Canterbury Campus Answers Day
We think Open Days are really about finding answers to all your university questions. Come and visit our Answers Day and ask us anything you want to know.
9am - 3pm
Canterbury Campus
We offer a selection of workshops that aim to encourage fresh thinking and provide an innovative exploration of Creative Design directly to your students.
We equip students with an understanding of the range of innovative skills you gain at university, ready for career opportunities in the booming UK creative industries after graduation. Our events are designed to take place either at the University, giving students an insight into our facilities such as the Daphne Oram Creative Arts Building and Powell Building Mac Studio. Our events can take place at the University and some at your school or college or at your school or college.
To allow enough time for us to put everything in place for these events we ask for a minimum of 5 weeks notice from receiving the booking request to your 1st preference date of activity.
Taster sessions, talks and workshop activities
Graphic Design:
In this talk we will explore some of the basic principles of Graphic Design and studying at CCCU.
Through visual demonstrations and engaging talk we will look at Type, Colours, hierarchy and form and how these elements help to create visually engaging communications
This session will develop students’ perspective of the wider world of graphic design, and open up perspective about the potential career opportunities in furthering study in Graphic Design.
| Date: | Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 11, 12 and 13 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Location | University Campus, in School/College or Virtually |
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In the 'My First Brief' graphic design workshop, students dive into the basics of visual communication, research skills and how to answer a creative brief.
Not only developing study and research skills, this session also explores marketing requirements in a professional context. Tasks include developing the skills to read and respond to a creative brief, empowering students to develop not only their creative skillset but their professional one.
| Date: | Mondays and Tuesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 10, 11, 12, and 13 |
| Group size: | Room size |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Location | University Campus, Schools and Colleges, or Virtually |
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In this workshop students discover the history of and importance of the logomark.
- What are signs and symbols?
- How do we read them and what impact do they have on everyday life?
- What is Branding and why should we care?
Students will be asked to think creatively as they sketch up some new creations for logo to represent them. They will use industry software such as Adobe Illustration, gaining skills and knowledge of researching a target audience and developing their practical skills in sketching and design composition.
Curriculum links:
- Media Studies
- Business and Advertising
| Date: | Mondays and Tuesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Years 11, 12 and 13 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 2-3 hours |
| Location | University Campus or Schools and Colleges |
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This workshop aims to get your students thinking and seeing design in the form of typography.
They'll look to learn not only the array of typefaces out there, but how they are utilised and how they can inspire through a visual research task called Spotting type in the wild. It is a fantastic way to get to know a place and its typography! They'll see how many of the examples they can find locally and be inspired by them by photographing as much local typography as they can find, seeking out the interesting pieces.
Curriculum Links:
- Typography in Graphic Design and Media Studies
- Research Skills
- Business and Advertising
| Date: | Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 11, 12 and 13 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 2-3 hours |
| Location | University Campus or in School or College |
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This workshop has been developed to to allow all students including those with no prior design experience, to design a poster for their favourite movie. Students will gain a common level of knowledge and understanding of the elements of Graphic Design using state of the art software and equipment in the Daphne Oram Design labs.
They can gain skills in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, understanding the requirements of professional marketing design. This session considers the needs of a design hierarchy, considering factors such as colour, layout, contrast and type.
| Date: | Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 10, 11, and 12 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 2-3 hours |
| Location | University Campus |
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This taster day uses an interdisciplinary approach to incorporate groups taking on multiple roles on a shared project, including writing, art editing, lettering, colouring and more to simulate the collaborative practise involved in media production. This session aims to enable students to make connections between Graphic Design and creative considerations including storytelling, narratives, character designs and sequential art.
The taster day allows students a taste of having a design brief in a professional context, and gives them the opportunity to have a completed project to take home upon completion. It also considers topics of representation in media.
