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KMTV goes live for 2019 General Election

A date that is sure to be printed on your mind is the 12th December 2019 – General Election Day. Making history for a local television station is KMTV as they will be broadcasting live for twelve hours throughout the night.

Coverage will be from: 22:00 on Thursday 12th til 10:00 on Friday 13th.

Programme will appear on: Freeview channel 7, Virgin Media channel 159

Live stream on: KentOnline, kmtv.co.uk and the KMTV App (available on Apple & Google Play stores)

Keeping you up to date with the outcome, the station will have reporters and student interns at all 11 counts across Kent, bringing live results of 17 different constituencies. From other locations KMTV will also include live cameras and on-screen reporters at four counts, giving live reactions and comments over the phone, on FaceTime or via Skype.

“One of our core values is to bring more local democracy to Kent and there’s no better way to deliver that than by giving in-depth coverage of Kent’s results at December’s general election”, says KMTV’s Editor-in-chief Andy Richards. “We’ve proven since we launched in 2017 that for a small channel we can produce quality news coverage with our young professional team. This will be no different and we believe we’ll be the first region to broadcast live on television through the night from various locations on a general election night.”

More than 40 students from the University of Kent will be involved, working alongside a team of twelve television professionals, as well as Kent Messenger reporters. “It’s such a unique opportunity for our students”, says the Head of the Centre for Journalism Ian Reeves. “Some trainees get to help out on election coverage as runners or as an extra pair of hands, but our students will be directly involved in the coverage, many making live TV contributions. We’ve been training them intensely to prepare as multimedia reporters for the night’s events.”

Joining them on the night will be other students from across the university’s departments including Kent Business School, Politics and International Relations, School of Arts, Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.

Look out for the special programme at 08:00 called ‘Paul On Politics: Election Breakfast’, hosted by KM & KMTV Political Editor Paul Francis. Paul will also be on the KMTV sofa at various points throughout the night, alongside presenters Louisa Britton and Keilan Webster, as well as political pundits from across the various parties, Kent businesses and institutions.

Founder of Dominica Dementia Foundation Rianna Patterson meets the Queen as she collects her award of the Queens Young Leader in 2017

Meet the 2017 winner of the Queen’s Young Leader Award Rianna Patterson

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Rianna and I’m the founder of Dominica Dementia Foundation, we are the only Dementia Foundation in Dominica and the only foundation in the Caribbean. In 2017 I was very lucky to visit Buckingham Palace where I was awarded with the Queens Young Leaders award by Her Majesty the Queen. I also got to speak on BBC1 with Prince Harry about the work I do in Dominica.

“I have been a TEDx speaker and have previously spoken at the University of Kent. In 2017 I was was also honoured to win the Youth in Volunteerism and Professional Development award by the National Youth Council of Dominica. Now I am the membership officer of the Northern District Toastmaster Club and am also part of the Royal Commonwealth Society Network and Young Leaders of the Americas (YLAI).

“I am currently in the process of producing a documentary film on dementia. The idea of launching an organisation came as a memory of my grandfather who passed away with dementia in Dominica. My grandmother passed this year May. I want to share my story with the world in an effort to rewrite the narrative of those with dementia.”

The Queen’s Young Leaders: 

The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was established by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, in partnership with Comic Relief, The Royal Commonwealth Society and The University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education, in honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.

Over the past four years 60 awards have been given to exceptional young people aged between 18 and 29 to honour those addressing the urgent challenges facing their communities – including mental health, education, climate change, employment opportunities and gender equality.

Wave particles

Grant award for research into random number generators

Quantum technologies range from more efficient computers, to better and more accurate measurements and images, to faster and more secure communication.

The School of Computing is celebrating a £445,000 grant award for research into quantum physics. Professor Julio Hernandez-Castro and Lecturer Carlos Perez Delgado will research into quantum random number generators (QRNGs) as part of the EPSRC Quantum Communications Hub.

