Monthly Archives: April 2015

Apply by 4 May for Pre-LLM Summer Programme at Kent Law School

A two-day Pre-LLM Summer Programme at Kent Law School in June offers prospective students a chance to experience postgraduate study.

Sample classes are offered across the range of Kent LLM specialisations, including International Commercial Law, Criminal Justice, Human Rights Law and Environmental Law.

Through these classes you will engage in structured discussions that introduce both the advanced subject knowledge and the critical and theoretical analyses that distinguish the School’s distinctive approach to postgraduate study. There will also be reading groups and an opportunity to discuss the mechanics of the application process.


The Pre-LLM Summer Programme will be held on Kent’s Canterbury campus on 23/24 June and repeated on 25/26 June. A fee of £20 includes lunch and refreshments. Please note that although guidance can be given to students requiring accommodation, this will need to be arranged independently.

To apply, please submit an application to the Kent LLM programme and an online application form for the Pre-LLM Summer Programme by Monday 4 May 2015.

Successful candidates will be informed by Friday 15 May 2015. Any queries about the KLS Pre-LLM Summer Programme can be directed to the School’s postgraduate office at klspgoffice@kent.ac.uk

Book now for Cash on Delivery

Get your tickets now for the University of Kent Players’ next production – the riotous farce Cash on Delivery – to be staged at the Gulbenkian from Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 April.

The Players, made up of current and former members of staff, were set up in 2014 by Neil Hornsey in Estates. In their first year, they have staged two successful shows and raised around £3,500 for Kent charities.

The Players are marking their first anniversary by taking to the Gulbenkian stage again with Cash on Delivery. The comedy follows the antics of Eric Swan who, unbeknown to his wife, has been pocketing thousands of pounds in fraudulent DSS claims – at risk of exposure when a DSS inspector comes to call. On each of the three show nights, a food collection will be made for donation to Catching Lives, a charity supporting the homeless in Canterbury.

To book tickets, visit the Gulbenkian box office in person or via its website: www.thegulbenkian.co.uk. 

 

Whitstable Literary Festival

WhitLit is hosting a week full of exciting events with writers and performers from the 12th to 17th May 2015.

The events are taking place in several venues in Whitstable and the Festival Director, Victoria Falconer, would love to see UKC students there: “We’re really keen to attract and welcome the many students from UKC to come to WhitLit. We’re a young and vibrant festival and the atmosphere at our events is always lively and enthusiastic. We’re just a short bus ride away and have deliberately kept our ticket prices modest (most events are £5, headliners just £7.50) From pop culture to politics, history and music, there’s something for all tastes and interests in our programme.”

Writers and performers attending include: David Nicholls, author of ‘One Day’; Lynne Segal discussing her book ‘Making Trouble: Feminism, Now and Then’; Andrew Clover, stand-up comedian and Perrier nominee and Chris Difford from Squeeze talking about the creative process and his life in music.

The organisers of WhitLit are also very interested in hearing from potential volunteers.

For more information about events or volunteering please visit www.whitlit.co.uk or email info@whitlit.co.uk

Part-time postgraduate information events – Tonbridge centre

Building on over 25 years of teaching at its Tonbridge centre, the University is exploring options to develop part-time postgraduate programmes there for 2016.

Tonbridge Centre will be holding postgraduate Information Events on Thursday 30 April and Saturday 16 May. The events are designed for anyone with a passion and motivation for study at this level in History of Art, English and American Literature, Creative Writing, and, Professional Practice.

Full information and booking options can be found by visiting on the Tonbridge Centre website  emailing tonbridgeadmin or calling 01732 352316.

Spring 2015 Telephone Campaign

A team of enthusiastic Kent students have enjoyed great conversations with a number of UK-based alumni in March as part of the spring Telephone Campaign. The Campaign, which is run in aid of the Kent Opportunity Fund, enabled 35 current students to connect with over 2,500 alumni across the UK and share their experiences and memories of Kent, whilst also explaining how the support of Kent alumni is helping students like them to get the best out of their university experience.

The student callers were overwhelmed by the warmth of the alumni community, and some of the hearty conversations left them with the most remarkable campaign experience. ‘I really enjoyed the telephone campaign. It was great to see my fellow students enjoy learning about the great experiences our alumni had at Kent. I’m so thankful for all the support we get from our alumni, and I look forward to meeting many of them at our 50th Festival in September’ said student caller Adam Mathia, a first year student reading Financial Mathematics with a Year in Industry.

