Year 8 Discovery Days

This invitation-only program for selected Year 8 schools across the Illawarra region empowers students to discover their interests and strengths while exploring future study and career opportunities. Through engaging experiences and guided conversations, students build confidence, identify potential pathways, and begin shaping their aspirations for their future education.

The Year 8 Discovery Days program aims to help students;  

  • identify their values and strengths, then connect these to potential subjects
  • nurturing a sense of belonging and passion for learning
  • to build awareness about future careers 
  • develop a relationship with UOW to enhance a sense of belonging with the university 

This program is for the whole Year 8 cohort and is split into two components:

Part 1: In-school visit with our UOW Ambassadors (beginning of Term 4) for 1 period workshop session. 

Part 2: On-campus visit (end of Term 4) for a full day from 9:00am - 2:00pm. 

Cost: Free, including bus transport covered by UOW. 

Dates: 

  • In-school: 14-30 October 2026, Weeks 1-3 of Term 4 (school availability dependent)
  • On-campus: Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 or Thursday 10 December 2026, Week 9 of Term 4. 

Register by Friday 28 August 2026.
Places will be offered to other schools if no response is received by this date.
 

REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL HERE

Need more info? Go to our 'Event Details' page to access more details, including useful documents to help with excursion planning.

Event Details

FAQS

 

On the registration form schools have the option to choose to do only one part of the program.

Both in-school and on-campus program complement each other and students engage more deeply but they can each stand alone. It is up to the school.    

This program is funded through HEPPP (Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program) which specfically targets outreach activities for schools to encourage aspiration and attainment towards higher education. 

Registrations close on Friday 28 August. Following the close of registrations, the Discovery Days team will review all school date preferences and allocate schools to the most suitable Part 1 and Part 2 program dates, taking preferences into consideration where possible.

Schools will receive confirmation of their allocated program dates via email to the nominated key contact by Friday 18 September (Term 3, Week 9).

Once your school's on-campus event date has been confirmed, you can proceed with booking bus transportation and making any other necessary arrangements.

Please note that while every effort will be made to accommodate preferred dates, allocations are subject to program capacity and overall scheduling requirements.

 

UOW will cover the cost of the entire bus hire for the on-campus event. Once we've confirmed the date your school will visit for the on campus day, schools can book your bus transport.

Please send us the bus hire invoice and we will reimburse the school the entire invoice amount through EDConnect.

If your school does not require bus transport and is arriving to the campus via alternative methods, please advise our team so we can support your arrival.
 

In-School Visit - 2 x UOW student ambassadors will be assigned to each class in your Year 8 cohort to deliver this workshop. Ambassadors will deliver the lesson content. Each classroom teacher is required to remain in the room at all times to provide supervision and duty of care of the class.
Our ambassadors are university students who have been trained to deliver content in a classroom setting, but they are not qualified teachers. All ambassadors hold a Working with Children Check (WWCC).

On-Campus Visit - 1 to 2 UOW student ambassadors will be assigned to each class brought to campus. We require a teacher to remain with an assigned group for the full day to provide supervision and duty of care. All ambassadors hold a Working with Children Check (WWCC).

Yes, all students and teachers will receive a BBQ lunch. Drinks are not provided. 

During lunch, dependent on weather, we will also have live music and games on the McKinnon Lawn.