Joining the project’s Hub Leadership Executive, that will oversee the management and delivery of the project, Julio explained, “Our grant is basically to investigate QRNGs, and to analyse, improve and develop new statistical tests of randomness leading to new certification schemes that would help in guaranteeing the ‘quantumness’ and security of new QRNGs. We are hoping to flood the market with new and better extensively tested products over the next five years or so. This will enable the UK to become world market leaders in this promising new way of commercialisation for quantum technologies

“We are a small part of a much larger project, and together with Queen’s University Belfast we will investigate the security of the products the physicists will develop, including against side-channel attacks.”

Carlos’ main area of work has been to further our knowledge of the advantages and limitations that quantum theory conveys to communication, computation, metrology, and security.

He explained, “Quantum physics is a mathematical theory of the universe that is extremely successful. It however, predicts behaviour that is wildly non-intuitive. Some of this surprising behaviour has permeated into pop-culture. Most have heard of Schrödinger’s cat, which can be alive and dead simultaneously, and of photons that act as both particles and waves.

“For decades, both scientists and philosophers have tried to better understand this behaviour. In the last few decades, however, we’ve begun to try exploit this behaviour in the form of quantum technologies. These technologies range from more efficient computers, to better and more accurate measurements and images, to faster and more secure communication.”

The UK is poised to become an international leader in quantum technologies. As part of its strategy it has funded four Quantum Hubs where universities and private entities have come together to develop these technologies. The University of Kent is now part of the Quantum Communications Hub, which focuses on a more efficient and secure communication using quantum effects including random number generators.

 

Man standing in the middle of a field at the University of Kent facing towards the landscape of Canterbury

Global Research Opportunties Workshop 2020

Looking to get a better understanding on the university’s many and varied international funding streams? Then this event is just for you!

Date: 17th January 2020

Time: 09:00 – 12:30

Location: Darwin Conference Suite

The session will include an overview of the opportunities which can support research, education and training. In this session, we will focus on GCRF, Research Councils, Erasmus+ and case studies from across the University.

Guest Speaker: Rachael Sara-Kennedy – Head of Strategic Partnerships, UUKi.

To register your attendance, please click here to fill out the following form:

For further information please contact:

T: 01227 82 3908

E:deaninternational@kent.ac.uk

or visit the website

Medway Elf Day- over £200 raised for Alzheimer’s Society

Thank you so much to everyone that donated on Friday for Elf day.  A special thanks to those staff and students who got dressed up, it was great to see you get involved and support this worthy cause.  We raised just over £200 on Friday for Alzheimer’s Society!

Lee Mongtomery dressed up as Elf for Elf Day

The winner of the Elf cake was Jane Glew, it was cut up and shared with staff and students.

The winners of the sweepstake are as follows:

Guess the number of elves – answer was 359 elves – Debbie Worthington was the closest with her guess of 371.

Guess the name of the elf – Lucy Hale won with the name Elfie McElfie-face

Elf advent game – Graham Hartland

All 3 donated their winnings back to the pot.

Thank you once again for supporting this College event.

Catching Lives

Kent Hospitality Housekeeping staff raise £500 for local homeless charity

The Kent Hospitality Housekeeping team have raised £500 for Catching Lives which is a local homeless charity. They organised a festive Christmas raffle which topped off a fantastic year of fundraising activities.

Becky Verlin and Lydia Lee from Kent Hospitality Housekeeping team made the donation in person to the Canterbury based charity on Wednesday 4 December.

Becky said: “Catching Lives were extremely happy to receive our donation. I am humbled and very proud of the support from staff throughout the year for their generosity for this fundraising and to achieve over and above our expectations is a credit to all.”

Catching Lives is an independent charity aimed at supporting the rough sleepers, homeless and vulnerably housed in Canterbury and East Kent; those who have, for many reasons, fallen through the gaps in society and feel they have nowhere else to turn.

