Hands-on Learning
Thursday, 13th March 2025 at 12:15pm
A select group of senior students experienced a week of living and studying on campus at Otago University, as part of the Hands-On at Otago / Whai Wheako i Ōtākou (12 - 17 January 2025).
Hands-On at Otago is a unique opportunity for students to get a taste of Otago student life, staying on campus in a residential college and choosing a specific subject to study for the week - within the Business, Health Sciences, Humanities (Arts) and Sciences faculties.
Jack Irving (Yr 12) took part in a range of Health Science activities to challenge and inspire for the year ahead, and wrote the following article:
During the summer holidays, Emelia Queenin, Max McGregor, and myself, were selected from GBHS to go down to Otago University for five days as part of a programme for high school students going into Years 12 and 13 called Hands-On at Otago. This experience was advertised by the school careers department, and it enabled us to get a snapshot of university life. We stayed in the residence halls, attended lectures and workshops, and took part in multiple projects over the week.
Through this experience, we obtained a better understanding of what our futures after school might look like. You could study humanities, science, and health science, with more specific areas in those fields like law, nanochemistry, and anatomy. I studied pharmacology and toxicology, where we got to look into the effects of drugs on cancer cells, and caffeine on the human brain. It was super interesting to be able to lead my own studies within fields that I have an interest in, use my own ideas, and use equipment that wouldn’t be available to me in high school.
Meeting like-minded people and getting to see Dunedin and what the University has to offer was a super cool, and rewarding experience. Being able to live in a residence hall, attend workshops and a lecture, and socialise with people across the country has provided us with a better outlook for university life, and now we are better prepared for life after GBHS.
