Monthly Archives: January 2015

Lecture theatre

Invitation to Open Lecture and book launch

Professor David Croisdale-Appleby OBE will be delivering an Open Lecture on Wednesday 21 January from 5-6pm in the Pilkington Lecture Theatre, Medway Campus, focusing on his review of social work education.

Professor Croisdale-Appleby was awarded the OBE for his work for social justice, and holds honorary degrees from a number of UK universities for his work in health and social policy. Earlier this year, he completed an independent review for the Government: ‘Re-visioning Social Work Education’ and is committed to extending his work in this arena.

Book Launch
At 6pm, following the lecture, there will be a book launch for The Emotional Politics of Social Work and Child Protection, written by one of our social work tutors, Jo Warner. She will briefly introduce the book and then be available to discuss it over wine and nibbles. Copies of the book will also be available on the day.

The Open Lecture and book launch are free and open to all.  To find out more, email Annikki Laitinen.

 

Fundraising for Canterbury Umbrella Centre

On 16th January, members of the Estates Department visited the Canterbury Umbrella Centre to present them with a cheque for £1973.80. This fantastic amount was raised throughout 2014 by various fundraising initiatives such as donating money to wear jeans on a Friday, leading up to Christmas where the staff held a successful raffle. The charity was nominated by Lizzie Marsh, receptionist in Estates. Canterbury Umbrella really make a difference to the local community, and in particular provide support to people with mental health problems and those that are feeling lonely or isolated. They rely on the help of volunteers to support all of the members and the activities they provide. To find out more about the Canterbury Umbrella charity community centre, or if you’re thinking about becoming a volunteer, you can visit their website www.canterburyumbrella.co.uk

 

 

Student meditation CD

Students from the School of Music and Fine Art are working with the University’s counselling team on a collaborative project funded by Creative Campus to produce a meditation CD.

The meditation CD will be available to Kent students to download for free.

This initiative aims to help students to develop strategies to deal with stress, such as:

  • making new friends and relationships
  • assessment deadlines
  • exam stress
  • finance issues

For more information email ljf@kent.ac.uk.

Study tips for week 13

Tip 1: Ready, steady, go – what do I start with?

It’s all about priorities. You should always know what you need to do now, what you can leave to later, and what needs doing later still. Always work with these three priorities in mind. Find out about time management and planning.

Tip2: What’s the point? Reading for a purpose.

Most books and journal articles usually try to make one point – the rest is argument and evidence. Ask yourself ‘what is the key theme?’ The same principle applies to chapters, sections, and even paragraphs: look for the point! Pick up additional reading tips from the SLAS workshop ‘Effective Reading’.

Research Prizes deadline approaches

The deadline for the inaugural University Research Prizes scheme is due on Monday 19 January 2015.

Launched to mark the University’s 50th anniversary, the scheme is open to all research active staff and doctoral students at Kent. The following prizes will are available:

Nine Faculty Prizes  (worth £500 each) –

  • Faculty Research Prize (one per Faculty)
  • Faculty Early Career Research Prize (one per Faculty)
  • Faculty Postgraduate Research Prize (one per Faculty)

Three University Prizes (worth an additional £500 each)

  • University Research Prize –
  • University Early Career Research Prize
  • University Postgraduate Research Prize

There has already been considerable interest in the scheme, but there is still time to submit a nomination. Full details are available on the Research Services website or from Phil Ward in Research Services.

USA trip and £1000 cash prizes for Big Ideas

Win a £1,000 cash and an all-expenses paid trip to the USA with the Big Ideas competition!

The Big Ideas Competition, sponsored by Santander Universities, gives all current Kent students the opportunity to submit a business idea for a chance to win some fantastic prizes.

Your idea can be as exciting and novel as you like; it can be for a new product or service and come from any sector. You can submit ideas on your own or as part of a team and you can also submit multiple entries to increase your chances of winning, PLUS you get 15 Employability Points per entry!

We have two amazing top prizes:

  • A trip to USA to represent the University of Kent in the Global Business Concept Challenge – all expenses paid for. One team will be selected to represent the University of Kent in the prestigious Global Business Concept Challenge in Virginia, USA from 16-22 August 2015, with the chance to win up to $25,000!
  • A cash prize of £1,000, your own rent-free office in the Kent Enterprise Hub and a business mentor from Santander. The £1,000 prize will enable the winner(s) to take their idea forward and set up a company. It will also enable you to have your own office in the Kent Enterprise Hub.

All you need to do is complete an application form on our website here and email your entry to studententerprise@kent.ac.uk.

Entries must be submitted by midnight on 27 February 2015

For more information contact Rachel Elcombe on 01227 823263 or email studententerprise@kent.ac.uk

New discount bus season tickets for staff

The Transport Team is pleased to announce further discounts and new bus seasons tickets are now available to all University staff, including Kent Union staff; with discounts up to 45%.

These discounted prices are for either a Stagecoach Megarider or Gold bus season ticket.

Canterbury Megarider

Equivalent public price and Kent staff discount price:

  • 13 weeks £126 £105
  • 36 weeks £359 £290
  • 52 weeks £490 £396

Megarider Gold

Equivalent public price and staff discount price:

  • 13 weeks £228 £150
  • 36 weeks £648 £360
  • 52 weeks £875 £480

All salaried staff (not including paid on timesheet), where the length of employment exceeds the duration of the chosen ticket, can choose to have monthly payments deducted from their salary for the 36 week or the 52 week ticket (Contact Transport Team for further details). For all other staff and for the 13 week ticket this can be purchased at the Estates reception by cash, cheque or credit/debit card.

Further details can be found on the Estates webpages.

Staff are also entitled to discounts with Arriva bus company.

Fundraising UK Camp comes to Canterbury

Fundraising Camp is a one-day ‘unconference’-style event for fundraisers, the first series of its kind for fundraisers in the UK.

Spend a day learning, talking about and maybe even solving the issues and challenges you face in your fundraising. Learn from other fundraisers in your area, find out how they’ve dealt with similar problems, and share your experience.

No tents involved: make some useful contacts and maybe even enjoy a very practical day of sharing fundraising advice.

For more information and details about the day, visit the event webpage.

 

JSNCC non-union representative nominations

You are invited to make nominations for two representatives of non-union members of staff to join the Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee.

These two vacancies are for non-academic staff members. Currently there are two academic-related staff representatives, namely Dr Sarah Hyde and Linda Lough. For more information about membership of JSNCC, please go to http://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffinformation/jsncc.html

What is the Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee?

The Committee is the main forum for consultation and negotiation between the University and its staff. Its membership includes management and union and staff representatives who meet each term.

Nominations for appointment to the vacancies have to be proposed and seconded by two other members from this staff group.

Elections, if necessary, are held using a simple majority system.

The period of appointment is three years commencing from the date of election and representatives are eligible for re-election once.

Enquiries and nominations (there are no pre-prepared forms for nominations) should be directed to the Secretary of JSNCC, Maddy Withers, either by:-
Email – M.M.Withers@kent.ac.uk
or
By post – Room 125, The Registry
Closing date 16 February 2015.