Our telephone campaigns in the current academic year have raised over £130,000 in donations and pledges to the Kent Opportunity Fund, which will enable ground-breaking research to be undertaken by exceptional scholars, help financially-vulnerable students to complete their degrees, and support activities and projects that equip students with the skills and experience to become leaders of tomorrow.

Pre-election health policy debate – 20 April

On Monday 20 April, The Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS) will be hosting a pre-election health policy debate prior to May 2015’s General Election.

All of the main local parties have been invited to send a Kent Parliamentary candidate to sit on a panel to answer questions from the public and to inform the audience what their policy plans could mean for the future of our health and social care.

The following Parliamentary candidates have confirmed their attendance:

  • Julian Brazier: Conservative Party
  • Robert Cox: Socialist Party of Great Britain
  • James Flanagan: Liberal Democrats
  • Jim Gascoyne: UKIP
  • Stuart Jeffrey: Green Party
  • Hugh Lanning: Labour Party

This event is free and open to all, no booking necessary. The debate will be taking place in the Gulbenkian Theatre at the University’s Canterbury campus at 7pm on 20 April.

For further information, please contact Helen Wooldridge.

Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic at the Canterbury 10km run

The sun peaked through the clouds over The Pavilion just in time for the ‘Canterbury 10km run’ on Sunday 5 April, hosted by the University.

As runners arrived to check-in, our therapy team were in place ready to offer expertise and services. Our very own Kent Sport massage therapist, Dexter Thomas, was on hand to offer free sports massages while Andy Ma answered questions about all the services Kent Sport provides.

The whistle blew at 10.30am where more than 160 runners took off, pushing for first place. Less than two hours later, the majority of runners, knackered and desperate for a place to relax, took advantage of the massage services after completing the 10km run.

Overall, the day was a success and the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic look forward to expanding their services is in the future.

We hope all the runners and marshals enjoyed the day and were able to experience the benefits of sports massage to help reduce injury and muscle fatigue.

Peter Hacker at Hay-on-Wye festival

In May, Professor Peter Hacker, from the Department of Philosophy, will be speaking at ‘How the Light Gets In’, the world’s largest philosophy and music festival. Bringing together world-leading philosophers, scientists, musicians, and politicians for debates, talks and social events. This year’s programme examines the elements of reality that might turn out to be illusions, with speakers including Roger Penrose, Natalie Bennett, Paul Krugman, Fiona Shaw, Mike Skinner, Polly Toynbee, Lianne La Havas, Tariq Ali, Martin Creed and John Searle.

Peter Hacker will be joining Roger Penrose and Aubrey de Grey to debate ‘Life, the Universe and Everything’, as well as asking whether reason or emotion offers us ‘The Road to the Good Life’ with Mark Rowlands.

The festival will take place from 21-31 May 2015 at Hay-on-Wye and Kent staff and students can receive a 10% discount on event tickets, until midnight on 24 April, with a discount code. Please email secl@kent.ac.uk to obtain the code.

Further information about this year’s festival, including booking details, is available at: www.howthelightgetsin.org

Celebrating the APM

Students involved in the Academic Peer Mentoring (APM) scheme attended an awards ceremony and lunch hosted by the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) in UELT on Wednesday 8th April. The awards were presented to the mentors by Dr Louise Naylor, Director of UELT; Colleagues from participating Schools attended this event. Mentors from the School of Architecture, SECL and the School of Physical Sciences made presentations and showcased the impact this additional support has had on student achievement.

The APM scheme started in 2007 initially with three schools and 14 mentors and has now risen to 16 schools with 350 mentors as it has proved to be an excellent way of promoting student-centred learning. This initiative depends on student volunteers and is very much a student-led response – both undergraduates and postgraduates offer encouragement and academic advice to other students in the year below thus helping them to improve their performance.

The scheme has already developed a flexible pattern of working, as it evolves to respond to the needs of different Schools – one size does not fit all.

The APM experience shows that mentors themselves benefit greatly from the scheme as they deepen their understanding of the course content as well as enhance their employability skills. Both Kent Union and the Kent Enterprise and Hub recognize the importance of this mentoring role as this activity counts towards the KSCV and employability points scheme.