You are warmly invited to The Beacon Institute Inaugural Lecture in partnership with the Being Human Festival 2015.

The lecture, on ‘Film Art and the Third Culture’, will be given by Murray Smith, Professor of Film at the University of Kent, in Jarman Studio 2, Canterbury campus, on Wednesday 18 November from 5pm. It will be followed by a drinks reception on the Jarman mezzanine.

Find out more on the Events webpages.

The central core of the Library will be closed from Monday 16 November for about a year as the next stage of development begins.

All the books and facilities will be available as usual, but there will be no internal access between Templeman West and Templeman East. Make sure you plan your visit so you know which entrance to use for the part of the Library you need.

• Check the Library map
• Find books and journals for your subject
• Find Library services and facilities

When the Library study spaces get busy, there are other places you can work: try the study hubs and PC rooms around campus.

We’ve already started clearing out the central core, so if you’re in there this week you’ll notice it looks empty. The WiFi signal will be weak in the central core as we’re removing the wireless access points, but it is still strong in the West and East.

We’re sorry about the disruption, but the refurbishment will further improve the Library. When it is finished, the building will be lighter and more accessible, with a new entrance hall, more study spaces, more power for student devices and group study rooms.

More about the Templeman Library development

Back and bigger than ever. Our UV Sports Night is this Saturday, with six different activities for you to try in glow in the dark style including Roller Disco.

PLUS all participants also get £2 off entry into Venue after for a fantastic UV themed soap night including queue jump! What more could we ask for?

The UV events are as follows:

Main Hall
16.30 – 21.30 Table Tennis
16.30 – 17.30 Frisbee
18.00 – 19.30 Badminton
20.00 – 21.30 Volleyball

Hall 2
18.00 – 18.50 Zumba
19.30 – 20.20 Roller Disco
20.30 – 21.20 Roller Disco

Each session costs £1 each and is payable at the Sports Centre reception or online at www.kent.ac.uk/sports/letsplay

So wear your whites and be sure to book to avoid disappointment.

Amanda Thomas, a SECL alumna having graduated in Italian in 1983, has just published her new book Cholera: The Victorian Plague (Pen & Sword Books, 2015), and will be signing copies of the title in Waterstones Rose Lane store in Canterbury on 28 November from 11.00.

The book tells the story of the disease that devastated the Victorian population, and brought about major changes in sanitation. Drawing on the latest scientific research and a wealth of archival material, Amanda uses first-hand accounts, blending personal stories with an overview of the history of the disease and its devastating after-effects on British society. This fascinating history of a catastrophic disease uncovers forgotten stories from each of the major cholera outbreaks in 1831-3, 1848-9, 1853-4 and 1866.

Following her graduation, Amanda worked in the media and, for the past few years, has been writing non-fiction history books full time for Pen and Sword Books.

For details of the book, please see the publisher’s webpage.

The final Festival of English event will take place on the Canterbury campus next week. Dr Derek Ryan will be giving a paper entitled ‘Virginia Woolf: Voyaging Out, 1910-1915’ at 18.00 on Tuesday 17 November in GLT1 as part of the Festival Open Lecture Series which highlights Canterbury and Kent’s prominent literary figures. A wine reception to follow in the Grimond Foyer. All are warmly welcome.

English Literature was one of the University of Kent’s founding subjects and to celebrate the milestone of fifty years at the forefront of local, national and international literary studies the School hosted the Festival of English throughout 2015. Highlights included a residency by the renowned poet Patience Agbabi, the Open Lecture Series and a performance of the opera Tokaido Road, based on the award-winning poems by Nancy Gaffield, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing. We would like to thank all those that supported the festival by participating and attending over the last year.

The Universities at Medway have been awarded a further significant donation to The Medway Student Support Bursary.  This donation will provide bursaries to home (UK/EU) students from Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Greenwich and the University of Kent each year.  This is an excellent opportunity to apply for additional funding and the selected recipients will receive a bursary of £2,500.

Applying for this bursary is easy. Check the eligibility criteria below, if you meet the requirements, all you need to do is complete the application form and return it along with the required evidence by the deadline. The Selection Criteria and Important Notes below will provide guidance on this.

The deadline to apply by is midnight on the 19^th November 2015

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA OF THE MEDWAY STUDENT SUPPORT BURSARY

In order to be eligible to apply for The Medway Student Support Bursary you must:

• be a home student (UK/EU)
• be currently registered full or part-time on an undergraduate degree programme based at the Medway Campus
• demonstrate a household income of £42,875 or less.
• already be or be prepared to become, an ambassador within the Medway community and demonstrate how you have contributed to the local community to date or plan to in the future

SELECTION CRITERIA OF THE MEDWAY STUDENT SUPPORT BURSARY

Your application will be considered on the basis of your fulfilment of the eligibility criteria and the 500-750 word statement sections demonstrating:

• why you are in need of financial support and what has changed in your financial circumstances since embarking on the programme
• what the award will be used for (See important note below)
• what you have or intend to contribute to the local community as an ambassador (e.g. voluntary work, paid work, sports contributions, community activity organisations such as the Scouts etc.)
• information about you and your aims and aspirations for the future

Important notes:

• awards will not fund general (exceptional travel may be considered) programme travelling expenses or new equipment such as laptops or phones.
• awards are intended for the student‘s use only and not for family support.
• successful recipients of a bursary will be expected to demonstrate their ambassadorial contributions to the Medway Community by providing evidence such as a report from the organisation, awards received for sports or similar documentation.
• successful recipients will be able to hold other awards whilst in receipt of the Medway Student Support Bursary such as the NSP and may reapply for a further bursary in subsequent years.
• successful recipients will be required to sign a Bursary Agreement which sets out the conditions of the bursary award.
• payment of the bursary will be suspended immediately, and any payments may be required to be returned, if an awardee:

(i) ceases to hold an offer of a place at any of the Universities,

(ii) ceases to be a registered student at any of the Universities,

(iii) becomes a debtor to any of the three Universities,

(iv) is found to have made a misrepresentation or misleading or fraudulent statement in connection with his/her application.

• recipients are expected to remain in satisfactory academic standing.
• students out on a placement year are not eligible for that year, but may apply once academic studies are resumed.
• successful recipients will be required to write an end of year report to the board detailing how the bursary has supported them and how this support has impacted on their ambassadorial role and/or their academic studies.

All applications confirmed as meeting the eligibility criteria will be taken forward. The bursary recipient(s) will be chosen by the Medway Student Support Bursary Board which will meet in early December and all applicants will be advised of the outcome shortly afterwards.

Your completed application along with all required evidence can be scanned and emailed to us at medwaymastersoffice@kent.ac.uk or a paper application can be submitted to M2-25 (Medway Building 2^nd Floor).

We look forward to receiving your application and remember, the deadline is midnight on the 19th November.