Make sure your university events are actually interesting

One of the biggest things I’ve learned from running JumboCode this year is to stop lying to yourself about how interesting your events actually are.

University clubs often host boring events

Many university clubs organize events that sound good on paper but aren’t genuinely compelling. Student organizers know deep down they probably wouldn’t attend these events themselves if they weren’t responsible for planning them.

But student organizers suspend disbelief, making events that feel like things they should be doing rather than genuinely good ones.

That’s how you end up organizing “speed-friending” or panel discussions featuring software engineers and free pizza. In reality, I’m not interested in conversations with random people or hour-long Q&A sessions.

The bar for interestingness needs to be high

Attending an event in college requires significant activation energy.

The alternative is to stay in my bedroom, which is quite comfortable, and to forego doing my homework, which I really need to do.

Many events sound appealing in advance — but at 6pm on a Sunday night, when I’m behind on homework, is the event truly compelling enough to pull me away?

What JumboCode has done in the past

JumboCode hosts weekly meetings called Hack Night, attended by our 12 teams with 170 members.

Previously, Hack Night often consisted of activities I’d classify as sounding good but not actually compelling, like:

• Bingo games involving finding people with specific traits
• Randomized small-group discussions about projects
• Presentations on internships or web security

What I’ve done with JumboCode this year

I don’t think we’ve revolutionized anything this year, but I’ve been ruthless about keeping a high bar for interestingness. Attendance has roughly doubled this year.

People need a reason to get out of bed and come to Hack Night on Sunday nights. So I’ve started inventing games for us to play, as a way of helping the teams open up:

• Jeopardy, with members buzzing in from their phones
• Team-based Geoguessr (using a custom app that I built)
• Building the tallest tower out of paper and tape
• Scribbl.io where each team is a player

I try to pick things that will:

1. Engage all 100+ people in the room, not just a few players
2. Be actually fun in a not-cringy way
3. Be done quickly

Be done quickly

It’s ugly to admit, but our attention spans are short — mine included.

I can visibly see people become antsy when something drags on. So I try to make sure that the activities move quickly, that everything’s ready from the beginning and clear, and that we end at a high point that leaves people wanting more.

Once, I cut off an activity and got an audible groan from people who wanted to continue playing. That was ideal.

If people start feeling like it’s time to be done, you’ve gone too far.

Don’t lie to yourself

The bar for what is actually interesting and compelling enough to get someone to a university event is high.

As students, we instinctively know this. Yet when planning, it’s easy to settle for a mediocre idea because it sounds good enough.

Don’t just shrug and nod along. Honestly ask yourself: Does it beat staying in bed?