The entire August 25, 2021 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire August 25, 2021 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!

By SARAH MATTHEWS

Prospective Longerenong College students will be able to experience one of the state’s primary agricultural institutions from the comfort of their own homes on Sunday. 

The college’s annual open day will be an online affair again this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

College business development officer Donna Winfield said plans for the virtual event were progressing well.

“COVID has seen many events cancelled and postponed throughout the past 18 months and this year Longerenong College was again forced to try to look into a crystal ball and predict whether there would be a lockdown for the on-campus open day,” she said.

“The call was made early and you guessed it, we will be in another lockdown on the planned date.”

Ms Winfield said establishing a virtual open day early helped streamline the planning process.

She said this year’s event would follow on from a successful virtual open day in 2020.

“Again this year we will take you from the comfort of your lounge room to Longerenong College and onto our farm of the future – equipped with drones, boom sprays, headers and more,” she said.

“With 100 percent of last year’s graduates securing jobs, demand for ag has more than doubled.”

Ms Winfield said the open day offered potential students a ‘perfect chance’ to look at where a qualification from Longerenong College could take them.

“The open day will see you meet new head of campus Avril Hogan, hear about courses on offer and the amazing careers our students have opportunities for,” she said.

“I will be talking about the scholarship program, while Bryan Matuschka will talk about the fantastic new DATA Farm and Innovation Centre and what this means for our students. 

“The students will talk about why they chose Longy and show you around the campus. 

“You will also have an opportunity to look at the campus and farm, and we hope this inspires people all over the state and beyond to take a look and hope a career in ag is what they have been chasing.”

Ms Winfield said one of the positives of a virtual event was it could reach people throughout the country. 

“To attend the day in person, people need to travel here, often have to stay overnight and travel home again,” she said.

“With the closure of borders and travel restrictions, attending in person is impossible for some. 

“This way, nobody has to miss out on discovering what Longy has to offer and they can use that information to make decisions about their future.”

Ms Winfield said a highlight of the event would be a live question and answer session on Facebook and YouTube at 11am.

“If you are curious about a career in ag, you can have all your questions answered,” she said.

Registration for the virtual open day is essential and people can visit website www.longy.com.au for more information or to register.