Frequently asked questions
About
The Alumni Festival is a unique opportunity to experience the magic the University has to offer in an inclusive and family-friendly atmosphere. Explore behind the scenes, connect with old classmates and discover our world leading research through hands on experiences.
There will be music by Youth Group and Tik Tok sensation, Bailey Pickles, talks from Dr Karl and the Superstars of STEM and interactive research with the Rocketry Team and the Archaeology Research Lab, plus so much more!
The Alumni Festival will be held on Saturday 2 December 2023 at the University of Sydney, Camperdown campus.
The Carillon recital is first up at 9.30am. Other activities such as tours, the open buildings program and the University of Sydney Cricket Club home game starts at 10am.
The program continues into the night with CarolFest in the Great Hall and front lawns from 6.45-8.15pm followed by fireworks at 8.30pm. There is also a program of improv and music at Manning Bar starting late afternoon until 9.30pm.
Everyone! While the name may suggest it is just for University of Sydney alumni, everyone is welcome – friends, family, students, staff and the general public.
Yes! There are lots of activities that are family friendly.
- Activities at the Chau Chak Wing Museum
- Scavenger hunt
- Lawn games
- Sport camp taster sessions via SUSF - $20 for 2 hours
- Cricket match with face painters and activities
- Graduation photo activation in McLaurin Hall with kids gowns and entertainment
- Archaeology Research Lab open door
- CarolFest will be streamed on the front lawns
- Interactive research alley in the quad
- Dr Karl and the Superstars of STEM – Ask us STEM!
Your furry friends are welcome on the grounds, provided they are on a leash. Unfortunately, they will not be able to join you inside the buildings.
Of course! Most activities and sessions are free, and our alumni are always welcome on campus. The Manning Bar program, in the afternoon/evening, includes a heavily discounted rate for alumni and students.
There are pre-order picnic packs available via the registration process.
There will be a range of food and beverage options available on the day including:
- Food trucks with classic burger style food, and a sausage sizzle
- Coffee cart, ice-cream cart and bar
- Sounds Café in CCWM
- Fisher library café on Eastern Avenue
Of course! You are very welcome to bring your own food and have a picnic on the lawns. There will also be water refill stations available around the quadrangle.
Definitely! We encourage you to share the fun and memories with your friends and family on social media. And please don’t forget to tag us and use #usydalumni.
You may be filmed or photographed by festival staff and contractors while taking part in festival events. Any footage or photos may be used to promote the festival and University events in the future.
Rain will not ruin the Alumni Festival!
All talks and many activities are inside or under cover. The Chau Chak Wing Museum has a full program of activities, the research alley is under the cover of the historic cloisters and there will be plenty of space at the alumni marquee to catch up with friends.
We will email all registrants if a tour is cancelled because of weather conditions.
Whatever makes you comfortable! Check the weather before the day and come prepared to have some fun. A few suggestions include hat, sunnies, warm clothes for the evening, walking shoes for any tours and sports gear for the sports workshops.
We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of all University events.
We're so happy to hear you're keen to help out! There are a number of volunteering opportunties available, including in set up, queue management, event information and ticketing.
To volunteer you must be over 18 years old and available to attend a volunteer briefing session.
Benefits of volunteering include:
- Meeting like-minded people including University of Sydney staff, students, guests and fellow volunteers
- Gaining behind-the-scenes insights into the workings of a large-scale Festival
- Contibuting to Sydney’s culture and support a first-of-its-kind Festival
Plus volunteers will a Festival volunteer t-shirt and other perks during your time at the festival!
To organise a get-together, you just need to follow these three easy steps:
- Reach out to your fellow graduates.
- Ask them to register for the Alumni Festival.
- Email the Alumni Office. Please include the following details in your email: Your full name (and name at graduation if different), year of Graduation, degree and faculty. (If you have multiple degrees, please enter the details of the cohort you would like to meet with.)
If you're no longer connected with your former classmates, you may find them on the University's social pages:
For further assistance, please contact the Alumni Office - alumni.office@sydney.edu.au
Organising a get together is a wonderful opportunity for you to reconnect with fellow graduates and create new memories on campus.
Plus, every group of eight or more that registers their get together with us by 17th November 12023, receives a surprise on the day.
To register your get-together with us, please email the Alumni Office - alumni.office@sydney.edu.au
Registration
To register for the Festival visit the Festival website.
