Creative event ideas for College & University students

College life would be so boring if it had only academic stuff involved. Events in college bring fun and entertainment. And to organize events you would need event ideas for college. Here are listed 16 event ideas that are engaging and will create some good memories. 

For every event, there are a few factors related to it like event goal, budget, engagement rate, and the number of attendees. And then comes the kind of event that can be organized in colleges and universities.

Mainly college events are categorized into 3 types:

1. Outdoor events: Events that can be organized on the campus
2. Indoor events: Events that can be done within the 4 walls
3. Virtual events: Events that can help you tap into global audience
4. Budget-friendly events with high returns

Outdoor College Event Ideas 

Without the excitement of events, college and university life would be extremely dull. Events are capable of bringing students together. College campus events are the time when students unwind from regular campus life after a whole year of hustle.

If you’re looking for outdoor event ideas that students will actually want to attend, then you’ve come to the right spot. These unique and creative event ideas for a college campus are a combination of fun and learning.

1. Prom Night

Prom nights are organized mostly by juniors before seniors move out. Freshmen Day is a similar event to prom night but for freshers in college. It is basically a fancy dancing event that needs to be attended along with a partner. It is usually held at the end of the academic year and is a great event idea that will engage a large number of students.

Host it better by keeping the following things in mind.

• Build a student community of 5–6 members to plan the prom event.
• Choose a venue and an event theme based on the latest event trend.
• Send descriptive event invites to students across all the courses.
• Incorporate fun activities into the event to make it more fun.
• Promote your event by letting students know the uniqueness of the event.

2. Science Exhibition – New innovations

A scientific fair offers students a chance to understand science in a great way. An opportunity for students to test their theoretical knowledge. Students make an effort to use their creative thoughts. Students’ ability to interact with other innovative thinkers and collaborate to create something brand-new using their knowledge. When you implement things that you have previously studied in action, you are learning practically. 

You can plan the event and send out signup forms along with the invitation to different institutions to register for the event. To make it easier to manage the expenses, you can also keep nominal fees that you can collect at the time of registration. It is a fantastic idea for a university and college-level event.

What more can be part of the science fair?

• A science exhibition is a requirement at the majority of educational institutions. 
• Reach out to sponsors and present your event idea for sponsorship.
• Invite judges to make sure there is fair competition. 
• You can organize a full-day event and set up food stalls close to the project stalls.

3. Musical Night that college students will never miss

Concerts are the most interesting and exciting activities because people of all ages enjoy them. However, this event concept can only be successful with careful event planning. The most important aspect of this concert event is to choose a performer that can keep the audience interested the entire time. The second difficulty is arranging the stage and sound equipment to meet the performer’s needs.

• Choose a location and an hour that will allow you to reach the largest possible audience. The time period during the night is ideal for such gatherings. 
• Advertise your event and sell tickets on various social media sites, which will help you raise money to pay for the costs of the event.

4. Sports Events that everyone loves

Participating in sporting competitions is always a competitive eye-catcher. All different sports competitions, such as volleyball, basketball, football, and badminton, can be part of a sporting event. When held over a college campus, these mentioned are the most common ones. Competition between colleges or within colleges may be involved.

• For these events, the student body can be volunteers. 
• Accommodation arrangements are the most crucial component of such activities.
• Pre-event planning can lessen the pressure of last-minute preparations.

To get ease with the sponsorship of sports events checks out the following blogs:

1. How To Get Sports Events Sponsorships?
2. How To Find Sponsors For An Event

5. Thrilled Mystery that will send chills down your spine

The main goals of scavenger hunts are to solve puzzles and search for hidden treasure. On play cards, hints have to be written. College students must determine the location of the prize with the help of these tips. You may organize scavenger hunts a pirate or perhaps a pyramid-themed event.

Proceed in the following way for the event

• Add additional theories, like the Murder Mystery, if you wish to give this game a twist. 
• Based on hints, identify the (fake) murderer among the students.
•  The team that discovers the murderer first wins the game.

College Event Ideas that can be implemented within four walls

Some events don’t need a grand place to take place, and those are indoor events. Here are some events that need minimal planning and you are good to go.

6. Food Wars!

The fastest way to bring any group of college students together, including those from different cultures, is via food. Many students enjoy experimenting with new cuisines.