Anna Katharina Schaffner

BBC Radio 4 produces documentary based on Anna Katharina Schaffner’s research

BBC Radio 4 has produced a documentary called Exhaustion: A History based on the research of Anna Katharina Schaffner. Anna Katharina is the Reader in Comparative Literature and Medical Humanities for the Department of Comparative Literature.

Are we really more exhausted today than we have ever been before? This programme sets out to discover a forgotten history of listlessness, burn-out and fatigue.

A couple of years ago, I noticed there was a really extreme increase in reports about stress and exhaustion,” Anna explains in the programme, “I found, to my great surprise, that exhaustion really is a ubiquitous concern that many people in many different cultures over many different years have worried about.”

Group photo of everyone who planted trees

Students lead tree planting event on campus

Students from the Environmental Conservation Sustainability Society (ESC Soc) brought together students and staff from across the University to plant 50 new native trees on campus.

The UK Committee for Climate Change has called for dramatic increases in woodland creation as part of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The Woodland Trust are calling on all areas of society to participate as part of their ‘Big Climate Fightback’ campaign and ESC Soc thought what better place to plant trees than on our wonderful green campus.

Supported by the University’s Landscape and Grounds team from the Estates Department, ESC Society secured 50 free trees from The Conservation Volunteers ‘I Dig Trees’ fund, and a piece of land that borders Bluebell wood on the Canterbury campus for the trees to be situated.

On Wednesday 4 December volunteers came together to plant the trees on a beautiful winter’s afternoon. The new trees, once established, will be an extension of Bluebell wood providing more cover for the numerous bird species that feed and nest in that area, such as Great Tits, Wrens, Nut Hatches and Tree Creepers.

Tommy-Joe Brown

Beyond Cinema students organise topical screenings

Film students on the module FI624: Beyond Cinema have organised a series of film screenings with a difference this December.

Beyond Cinema considers the changing nature of where, when and how audiences engage with film and the moving image. As part of the module, students have organised screenings of classic films as an immersive experience and appropriate to the time of year.

The series opens with a 25th anniversary celebratory screening of Friends on Sunday 8 December at 7pm, including a Friends themed quiz, starting at 4pm in the Gulbenkian Cafe. Four episodes of the classic TV show will be screened, and tickets cost between £4 and £10. To book online please visit the Gulbenkian’s website.

On Monday 9 December there will be two screenings of Duncan Jones’ science-fiction drama Moon (2009) held in Jarman Studio 1. The screening will be an immersive experience, with an airlock walkway and the film will be show an astrodome. Seating will be on the floor, but there will be plenty of cushions to make it as comfortable as possible.  The screening has been organised by BA (Hons) in Film student Tommy-Joe Brown (pictured, building the walkway), and the event is held in partnership with School of Physical Sciences.

There are 16 tickets per screening and cost £3 each and may be booked by the Gulbenkian’ website.

To capitalise on the festival season, there will be a screening of the Christmas Rom Com Love Actually (dir. Richard Curtis 2003). As this is the season of goodwill, the event is held in support of the student-led charity initiatives Kent Marrow and Canterbury Homeless Outreach. Katie Head, also on the BA (Hons) in Film and who has organised the screening, said: ‘I wanted to do a charity fundraiser for Kent Marrow and Canterbury Homeless Outreach in particular, as although they are two charities that need help and support all year round, Christmas is a time that I believe they need it the most. I thought that Love Actually would be the perfect film to bring people together for a joyous evening and then also give them the opportunity to support these charities in any way they can.’

Tickets cost between £4 and £8.70, and may be purchased from the Gulbenkian.

The final film in the series is The Grinch (dirs. Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier 2018) which will be shown at a family-friendly screening at the Gulbenkian cinema, at 11am on Sunday 15 December. Tickets cost between £2.50 and £4, and may be purchased from the Gulbenkian’s website.