A Mathematics PhD student from the School of Mathematics. Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS) at the University of Kent, has been ‘Volunteer of the Month’ by Kent Union.
Floris Claassens, in his role as the Faculty of Sciences Postgraduate Research Student Representative, has been recognised for his work on a Postgraduate Welfare Paper supported by Kent Union and Kent’s Graduate School. Kent Union wrote:
Since realising that the welfare provision that was available from his school was not shared by other schools, Floris went on a quest to speak to the member of staff responsible for postgraduate welfare in all 23 schools across both the Canterbury and Medway campuses. He spoke to as many student reps as possible and finally independently created and distributed a survey which received 119 responses, over 10% of the PGR population. With this knowledge and consultation, Floris got a firm grasp of how the schools differ in their approach to PGR welfare. This culminated in a paper which was taken to Graduate School Board on 30/10/2018, which passed and resulted in the creation of a new sub-board which is focused exclusively on postgraduate welfare provision at the University of Kent. This is a huge achievement which has only been managed due to the dedication of one very capable Faculty Rep.
Floris is currently working towards a PhD in Mathematics, supervised by the School’s Director of Research and Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Dr Bas Lemmens.