We’re giving you the chance to eat for free in 7 different catering outlets before 10th April. In return we’ll ask you to give us feedback on each of your visits.
If you’re a student based in Canterbury and would like to get involved (and haven’t done so before) drop us an email at catering@kent.ac.uk by 2pm this Friday (19th March), telling us why you’d be a good Mystery Diner.
Language Express Bitesize courses give staff and students a chance to learn French or Spanish in a short five-week beginners’ course starting in May 2015.
For further information on dates and fees and to find out how to apply, please visit the Centre for English and World Languages website.
The festival, organised by staff and students, celebrates diversity and multiculturalism at the University. Highlights include:
All the above is free to attend and will take place in the Worldfest tent in front of Templeman Library, Canterbury campus. Please note food and drink at the event is not free.
Performances and workshops start from 12 noon and finish at 22.30.
There’s also a range of events taking place at Medway, including the annual Diversity Fair on Wednesday 18 March.
Book your place on the Campus Shuttle to join in events at our Canterbury and Medway campuses.
As part of our 50th celebrations, iconic films from 1965 are being shown every third Wednesday of each month at the Gulbenkian cinema. Each film will be introduced by a guest speaker.
This week’s film – Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, introduced by esteemed critic Anne Billson – will be shown today (Wednesday 18 March at 6.30pm.
To book tickets for tonight’s film, click on: http://www.thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/cinema/2015/March/2015-03-film65-faster-pussycat-kill-kill.html
To find out about other films coming up in the Film 65 season, see: http://www.kent.ac.uk/50/celebrate/projects/film65.html
Team Kent takes the trophy in the biggest University sporting event of the year!
The University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University teams went head-to-head to showcase the best of University sport in Canterbury.
Varsity, an annual event between the two Universities, brought together students from across the city to participate in over 30 fixtures and support their University. After 5 days of matches and with the final fixtures played, the Varsity scoreboard stood at 13:21 to Kent, allowing them to hold onto the much coveted Varsity trophy and winners title for yet another year.
This year players wore rainbow coloured laces in support of the Stonewall campaign – to kick homophobia out of sport. The campaign which promotes the message ‘We don’t care which team you play for’ was backed by University of Kent students who re-laced in support and tweeted in their messages using the hashtag #RainbowLaces and #KentVarsity.
The fixtures were attended by members of the public, students and University and Union staff. Sports that competed in Varsity included; Volleyball, Badminton, Cycling, basketball, Netball, Football, Rugby, Hockey, Tennis, Swimming, Equestrian, Snow Sports, Trampolining, Lacrosse and Cricket. Varsity was established in 1999 and Celebrates Friendship, Pride, Passion in sport. The first ever Canterbury Varsity match took place at Canterbury Rugby Club in February 1999, Men’s Rugby 1st XV. The local regiment the Princess of Wales Royal regiment donated the tiger trophy which is still presented to the winners to this day.
Kent Union Sports and Societies Manager Rebecca Green said: “We are so proud of all of our students who have taken part in Varsity, showing the true spirit of sportsmanship and upholding the University’s and Unions’ reputation. We look forward to working with Canterbury Christchurch Students’ Union in future sporting events.”
Kent Union Vice President (Sports) Nina Mehmi said: “Varsity is a great event to be part of and definitely something students will remember forever. The sporting event has successfully brought together Canterbury’s students, through a common interest in sport, mixed with a little health rivalry! I’m so proud of Team Kent and would like to thank everyone who took part, supported, funded and organised the event.”
Canterbury’s student volunteers joined forces to raise £227.53 for Catching Lives.
A 30 strong team of student volunteers set up stall in Whitefriars to help raise awareness and money for the Catching Lives through their big collaborative event: Soup, Voices and Woollies.
Volunteers from the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and Canterbury College took time out from their studies to serve up soup to passers-by in exchange for donations, organised bucket collections, distributed woolly scarves and dished out soup to Canterbury’s homeless to warm them in the wintery weather.
The event was held in support of Student Volunteering Week, a national campaign to encourage and inspire students to volunteer. All funds raised will be donated to Catching Lives, an independent, local charity dedicated to supporting the homeless and vulnerably housed in and around Canterbury.
Kent Union volunteer Daniella Marxheka says: “I got involved in the event to help the homeless and to give back to the community.”
Kent Union Volunteer Projects Co-ordinator Tom Abbott says: “It was great to work in collaboration with Canterbury Christ Church University and Canterbury College to raise money for Catching Lives. We hope that together we can make a real difference in the local community, and that we can continue to inspire students to volunteer.”
