“Everything I do in my role aims to empower students to meet their academic goals”
Research skills are critical components of academic success. To ensure that Kent students have the opportunity to thrive on their courses, the University has dedicated team of subject-specific liaison librarians to help students hone and apply project and research management skills throughout their courses.
“Everything I do in my role aims to empower students to meet their academic goals,” says Emma Furdurer, the liaison librarian for History. “I aim to develop confidence and curiosity, and encourage a strategic approach to information seeking. Especially during the dissertation modules when I help students to think about how to be strategic in their approach to finding materials for their dissertation.” These techniques are crucial at university and are especially important for employers after graduation.
When you start your degree, searching for books, articles and other sources to support your work can seem like a daunting task. But through training sessions and one to one consultations, Kent students can call on Emma’s expertise if they need help with locating primary or secondary material for their projects. The help offered by the liaison librarians complements well the subject knowledge and guidance that students receive from their lecturers.
It is often at university where students find their voice and hone their perspectives. This is something which Emma is keen to foster in Kent students for their studies and beyond: “I think it is really important to be curious and playful in your academic approach, one of the greatest joys of my job is to get to meet so many people who are passionate about their subjects and to learn from them. It makes for a really enriching working environment where no day is the same.”
Emma also curates an online resource guide for History. Bringing together reading lists, annotated bibliographies, associated media and databases, the guide is an excellent first step for your projects and work.
Emma is based in the University’s sprawling Templeman Library and is available for consultation throughout the year. Asked for her top tip for academic success, Emma answers: “Read a lot and be inquisitive! And when you read try to reflect not only on the content but also on the structure of the text. This will help you to improve your own writing skills and widen your horizons.”