British Association for Irish Studies | Deadline 17^th March 2015

Entries are invited for an essay on any aspect of Irish Studies.  Entrants should be student members of BAIS who are registered for Masters of doctoral programmes in Great Britain. The winning entry will be published in Irish Studies Review and the winning author will receive £500 of Cambridge University Press books of their choice.  Essays should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words in length.

Please direct queries and submit entries to: Dr Derval Tubridy BAISessayprize@gmail.com

Briefing for students interested in applying for ESRC funding

8^th December 2014 | Keynes LT5

 The South East Doctoral Training Centre (SEDTC)  is now inviting PhD applications for ESRC funded studentships commencing in the 2015-16 academic year.   Students interested in applying for SEDTC ESRC PhD studentship funding at Kent can find more details on how to apply at http://www.kent.ac.uk/scholarships/postgraduate/research_council/esrc.html . If you wish to seek ESRC funding, the deadline for applying for a PhD place at Kent is 31^st  January 2015 although candidates are advised to apply as soon as possible.

The University will be providing a briefing for students interested in applying for SEDTC ESRC PhD funding at 4.00 – 5.00pm on Monday 8^th December 2014 in KLT5. The agenda will cover:

1) Why apply for ESRC funding?

2) What is the SEDTC?

3) Giving your proposal the best chance

4) Q&A

Further information about the South East Doctoral Training Centre is available at http://southeastdtc.surrey.ac.uk/

The Graduate School, in partnership with Kent Innovation and Enterprise, are holding a competition for all postgraduate students and are asking students to submit a business plan by 9am on 18th March 2015.

We are offering the following voluntary opportunities for students, which may help improve their plan:

• Recieve feedback on a pre-application proforma. Download proforma and submit to skills@kent.ac.uk by 5pm on 6th February 2015.
• Book a place on any (or all!) of the following workshops (first come first serve basis): book via: https://bloom.kent.ac.uk
  • Road to Success: Delivering a Business Plan, 28th November 2014, 10am – 12pm
  • The Common Good: Spotlight on Social Enterprise, 28th January 2015, 9:30-4:30pm
  • Road to Success: Delivering a Business Plan, 11th February 2015, 2-4pm

For more information visit: http://www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool/skills/brightideas.html

The University of Kent is hosting its second annual Employability Week for students between 3^rd and 7^th November 2014 at Canterbury and Medway.  There is a very exciting programme of events which you can view at http://www.kent.ac.uk/ces/employabilityweek

The Careers and Employability Service, together with Academic Schools, Professional Services and Kent Union have organised over one hundred events. There will be visiting alumni, presentations by graduate employers, skills sessions and competitions.

Some of the headline features this year include:

• The biggest Careers Fair the University has ever organised on Tuesday 4 November (over 100 exhibitors!) giving students and graduates the opportunity to meet with some of the most exciting graduate recruiters

• A Teaching Expo on Wednesday 5 November to showcase the routes into teaching and some great opportunities to get placements and gain experience.

Pilkington Bulding, 10 Sep 2014 | The three universities that share the Medway Campus will be holding a joint Research Festival on 10th September 2014.

This will be an opportunity to hear about the research going on across the Medway Campus, to foster collaborations within and between the universities, and to further develop the research culture on the site.

All Medway and Canterbury staff and PhD students are very welcome to attend.

The Festival will take place in the Pilkington Open Space and will consist of posters, demonstrations and stalls from all three universities. All attendees are free to make their own way around the Space, but specific presentations and demonstrations focused on the three universities will be timetabled. I have attached an initial draft of the agenda, the Festival will start at 2pm and will be followed by a drinks reception at 4.45pm

The University of Kent is hosting, in association with IUPAC, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the workshop Nanomaterials and Human Health: Trends and Future, on the 15th and 16th September 2014 at Keynes College. This 1.5 day workshop will engage in a broad critical discussion on cutting edge nanotechnology methods and concepts based on polymers, lipids, conjugates, and advanced multicomponent nanoengineered systems used in a wide range of applications.

The workshop will be provided for up to forty people and the registration will be free of charge (but please register by 15 August). The workshop will provide a dynamic, diverse and collegial environment with academic, industrial and regulatory viewpoints. Importantly, the meeting will also offer a unique opportunity for junior scientists to present their work in poster format and to exchange ideas with leaders in the field. We intend to critically assess the very timely and popular topic of nanomaterials within broader professional networks.

One of the specific goals is to create opportunities for collaboration and to strengthen the valuable relationship between basic and applied researchers working in the field of nanomaterial science.

Tentatively, there will be several well-recognised speakers, including Dr Didier Bazile (Head of Drug Delivery Technologies and Innovation. Sanofi-Aventis); Prof. Lisa Hall (Deputy Head of Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge); Prof. Clive Roberts (Head of School of Pharmacy, Nottingham University); Dr Xavier Le Guevel (BIONAND, Spain); Prof. C. Nogues (Uni. Autònoma de Barcelona); and Dr Dave Smart (Smart Dx Consulting Ltd).

For more information, go to www.msp.ac.uk/research/iupacnanomat.html.

Click here to download event poster