Regional radio station Beat 102-103 and Waterford Institute of Technology are teaming up to co-host a live CAO chat that will appear on both websites ahead of the CAO deadline.
Using technology from Cork company Pubble, visitors to both WIT and Beat websites will see the exact same live CAO Q&A forum. Parents, school leavers, and mature students can post questions, which are answered by WIT academics and admissions staff. People can also browse previously answered questions.
“Our main focus is helping school leavers make the right decision for them. By hosting a Q&A session on Beat’s website we can help students across the region make the right decisions ahead of the CAO February 1st deadline,” said Registrar of WIT, Dr Derek O’Byrne.
“We first used this technology when we ran an online Q&A on the WIT website about the new Internet of Things course last summer. We again ran three sessions in August after first round offers had been made to help CAO applicants make the right choice,” he explained.
This is WIT’s first media partnership for its series of Live CAO Q&As. The majority of graduates from WIT, which has more than 70 courses on the CAO, are from the counties that Beat broadcasts to.
Gabrielle Cummins, CEO of Beat 102-103 told RadioToday: “At Beat, our audience regularly gets in touch to tell us about their concerns when faced with all the various education options available to them. It can be extremely stressful so this live Q&A session will hopefully help to dispel any fears and will instead provide many students with practical information that they hadn’t thought about previously.”
In January Beat relaunched its website including a new logo, with a new focus on mobile and tablet usage.
The Live CAO Q&A takes place online on 27 and 28 January from 3-5pm.