Every year the University is able to nominate up to three members of staff for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS). This individual award recognises outstanding teaching, learning support and pedagogic leadership, and currently attracts a prize of £10,000. Six members of Kent staff have already been recognised as National Teaching Fellows.

The next round of NTFS nominations is likely to open soon, and usually closes in early January. Details of the nomination and selection process can be found at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/professional-recognition/awards/national-teaching-fellowship-scheme-ntfs. Note that the details here refer to last year’s awards, but that the process is likely to be much the same in 2015-16.

Given the likely timescale for applications, we would like to complete nominations before the end of this term. We are therefore inviting expressions of interest from staff who feel they meet all of the criteria for the award. Successful nominees will need to provide evidence to support their claims (for example, student comments, internal and external testimonials, presentations and other dissemination activities, leadership of teaching initiatives).

The final decision on Kent’s nominations will be made by a panel led by Professor John Baldock, currently PVC for Teaching, Learning and Students. If you wish to be considered for nomination, please a) look in detail at the requirements of the award on the NTFS website, and b) submit a brief summary of how you meet each of the three NTFS criteria, and what evidence you would be able to provide to support a claim. Summaries should be no more than two sides of A4, and should be sent to Dr Janice Malcolm (j.malcolm@kent.ac.uk) by 5pm on Friday 23 October 2015.

Potential applicants may also find it useful to attend this event:
Tuesday 20 October 2015
UELT seminar room, 12.30-1.30pm
Report from a recent NTFS workshop for potential nominees, led by Fran Beaton

You are welcome to bring your lunch with you, and drinks will be provided. Please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk if you would like to attend.

The monograph Sociology of the Sacred: Religion, Embodiment and Social Change, by Chris Shilling and Philip A Mellor, has just been contracted for translation into Arabic.

This book explores the relationship between religion and secularization in the contemporary global era. In so doing, it seeks to advance sociological debates about how an increasing range of phenomena have come to be constructed and experienced as sacred, or extraordinary, and thereby contain the potential to shape social action in significant ways. It is published by Sage Press as part of the Theory, Culture and Society series and has received praise from fellow professionals for being inspiring, novel and ambitious.

Following on from the success of the previous Green Impact Programme, the University is launching Green15.

The launch event will be held on Friday 9th October, 12.00 – 14.00, Colyer-Fergusson foyer

Aimed at staff across the University, Green15 aims to promote environmental initiatives across campus while asking staff to take simple actions to green their workplace.

The concept is simple, 3 levels of action across 5 environmental themes. By promoting awareness, completing actions and participating in events, teams will earn leaves to complete their Green15 wall chart.

The scheme will run throughout the academic year and will culminate in a celebration event to thank staff for taking part and award prizes across various categories. This term we will be kicking off with our Sustainable Transport theme followed by Energy and Water efficiency. Everything you need to get going will be included in the resource packs which can be collected at the launch event.

For more information visit www.kent.ac.uk/estates/sustainability/green15 or email green15@kent.ac.uk

This week on BBC World Service’s The Forum, Dr Benjamin Leruth (Research Associate at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research) debated with World War 2 historian professor Timothy Snyder (Yale University) and management editor of The Economist Adrian Wooldridge about the future of the State. He discussed public attitudes towards the European Union and the welfare state, the rise of Euroscepticism and presented the “Welfare State Futures: Our Children’s Europe” (WelfSOC) project, initiated by the University of Kent (with Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby as project leader).

Using an innovative research method (democratic forums), this project examines the aspirations, assumptions and priorities that govern the ideas of ordinary people about the future development of welfare in Europe. It also focuses on the emerging cleavages and solidarities between different groups. These factors will be key drivers in the unfolding of the politics of welfare and in shaping the way in which welfare states respond to current policy development and to future pressures.

Link to the podcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p033v73k
Link to the WelfSOC research project: http://welfsoc.eu

Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis, Senior Lecturer in Classical & Archaeological Studies, has been interviewed by the Italian website Controversosud, run by the Associazione di Promozione Sociale (Association of Social Promotions), a non-profit collective to promote social change.

Evangelos, who is the Director of the MA in Heritage Management at Kent’s Athens location, argues that education and research are the solution to the Greek financial crisis. ‘We don’t understand that to invest in education, especially in those fields that relate to economics, is crucial to foster change and can even give very short-term results’ he argues in the interview.

Evangelos also argues that Athens needs to promote its heritage, ‘not only for the immense cultural heritage that the city has to offer, but also to show solidarity to the country… I think that it is our duty to protect not only the stones but everything that these stones stand for, popularise the values of cultural heritage, tell them to our fellow citizens and to our children. To make the stones live again in the people’s imagination is very positive.’

To read the full article, in Italian, please see the Controversosud website.