Monthly Archives: March 2015

Festival of Projections staff and students survey

 

The School of Arts is planning a Festival of Projections as part of our 50th anniversary and they’re inviting ideas from staff and students.

The international Festival of Projections will illuminate the University, turning our campus into a beacon of light. A festival where all can engage with contemporary ideas through a unique, risk taking, cross discipline and culturally diverse programme.

We are conducting a short audience survey for University of Kent staff and students. Complete the survey.

We have teamed up with the Gulbenkian to offer three gift vouchers in our prize draw (one worth £50 and two £25) for the cinema/theatre. To enter the prize draw, make sure you complete Q.10 with your contact details. Winners will be announced at the end of April.

If you have ideas you would like to put forward for the festival please get in touch with the Project Managers, Sue Jones and Catherine Herbert.

Via Francigena, overlooking Monteriggioni

Alumna to walk from Canterbury to Rome

Kent alumna Julia Peters (Woolf 2013), a graduate from the MA in Roman History and Archaeology, will be walking 1,200 miles from Canterbury to Rome in less than 80 days.

Alongside conducting research on mobility in the Roman Empire, Julia hopes her journey will help promote the ‘Via Francigena’, the ancient pilgrim route running from France to Rome, and the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, whilst also connecting the University’s Canterbury campus with its Rome centre. Two years ago, Julia, who will begin a PhD in Classical and Archaeological Studies in September 2015, walked over 800 kilometers on the Camino Santiago pilgrimage in Spain: ‘It was such a wonderful experience that I’m now committed to spreading the word about these amazing Cultural Routes’.

Julia’s own research will be made in conjunction with the research of Professor Ray Laurence, from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies.

She has been blogging about her journey, and aims to write about the history, architecture, food and art she encounters as she walks from England, across France, over the Swiss Alps, and then down Italy to Rome. Other Kent students and alumni from Kent’s European Centres will join Julia for sections of her walk, which will take place from 21 March to June, and will contribute to her blog, presenting their own experiences of the route.

Her project has received support from the Kent Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities (KIASH).

 

Kent Law student completes the Reading Half Marathon

On Sunday 22nd March 2015 Billy Ng, Vice-Chair of the Kent Law Campaign Student Group, ran the Vitality Reading Half Marathon in just 2 hours 12 minutes to raise money for the Kent Law Campaign.
The Reading Half Marathon is a 13.1mile course starting in the stunning parkland of Green Park; this year saw over 15,357 runners take part and among them was our champion Billy Ng. We would like to thank Billy for taking part in this gruelling challenge and raising a fantastic £530 in aid of the Campaign.
If you would like to sponsor Billy please visit his fundraising page.

 

Cants2Dam: students to run 300 miles in 10 days!

In June 2015, 10 runners from the University of Kent will be embarking on a 300 mile ultra-marathon in 10 days, running from Canterbury to Brussels and then on to Amsterdam. They will average 30 miles a day, running the equivalent of 11 and a half marathons, and aim to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

The challenge, Cants2Dam, has received funding from the Kent Opportunity Fund, which supports extra-curricular activities at Kent that enhance the student experience, and also provides scholarships and hardships bursaries.

Last year, the runners took on the Campus2Campus challenge and ran from Kent’s Canterbury campus to its postgraduate centre in Paris, raising over £6,000 for local Kent based charity Pilgrims Hospice.

Further details about the challenge and the Cants2Dam runners can be found online, including details on how you can join them for the first leg of the run from Canterbury to Dover on 15 June!

For more information, please contact 50years@kent.ac.uk.

Kent Bunny’s easter egg hunt

 

Kent Bunny’s Epic Easter Egg Hunt is open to all University of Kent staff and students.

50 Golden Eggs will be hidden during the week, 23 March–27 March, and you will win a prize if you fine one.

Kent Bunny’s clues will appear here on Monday 23 March.

Kent alumna to take part in Eton Swim in aid of the Kent Law Campaign

We would like to thank Hannah Bignell, former Chair of the Kent Law Campaign Student Group and current Young Alumni Group member, for signing up to take part in the Eton Swim on Monday 25th May. This is a gruelling 3km open water swim and she hopes to raise a total of £500 to be split between the Kent Law Campaign and Prostate Cancer UK.

Hannah said: “I was the Chair of the 2012/13 Kent Law Campaign Student Group and have decided to raise money for the Campaign as it is an absolutely fantastic cause which will benefit students and the community greatly. I was involved in the Kent Law Clinic and the Mooting Programme throughout my time at Kent and these experiences have enhanced my passion for pursing a legal career.

“I am definitely not a natural speed or stamina swimmer and when I first went training back in October 20 lengths was a struggle let alone 120 outside! This will most definitely be a huge personal challenge for me but I am really excited about taking part for two such worthy causes.”

The University of Kent will match each donation Hannah receives pound for pound including Gift Aid so we would be extremely grateful if you would sponsor her online.

We wish her the best of luck with her fundraising and the challenge itself.

