The Master’s Open Day is held tomorrow, followed by the Bachelor’s Open Days on Friday and Saturday. The number of registered participants is comparable to last year, says the Project leader Rita de Wilde-Brink (Marketing & Communications). ‘For the Bachelor’s Open Days, we received roughly the same amount of registrations. For the Master’s, there was an increase of 22%.’
Most visitors are expected to come from within the Netherlands, followed by students from Germany. Among Bachelor’s programmes, the biggest interest is in Psychology, Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine. Potential Master’s students are most interested in Business Administration, Industrial Engineering & Management and Mechanical Engineering.
‘We received roughly 6000 registrations, but it is hard to predict how many people will actually come,’ continues De Wilde-Brink. ‘We usually have about 20% of no-shows. This number might be bigger this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. It is up to everyone themselves to decide whether they want to come or not.’
Following national guidelines
If it comes to precautions against the coronavirus, the organizers – as well as the entire UT – are following the national guidelines of RIVM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They have therefore decided not to change the programme of the Open Days, unless the RIVM recommends otherwise.
‘All the visitors have received an email their personal programme for the day, including the latest information on coronavirus. They were asked not to attend the event if they feel ill, if they had travelled to high-risk areas or if they have been in touch with infected patients,’ says De Wilde-Brink. ‘There will also be flyers with basic hygiene rules distributed to visitors. No other measures have been taken at this point, but we are preparing various scenarios in case the situation changes. If RIVM decides all big events should be cancelled, we need to be ready for that.’
‘I believe a lot of people will decide last-minute if they want to come or not,’ adds De Wilde-Birnk. ‘However, unless there are some news, I’m confident that we will receive enough visitors.’ Prospective students who cannot attend the event this week can join the Online Open Day held next month. Apart from that, they always have the opportunity to sign up for the ‘Student for a day’ programme.
