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.