Maureen – “My name is Maureen Bungei, a PG student pursuing an MA in International Relations with International Law. I have been the Postgraduate Network Chair during the academic year 2022/2023 and handed over to Miquel Santos at the end of my term in April 2023. I was also supporting the College and Community Life team as a Resident Life Assistant in creating a community and sense of belonging for students on campus. As a member of the Kent Model UN Society, I have attended several conferences in London and the World Harvard MUN, a global event in Paris, France.”

Miguel – “I am Miguel Santos, a Master’s by Research student in English. I’m the de facto Chair of the Postgraduate Network, taking over from Maureen Bungei. My research focuses on 20^th century Anglo-American experimental poetry. I am also a PGR Student Rep for English; the editor-in-chief of the university’s postgraduate, peer reviewed literary journal Litterae Mentis; and a committee member of the Research Salon. I have contributed to the Templeman Library’s ‘100 Years: T.S. Eliot and The Waste Land’ exhibition. I did my undergraduate at Kent as well, where I was involved as Environment Officer and in the Turing College Committee.”

Tell us about the Postgraduate Network and how you are making sure the postgraduate voice is represented at Kent.

Miguel – “The Postgraduate Network is led by postgraduate volunteers and aims to ensure that postgraduates get the most of their time here. We create campaigns and events, representing the voice of the postgraduate community to the university and Kent Union.

Our committee members include Megan Brown and Nteteawan Bassey-Duke. We’re proud to have a mix of taught and research students, as well as Ntete acting as our Medway representative.

Our aim is to ensure that the postgraduate experience is as thriving and vibrant as possible. Kent has an incredible postgraduate community who has shown so much support and kindness to me.

To support the postgraduate voice, we sit at boards and meetings to represent student feedback. In the autumn term, there was a proposed restructuring of Kent Union’s Officer Team. We organised a student feedback session at Jarman Plaza to gather the views of postgraduates. Because the PG community felt this was a step in the wrong direction, we were able to successfully push Kent Union to drop this proposal in January.

We have hosted events, both in Canterbury and Medway, including socials, study meetings, and a hustings session for the Kent Union elections. With the GRC, we co-organise monthly coffee mornings with guests, including Ben Bradley (Kent Union’s VP Postgraduate Experience), Mark Bass (Careers and Employability Service), and Professor Gordon Lynch (Graduate and Researcher College Director).

On a personal note, I’m indebted to the phenomenal work of postgraduates when I was an undergraduate here, particularly Rowena Bicknell and Tom Ritchie, who inspired me to care about the postgraduate community. I hope that our contributions will ensure that people feel part of the community in the same way Rowena and Tom made me feel.”

“On behalf of the Postgraduate Network, we are so grateful to the entire GRC Team for all the support and the kindness you have shown to us. We are so fortunate to work alongside you this year.”

What advice would you give to other students?

Miguel – “I would encourage anyone to get involved with co-curricular activities, volunteering or representation. Be optimistic that every action you take and every discussion you have will inform your personal development.

I should also highlight the mental health challenges postgraduates face; as such, it is important to remember you are part of a supportive community here.

Finally, while being nominated for a Kent Star means a lot to me, being part of the postgraduate community at Kent means even more. Although awards and recognition are lovely, we care about the postgraduate community simply because it is the right thing to do.”

Maureen – “You have the best time now to take part in co-curricular activities alongside your studies. The university has over 250 clubs and societies where you can take part and nurture your soft skills or sports fitness at your comfort. There are exciting opportunities like student representatives, student ambassadors, and Kent Union Network chairs that will give you an exciting experience that will give you an edge in your CV or interview not forgetting the employability points. Please take them up.

Your health and well-being is the most important aspect of your student experience here at Kent. The university provides academic and wellbeing support services that you are free to utilise and enhance your stay at the university.”

What are your plans for the next year?

Miguel – “The entire Postgraduate Network committee will finish our courses in September; we believe we’ve set a strong foundation for next year’s committee to work closely with the Graduate and Researcher College and Kent Union’s Ben Bradley. The GRC Team and Ben are our biggest supporters!

For myself, I hope to have a job prior to applying for a PhD. I would love to work in higher education in a professional/academic-adjacent role. I’m so grateful for my time at Kent and for all the people who have supported me; I can only hope that my involvement has helped make a difference.”

