14 Sobering Ideas for University Events

University life is all about stimulating the little grey brain cells…and subsequently putting them to sleep at the next campus party.

But students aren’t only interested in drinking. Some students, rare as they may be, are also interested in learning.

That gives you, as a budding event organiser, the perfect window of opportunity to sharpen your event planning skills. Need a list of ideas for university events to get you started?

Get your MacBook and spiced pumpkin latte ready!

We’ve put together a list of cool event ideas for students that you can use as inspiration for your own event.

Read on to discover…

• Craft workshops
• Cooking classes
• Adulting sessions
• TED-style talks
• Student club mixers
• Meet the alumni
• Local city tours
• Community service events

…and many more.

The 14 best ideas for university events

Students are just like real people, except that they’re less cynical because they haven’t experienced real life yet. So we’ve put together a list of ideas for university events that could do just that.

1. Craft workshops

Craft workshops are a great way to involve fellow students in something new and creative. But they can also serve a greater purpose. Why not take the opportunity to redecorate the campus?

2. Cooking classes

Another creative (albeit tastier) event idea is to organise a cooking class at the university. You could put a thematic spin on it and focus on, say, Christmas dishes around the holiday period.

3. Adulting sessions

DYI and cooking are both adult activities. But there’s much more to adulting than that: You have to know how to create a budget and fill out a tax return, among many other boring tasks. Put on a session where students can acquire these skills.

Tip: Here are 9 essential adulting skills you can focus those sessions around.

4. TED-style talks

Although you may not be able to secure the most in-demand speakers right now, you can still put on your own TED-style speaking event. Or why not put on an actual TEDx event?

5. Student club mixers

This is not related to nightclubbing or cocktail mixing. Rather, you should encourage two different student clubs to mix at an event where you can introduce your interests to each other.

6. Meet the alumni

If you can get hold of some university alumni who’ve gone on to do interesting things after graduating, you should invite them in for a meet and greet where they can tell their story.

7. Local city tours

Organise a local city tour to introduce non-local students to the nearby surroundings. Highlight the cultural places of interest or turn it into a pub crawl. (Or combine both into an epic city tour.)

8. Community events

If your local city has a vibrant community, why not introduce the students to that as well? And what better way to form new bonds than by organising a meaningful community event?

9. Wellness sessions

University life can be stressful, thanks to all the studying you have to do while hungover. That’s why a wellness event, like a yoga session or spa day, will be a very welcome initiative to organise.

10. Speed networking

Further education is first of all about learning, but second of all about networking. What better way to meet people from across different degrees than with a speed networking event?

11. Fancy dinner

If speed is not your style but glamour is, why not organise a fancy dinner? Have your co-students ditch their casual wear and get out their best outfits for an Instagrammable night.

12. Coffee bar

A more informal but still worthwhile event type is the classic coffee bar. All students subsist on caffeine, so bring everyone together around their favourite beverage for small talk and banter.

13. Smartphone film festival

Everyone who has a smartphone can make a film. So why not put together your own campus film festival? Pick some rules and themes and encourage everyone to submit their best work.

14. Pop-up photo booths

Modern photo booths come with bells and whistles that allow the pictures to be hashtagged and shared online. Encourage fellow students to get social with a pop-up photo booth.

How to get students to share campus events

You may have a captive audience for your events at university, but there are a lot of other fun events to compete with. How do you make sure your event is noticed and attended?

1. Get on social media

The first step to successful event promotion is to tell everyone on social media. You’ve probably already got some student Facebook groups you can start with, but cover all social platforms.

2. Cross-group promotion

Your own marketing efforts might be great, but you should still reach out to other student groups and societies. Leverage their social media presence to help you expand the reach of your event.

3. Native checkout

Make sure there are as few steps as possible between discovering your event and reserving a spot. People should be able to book a ticket directly through Facebook or a similar platform.

4. Paid social media ads

If you have the budget for it, then social media ads can help you promote your student event. Since the event is for students at your campus, you already know which audience to target.

5. Use a ticketing app

A ticketing site can be handy if the event you’re organising involves most of the students on campus. Just make sure that it allows for native checkout (see #3 above).

6. Read this blog

Marketing is all about tooting your own horn, which is why we show you how to do that. Check out our guide on how to promote your event with Facebook and Google.

Feeling inspired?

It might seem like an uphill battle to get people’s attention at a university campus. After all, they have upcoming exams, part-time jobs, budding romances, and drinking to concentrate on.

But with the right idea and proper planning, you can organise an event that not only grabs their attention but also elevates you to the status of campus legend.

And who knows, your student event idea might just be the first of many entries on your event organiser CV. We hope this list of ideas for university events has given you enough inspiration to get started.

Have you organised a campus event before? Make sure to share your stories (good or bad) with us in the comments section below!