Gaudeamus, the education and study abroad show in central Europe will be held so soon. Go to Gaudeamus fair is the best way to address students from the Czech and Slovak region. For this reason, we contacted their organizers, for making an interview about this years edition and have a little vision of how it will be the show.
Gaudeamus is the best-known education and studies abroad fair in central Europe. What makes it different from other similar events?
The most distinctive feature of the Gaudeamus Fair is it’s accompanying programs, the most notable of them being the Exhibitor’s presentations, or lectures.
The Exhibitor’s lectures are proving to be the most effective way of communicating with potential students. The lectures at the Gaudeamus Fair in Brno are being visited by more than 9 000 students each year. Exhibitor’s lectures on this scale are rarely seen at other fairs in Europe.
Gaudeamus Fairs are also strongly focused on complex advisory services for students, aiming to assist them during the whole process of choosing their future study.
Another important distinction is that the Gaudeamus Fair is being held at 3 locations: in Nitra, Slovak Republic (October), in Brno, Czech Republic (November) and in Prague, Czech Republic (January). Students are free to choose the best suitable location for them.
Will we find more national or international information for the students?
This year’s Fair in Brno will feature 241 represented education institutions (universities, colleges, language schools and other education providers) from 20 countries (Czechia, Slovakia, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, USA, Singapore, France, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Italy, Canada, Poland). 87 exhibitors will be international; 154 exhibitors will be domestic.
There will also be a specialized advisory centre for students who want to go study in the United Kingdom. The advisory centre will help students with the whole process from choosing the right university, the application procedure for securing accommodation and plane tickets. There will also be representatives of UK universities present at the fair.
You have Parallel Programs in the fair, what is the main point of them?
The main focus of parallel programs is to provide students complex information support for their key decision in choosing the best university and field of study. The parallel programs will be:
- Exhibitor’s lectures: providing up-to-date information on study programs offer and admission requirements. Lectures are often held by students or alumni.
- Testing centre: Students can use an electronic test to determine the fields of study they are best suited for.
- Advisory service: helps students with choosing universities, faculties or fields of study based on their demands and Testing centre results.
- Unilink advisory centre helps students who are planning to study in the UK.
- Science for life: promotes science-based and technical fields of study. Participants present the research outcomes and new technologies developed at universities. The presentation is done through interactive displays and direct engagement of visitors.
What new things we will find?
This year’s Fair in Brno will focus on communication with teachers and education advisors, who play a key role in helping students to find their future study. There will be a specialized program of lectures and workshops for teachers and education advisors. Speakers will be various specialists from participating universities and the Ministry of education.
For students, there will be a new mobile app “Gaudeamus Guide”, which will greatly enhance their fair experience.
How would you encourage the students and the visitors for don’t miss it?
The Gaudeamus Fair is a unique opportunity for every student seeking a university or college study. The fair provides complex information about study opportunities in the Czech Republic and abroad in one place. There is also a wide range of advisory services to help even the most indecisive students with their choice.
There are a lot of different exhibitors, could you give them some tips?
I would definitely recommend stopping by the Czech University of technology booth, offering many interesting activities for students and a chance to try out a state of the art flight simulator. The Brno University of technology will offer a test drive of a student-built race car.
At the University of defence booth, you can take part in the demonstration of an anti-terrorist raid by a special forces unit and when you get tired, you can grab an ice-cream made with liquid nitrogen at the Institute of the chemical technology booth.
Lastly, can you give us some participation results from the last edition?
- 215 exhibitors participated in last year’s fair in Brno, 66 of them were from abroad. Exhibitors came from 11 countries. The most represented were the United Kingdom and Denmark.
- 28,175 students came to see the fair during the four days. There were a record-breaking 10 706 students visiting the lecture program.
- The fair in 2015 was the biggest in its 22-year history.
