Conducting University Workshops- Efficient Ideas for Organizers

Picture this. You enrol in a workshop hoping to learn a valuable skill, but halfway through the sessions, you realize there’s nothing new to learn. I’m sure you would not want your attendees to have the same experience. That being said, turning an idea into a workshop takes considerable effort. Genuine workshops aim to educate the participants so that they walk away with a new idea or skill.

Putting together a workshop at universities is quite different from organizing a conference. A workshop requires the attendees to take charge of their own learning, unlike a conference, where attendees can choose to stay passive. Now, the obvious question that may come up is, how do we ensure that participants are actually engaging and learn something from these types of university events? We’ll get to that right now. 

Let’s discuss some ideas that may help you put together workshops that attendees want to keep coming back to. 

Think About the Participants of Your Workshop

Your participants are the focus of your workshop and the most essential piece of the puzzle. Knowing them and their requirements allows you to decide how to carry out the workshop. 

If you expect most participants to be familiar with the materials of the workshop, that may affect how you present the materials. Consider whether the attendees are familiar with each other. If yes, then you can move past the introductions and quickly dive into the main material of the workshop. 

Remember Not to Treat Your Workshop Like a Lecture

Workshops require a hands-on approach that helps educate attendees about a certain topic. A writing workshop means students are supposed to write. A video editing workshop means students need to edit videos. If your workshop doesn’t have hands-on experience included in it, you need to rethink conducting it. 

An instructor may be great at lectures, but not necessarily an expert at conducting workshops. As an organizer, you need to realize that a lecture has a spotlight on the speakers, but a workshop is all about the ones who participate. A good workshop provides guided instructions to the attendees on how to do things. 

Consider the Timeframe of the Workshop

The timing of a workshop may span an hour or an entire day( or may be two). The timeframe often depends on the specific goals of your workshop. If the topic of the workshop is fairly new to attendees, they will need a lot of time to clarify doubts to completely understand it. 

Consider starting early if you think your workshop has a lot of materials to cover. Morning or early afternoon is the best time to open doors for the workshop since that’s when attendees will be fully engaged and eager to learn. Try not to schedule the workshops during evenings or after work hours. 

Determine the Number of Attendees for the Workshop 

Good workshops often involve more one-on-one interactions, which makes them effective. And interactions are beneficial when they’re done in smaller groups. This way, every individual gets an opportunity to express their opinions and get their queries answered by the instructor. Even though you want your group to be small, it needs to be large enough to keep things interesting. 

So, how many participants should you really need for a workshop? The ideal number of participants can be anything between 10 and 15. Accepting more participants could mean that the voices of those quieter ones get lost. Similarly, if the number of participants is less than 10, then there may not be enough opinions or ideas flying around. 

Think About the Activities You’ll Include 

Workshops are best known for offering practical opportunities to learn a skill. So, decide on the suitable group activities that match the goals of your workshops. Pick activities that can be done in pairs or small groups or even individually. You must provide equal opportunities for every attendee to make meaningful contributions to your workshop. Some possible group activities may include: 

Q&A sessions: If you have a lot of information to offer, allow your attendees to ask questions about the material. And then answer these questions or allow other attendees to answer them. 

Debates: Divide the attendees into two groups and let each group argue for their position. 

Think-pair-share: Pair attendees in a group of two, ask them a question, and let them think about it on their own. Let the attendees discuss their thoughts with their partners and then share their conclusions with the entire group. 

Share the Agenda and Set Expectations at the Very Beginning

Before starting with the workshop, it’s always a good idea to walk your attendees through the agenda. Share the goal and purpose of the workshop, so they’ll know how the discussions or exercises can benefit them. Also, remind them that the work doesn’t end even after the workshop ends. Setting realistic expectations and making sure that everyone in the room knows what’s expected of them going into the workshop. 

Plan Breaks Thoughtfully

Breaks allow people to focus better on the tasks at hand. It’s wrong to assume that your attendees will be able to focus on the exercises for a prolonged time. Nobody’s immune to a low attention span today. Let your attendees get coffee or use the restroom without disrupting the flow of the workshop. 

You must remember that these breaks always take longer than planned. Hence, add another 10-15 minutes extra to the time that you’ve allotted for the break. This will allow the participants enough time to wander back into the room and settle down. 

Arrange Audio-Visual Materials Well in Advance 

If you plan to present a slideshow, play video or audio clips, prepare and set them up way ahead of time. Test them before the workshop starts to make sure they are working properly. 

Talk to your venue’s av technician to ensure your materials can be presented properly. Not all projectors are compatible with all computers. Some rooms may not have sound projection. Decide on the venue based on whether it can accommodate the technology you plan to use. On the day of the workshop, be present early so you can check if everything is in order. 

Understand That Discussions Take Time 

If you divide your attendees into smaller groups for specific activities. Set a time and remind them about the time to ensure equal participation from everyone. 

Make sure the attendees understand the questions and are progressing through them at the right pace. Also, make sure the moderators are paying attention to the groups, which helps the participants in case they have any queries or concerns. The moderators can also help motivate the attendees to stay on task and engage with the group. 

Ask for Immediate Feedback After the Workshop

Create an evaluation form that your attendees can fill out in the last few minutes of the workshop. Make sure that you give them sufficient time to comment and consider your questions. Immediate feedback helps improve the workshop and strengthens the learning of your attendees. Some appropriate questions to ask your attendees are listed below: 

• • Did the workshop meet your expectations?
  • Is the timeframe of the workshop appropriate? 
  • What activities were most engaging? 
  • How have you learned or grown from this workshop? 
  • Do you have any suggestions for improvements? 

To Sum Up

University workshops are possibly the most engaging way to help your attendees gain knowledge and learn a new skill, out of all other event formats. Needless to say, conducting it is also far more challenging than organizing any other type of event in an academic institution. However, the ideas highlighted in this blog will ensure your workshop turns out engaging and memorable for the audience.

And if you need an event management platform to help you in the process of conducting the workshop, pick Dryfta. We have the right kind of resources to guide you at every step of planning the event. From registration to follow-up after the workshop, we’ll help you through everything. Don’t forget to ask for a live demo of our product features before availing our services.