So straightforward, if you’re lacking ideas, start your college event with a cooking competition. It’s more enjoyable than it may seem, and it’s the ideal activity for those who enjoy cooking. Invite students as it produces a fun atmosphere even when food is being prepared.

Listed reasons for cooking event to be fun event choice.

• The host might add a twist by limiting the ingredients that can be used to prepare dishes.
• Cooking lessons can also be a part where students can learn basic cooking skills.
• New recipes are always being developed and tested, and it’s definitely worth a try. 
• A cook-off event is a unique event that will help you attract more participants and sell more event tickets

7. Get your dose of Comedy

Standup comedy is gaining popularity. Moreover, it has the potential to attract a large audience. Here a comedian gives a live performance on stage. Cracks joke to make the direct audience laugh.

• Before choosing a college event concept, you should first research the artist. It’s important to know what kind of content your favorite comedian gives. 
• Comedy is great, but when performed in front of students, it should be decent. And there are several humor options for each age group.

From generation to generation, comedy’s level varies. An elderly comedian might not be as funny to students as a younger one. People have a tendency to enjoy and relate with others who share their aura. A comedian’s material must first be relatable to you in some great way for you to understand it.

8. TEDx: Talks that can Inspire Students

If correctly run, the ted talk event can help your college or university students. You should start by putting together a team, and each member of that team should be in charge of their individual responsibilities. Talk to the management about what the college wants to promote and make connections with the speakers. The ideas of your speaker should be relevant to the causes that your university supports.

• Make sure your event goes off without a hitch and fulfills its intended event. 
• Give all the attendees goodies. This will maintain your audience’s interest in you for all time. 
• Ted Talk is a great way to spread the word about the cause your event is supporting.

9. Shark Tank Event for Innovative Minds

Innovation and the sharing of helpful ideas are the main focuses of this great event. Tell students the advantages of taking part in these activities. Keep attractive gifts on hand for the students to motivate them to take part in the activity. Get your fellow students to put together a presentation of their thoughts in front of the chief guest.

Give the top performer a certificate of appreciation in order to encourage them to keep up their excellent job in the future. You never know what these occasions might contribute to society.

Events that enable you to reach the virtual audience 

There has been a fair bit of doubts regarding the return to normalcy of the globe following COVID. People now accept the culture of the web. People from all over the world now support remote learning. Everywhere, whether in a school, college, university, or office, business is conducted online. Even events are happening virtually.

Since no one ever planned for online events, organizers are lacking event ideas. However, there are many event ideas that may be explored by event professionals here to make the event more entertaining and intriguing.

10. Virtual Open Mic

This event is about getting students to perform against their will. Performers must be limited in number. You can ask performers to send their entries through recorded video. A virtual open mic is more about creating a connection between the audience and the performer. And so it is also a confidence-boosting event that will encourage “talents” to be part of it.

• Choose an undisturbed space to host the event.
• Get yourself admin rights so that you will have an extra feature to manage attendees.
• You can mute and unmute the audience based on your requirements. This makes managing attendees much easier.
• Performers have a chance to present their talent and win hearts.
• Test your event hosting software a day before and make sure you are aware of its technicalities.

11. Film Making

This event is supposed to be the most engaging of all the events. Only participants in the group can take part. Set the minimum and the maximum number of participants that can be a part of a single group. Each group has to come up with a creative film script based on social issues. You can mark script submission as the first elimination round if a lot of entries come up.

• Get event registrations through promotions on social media. 
• Sell event tickets through attractive taglines and descriptions of the event. 
• Start releasing film posters of confirmed groups that will be performing. 
• Don’t stretch out the event, as it can be a time-consuming event. 
• Give a time slot of 15 minutes to each group to present their story.

You can ask the live audience to vote for themselves. This will promote fair competition among the groups. And the audience will feel engaged by having a chance to mark their votes. The film with the most votes will be the winner of the event.

12. Advance Language Workshop

A great way for students to learn language courses is through practical learning. This will give students a chance to talk in another language virtually. Also, help students learn more about their language classes.

Faculty and students can participate in interactive workshops offered around campus. This event could be free and put on by students for other students. Additionally, this event has the potential to attract an audience to get enrolled.

