Monthly Archives: November 2014

25 Year Lunch celebrations

Eighteen members of staff attended the 25 Year Lunch in the Darwin Conference Suite on 9 October hosted by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow.

The lunch is given to celebrate and recognise the contribution each of the staff have made at the University over the years. A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all.

Photograph shows (from left):
Back row – Sue Sherwood (School of Arts), Meredith Johnson (Office of the Master of Eliot College), Nicola Kerry-Yoxall (School of Anthropology & Conservation), Beverley Newport (IS Collections Management), Dr. Nathan Gomes (School of Engineering & Digital Arts), Rennie Tjerkstra (Kent Business School), Dr. Richard Williamson (School of Biosciences), Julian Cook (School of Biosciences), Neil Higginson (Estates), Simon Ing (Estates) and Marion Fanthorpe (Interim HR Director.

Front row – Linda Haley (IS Collections Management), Michelle Rowe (Enrolment Management Services), Gary Blundell (IT Service Desk), Darren Lissenden (School of Computing), Tony Rees (Centre for Health Services Studies), Dr Louise Naylor (Director of UELT), Sarah Cooke (Estates), Louise Barlow (HR), Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow and Denise Everitt.

Kent students compete in Universities Business Challenge

As part of the Student Enterprise scheme, two teams of students will be representing Kent in the Universities Business Challenge.

The Universities Business Challenge is based around realistic business simulations developed by Learning Dynamics. The competition is designed to engage and develop students’ employability and enterprise skills so that they are given a headstart in their careers.

This unique opportunity enables students to improve knowledge of the business world, put theory into practice and develop team-working, leadership and employability skills by participating in a team-based competitive challenge. The competition is not just for Business Studies students and encourages participants across faculties and disciplines as its value in employability and enterprise skills development is recognised.

In addition to Business Studies, students from other faculties such as Information Technology, Sociology, Accounting, Law and a wide range of other faculties have gained a new understanding of the business world and developed their employability and enterprise skills.

Our 2014 student representatives are: Ashwin Kumar, 1st year Advanced Software Development; Andre Lewis, 3rd year Criminology and Sociology; Cheuk Yin Lee, 2nd year Business Administration; Tali Grozin, 1st year International Business; Ajith Karakkattillom Naray, 3rd year Classical & Archaeological Studies and History; Kamel Diab, 1st year Law; Lewis Tisdall, 1st year Business Administration with a Year in Industry; Sarah Jane Lowe, 2nd year Computing and Philosophy; Joey Chong, 2nd year Actuarial Science with a Year in Industry; and Antonis Charalamabous, 3rd year Computer Systems Engineering with a Year in Industry.

Besides the invaluable experience and prestige of progressing through the competition, there are also cash prizes for the first three teams: 1st £1000, 2nd £500 and 3rd £250. Plus Certificates of Participation are awarded to students as they progress through each round of the Challenge.

The two teams will be working closely with Student Enterprise Assistant Rachel Elcombe who is mentoring them during the first round of the competition – it’s a great way for our students to demonstrate a practical application of their entrepreneurial skills.

You can follow our students’ progress on Twitter @enterprise_kent to find out how they get on.

To find out more about Student Enterprise and how you can get involved visit our website or email studententerprise@kent.ac.uk.

Careers Fair car park closures – 4 November

The Sports Centre blue zone and Sports Centre Road pink zone car parks will be closed on Tuesday 4 November 2014.

This is to assist with the Careers and Employability Service annual Careers Fair, providing an opportunity for current students and recent graduates to meet with over 100 employers offering graduate vacancies and/or work experience opportunities within their organisations.

Please remember that it is likely that other car parks in the centre of campus may be full. The University’s Traffic Regulations state that we do not guarantee a space to park; however, there is normally parking available in Park Wood Courts.

Parking enforcement will continue during the closure of these car parks. Please ensure that you park in marked bays only within the car parks valid for your permit.

Transport and Parking
Estates Department

60 minute takeover, 3-5 Nov

The 60 minute takeover is a series of training sessions organised by societies and sports clubs at the Canterbury campus.

Sessions will take place from 3-5 November in the Student Media Centre from 10.00 until 16.00.

Not only is the takeover a great way to learn new skills and make yourself more employable but it’s also a great way to get involved in the extracurricular.

Check out Kent Union’s website for further details.

Day trip to Bruges

There will be a day trip to the beautiful city of Bruges, by coach and via Channel Tunnel, on Saturday 15 November.

Early start from Canterbury campus and you are free to do what you like once in Bruges.

The trip is offered by Chaplaincy in conjunction with the Student Services Wellbeing Calendar. All welcome (subject to visa requirements).

The cost is just £30 per seat. Find out more.

To book email chaplaincy@kent.ac.uk.