Maureen – “As I look forward to graduating this July, sadly I might not be here at Kent to oversee the network, but I strongly believe that we as the network committee (Miguel, Ntete, Megan  and I) have done our best and created a sense of belonging for PG community. We hope the next network chair/committee sustains the vibrant community as they will be lucky to work with Ben Bradley who actively supported us during our tenure. Personally, I would be considering doing my PhD sometime later, and the University of Kent definitely has a spot in the top 3.”

Please email us your stories on kentgrc@kent.ac.uk

We are thrilled to announce the publication of the newest edition of GradPost, the publication written by postgraduates for postgraduates.

With a mission to celebrate and showcase the remarkable research endeavors of our Kent postgraduate community, GradPost continues to serve as a platform for sharing inspiring stories, valuable insights, and engaging experiences. The latest issue is no exception, featuring an impressive collection of articles that are sure to captivate and enlighten our readers.

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the contributors, writers, editors, and reviewers who made this publication possible. Your dedication and hard work have resulted in an extraordinary edition that truly captures the spirit of our vibrant research community. Please read here for more info about our amazing team.

You can read the new edition here. Be sure to share the news with your colleagues, friends, and fellow researchers to spread the word about the remarkable work being done by our postgraduate community.

Happy reading! 📚

Our food system is increasingly dysfunctional. Events such as the pandemic and the Ukrainian war have demonstrated how fragile it is, with production and supply disrupted and costs spiralling. When food is available, there is a fierce debate about the nutritional benefits of processed products, the long-term impacts on population health, and even the morality and sustainability of dietary choices.

The annual Eastern Arc Conference, taking place on 20 September, will be a chance to debate these issues and look at solutions. The Consortium is well placed to do so, as it stretches across a region that has been shaped and defined by food. From the breadbasket of England on one side of the Thames to the garden on the other, the East and South East accounts for a third of England’s total income from farming (TIFF), and around two thirds of the country’s food imports come through the region.

In readiness for this we are seeking applications to lead or be involved in the breakout sessions. For these, we very much want to hear a diversity of voices and viewpoints, whether they be asking questions or offering solutions, sharing research or encouraging engagement. We want to hear from researchers and stakeholders, academics and businesses, community groups and charities, among many others. 

If you have an idea for a session, please complete this simple form by Monday 17 July. We hope to select the eight sessions shortly after, and open up registration at the beginning of August. The conference itself will take place in the Sibson Building at the University of Kent in Canterbury. It will be free and open to all, and registration will open in August.

More details on the call and rationale for the conference are available here. To get an idea of what an Eastern Arc conference is like, visit our ‘resources’ page from last year’s event that focussed on ‘The Collaborative Coast’.

If you have any questions in the meantime please contact Phil Ward, and feel free to share this more widely with your colleagues and networks.

On Wednesday 14 June 2023, we hosted our first PG Summer Coffee Morning alongside the entire Post Graduate Network. The event was well supported and welcomed nearly 40 people over the morning. It was great to see so many faces at the event. Students and staff were able to enjoy some refreshments while catching up with familiar faces as well as welcoming in some newer ones too.

The event was also attended by members of the most recent edition of the GradPost and for those that were there, they were able to pick up a copy for themselves.

It was our first time using the Nexus space and we thought the change of scenery was really refreshing. From the conversations we had with you on the day, we think the event was a success. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

All Photos: Christopher Wenham

As part of this year’s PGSummer, the GRC is proud to support a cycle of films being screened, centring the experiences of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (shortened to CPLP, for the Portuguese: Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa).

This event is being run by Cláudia Ferreira Fernandes Moreira, who is the recipient of a GRC Community Experience Award, joining the list of previous awardees. Cláudia has programmed three days of films, each one chosen to offer a deep overview of the culture of these countries, as well as their relationships and connections. You can see films such as Um Animal Amarelo (Brazil), Angola – Nos Trilhos da Independência (Angola), Uma Memória em Três Atos (Mozambique) and Mina Kiá (São Tomé and Príncipe). The schedule and full programme can be seen here, with debates and discussions throughout, culminating in a dinner party on the Friday afternoon.

CPLP on Screen : Dialogues on Lusophone Identity runs from 21st and the 23rd of June 2023, held in MLT2 (Marlowe Lecture Theatre 2). Please do register here.

