Monthly Archives: April 2017

2017 Kent Student Awards shortlist

Our Kent Student Awards judges had the very difficult task of narrowing down over 150 excellent nominations to this year’s shortlist.

The winning students will be announced at the gala dinner on Friday 5 May.

Winners and runners-up will receive cash prizes, official recognition from the University and unique opportunities to gain new experiences as students and alumni.

Find out more about the awards and view the shortlist at the Kent Student Awards webpages.

From Schools’ Competition to Animated Film

The Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 children’s script writing competition. The focus of the competition was on the theme of migration in the Roman Empire. We had a fantastic response with great scripts taking people from Briton to Syria or from Pompeii to Egypt, but the script which was ahead of all others in quality, imagination and humour was the account of the recruitment of a soldier from Africa into the Roman army by a triumvirate of writers from St Paul’s Way Trust School. Congratulations to: Ayies, Tahsin, and Zeeshan.

The winning script from the children’s script writing competition 2016 has now been made into an animation and is available to view on YouTube. ‘A Day in the Life of a Roman Client’ was written by Kien Powell (in Year 9 at Stow School at the time of entry into the competition). Ray Laurence, Professor of Roman History and Archaeology, edited Kien’s script and arranged for Malachi James, a student at the London College of Communication taking a BA in Animation, to make the film.

Working with Malachi James created a very different feel to this film from those Ray had worked on previously, such as A Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome and Four Sisters in Ancient Rome. As Malachi explained, he wanted to create a film that drew on the traditions of cartoons, such as those of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and had a strong emphasis on drawing by hand.

These projects were generously funded by the University of Kent’s Public Engagement Fund and by the School of European Culture and Languages.

The animation is available to view here.

 

Free office furniture on campus

Ordering new Office furniture? Before you do please visit our furniture recycle portal: www.warp-it.co.uk/uok

We have surplus amounts of new or nearly new office furniture items (desks, pedestals, tambours, filing cabinets, bookshelves, seminar chairs, office chairs) available free to staff for on-campus use. Website updated daily with new items.

Please sign up to Warp-it or email warpit@kent.ac.uk with a wish list of items required.

Repairs to road and car park surfaces

Monday 24 April – Wednesday 26 April, 2017

On Monday 24 April 2017, road and car park repairs are scheduled to commence in varous locations around campus.  Ashford Tarmacadam will be the resurfacing Contractor and they will include traffic management in their works as required.

Work in the entrance to Giles Lane carpark will commence at approximately 07.00 on Tuesday 25 April and will cease when the traffic flow increases as people arrive for work, and then re-commence at approximately 09.15 once traffic into the car park has ceased. The repairs are expected to take approximately three days and are in the locations listed below.

  •  Missing Link Service Road
  •  Darwin Road Access Road to Giles Lane Car
  •  Park Potholes @Sports Hall Road
  •  Eliot Service road and Car Park
  •  University Road Keynes Car Park
  •  University Road adjacent to the Innovation Centre.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. If there are any queries please contact the Estates Helpdesk on Extn 3209.

Matt Brealey
Building Manager

Unwind at University

Come and unwind and take-a-break from your exam and revision stress. We are an event put on with final year Event and Experience Design Student, Leah Stewart, in collaboration with the Student Wellbeing and Support service at the University of Kent. All students and staff are welcome to join the event at anytime throughout the day.

We are here for any advice you may have on wellbeing including the; physical, healthy and happy aspects of it. Free fruit, nuts and smoothies alongside some promotional branded goodies!

Pets as therapy will hopefully be joining us too so keep your eyes peeled on this event for an itinerary closer to the time.

There will be 2 guided meditation sessions on the mezzanine in the Galvanising Shop throughout the day so watch this space for more information.

All students and staff are welcome to join the event at any time throughout the day. For more information check out the Facebook event.

Medway Post Grad Writing Retreat

This year’s post graduate writing retreat organised by SLAS will take place on the 15-16 June at Brenley Farm near Faversham. The aim of the event is to support and motivate Medway-based post graduate students with their dissertations or thesis. The retreat is part funded by the Dean of Medway, Nick Grief who says: ‘The PG writing retreats are helping to develop a confident PG community and a vibrant PG culture at Medway.’

For further details of the retreat are available on our website.

Book a place on the retreat.

Chris Deacy on religion and film

Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, has been interviewed for the podcast Wide Open Air Exchange.

Wide Open Air Exchange is run by the Sydney-based radio producer Christine Gallagher, inspired by her time as postgraduate student at Oxford University. She aims to encounter new ideas, to learn about interesting individuals and tap into their knowledge and insights.

Chris’s research concerns the intersections of religion and secular films, including analysing popular films such as Groundhog Day (1993) and Fight Club (1999). In the podcast, he discusses some philosophical questions about religion and shares stories from his formative years, as well as his discovery of film and religious studies.

The podcast, which is available on iTunes and on Stitcher, can be listened to online.

InfoFest: Exploring digital literacy and fighting fake news

Kent Professor Ray Laurence in Channel 4 documentary

Ray Laurence, Professor of Roman History and Archaeology in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies, appeared in Channel 4’s documentary Rome’s Sunken Secrets on Sunday 16 April 2017.

Rome’s Sunken Secrets tells the story of the submerged Roman Holiday retreat Baiae, where Emperors and the super-rich enjoyed lavish parties, sought out love affairs and plotted against their political rivals. The documentary follows a series of dives led by underwater archaeologist Dr Barbara Davidde and involving historians and scientists from across the world. They revealed vast villas, priceless statues and breath taking mosaics, as well as heated spas, cobbled streets and even a nymphaeum grotto of pleasure in the city that lies 150 miles south of Rome and 50 north of Pompeii.

In the programme, Ray comments: ‘What is truly amazing about Baiae, as you go under water is you can see every part of the villa landscape. You can see the marble which was used, well preserved mosaics and the size of the rooms. The full villa landscape is preserved under the sea, which is so unusual and is almost unheard of.’

The programme is available to watch on Channel 4’s On Demand service.