We know that students often struggle to find and book events across the many systems currently in use at Sussex. With platforms like Eventbrite and Ticket Tailor charging fees, and raising GDPR concerns, it’s important to provide a simpler, secure and more joined-up experience.
We have extended Careerhub to now include Opportunity Hub, an in-house booking platform for free internal student events and activities. It has been designed to create a seamless experience for students with a Sussex email address as they navigate between services. It is a direct replacement for systems such as Eventbrite and Ticket Tailor.
You should still promote your events using the Broadcast system, so that events appear on the website, and link to your booking page in Opportunity Hub.
Why use Opportunity Hub?
The platform brings together free student events and communities (“Activities”) into a single, searchable space. Students can browse by topic, keyword, or interest - making it easier than ever to discover opportunities, find their communities, and feel a sense of belonging. Event organisers can tag activities with the skills that can be gained, helping people understand why it it’s worth their time attending. As it’s an in-house system, it will also be GDPR compliant and free to use.
Benefits for staff
Opportunity Hub streamlines processes for staff as well as students: automatically capturing engagement data and integrating it with the student record system (Oracle). Events can be aligned to Access and Participation Plan (APP) interventions, enabling automatic reporting and analysis. Improved evaluation functionality means that staff can more easily assess engagement, outcomes, and programme effectiveness. A QR code check-in feature means that students also become responsible for checking themselves into events, eliminating the need for paper registers and spreadsheets.
Less admin
Opportunity Hub is intuitive and easy to use, with features that reduce workload:
- Pre-loaded campus locations for quick event setup (including online options)
- Real-time attendance tracking
- Email capabilities, with automatic booking and reminder emails set up to send to students before the event.
- Forms, that may be automatically attached to an event or an email. These can be created to ask for anything from dietary and access requirements to event feedback.
- Reporting features built in and linked to the student database.
Supporting students beyond graduation
Students can download a personal transcript of events attended and skills developed throughout their time at Sussex. This provides a valuable resource for CVs and job applications, Interview preparation, and reflecting on personal development.
Get involved
Opportunity Hub is already being used across Student Engagement and Enhancement and for Welcome events, and we’re now inviting colleagues across the University to get involved.
To start using the platform and add your events, please email Melinda Finn to be set up as an administrator: M.C.Finn@sussex.ac.uk.
You’ll receive access to a user guide and training videos, and additional training sessions can be arranged on request.