The QAA Higher Education Review Team which visited Kent in March 2015 identified several features of good practice including: ‘The range of informal and formal opportunities provided to postgraduate research students, which create a vibrant and interdisciplinary academic community’ (Chapter B11 (Research Degrees)).  The final report has now been published on the website of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

The report stated in relation to Chapter B11 (Research Degrees) of the QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education that: ‘There is evidence of a positive research environment created through formal and informal interdisciplinary arrangements where students and staff benefit from social interaction and the exchange of ideas. In particular, the Graduate School offers a range of student-facing activities through coordination of the Researcher Development Programme, monthly research cafés, the annual postgraduate research festival, the GradPost newsletter and the Postgraduate Experience Awards through which students can apply for funding to run an interdisciplinary event aimed at enhancing the postgraduate experience. Weekly research seminars are also provided where students can present their findings and latest chapters and receive feedback from peers and staff. Visiting researchers are also invited to present at these sessions. Students also receive regular sessions on preparing and submitting papers. The students met by the review team had derived considerable benefit from their interaction with others through the broad range of opportunities for disseminating research.’

The QAA review team also recognised the benefits of the Graduate School’s Global Skills Award Programme for postgraduate taught students, which has been running successfully since 2010.  The report stated that: ‘Students described its value both in terms of their development but also for networking opportunities which are particularly advantageous for international students.’

Professor Diane Houston (Dean of the Graduate School) said: ‘These findings are testament to the excellent work being undertaken by School and Faculty Directors of Graduate Studies, Postgraduate Administrators and the Graduate School Team in supporting and bringing to fruition such a wide range of opportunities for our postgraduate community across the University.’

Other features of good practice identified by the QAA report included the following:

• The responsive and timely approach to supporting prospective students in their admission to the University across all levels of provision.
• The strategic approach to creating an internationalised environment, which enables students to develop their academic, personal and professional potential.
• The accessibility of university-level information available on the website to stakeholders.

Calling all social scientists!

Registration for the 4^th Annual South East Doctoral Training Centre (SEDTC) Conference, happening here (Grimond Building, University of Kent) on Thursday 02 July 2015 (10.00 – 17.30), is now open!

The programme of events includes Keynote Academic Talks, a Journal Editors Panel, Interdisciplinary student-led sessions, posters and student pecha kucha presentations.

The Conference will also provide an excellent networking opportunity for students and academics involved in the SEDTC.

Full details of the day and the registration form are available here.

We will be running the inaugural Postgraduate Research Café on the Medway campus, on Friday 15^th May in the Medway building, M0-02, at 1.00pm – 3.00pm

You are all invited and welcome to attend.  The Postgraduate Research Cafe is a great way to support your fellow PGRs and offer questions and feedback.

We will supply tea, coffee and biscuits, please feel free to bring your own lunch.   A further programme of Research Cafés in Medway will be published soon.

NoRMMA (Network of Research: Movies, Magazines, Audiences) invites you to attend an interdisciplinary conference on non-traditional approaches to star studies research.

The one-day event will be held at the University of Kent on May 29th, 2015. The event will focus on ways to explore film studies research through non-traditional approaches. Examples include: performance, video essays, creative fiction/non-fiction, and various multimedia projects. Through this symposium, we would like to explore the connections between scholarship and fandom, research and creativity, the benefits and disadvantages of exploring an (audio)visual art through (audio)visual means, and the development of the innovative and ever-emerging field of practice as research.

Confirmed keynotes: Dr Catherine Grant, University of Sussex and Dr Kieran Fenby-Hulse, Coventry University

Preliminary schedule can be found here: http://www.normmanetwork.com/?p=153

If interested, you are welcome to register for free by Saturday, 9th of May by emailing normma.network@gmail.com   Supported by CISFMI and KIASH

For the attention of (FAO):  2nd and 3rd year PhD students

8^th Cumberland Lodge Doctoral Students Conference, 15^th– 18^th August 2015

The Graduate School is pleased to be able to offer one funded place at the above conference for a second or third year doctoral student.  Please see further details here: www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk/PhD

The conference is open to students of all disciplines at any stage in their doctorate, and is designed to help both those embarking on doctorates and those considering what they will do in the longer term. During the conference, students will:

• explore common concerns
• have opportunities to present their research to those in different disciplines and institutions
• engage with those with doctorates with careers within and outside the academic world.
• receive training in communication and successful application writing

Students will also have the unique experience of staying at Cumberland Lodge, a charitable foundation with over sixty years’ experience of working with students from across the world, and which each year hosts approximately 180 academic visits from universities across Britain.

The Graduate School is offering one funded place, to a second or third year PhD student, in shared accommodation which includes all meals and refreshments.  We will also refund reasonable travelling expenses to and from the Lodge i.e. rail or mileage from Kent or the South East.

If you are interested in attending this event please email Carla Doolan, Postgraduate Development Coordinator at skills@kent.ac.uk by 5pm, Friday 15th May, explaining briefly what you would hope to gain from the experience.  Applications will then be considered by the Dean of the Graduate School.

The Centre for Health Services Studies will be hosting a health policy debate prior to the 2015 General Election in May.

All the main local parties have been invited to send a Kent Parliamentary candidate to sit on a panel to take public questions and inform the audience what their policy plans could mean for the future of our health and social care.

This event is free and open to all – no booking necessary.

For further information, please contact Helen Wooldridge, h.l.wooldridge@kent.ac.uk

The latest GradPost spring edition is available for download here!

The GradPost is a quarterly newsletter created by postgraduates for postgraduates.  If you would like to contribute/be part of the editorial team, please contact gradpost@kent.ac.uk

On Monday 23rd March 2015, seven postgraduate students gave a short presentation about their culture as part of the Global Skills Award programme. Thank you to the following students who presented and made the evening a great success:

Tomorrow morning is your last chance to submit your business plans for consideration in our Bright Idea? competition.  If you have an idea for a commercial business or social enterprise, you could have the chance to win £1,000 but you need to submit by 9am.  Application forms are available on the Graduate School website http://www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool/skills/brightideas.html

1^st and 2^nd year doctoral students from the University of Kent have been invited to apply to become Cumberland Lodge Scholars.

Launched in 2014, the Cumberland Lodge Scholarship scheme provides 1^st or 2^nd year doctoral students with the opportunity to take part in a conference programme over a two year period, receiving training and gaining experience in communication, public engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and networking.

Further details and an application form can be found at www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk/scholarships.