Curriculum links:
- Comics in Media A Level / BTEC
- Creative Writing
- Art
- Storyboarding in Film Studies / Media
| Date: | Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 10, 11, 12, and 13 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 4 hours+ |
| Location | University Campus |
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This taster day communicates that design has an active role in its ability to bring about meaningful and substantiative change. Students have the opportunity to create their own passion project with the physical creation of zines using professional tools and equipment, such as a risograph, available in the Design labs in Daphne Orams arts facilities. This enables and empowers students the means and awareness of their ability to create independently through unconventional and easily accessible means, giving them the agency to begin developing their own portfolio. It also incorporates elements of politics and sociology from academics researching the field.
This session aims to make students aware of the powerful
potential of design, and to challenge them to consider the ways that their actions can inform, educate, challenge or reinforce. It is also accessible to students from different disciplinary backgrounds, without needing to have studied Design previously.
Curriculum links:
- Collage in Art and Design Technology
- Magazines and journalism in Media Studies
- Journalism and Professional Writing in English
- Representation and ethical issues in Politics and Sociology
| Date: | Wednesdays during term time |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 10, 11, 12, and 13 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 4 hours+ |
| Location | University Campus |
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Games Design:
Learn about the games design industry and studying at Canterbury Christ University in a one-hour session. Games are an industry that include professionals with a broad range of skills including art, design, programming, narrative writing, and more, and this makes it a perfect session to introduce students who do not already have a background in Games to many different potential career pathways. As well as this, students will get a taster of the wider student experience here at CCCU and in the School of Creative Arts and Industries:
- Introduction to studying at CCCU
- Introduction to the Games Design industry
- Showcasing different career pathways
- Q&A with a current CCCU student
This session can be added to any other relevant talk, including in the wider School of Creative Arts and Industries, in Game Design, or in our events supporting progression to university, such as UCAS Personal Statement workshop.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12 / Year 13 / FE Level 3 yr 1 / FE Level 3 yr 2 |
| Group size: | |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Location | University Campus, in School or College or virtually |
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In this collaborative interactive session, pupils will be introduced to the inner workings of digital games and then put this knowledge to the test by building cardboard robot suits in teams and playing a game. This fun workshop is aimed at students dipping their toes into Game Design for the first time, requiring no prior skill in the area, and introducing them to ideas of how games are made and what you can create studying the discipline.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 10 and 11 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Location | University Campus |
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Suitable for any lesson, from math and science to history and literature, our session illuminates the real-world connections between what your pupils are studying and Game Design. This is a great session partnered with Game Development Skills. It is a session perfect for students without any experience in Game Design, and shows how the discipline has roles and careers for all types of creative avenues.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Location | University Campus or School or College |
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In this workshop, pupils can experience some core game development skills through an interactive and skill-developing session. This could be 3D Modelling, Programming, Music, Writing, or even 2D game arts. If there’s something not on the list you’d like to see, please get in touch. This session is great for students studying areas related to games at a sixth-form or college level who wish to further develop their skills in game development.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12 or 13 |
| Group size: | 20 |
| Duration | 2-3 hours |
| Location | University Campus or School or College |
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A showcase of some of the best videogames currently being developed at CCCU. This is an opportunity to find out about the opportunities at CCCU Games Design with staff and students, to playtest actual games in development, and complete the same playtest questions and model that our current students use to develop their games. Your students take part in an immersive experience and get a feel of what it's like to be a part of this creative community, learn what has inspired other students, and find out more about career pathways available to them in the game industry.
This session can also be booked with one of our workshops or talks to make a taster-day experience to your bespoke requirements, including a skill-raising workshop in areas such as 3d modelling, programming, music, writing and even 2d game art.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12 / Year 13 / FE Level 3 yr 1 / FE Level 3 yr 2 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 1+ hours |
| Location | University Campus, in School or College or virtually |
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In this collaborative workshop, pupils will craft their own physical or digital game in teams, playtest with peers, and tackle surprise challenges, mirroring the game industry and other game jam opportunities. This session is flexible with its length, adaptable to however much time suits your needs, and gives your students the opportunity to start developing a project from scratch.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12, 13 or equivalent |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 1+ hours |
| Location | University Campus |
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Photography:
A talk exploring what careers there are in photography, as well as in being a photographer in the wider arts, and how studying photography at a university level can develop the skills you need to succeed.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | 30 |
| Duration | 1 hour or as part of 4 hour campus taster day |
| Location | University Campus or Virtually |
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Experiment in the timeless art of Large Format Photography, where you will create photograph using analogue equipment and techniques. Learn the intricacies of handling large-format cameras and producing stunning, physical images which stand out in the digital age.