Attendees who register prior to 1 October 2023 will go into the draw to win a $1000 Visa gift card. See full terms and conditions.
Some performances, talks and tours havel limited places. Registration will secure your place and allow us to create a waitlist for sessions that are at capacity.
Plus, we have special program announcements coming throughout the rest of the year. By registering, you make sure you're the first to know!
Of course! You will be asked to fill out as much information on them as possible, including their email address. They will then receive an email to complete their account and, from there, they can build their own festival experience.
The more the merrier! We encourage you to spread the word and bring your family and friends.
No! The Alumni Festival is for alumni, their family and friends and the wider community. We are open for everyone.
There is no minimum age for guests - anyone and everyone is welcome!
Please note children must be aged six and up to register for the Sydney University Sport and Fitness 2-hour Sport Camps. Some activations may not be suitable for young children - if you're unsure, please speak to a friendly staff member on the day. They will be happy to assist you.
There is so much happening at the festival, and we don’t want you to miss out! The festival planner is designed for you to custom build your own festival experience. When you register online you will be given the option to browse events and add your desired sessions to your planner.
You can view your planner at any time and add/remove sessions if you change your mind.
There are some sessions you need to register for, like talks and tours, and some you can add to your planning without registration. Please remember you cannot register for two sessions at the same time!
The easiest way is to use the inbuilt filter on the website. You can search by activity type (such as family friendly, music, research, tours etc) and by the faculty/school.
If you have difficulties with the filter, we recommended your clear the cache on your computer or device. For further difficulties please contact us and we’ll do our best to help troubleshoot - alumni.office@sydney.edu.au.
You can modify your registration at any time by simply logging into your account and adding or removing items from your planner.
To cancel your registration please email the Alumni Office - alumni.office@sydney.edu.au.
To receive a refund for a picnic pack or trencher, please email the Alumni Office - alumni.office@sydney.edu.au. Orders must be finalised by 17 November 2023.
For the live Manning Bar program, please refer to the terms and conditions on the Oztix website.
You can update the contact information on your registration by logging into your account and selecting ‘Modify my details’.
Most talks will be live streamed and recorded. You can use the festival planner to filter by ‘online’ to register for the live stream. Closer to the festival date we will share the details of all online events.
Some performances, talks and tours have a limited capacity and require you to register you attendance. You will not be able to register for simultaneous events if you have booked into one of these events.
If you have changed your mind, you can remove the item from your planner and add in a different event.
The winner of the $1000 Visa gift card will be announced on 6 October 2023. The winner will be contacted by email or phone using the contact details provided as part of your registration, so make sure you keep those contact details up to date.
Thank you for registering - we look forward to seeing you back on campus with your classmates!
If you have registered 8 people or more, you will receive an email a week before the event that will include all the details you need to know to collect your surprise (including where and what time).
If you have any questions in the meantime, please email the Alumni Office - alumni.office@sydney.edu.au
Accessibility
Absolutely. The University is dedicated to ensuring that all visitors have equal access to all the experiences we offer.
Please note, the Carillon tour involves steps and tight spaces, and the sustainability tours requires approximately 1.5km of easy walking.
If you have any accessibility requirements, or if you require further information or assistance to participate and engage in the full program of activities, please don’t hesitate to contact us - alumnioffice@sydney.edu.au.
We recommend public transport.
Redfern train station is a 10-minute walk to the campus. Central is a 15-minute walk along City Rd and George St. There are frequent buses from Railway Square to Parramatta Rd and City Rd.
If you are arriving by bus, there are stops at our main entrances on Parramatta Rd and City Rd. Use the campus map to locate the closest bus stop to your destination.
There are several car parks, outdoor parking areas, and off-street parking. To locate parking spaces on the Camperdown/Darlington Campus, go to MazeMaps and select the icon for ‘Car Parking’, ‘Motorbike Parking' or 'Parking- Accessible'. Go to the MazeMaps site.
Casual parking is available at a rate of $4 per hour, up to a maximum charge of $24 per day. We have a paperless system, using licence plate recognition technology. No parking tickets are required. No paper receipts are provided. You will need to take a photo of the final screen showing a URL address to contact to obtain a parking receipt.
Alternatively, you can use the CellOPark app onto your mobile phone and add register your vehicle licence plate and credit card to pay for parking. All parking meter machines have a sticker advertising the CellOPark app. Download the CellOPark app.
