Award: Silver

Institution: McMaster University

Title of Entry: Virtual Graduation Party for McMaster Engineering's Class of 2020

About this Entry: On June 26, 2020, the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University hosted a virtual celebration for the Engineering Graduating Class of 2020.

With the cancellation of an in-person convocation for over 1000 graduates, and no plans for a university-wide ceremony, the goal of the faculty-driven event was to show support for students in a meaningful way during a challenging time, strengthen relationships with new alumni, foster goodwill and create lasting ties.

In addition to a virtual event, graduation party kits, including a balloon, confetti, grad cap and confection, were mailed to all Engineering graduates ahead of the event to go the extra mile and show the Faculty’s appreciation of students. A social media campaign was launched encouraging students to share their school pride at this special and very unique time.

The online watch party was hosted on YouTube Premier and featured 45 video messages including congratulatory messages from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. There were over 300 attendees and over 1,900 views of the online event.

Following the watch party, a networking event, designed to connect graduating students, professors and staff, was held to mimic an in-person reception that would normally happen after convocation.