Booking a university event for your school

Universities have dedicated teams who organise and participate in events to share information with schools and colleges. This article offers advice on how to discover existing activities, and request university attendees to attend your own events.

A good starting point for booking a university event is UniTasterDays.com. You can use their online platform to browse university events offered across the UK, filter by the type of event, and even request bespoke event support.

Most universities have dedicated web pages about how they work with schools and colleges, with details about the types of event they offer. A lot of these teams have mailing lists for teachers and careers advisers. Sign up to these lists so you can stay up to date with their activity.

Together, these sources will help signpost you to the best individual or team to contact.

The best individual or team to contact will depend on the type of event you’re requesting or running.

For example, some universities will have different contacts for pre-16 or post-16 activity. Some teams may deal with higher education fairs, while others focus on one-to-one support, such as mentoring.

If you’re looking for subject-specific support, such as a talk from an academic, some universities will have recruitment and outreach teams that are based within an academic school or faculty. We recommend going through the relevant outreach team in the first instance, rather than directly contacting an individual academic or general department email. Outreach teams will likely know who is best to contact for these requests and will be able to liaise on your behalf.

It may take a bit of time to navigate the various institutional set-ups. However, the work you do beforehand will ultimately save you time in the long run, and avoid your request being passed around by multiple teams or departments!

When booking an event, it’s best to provide as much notice as possible, even if it’s just a placeholder date. The more notice you can provide, the better chance you have of securing staff availability. It also gives the university more time to plan and arrange any necessary logistics with you.

September, October, March, and June are often the busiest months for outreach teams. Universities may be attending various events across the UK, all in one day. If your event falls within these peak periods, it’s best to enquire as early as possible before diaries fill up.