The KLS (Kent Law School) Podcast is a student led initiative to engage with current legal issues that came into being at the beginning of 2018. With a huge thank you to all those involved in backing, supporting and contributing to the podcast, it is hoped that the podcast set up this year will become a mainstay of student exploration into legal issues. And provide students with an opportunity to engage with leading experts on the topics they cover.
The University of Kent is a great champion of student research and thought, which is shown by this blog and the Kent Law School’s Annual Postgraduate Conference, providing students with the opportunity to present their work. And it is thanks to this mind-set that the podcast was able to apply and receive funding through the Graduate Studies Initiative Fund to enable it to come into fruition.
The Graduate Studies Initiative Fund is a fund available for postgraduate law students at the University of Kent. The purpose of the fund is to enrich the postgraduate student experience at Kent by contributing and facilitating student endeavours through academia. Consequently, when applying for the grant to fund the podcast, the main objective was to create a new medium through which students could enable conversation within the field of critical analysis of the law, through a non-traditional means of discussion. Podcasts allow for a greater, and far reaching appeal to the wider community. Consequently the purpose of the podcast is to enable greater interaction and discussion between academics, students and the general public alike cultivating a discussion on topics, which are not necessarily accessible to all in the regular mediums of academia.
By creating the KLS Podcast, it has enabled students to engage with a new medium for discussing legal issues. Being a part of the KLS Podcast team has cultivated two key areas of personal development, the first being engaging in critical thought and discussion, and the second learning new practical skills. Firstly, it has enabled students to engage with course material and the discussions in class. Focusing on issues of particular interest has enabled students to explore different points of view through interviews and literature, to create an understandable yet engaging discussion. Secondly, it provided students with interviewing and editing skills, which are invaluable in a growing media-centred world and workplace, in addition to, encouraging students understanding of how to provoke discussion as well as considering composition of debates.
So far we have covered the recent university protests over changes to the UCU pension schemes, enabling students and academics alike to understand the key issues and the legal implications involved with the proposed changes. Additionally, we also celebrated the 100th year of women getting the vote in the UK. With future episodes in the pipeline, we hope to see the initiative grow and become a staple of the Postgraduate Kent Law School, with the hope that it continues next year and the years to come.
Post by Kent LLM student Jade Knight
Download the KLS Pod podcasts from Soundcloud