13. Yoga Classes for Healthy Hearts

Stress among students is very common these days and yoga can help attendees relax. Yoga sessions are beneficial in such situations. Moreover, organizing yoga classes will benefit students from an early stage. Encourage students to have a better understanding of a healthy mind and body. 

So, what could be a better way to celebrate fitness? Yoga is becoming increasingly popular these days. Everyone today has a greater awareness of their health. Yoga sessions are one of the best virtual event suggestions for students because they encourage well-being. 

Budget-friendly Events with High Returns

At times it may happen that you don’t have enough budget to create an event. Here are some event ideas for college that can be customized within a budget. Moreover, when these events are planned with a thought process it can definitely give you high returns. 

14. Paint the blues with Creativity

Easy-peasy event idea that involves very little planning and money. A craft workshop is a great choice if you are planning something at the last minute. Craftsperson will teach students some basic crafts. It might be an art class or a DIY class. Here, a group of people imparts their art-related wisdom and experience. Basically, an effortless workshop that can keep students engaged around the campus.

15. Interview Mock Classes

This great event can be taken into consideration if you want to plan an educational activity that, in the long term, will benefit both students and the university. There would be no need to secure any paid hosts; university lecturers would do. Teachers are the only people who truly understand the strengths and shortcomings of their students. It should be sufficient to arrange a mock interview three times every week.

16. Best Out of Waste

The event’s name practically speaks for itself. Students will be creating new objects out of trash. It might be a display item or any creative creation created from things that would otherwise serve no purpose. Students will learn the significance of recycled goods through this. Reward winners with some special reward to encourage students. 

Share pictures over social media to get student engagement on the social platforms. It is a way to get students involved and promote yourself.

Factors that make an Event Success

1. Structured Team

Team building is a very important part of an event. Your event needs to have smart members to tackle mishaps. Each member will be responsible for their task. Divided the tasks of members of a team based on their interests. Then they divided this team as a whole into smaller groups. They have to get a plan ready on how they are going to manage the events. Decide a budget for each group based on the events they will be managing.

2. Sponsorship

When students turn into event planners, there is a lot they are unaware of. And one such tactic is getting sponsorship. It can help the student community a lot in their budget department. Reach out to similar organizations to get sponsorship. Present your event idea to them and explain how this can benefit them. Why would someone sponsor me for free? It’s always a give-and-take process.

Additionally, having someone sponsor your event reduces the burden of a budget. When you have sponsors involved, you get to have their audience also be involved in your event.

3. Handy Registration Tools

In between the event hassle, it can be challenging to handle the process of registration. Here, the registration tools available make the signup process handy. You can have all the details in one place, which makes it manageable. Based on registrations, these tools can also generate statistical data that can be analyzed later. You will be aware of which events you are lacking in and where you need to put in extra effort ahead of time.

AllEvents is one such registration tool that has helped many event professionals with their events. It has a high success rate in selling event tickets. It is not as complex as the other tools present in the market, which makes it a user-friendly application.

4. Post Event Enagagement 

Keeping in touch with your audience is the best approach to making your future event a success. Send the post-event survey form to the attendees. It will make them realize they were valuable and important parts of the event. Surveys will provide you with a clear picture of where you lacked and where you excelled. This analysis will help you with the structuring of your upcoming events.

When you are already connected with your past event audience, it gives you a chance to concentrate on newer ones. This way, you can have a set of attendees that you know will surely be a part of events. As it is easier to please the audience, you have already done it once in the past.

• Follow up with them through emails like “Missed your presence” along with a hint of the upcoming events.
• Keep sharing the event content that attendees may find relevant. You can share throwback pictures of the event
• Keep a check on the data collected throughout the event to analyze it later for better outcomes.

Get Things Together

Start your event hashtag and continue using it even after the event has ended. Get your hands on different social media applications to promote your event. Share the details, such as contact number, registration process, discount, and other event details. Use the event registration tool to ease the process of signups. AllEvent has a customer support rating of 4.5/5 and payments are made directly to the account, which makes it user-friendly.

Most important out of all is post-engagement activities so that it’s easier for you to host upcoming functions on college campuses. Give students thank you notes for their unconditional support and help throughout the campus event.