On the 7th of June 2023 the GRC welcomed staff and students alike to our Annual Postgraduate Conference. 

 It was a busy and vibrant day celebrating all of our of postgraduate researchers, thank you to all who attended. If you have any feedback from the event, please do fill out our form here.   

 We kicked off with a fascinating, informative and all too brief discussion on AI in Academia, expertly lead by our host Tommy Pargeter-Grey. Many thanks to the interdisciplinary panel Alhena Saghir, Jerome Jaggi, Zsofia Baruwa and Harrison Grey for their insights. We will undoubtedly be having many more conversations like this, and do look out for our Research Cafes running termly from autumn. These will provide an opportunity for Postgraduate Researchers to present their research and participate in a thematic discussion.   

The Kent Researcher talks featured some our most exciting postgraduate projects explained in just over ten minutes by their researchers. Yeshashwini Kadiri spoke on ‘Informal Urbanism and Gendered Infrastructure in the Global South’, Bamidele Ogunjumelo on ‘3-D Flame Visualisation through Optical Imaging’ Sophia Ppali on ‘Music from anywhere & everywhere: Exploring the design space of remote music performances’ and Antonis Karamalegkos delivered ‘Investigating the effects of Natural compounds on health and lifespan’. We’ll never think about worms in the same way.  

After lunch, the final for our annual 3MT Competition was held, with the Runner Up being Richi Mohanty and winner Maria Alvarez taking first place. Congratulations! This was immediately followed by our special guest speaker Dave Thomas giving an important and fascinating talk on Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonisation in Postgraduate Research.  

Our last panel included speakers from three of Kent’s Research Institutes. Catherine Richardson from the Institute of Creative and Cultural Industries presented with David Sefton, and gave us a tantalising hint and the exciting interdisciplinary creative arts project taking place in Medway at the Docking Station. Shujun Li told us more about the Institute of Cyber Security and Bob Smith told us about the European Bison in Blean as part of an update from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology. All day attendees were able to view the many incredible research posters, and photographs entered in the conference competitions.      

Awards Ceremony 

We ended with an awards ceremony and drinks reception, which celebrated the winners of the Three Minute Thesis, Research Poster Competition, Research Photograph Competition, and the GRC Prizes. Thanks to our poster and photo judges Dave Thomas, Gordon Lynch, Jim Ang, Jess Day and Shujun Li. We were delighted to announce the winners of all our competitions this year at the event. These were: 

Three Minute Thesis

Runner Up – Richi Mohanty

Winner – Maria Alvarez

Research Poster 

People’s Choice Winner – Yeshashwini Kadiri 

Judges Highly Commended – Katrine Callander 

Judges Winner – Sophia Ppali 

Research Photograph 

Judges’ Winner – Minoya Patkunam 

People’s Choice – Sophia Ppali 

Graduate and Researcher College Prizes 

Director of Graduate Studies/Programme Lead Maria Elisavet Balta 

Postgraduate Professional Service Champion Alexandra Marnerou (Highly Commended: Dave Donaldson, Arts and Hums PGR Admin Team)  

Postgraduate Teacher George Simpson 

Research Degree Supervisor Donna Arnold (Highly commended: Ambrose Gillick)  

Postgraduate Researcher Daniel Marshall (Highly commended: Holly McPhillips)   

All Photos: Nathan Eaton-Baudains

On 16th-17th May the GRC hosted its second Career Planning Beyond Academia event for third and fourth year PhD students. The event was attended by 31 researchers, from all divisions.

On day one students started by exploring their values, skills and self before considering the job market through discussion with Alumni and undertaking career scanning activities. Day two saw students build on the knowledge and learning of the first day through practical activities which enhanced students’ readiness for getting a job. The activities focused on how to translate your PhD skills, prepare for interview, and protect your mental health and resilience during the post-PhD job hunt.

Both days were facilitated by a mix of internal and external speakers and supported by opportunities for career coaching and CV reviews.

The event received fantastic feedback, including:

“A big thank you for organising this event, an epitome of the support that Kent students can get. I found these two days incredibly useful and provided tools to properly kickstart jobhunting. It was one of those events where you would not let your mind switch because you’ll miss valuable information.”