{"id":5598,"date":"2023-01-24T10:22:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T10:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/?p=5598"},"modified":"2023-01-25T18:33:30","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T18:33:30","slug":"we-are-listening-to-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"We are listening to you!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With Autumn term behind us and the academic year well underway, we look back at some of the positive changes at the school, especially those that are a direct response to your feedback.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-5598 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/od-odod2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/OD-odod2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/od-odod3\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/OD-odod3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>For some time students have been asking the School if there could be more space to study as well as a common room to provide a space to relax and to build a bit of community spirit. With our move to Keynes \u2013 a fantastic new location with Dolche Vita, K-bar, and pond (look out for the ducklings in Spring!) \u2013 this has now become possible. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/politics-international-relations\/people\/2599\/turner-ben\">Dr Ben Turner<\/a> has put some great effort into making the common room a comfortable one where you can put your feet up with friends. The poster boards and plasma screens are also up-to-date with the latest information regarding your reps, mentors, and various School\/Divisional activities. The accompanying hub (C1.07) is full of new desks and chairs for you to meet and study with friends.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe POLIR Common Room is truly an ideal environment for politics students regardless of year group. It\u2019s compact enough to independently study but also has enough space to have a study group session with other course mates. You aren\u2019t far from your tutors who are always willing to support you. Personally, this is a perfect spot for me as it is near social spaces like K-Bar and Dolche Vita for much-needed breaks, as well as the Keynes bus stop if you want to head into town or go home after you study.\u201d Student feedback<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-5598 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/girl-common-room\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/Girl-Common-Room-.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/new-common-room\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"107\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/new-common-room-.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ui-provider vi b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\" dir=\"ltr\">You told us that you were unsure where to find information regarding your course and your modules, so we have completely revised the <a class=\"fui-Link ___1qmgydl f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq\" title=\"https:\/\/moodle.kent.ac.uk\/2022\/course\/view.php?id=183\" href=\"https:\/\/moodle.kent.ac.uk\/2022\/course\/view.php?id=183\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Link PolIR Student Guide (DP6500)\">PolIR Student Guide (DP6500)<\/a> on Moodle so that it is clearer and more comprehensive, offering you a first port of call for information about the School and your course. The page includes information to help you with essay writing, including recorded workshops, guidance to get the most from your Academic Advisor, and the <a class=\"fui-Link ___1qmgydl f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq\" title=\"https:\/\/moodle.kent.ac.uk\/2022\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=410584\" href=\"https:\/\/moodle.kent.ac.uk\/2022\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=410584\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Link School\u2019s Padlet calendar of events\">School\u2019s Padlet calendar of events<\/a> so that you can stay on top of what is going on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You asked us for more timetabled supervisory sessions, a greater sense of a shared research process and a more refined way of encouraging reflection on the key moments of the process (topic, project outline, conference presentation and submission). Supervisors now meet supervisees as a group so that these latter aspects can be discussed together, experiences shared, problems discussed with a greater eye for sub-disciplinary issues than can be given in the umbrella module.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ui-provider vi b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\" dir=\"ltr\">We are always being asked to provide more opportunities for skills development or exam support, so we have improved and developed our offering from SLAS to meet your requirements and concerns \u2013 see the <a class=\"fui-Link ___1qmgydl f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq\" title=\"https:\/\/moodle.kent.ac.uk\/2022\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=5974\" href=\"https:\/\/moodle.kent.ac.uk\/2022\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=5974\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Link HSS Student Guide\">HSS Student Guide<\/a> for recordings of these sessions &#8211; we\u2019ve developed very well received exam preparation sessions, and last term was the launch of our new APM group study sessions, including support from SLAS and our Library Liaison to help you improve your referencing and make the most of library resources while you study.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-5598 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/polir-mwevent-12\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/Polir-MWEvent-12.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/polir-mwevent-5\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/Polir-MWEvent-5.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/polir-mwevent-7\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/Polir-MWEvent-7.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Student Voice Forums this year have been full of enthusiasm and activity, and it has been great to have them face-to-face again after the pandemic. The School has been pushing to rebuild a sense of on-campus community with a variety of events, social and academic \u2013 these include our &#8216;Understanding&#8230;&#8217; event series: on <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2022\/03\/14\/understanding-the-ukraine-crisis-panel-event-hosted-by-the-school\/\">Ukraine <\/a>and the Cost of Living crisis, as well as our annual celebration of Mulled Wine and Mince Pies to gather at the end of term. Ben Turner has been supporting the PolIR academic society to build its numbers and generate activity.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-4' class='gallery galleryid-5598 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/image-20221117-180504-514d1c1f\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/image-20221117-180504-514d1c1f.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/image-20221117-182209-1a718c4b\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/image-20221117-182209-1a718c4b.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/image-20221117-180630-01ad6023\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/files\/2023\/01\/image-20221117-180630-01ad6023.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>And already we&#8217;re off to a really great start to the new term with returning POLIR alumna <a style=\"background-color: #ffffff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abenaoppongasare.com\/\">Abena Oppong Asare<\/a> MP, visiting from her constituency Erith and Thamesmead, in conversation with <a style=\"background-color: #ffffff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/politics-international-relations\/people\/504\/ansorg-nadine\">Dr Nadine Ansorg<\/a> on January 27th.<\/p>\n<p>We couldn\u2019t have focused on the changes you needed without hearing your feedback through the various channels available to us, including the NSS and Student Voice Forums. So we\u2019ve asked one of our Division\u2019s reps to tell us about their experience so far this year.<\/p>\n<p><i>What it means to you being a rep?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>It means that I can have a platform to share concerns or proposals to improve our relationships with our professors and to do better in our modules.<\/p>\n<p><i>How have you enjoyed the journey so far?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>I have enjoyed it a lot since I met new people through being a rep, whom I can work together to help our fellow students.<\/p>\n<p><i>What is the most rewarding experience, so far, being a rep?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The most rewarding experience for me personally is the opportunity to attend staff and academics meetings, where I can listen to various internal problems or suggestions and that way, I can understand better the situation and propose new effective solutions.<\/p>\n<p><i>How did the Student Voice Forum go and what you feel it brings to the school community?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The\u202fStudent Voice Forum went\u00a0well and I appreciated the effort being put by our\u202fStudent Experience Coordinators. They really care to listen to our\u00a0feedback and they do try their best to make a change for the better! Without them it would have been\u00a0really hard for our voices to be heard.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do get in touch with our reps if you have any concerns or suggestions, consider becoming a rep yourself, and make sure you complete the NSS so that future students can continue to benefit from the feedback!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Find your reps here: <a href=\"https:\/\/kentunion.co.uk\/student-voice\/student-reps\/find-my-rep\">Find My Rep | Kent Union<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Complete the NSS here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestudentsurvey.com\/\">National Student Survey : National Student Survey (thestudentsurvey.com)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Autumn term behind us and the academic year well underway, we look back at some of the positive changes at the school, especially those &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2023\/01\/24\/we-are-listening-to-you\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66395,"featured_media":5641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5598"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5598"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5665,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5598\/revisions\/5665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}