Third-level institutions will lay out their stalls to potential students at a conference on higher education options in Dublin over the coming days.

The Irish Times Higher Options event, which has been running for nearly 30 years, opens Wednesday at the RDS Simmonscourt and runs until Friday.

This year the event, in association with the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, brings together over 160 colleges, universities and institutes of further education over three days, allowing 5th, 6th and transition year students to meet representatives from colleges in Ireland, the UK, Europe and beyond.

Gaming, science, art and design, nursing, agricultural science and social services will all feature in talk topics over the three days.

There will also be lectures on the CAO, the UCAS application, and the Hpat exam for those wishing to study medicine. Students considering study at Oxford or Cambridge or in European colleges will also have their options outlined.

Online bookings have closed and Wednesday and Thursday are sold out. A limited number of tickets for Friday are available on the door, though numbers are not guaranteed.

Queries to higheroptions@irishtimes.com or 01 6758000.