Sensory Friendly Welcome Day 2025

Kia ora! Welcome to orientation with the volume turned down.

Sensory Friendly Welcome Day is a chance for you to get ready for your Polytechnic studies in a quieter space with the lights turned down. You'll get your orientation materials, meet some of our helpful staff, and have a chance to ask questions.

This day is designed to meet the needs of neurodiverse and disabled students and anyone who might need a less stimulating introduction to student life. You're welcome to bring whānau and friends. 

Ben, pictured below, is one of our friendly Accessibility Advisors. He will be your host throughout the event. 

What makes this event sensory friendly?

This event is held before our other orientation events so that crowds are at a minimum and the campus is generally quiet. We turn down the lights in the Hub and close some of the blinds. The Eden Cafe also turns down their background music and signs are put up reminding everyone who uses the space to keep noise to a minimum.

Event details

There will be two sessions on Thursday 13 February. Join us for whichever time suits you best.

• Morning session from 10:00am-11:30am 
• Afternoon session from 1:00pm-2:30pm 

Location: The Hub and G201/203. Not sure where to go? Click here for an interactive campus map.

Each session will be broken into three 30-minute sections. 

First 30 minutes

Meet in the Hub near Student Success for your introduction session. You'll meet members of different services you might use on campus, including Student Success, Customer Services, and our student association OPSA. There will be time for you to talk directly with staff to ask any questions you might have. 

Second 30 minutes

Next, we'll move into a classroom, G201/203 where you'll get a demonstration of some of the online spaces and tools you'll need for your learning. Ben will also show you some of the assistive technology we can offer to learners to help with study.

Third 30 minutes

The Accessibility Advisors will be available in room G201/203 to answer any other questions you have.

Any questions?

If you have any other questions about Sensory Friendly Welcome Day, or want to talk about any other accessibility matters, you can email the Accessibility team at accessibility@op.ac.nz

Other resources to check out at Otago Polytechnic

Otago Polytechnic has a Quiet Rooom | Rūma Wahangū. Read more about our Quiet Room here. 

We also keep a list of Quiet Hours and Low Sensory Hours around Dunedin. You can find the list here. 

Find a list of all our Student Support services at this link. This includes Accessibility, Māori, Pasifika, Learning Advisors and more.