Worried about revision and exams?
Pick up some study guides on revision and exam techniques from the Student Learning Advisory Service in Canterbury (next to Santander) or in Medway (in the Gilligham building).
Monthly Archives: April 2015
PA Network Workshop: ‘Who do we think we are?’
Wednesday 22nd April 2015, 12:30– 14:30pm in Darwin Peter Brown Room.
Free tea and coffee provided by Learning & Development.
Bring your packed lunch, have a chat with likeminded colleagues and join in the debate about perceptions of the clerical/administrative role and the notion of a university administrator.
Open for all administrative staff.
Please register via PANetwork@kent.ac.uk
Kent professor asks if a general election can change the state
Kent professor Davina Cooper questions whether a general election can change the state in an essay published by UK think tank Compass.
The essay is one of 20 that feature in a publication called Finding our voice: making the 21st century state. The collection, edited by Gabriel Chanan and Neal Lawson for Compass, is authored by academics, MPs, writers and researchers from across the country who share a desire to influence progressive thinking within Labour policy.
Professor Cooper’s essay asks ‘Can a general election change the state?’ She considers whether more decentralised forms of governance should be created and whether a new Labour government might be willing to rethink its vision of what a state could be.
Collaborating with Professor Cooper on the theme of ‘reimagining the state’, policy adviser Tom Bentley goes on to develop the topic in an accompanying essay ‘A more open, devolved and plural state’.
Professor Cooper is a professor of law and political theory at Kent Law School. She has written books and articles on the state; her most recent book is Everyday Utopias: The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces (2014). Tom Bentley is a writer and policy adviser who works with institutions around the world on how to learn more effectively.
USS staff presentations
As part of the USS consultation process, a series of staff presentations have been organised to help affected members understand the proposals and their impact.
Presentations will take place on:
Monday 13, Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 April, in Grimond Lecture Theatre 2 on Canterbury campus 2 at 9.30, 11.00, 13.30 and 15.00.
The sessions will last approximately 90 minutes and can be booked by visiting www.towerswatson.com/events/21036
Questions can be emailed in advance to pension.presentations@towerswatson.com or phone 01737 274109.
Mark Thomas to deliver the inaugural Linda Smith Lecture
The British Stand-Up Comedy Archive was launched at the University of Kent following the donation of the personal archive of the late (and brilliant) comedian Linda Smith, by her partner Warren Lakin. Now the archive has become a Beacon Project, receiving extra funding to celebrate the university’s 50th anniversary.
We are delighted that the first annual Linda Smith Lecture will be given by Mark Thomas, a friend and colleague of Linda and one of the most exciting and innovative political comedians working today.
The lecture is being held on Tuesday 12 May 2015 at 7:30pm at the Gulbenkian Theatre. The event is free, but tickets must be booked in advance. For further information visit the Gulbenkian webpage.
International Summer School courses in June and July 2015.
Kent is running a new series of two-week International Summer School courses in June and July 2015. Find out more by visiting the International Summer School web pages.
Current Kent students who apply for a course and pay in full by 30 April 2015 will receive a 10% discount and pay £1,350 instead of £1,500 (fees include accommodation).
The International Summer School courses are:
- Exploring Visual Cultures: Art, Film and Performance
- Europe and the World
- Twentieth Century Britain: Society, Culture and Identity
- Investigating the Social Mind
- Principles and Practices in Journalism (takes place on the Medway campus)
- Skills in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
For further information and to receive the 10% discount, please contact summerschools@kent.ac.uk.
Medway Athena SWAN event – Thursday 7 May
Good Practice Benefits All. This is the theme of the Medway Athena SWAN Awareness Day, and this is why the Athena SWAN Working Group would like to invite all staff to attend on Thursday 7 May 2015. Working to the Athena SWAN principles, means working in a place where all staff are valued.
The University of Kent received an Athena SWAN Bronze Award in April 2014, which recognised Kent’s commitment to the Athena SWAN initiative. The initiative aims to advance the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics (STEMM). By perusing this agenda, we aim to create the best working environment for all staff, and this year’s event will cover themes relevant to staff across the Faculties and Professional Service departments.
A programme is already available and we invite you to join us in the Rochester Boardroom at 09:30. The event will run until 12:45 and includes lunch.