Canterbury’s Councillor Terry Westgate joined forces with Kent Union student volunteers and local residents to litter pick around the city.
A group of eight Kent Union volunteer, six members of the community, including Councillor Terry Westgate battled the elements in a bid to tidy up the residential area at the bottom of Eliot footpath.
The volunteering project, organised by the Students’ Union at the University of Kent, was a great success with a grand total of 16 bags of rubbish collected!
Tom Abbott Kent Union Volunteer Projects Coordinator: “The group has made a real and visible difference to the appearance of the area. Our volunteers are a real asset to the community and we really appreciate all the hard work they put in to keep the community clean, for all residents.”
Kent Union Volunteer Ryan Bates said: “It’s good to do something positive for the community, and it makes a nice break from working on a dissertation all day.” Kent Union Volunteer Leon Williams added: “It makes a nice break from working on a dissertation all day!”
Dr William Rowlandson, from the Department of Hispanic Studies, in collaboration with the Centre for American Studies, will be introducing Amir Amirani, director of the documentary film We Are Many, as part of the School of Politics and International Relations‘ Public Speaker programme. The film screening, accompanied by a Q&A session with the director, will be on Wednesday 25 March from 5 to 7pm, in Woolf Lecture Theatre.
We Are Many is the never-before-told story of the largest demonstration in human history, and how the movement created by a small band of activists changed the world. On 15 February 2003, up to 30 million people, many of whom had never demonstrated before in their lives, came out in nearly 800 cities around the world to protest against the impending Iraq War. The New York Times called this movement the ‘second superpower’. The film features testimony from a cast of direct participants, including organisers, activists, high-profile figures, and of course the public, filmed in seven countries Italy, Spain, Egypt, Sweden, Australia, UK, and the USA.
Amir Amirani is a film-maker with a strong track record of work for the BBC, including Arena (And The Winner Is), Timewatch (Concorde A Love Story), Correspondent (Letter to America and Addicted to Arms). Two of his documentaries have been nominated for an Amnesty International Award and One World Broadcasting Trust.
Further information at the We Are Many movie website.
Kent Union celebrates highest ever ranking in the Sunday Times 100 Best Not-for-Profit Organisations to work for.
Kent Union has once again been awarded a place in the Sunday Times 100 Best Not-for-Profit Organisations to Work For list 2015. Ranking 15th in this year’s list, it marks the 6th time that Kent Union has been recognised as an outstanding employer by the Sunday Times and the Best Companies scheme. Kent Union employ over 700 staff, the majority of those are students who not only get the experience and learning and development opportunities that come from being in a workplace, but also get money back into the student pocket.
Tammy Naidoo, Kent Union Union President, says: ‘It’s great to know that our staff are happy and content in their work, especially as so many of them are students. I’m very proud that we can give them a really positive experience of the working world and at the same time help them build skills that complement their degree.’
The rankings and awards are decided by The Sunday Times and the poll, which looks at the best companies to work for across the UK, is based entirely on employee feedback in areas such as leadership, wellbeing, personal growth and how happy the workforce is. Kent Union received top scores in questions about having fun in the workplace, working harmoniously with colleagues and being treated fairly as well as excellent scores in the areas of My Team and My Manager.
Jim Gardner, Kent Union Chief Executive, says: ‘We are incredibly proud to have been placed so highly in this years’ list. The positive scores we have received are a credit to the staff at Kent Union who really make this organisation the happy, friendly and professional workplace that it is. We believe that happy staff are key to the Union’s success and enable us to achieve our charitable purpose of empowering students to have a voice, fulfil their potential and get the most from university.
‘Our position within the list, and the inclusion of 2 other students’ unions this year alone, really shows the professional nature of the modern students’ union – a far cry from the stereotypical union of the past. It’s a great feeling to know that we can really benefit those students who need our help and support, but what makes it all the more fulfilling is that we can do so with a team of staff who really enjoy their jobs.’
Kent Union is the only Union in the UK to have been ranked in the list multiple times and this year have obtained the highest rating that any Union has received. Best Companies, who conduct the survey, have awarded Kent Union their accreditation of three stars which is the highest accolade available. Late last year, Kent Union was also awarded reaccreditation of Investors in People Gold which confirms just what a great place it is to work.
For more information about Kent Union visit: www.kentunion.co.uk
For more information about the Sunday Times 100 Best Not-for-Profit Organisations to work for visit: www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/best100companies
Registering to vote allows you to have your say in who runs the country.
You can vote in a UK parliamentary general election if you’re registered to vote and: