Reading time: 5 minutes
Here we have once again an article about universities. We have Lisa Schmidt from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg as a guest. As an employee in student marketing, Lisa is responsible for, among others, the open day at the TU.
In this interview, she tells us more about everyday life in student marketing, how an event app can improve event communication between universities and students and what needs to be taken into account.
LineUpr: Hello Lisa. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Please introduce yourself and the TU Freiberg.
Lisa: As an employee in the area of student marketing at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, I am responsible for reaching prospective students across all media channels. As a resources university, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg has a clear natural, engineering, and economic profile and also has its unique position in the geosciences. This results in exciting topics about research and practice which can be used for advertising, and which we are increasingly making available on digital channels for a young target group.
LineUpr: You have already used LineUpr several times. How did you first learn about LineUpr and what was the decisive argument for you to use an event app?
… and gradually replace the printed version of the “programme booklet”.
Lisa: Exactly. As a university, we have numerous event formats. In particular, for more significant events, we wanted to make our offers accessible to visitors in a simple and playful manner and gradually replace the printed versions of the “programme booklet”. An event app offers the ideal format: it is clearly structured, individual, interactive and, above all, accessible from anywhere. We learned about LineUpr online and were directly convinced to use the app.
LineUpr: For what types of events do you use the LineUpr app and why? What added value does the app bring you at these events?
Lisa: So far, we’ve been using the LineUpr app for the Campus Day, which is our bi-annual open house day and the introductory phase for the start of the winter semester. On the one hand, the app offers the possibility of integrating and presenting programme items and offers from various participants of the university. On the other hand, we also use the app for evaluation purposes and have already switched to the live surveys and evaluation studies for the events. I see the added value in this all-around solution through announcements, monitoring, and evaluation of events and through the possibility of being able to design the layout of the user interface according to our individual specifications.
LineUpr: Let’s take your Campus Day as an example. How do you use the app before, during and after the event?
Lisa: To announce the day, the link and/or QR code can be found on almost all our means of communication, so that visitors can see and assemble their programme highlights in advance. The individual programme items are additionally provided with further links to the presenters, so that on the one hand a large informative offer for the guests is made available in advance, and on the other hand a link to our website is established. During the events, we accompany the guests through the day by giving them essential information through postings. Live surveys and evaluations are also done during the event. From this we could make our conclusions to improve the event as a whole.
The use of the app via smartphone has already become a natural thing for our visitors.
LineUpr: And how did your students react to the app?
Lisa: We often get positive feedback about the event app. University institutions see it as an added value to communicate their offers. The use of the app via smartphone has already become a natural thing for our visitors; the ease of use and the fact that you do not have to download the app from the store but simply open in the browser, in my opinion, contributed to the positive evaluation.
LineUpr: How have your events changed by using an event app?
Lisa: Overall, the app simplifies the many processes of organizing, communicating and implementing events. It is a medium in which many activities can be bundled and with which we can get easy access to visitors. As a service, the app also serves as a mediator between the event organizers and the participants and thus creates access to the guests, which previously did not exist in such a way.
LineUpr: Generally speaking. Do you think other universities could benefit from using an event app? If so, which events and what benefits can these universities expect from their app?
Lisa: Colleges and universities in particular, with their large number of participants and wealth of informative services, are being offered an event app that simplifies and bundles many processes. For example, the app can be used for meetings and conferences, university information days or internal events.
LineUpr: Keyword Challenges. How do you deal with the trend of digitalization? How will this development change university events in the future?
Lisa: Digitalisation is for us not a trend that needs to be addressed. We are already in the midst of digital normality that offers us numerous opportunities regarding university events, but also poses challenges. Digital technologies can help to make events spaces of convergence, exchange, and interaction in many ways. Personalized media, the link between the real and the virtual world and digital entertainment offers could increasingly shape the character of university events.
LineUpr: Which three top tips for the use of LineUpr would you like to give to other organizers?
Lisa: Use the survey function, design the app with an individual user interface and get in touch with visitors. ?
LineUpr: Thank you, Lisa, for this great interview. Thanks to your answers, we were able to gain a good insight into the needs of university marketing. More information about TU Freiberg can be found on their homepage. Also, there are many interesting insights into the everyday life and the strengths of the University on Instagram, on Facebook and Twitter.
We look forward to your next events and to how we can support them with LineUpr.