We can confirm that Lenna Cumberbatch, Diversity Manager at the Royal Society, will give the keynote address. A panel discussion, led by the Dean, Professor Mark Burchell, will give participants the chance to discuss the initiative and find out what we’re doing here at Kent.
There will also be workshop sessions on Promotion and Career Planning for Early Career Researchers (and those wondering what their next step should be).
We welcome all staff – men and women; Academic Schools and Professional Services; Medway and Canterbury based – to attend the event.
Big Data Event – 23 April 2015
Kent Innovation & Enterprise (KIE) are working with a number of academic and research groups to identify expertise within Synthetic Biology, Advanced Materials & Big Data, three of the 8 Great Technologies. A website will be launched shortly to enable you to express your interest in one or more of these areas.
This initial research will enable the University to respond swiftly to future funding opportunities by mapping internal expertise, external industry engagement and previous funding applications.
Big Data is already gaining momentum through the work of Eerke Boiten who heads up the Cyber Security Centre and Professor Andy Fearne who recently obtained an ESRC grant as part of the Eastern Arc Consortium. We are already capturing a lot of information about this area following an initial meeting in Medway last year. We have also formed a mailing list for those wishing to be kept up to date on developments, big-data@kent.ac.uk.
In order to keep momentum we will be holding an open meeting for academics with an interest in this area.
Agenda
9:30 Arrival and Coffee
9:50 Opening – Eerke Boiten
10:00-12:00 Presentations: “We have data, we have questions, how can ‘Big Data’ provide answers?” from a variety of external stakeholders around a number of themes (e.g. local government, health, transport, food).
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13:00-15:00 Breakout sessions, split by themes (questions posed by morning speakers).
15:00-15:30 Tea
15:30-16:30 Results of breakout sessions, conclusions and next steps.
If you want to register for the event or would like to find out more about the 8 Great Technologies please email enterprise@kent.ac.uk or phone 01227 827376.
Students help make Easter Eggstra special
Kent students helped make Easter ‘eggstra’ special for children in the Dolphin Ward at Medway Maritime Hospital.
The nine students, all studying at the Medway campus, handed out Easter eggs, toys and personalised cards to children on the ward. There was also a surprise visit by the Kent bunny (alias student Amy Burgess).
The visit on 2 April was organised by David Coldwell, Kent Union Volunteer Co-ordinator. On arrival at Dolphin Ward, the students were met by a nurse, known as ‘Auntie Annie’, who showed them around and introduced them to children patients and their parents
The Kent students involved were Rachel Johnston, Rabya Hasan, Tanvi Mahajan, Lima Calderia. Liam Barber, Gilbert Radulescu, Amy Burgess, Hazel Chan and Anastasia Borodina from Kent Business School, the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, and School of Sport and Exercises Sciences.
David Coldwell said afterwards: ‘My overriding image was that of joy, the beaming faces of our students and the response, although sometimes apprehensive, of the children on seeing the bunny. Most of the students had volunteered for me over the past year so I felt this visit was a kind of reward.’
Anastasia Borodina, who is studying Business & Management with a Year in Industry at Medway campus, said: ‘I really enjoyed bringing smile to kids’ faces, seeing little kids receiving Easter eggs and giving them out myself! The best part was when one little girl started following the Easter bunny and laughing out loud.’
To find out more about student volunteering opportunities at Kent, see: the GK Unions website (for Medway students) and Kent Union webpages (for Canterbury students).
Summerbuzz competition winner announced
First year computer science student Matt Duff has won the £500 Summerbuzz prize after pitching “Dragon’s Den“ to sponsor, Kinetic Solutions.
Sixteen students from the School of Computing and Kent Business School applied for this prize that rewards the best summer plan in terms of employability skills. Five students from both the Canterbury and Medway campuses were shortlisted, and had to pitch their plan and answer challenging questions by the Kinetic Solutions ‘Dragons’ Managing Director Chris Wildsmith, Technical Director (and Kent alumnus) Rob Turner and Sales Manager Emma Sinfield.
Matt Duff’s plan of a trip to California to pursue his interest in eSports won him the prize, but with the caveat of blogging his activities during the summer. More details to follow on Matt’s blog!