Staff successes at Learning and Development Awards

 

Around 95 staff across the University were congratulated on their learning and development achievements over the last year by the Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow said: ‘In our 50th year, we can be proud of how successful the University is – and that’s because of you and your efforts. In a recent THE (Times Higher Education) survey of good places to work, Kent was in the top five in four out of five categories and that’s very reassuring.’

She added that the University had also done well in NSS (National Student Survey) – which measures what students think of us – and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), a national assessment of research quality. ‘When you combine how well we do in terms of students and research, Kent comes 6th in the country. That’s great because they’re the two drivers of the University’s success – and that’s thanks to you all.’

Awards this year included a Learning and Development Special 50th Anniversary Award (‘sustained contribution to Learning & Development’), presented to Helena Torres, School Administration Manager, School of English, for ‘going above and beyond on her own development and that of others’. Helena completed an MBA last year and, as part of that, elected to design and co-lead a new DMS (Developing Management Skills) programme at Kent.

Other awards at the Learning and Development ceremony were presented across categories including:

  • Continuing Professional Development (CPD), including a presentation to Carole Barron for her Leadership Foundation Fellowship
  • Staff volunteering – including Wendy Miller, Estates Department, who has volunteered over 300 hours for the Scouts
  • University leadership programmes
  • AUA (Association of University Administrators) awards, including presentations to Chloé Gallien and Linda Lough for their AUA Fellowships
  • AURORA leadership training for women
  • EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity) Valuing Everyone Pilot Programme
  • Kent Hospitality Consistent Excellence in Customer Service award, presented to Geoff Wilcox, Mungo’s
  • Health & Safety awards, including a presentation to Ray Allard for becoming a Fellow Member of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM)
  • Erasmus staff placements
  • IT achievements and IS Learners of the Year – Danika Jarrett, Maria Centrone and Matthew Bull.

The awards, in the Darwin Conference Suite on Canterbury campus, were followed by a buffet lunch, sponsored by Kent Hospitality.

Further details, including a full list of award-winners and photographs, are available on the HR webpages.

Chair of the Young Alumni Group to abseil down iconic Olympic Park structure

Natalie Salunke, Chair of the Young Alumni Group, will be abseiling down the iconic ArcelorMittal Orbit on Friday 17th April 2015 to raise money for the Kent Law Campaign.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is the UK’s tallest structure and has up to 20 miles of breath-taking views across London. Made of over 2000 tonnes of steal the ArcelorMittal Orbit was created by sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor and designer Cecil Balmond and constructed to commemorate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Please show your support by sponsoring Natalie online. All money raised will go towards the Kent Law Campaign and will be matched pound for pound by the University of Kent.

We would like to thank Natalie for her continued support of the Kent Law Campaign through her participation in various sponsored events including a skydive, Superhero Run, Thames Path Challenge and a Santa Run.  To date, she has raised in excess of £5,500 towards our goal.

For more information about the ArcelorMittal Orbit Abseil please visit their website or contact Felicity Clifford to find out how you can take part in aid of the Kent Law Campaign.

Kent Law School alumni and friends celebration party

Saturday 13th June 2015
Professor Didi Herman, Head of the Kent Law School, has great pleasure in inviting you to join us to celebrate the University’s 50th anniversary at a special celebration party following the Canterbury Legal Walk.

The event will take place in a marquee on the Senate Lawn which will provide you with stunning views of Canterbury and an opportunity to see the progress of the new Wigoder Law Building.

Programme

15:00-18:00 Canterbury Legal Walk
17:00-19:00 Post-walk celebration drinks
19:00-23.30 Law Celebration Party

Please register for the event so we know how many guests to expect.

The evening will feature some very special performances including ‘The Battered Saucepan Blues Band’ which was first formed, like the University, in 1965 and features two Kent alumni from the 1960s – Al Cohen on keyboards and Richard de Friend on drums.

So come and party the night away and enjoy the barbeque, bar, DJ and live bands!

Kent alumni take students on tour of Sky studios

Alumnus Ainsley de Silva (Rutherford 1987) invited students to visit the Sky studios in London in February 2015. The invitation came after Ainsley, who works for Sky, spoke to current student Keith Donkor during the autumn 2014 Telephone Campaign, and they discussed Ainsley’s career in the media.

Fellow Kent alumna Alexandra Easten (Rutherford 2005), who also works at Sky, assisted Ainsley in leading the tour.

The group were shown how the broadcaster operates the vast selection of content that is available to customers, and how the various channels were controlled and monitored. ‘We were able to use a simulator of the Sky News channel monitoring station, which was slightly nerve wracking, even for our computer science student!’ says Keith.

The students also visited the Sky skills studio, where they were given the opportunity to produce, direct and film their own news report.

‘I really enjoyed making our own news report and watching it back – it wasn’t the best report, but we had a lot of fun creating it!’ says Keith. ‘A big ‘thank you’ to Ainsley and Alexandra for showing us around, the tour was a great experience, and the day was topped off by meeting Chris Kamara and getting pictures with him!’

If you would like to offer similar opportunities to current Kent students, please get in touch.