach. I got to meet so many fascinating little critters of the sea and really enjoyed learning about their niche in the marine ecosystem. I also really enjoyed the activities we did outside of our main projects at TeRangihiroa College and around campus, such as quiz night, going to the Unipol gym for an active afternoon doing jump jam, and the taster subjects (for me, it was Sports and Exercise Science, Psychology, and Genetics). I especially enjoyed the Big Night Out and the lip sync battle. For me, Hands-On Otago was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that really helped me explore Marine Science and meet so many people who are like-minded. I even got a glimpse into what Marine Science is all about and is something I am interested in exploring further after I have left school. I highly recommend going to Hands-On for anyone wanting to delve deeper into their favourite subjects! Hands-On Otago is such a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience that is totally worth going to!
Sajin
Hands-on at Otago 2024 was genuinely one of the best experiences that I have had in a while. I was lucky enough to be selected alongside Arwen, Benedict, and 350 others to attend a full week of university life. We got to stay at the new hall ‘Te Rangi Hiroa College’ and my god was it flash, we had our own basketball courts, hot chocolate dispensers, karaoke studio, and a movie theatre. On top of all this the local recreation centre(Unipoll) was only a 10-minute walk and the facilities there were top tier. The major project that I had chosen was marketing. Here we learned about the ins and outs of marketing and how companies and celebrities use it to their advantage. ‘The marketing squad’ as we called ourselves, were quite a small group compared to the other projects, with only 7 of us in total, but what I will say is that the chemistry was definitely there for all of us as we all immediately bonded. Throughout the 7 days, in our first lecture, we learned about marketing and how it has been used throughout history. On our 2nd lecture ‘The marketing squad’ ventured out to ‘Wal’s’ which was a holiday/kids theme park. Here we had an awesome day of mini-golfing and we all had so much fun exploring the whole area. During our last few lectures, we also went out to supermarkets to see how they take advantage of marketing tactics to help their businesses succeed. Hands-on also had many tour guides of the university and its facilities which were frequently available for the Blueshirts (students). Hands-on had many events planned for us such as The Amazing Race, Big Night Out, Active Afternoon, and Quiz Night just to name a few. If I am being honest I genuinely think that more people should apply to hands-on at Otago, there was so much freedom to do whatever, so many new personalities to meet and so many memories to make, literally, I can confidently say that I have at least 200 photos and 25 videos which were all from the week at hands-on. The people that I met at hands-on were all so talented and smart in their own ways, everyone could dance, and sing and no one was afraid to do so which made things so much better. I am still in contact with some of my friends that I made there and my god was it a great experience. I highly recommend that more people do this, jump out of your comfort zone, and try something new, you won't regret it trust me.
Information on 2025 Hands-On Otago will be advertised later in the year.
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