Photo credits
Author: Wolfgang Staudt
Licence: CC BY 2.0
Link: https://flic.kr/p/4SB3hZ
Source: Flickr

Genius of Language festival at Kent

The Department of English Language & Linguistics is hosting a series of events, titled ‘The Genius of Language’, which explores the origins, diversity and creativity of language, as part of the nationwide ‘Being Human’ festival of the humanities. The events run between the 16 and 20 November 2014.

On Sunday 16 November, The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge will house an interactive exhibition, which explores questions such as ‘why is human language so special and how does it differ from the communication systems of other animals?’ and ‘how did language evolve in the human species?’ A competition for students to exhibit work in this exhibition under the title ‘The Origins of Language’ is currently running, please see the page here. A creative writing workshop on metaphors, led by Dr Jeremy Scott will take place at 3pm on the day.

In the subsequent week, there will be two film screenings in the Gulbenkian Cinema followed by Q&A sessions with experts from the Department of English Language & Linguistics. The Linguists (2008) will be screened on Tuesday 18 November, followed by Is the Man Who is Tall Happy? (2013) on Thursday 20 November. Both films will be shown at 6.30pm on their respective dates.

On Wednesday 19 November there will be a free public lecture entitled ‘Why Bilingualism Matters’ delivered by Professor Antonella Sorace (University of Edinburgh), a world-leading authority in the field of bilingual language development across the lifespan.

Full details of the events can be found on the Genius of Language webpage.

Professor Karla Pollmann inaugural lecture

Professor Karla Pollmann will give her KIASH inaugural lecture, ‘Method and Madness in the Reception of Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-2014)’, on Thursday 13 November at 6pm in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1, Canterbury campus.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430), saint, bishop, intellectual and incredibly prolific writer in late Roman North Africa, can arguably be called the most influential early Christian writer in Latin. The impact of his rich and diverse thoughts is immense up to this very day.

Last year saw the conclusion of an interdisciplinary and international, collaborative project that had as its aim the mapping of facts, patterns, and characteristics of Augustine’s enduring presence from his death until the present. Noteworthy findings include Augustine’s enduring legacy far beyond the narrower confinements of theology, such as philosophy, political theory, education, psychology and art, and his surprising presence in popular culture.

The lecture, to be delivered on Augustine’s 1660th biological birthday, will give an overview of the project, present its most important original insights, and attempt to reflect on implications of the continuing presence of a ‘saint’ in a secularised society.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception in the Grimond Foyer. All are welcome – full details can be found on the the School of European Culture and Languages webpages.

Edward Kanterian talk on ‘Communism and its Memory’

Dr Edward Kanterian from the Department of Philosophy will be giving a public talk entitled ‘Communism and its Memory’ at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Stockholm on Tuesday 4 November.

As a geopolitical force Communism became obsolete 25 years ago. But it still lives on in two related respects, concerning its actual past and its possible future. First, it is a political, social and moral burden in post-Communist societies. Second, it continues to be seen, by some, as an ideal of social salvation, the true and most desirable alternative to capitalism. These two attitudes, the critical-commemorative and the utopian one, may seem unrelated. As Edward Kanterian’s talk will demonstrate, they both arise from the deep and troubling nature of Communist ideology.

The event is free to attend; to book simply email rkis@rkis.se

The full abstract (in Swedish) is available from the Romanian Cultural institute Stockholm website.

Employability Week, 3-7 Nov

This year’s Employability Week takes place from 3-7 November, with over 100 companies on campus, and over 100 university-wide events, showcasing all the ways in which you can get experience and gain skills while studying at Kent.

View the full programme.

The programme includes the annual Careers Fair on Tuesday 4 November.

There will be visiting alumni, presentations and interactive workshops by graduate employers, skills sessions, competitions, fairs… and more!

Employability Week: 3-7 November

The University is hosting its second annual Employability Week for students from 3-7 November 2014 at Canterbury and Medway. You can preview the exciting programme of events.

The Careers and Employability Service, together with Academic Schools, Professional Services and Kent Union have organised over 100 events. They showcase the many ways in which students can gain experience and skills while studying at the University. There will be visiting alumni, presentations by graduate employers, skills sessions and competitions. Headline features this year include:

The biggest Careers Fair the University has ever organised on Tuesday 4 November (over 100 exhibitors!) giving students the opportunity to meet with some of the most exciting graduate recruiters.
A Teaching Expo on Wednesday 5 November to showcase the routes into teaching and some great opportunities to get placements and gain experience.
The Kent Opportunities Fair on Thursday 6 November providing information about Kent’s exceptional extra-curricular activities.

Employability Week provides Kent’s students with a terrific opportunity to find out about the employability initiatives at the University including the Employability Points Scheme, the Careers Employability Award, the new mentoring system KEW-NET and the Student Ambassador Scheme.

The Careers and Employability Service hopes you and your students enjoy Employability Week. Don’t forget we are here all year round, so do get in touch if you would like to discuss your careers and employability ideas.