Can also be delivered at GCSE level or equivalent.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | Up to 10 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Location | University Campus |
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Explore sustainability and creativity in our Sustainable Darkroom Workshop, mastering eco-friendly photo development techniques while preserving the art of traditional darkroom printing. Discover the magic of transforming photo-sensitive paper into image creation while minimizing your environmental footprint.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 11, Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | Up to 12 |
| Duration | 1-2 hours |
| Location | University Campus or in Schools and Colleges |
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In our Studio Fashion Workshop, you'll step into one of our state-of-the-art photography studios, the home of fashion photography, and learn from lighting experts to gain insight into the art of capturing style, drama and fashion. Elevate your photographic voice and gain insight into studio lighting more broadly.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | Up to 10 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Location | University Campus or in Schools and Colleges |
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Explore the contemporary and impactful realm of Politics and Challenges Workshop, where you'll experiment and provoke change through image selection and arrangement. Explore the power of visual storytelling in addressing pressing social and political issues, making a difference with photographic image and collage.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 11, Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | Up to 30 |
| Duration | 1-2 hours |
| Location | University Campus or Virtually |
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For those eager to add motion to their narratives, our Moving Image Workshop will equip you with the skills to craft compelling visual stories. Master the techniques of video production and editing and bring your stories to life with creative and dynamic visual story telling.
| Date: | Flexible |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | Up to 30 |
| Duration | 2-3 hours |
| Location | University Campus or in Schools and Colleges |
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On this Taster Day students will produce a photography publication (zine) from conception to competition. Using the facilities within the Creative Arts building including photography studios and printmaking, students will identify a theme for their zine and, using research and design strategies, make a printed edition of the publication to take away with them.
This session aims to make students aware of the powerfulpotential of sequencing photographs and layouts, and to challenge them to consider the ways that their actions can inform, educate, challengeor reinforce. It is also accessible to students from different disciplinary backgrounds, without needing to have studied photography previously.
Curriculum links:
- Collage in Art and Design Technology
- Magazines and journalism in Media Studies
- Journalism and Professional Writing in English
- Representation and ethical issues in Politics and Sociology
Can also be delivered at GCSE level or equivalent.
| Date: | Flexible (Summer terms) |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 11, Year 12, Year 13 and FE Level 3 |
| Group size: | Up to 30 |
| Duration | 4 hours |
| Location | University Campus |
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Media & Design Summer School
Our non-residential Media & Design Summer School is a two day event with extremely limited spaces giving your students a taste of what it's like to be a freelancer in the Creative Industry. Throughout the course of the two days there are opportunities to develop skills in film making, animation, branding photography, logo and branding graphic design, game-making, and social media campaigns as your students roleplay freelancers for an independent, sustainable company called Grow.
As the number 1 university for employabaility, all of our staff are practicing and experienced in their respective industries and can open your students' eyes to the many career paths open to them in the creative sector with hands on experiences and realistic tasks.
We have tried to group the workshops on each day of the Summer School so that they will be relevant to students studying Media-based courses (Day 1) or Art, Creative and Design based courses (Day 2). We can accomodate groups of up to 25 students per school. You are welcome to apply for both days, but please consider if both would be sutiable for your students or if different groups would benefit from different days, as there is limited spaces.
| Date: | 4th and 5th of June |
|---|---|
| Year group: | Year 12 or FE Level 3 equivalent |
| Group size: | Up to 25 |
| Duration | 10:00-15:30 |
| Location | University Campus |
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Undergraduate and postgraduate open events
Subject talks and videos
School and College Engagement
Email us
sce@canterbury.ac.uk