Monthly Archives: March 2014

Into the Empty Quarter – Leon McCarron R05

Adventurer and expedition cameraman Leon McCarron graduated from Kent with a BA in Film in 2008 and is returning on Thursday 27th March at 7pm to screen his latest feature film, Into the Empty Quarter, at the Gulbenkian Cinema.

Following in the footsteps of their hero, explorer Wilfrid Thesiger, adventurers Alastair Humphreys and Leon McCarron have made this beautifully shot, thought-provoking film of their 1000 mile trek into the world’s largest sand desert: the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula. Their trip is low-budget, and hastily planned; unable to afford camels, they hope to drag a homemade steel cart through the searing desert heat. Thesiger made his journeys between 1945-50, so this is a modern day retelling of a classic story, but Humphreys and McCarron share with him the heat, hunger and thirst, the endless dunes, the silence and the nights filled with stars, the local hospitality and it makes for a resonant, energetic and at times very funny travelogue.

For further information and details on booking tickets, visit: http://www.thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/cinema/2014/March/2014-03-into-the-empty-quarter.html. You can also view the official trailer for Into the Empty Quarter here.

History Projects office officially opened

The History Projects office was officially opened on 12 March 2014 by Professor Keith Mander and alumnus Robin Pitman (Rutherford 1965), who were joined by the Head of the School of History, Kenneth Fincham, as well as students and staff. The History Projects are one of the many projects underway as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, and will be led by students from the School of History, who will gather memories and photographs from Kent’s past, to showcase the University’s heritage and development in exhibitions.

University Archivist Ann MacDonald, who has joined Kent from the British Library, will be supporting many of the history, heritage and legacy projects from the perspective of sustainability, to enable archives used in the 50th anniversary projects to be combined with the central University collections. This central archive aims to preserve the corporate and community memory of Kent, and be an inclusive and impartial representation of its history.

If you would like to help us to create this archive for future generations by sharing your memories and memorabilia of Kent, please contact 50years@kent.ac.uk.

Kent Law Clinic shortlisted for LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards 2014

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Kent Law Clinic has been shortlisted for the award of ‘Best Contribution by a Law School’ in the prestigious LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards 2014.

Staff and student representatives from the Clinic have been invited to attend the awards ceremony at the House of Commons on Tuesday 1st April at which Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC MP will announce the winners. All nominees will also receive certificates of commendation signed by the Attorney General.

The annual awards celebrate the best pro bono activities undertaken by organisations and individuals and the positive impact they have had on those helped. Kent Law Clinic was selected by a panel of judges that included Tom Laidlaw (LexisNexis, Head of Academic Development), Isla Grant (Editor, lawcareers.net), Andrew Caplen (Vice-President, The Law Society) and Richard De Friend (Ex-Director of Pro Bono at the University of Law and PBUK).

Kent Law Clinic was previously awarded the LawWorks Attorney General’s Award 2012 for the Best New Pro Bono Activity for its Access to Land project. It has also been shortlisted for ‘The Lawyer Awards’ in 2010, 2012 and in 2013, alongside a number of magic circle firms, and in 2007 the Clinic was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, with staff and students from the Clinic collecting the award from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The Law Clinic is a partnership between students, academics and solicitors and barristers in practice locally. As well as providing a public service for local people who need legal advice and representation but cannot afford to pay for it, the Clinic also serves to enhance the education of students in the Kent Law School through direct experience of legal practice.

Kent Law Clinic drew extensive national and international media coverage in January after securing asylum for an Afghan citizen on religious grounds, despite his atheism. The case, undertaken by the Clinic’s supervising solicitor, Sheona York and second-year Kent Law School student, Claire Splawn, was believed to be the first such case of its kind. The story received extensive media attention – worth more than £600K in equivalent advertising spend – and made headlines around the world.

Students become “Quackers About Fundraising”

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Thursday 27th February 2014 saw the second global “Student Engagement and Philanthropy Day” take place with over 100 universities worldwide getting involved.

Organised by CASE ASAP, the day was designed to encourage students around the world to get involved with philanthropy at their institutions and to start understanding its importance.

The University of Kent was one of only six universities in the UK to take part and the Kent Law Campaign Student Group took up the challenge with enthusiasm.  Having decided that they wanted to thank alumni and friends who have donated to the Kent Law Campaign, they came up with “Quackers About Fundraising”, a day where hundreds of yellow ducks were signed with thank you messages to our donors.

During the day a short video was filmed where our students expressed their thanks to those who have supported this important project.  This will be circulated to our donors as part of the University’s ongoing stewardship programme.

We would like to thank the Student Group for organising the day and to everybody who got involved.

Photographs from the “Quackers About Fundraising Day” are available online: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/media/set/?set=a.520604344725555.1073741874.251330424986283&type=3