OpenApply Virtual Admissions Conference Spring 2021: Recap

OpenApply was excited to host our second virtual conference, thirteenth overall, on April 14 & 15, 2021. We were thrilled to welcome around 120 attendees from over 40 countries and 76 schools all over the world.

The theme of this conference was The Road Ahead, and the schedule was broken down into sessions led by Admissions Professionals and OpenApply. We designed the event to be as engaging and interactive as possible to encourage exchanges between all attendees. We aimed to bring the Admissions Community together to share best practices and experiences on planning admissions strategies going forward.

Here is an overview of the topics covered during the conference. Besides the presentations and workshops, the attendees had enjoyed the networking opportunities, with active group discussions or one-on-one chats.

During the Welcoming Remarks, OpenApply Director and SVP, Systems MacKenzie Murray shared a company update. See below to find out everything Faria and OpenApply have been busy working on and what to expect in the coming academic year:

David Willows and Suzette Parlevliet from International School of Brussels led a session outlining how ISB restructured its admissions team around experience design, noting some of the challenges and discoveries of the past year. Claudine Hakim from International School of London, Courtney Knight from International School of Paris, and Julia True from International School of Amsterdam led an interactive panel discussion on the current state of affairs in Admissions and wellbeing while looking at how to prepare for the post-pandemic era. Maria English from Dulwich College – Suzhou shared her personal experience and unpacked how diversity, equity and inclusion can be reflected and incorporated in admissions by looking into biases and ways to improve.

We appreciate all the speakers who contributed on top of the sessions above. All the recordings and resources are shared with the attendees after the conference.

What attendees have said!

“I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite being virtual, it was still nice to see names of people I virtually networked and connected with at the November conference. Also, it gives me a lovely sense of community with the realisation that we really are all in this together in different corners of the world shooting for the same goals:)” – Dina Hammam, International School of Brussels

“I always look forward to OpenApply events! I always take away so much knowledge and experience. The speakers are also very well selected to keep us all engaged.” – Hania Juma, American Community School in Jordan

“The overall conference, with everything in it, was just wonderfully thought out and very useful. I would not put anything before everything else. I look forward to watching the rest of the sessions.” – Asya Dineva Alexandrova, Anglo-American School of Sofia

“I always love attending the OpenApply conference, whether virtual or on campus. It’s a fantastic time to connect with fellow admissions colleagues and learn about challenges and wins in solidarity!” – Bekah Dawson, Oasis International School – Kuala Lumpur

“It is always good to meet your colleagues, to have the feeling of belonging and sharing best practices and experience. Thank you to the OpenApply team for working to constantly improve the system and add new features to make the admissions work easier and more effective.” – Maira Erliha, International School of Latvia

We thank everyone who joined us this time for being generous with their ideas and experiences, and we hope to see you at our next conference!