2026 Hands-On at Otago applications open Monday 14 July 2025!

This is a unique opportunity for students from your school (who will be in Years 12 and 13 in 2026) to come down and experience a week of Otago student life. If you haven’t heard about Hands-On at Otago before, students stay on campus in one of our residential colleges and choose a subject to study for the week. There are over 20 subjects on offer, from across Business, Health Sciences, Humanities (Arts) and Sciences. They’ll learn from our world-class academic staff, meet students their age from schools across the country and participate in a huge range of activities that will challenge and inspire them for the years ahead.

Hands-On will run from Sunday 11 January to Friday 16 January 2026. It’s important to note that we tend to receive more applications than we have places available, so we encourage students to put time and effort into their applications, and share with us why they should be offered a place.

Do you or your students want to know more about the programme? Head online to otago.ac.nz/hands-on-at-otago. Here you’ll find videos, info on costs, scholarships (there are lots of these available and we really encourage all students to apply for one), fundraising ideas, accommodation information, transport options and more.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to contact one of our team: [email protected] – we are always happy to help.