Yearly Archives: 2015

Launch of new Department of Modern Languages

The School of European Culture and Languages (SECL) is pleased to announce, as of 1 August 2015, the departments of French, German, Hispanic Studies and Italian merged to form the Department of Modern Languages.

The new department, alongside continuing these separate subject areas, will encourage and enable cross-disciplinary research and teaching, with staff and students benefitting from the expertise gained in other cultures and languages. As well as the four subject areas offered by the previous departments, the European Studies programmes will also be based within Modern Languages.

The department will showcase the strengths of languages at Kent, following on from the recent success of the combined languages submission to Research Excellence Framework, which placed Kent 3rd in the UK last year (REF2014).

Dr Tom Baldwin, the new Head of the Department, said of the launch: ‘The combination of the five subject areas together will strengthen our skills, resources and interdisciplinary nature, consolidating Kent’s position as the UK’s European university.’

Full details of the department, its programmes and staff can be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/modern-languages/index.html.

Physiotherapy Clinic running workshop – 15 August

A free, informative morning on how to improve your running technique and reduce injury risks is being held by Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic on Saturday 15 August.

Runners will have the option to take part in the Canterbury parkrun which takes place outside  the Pavilion at 9am. This will be followed by a complementary breakfast and time to shower.

At 10.30am physiotherapist Vicky Annis will provide an injury prevention talk on how to get the most out of your running and answer any questions. Vicky works contractually with British Triathlon and has delivered drills sessions such as this to elite athletes through to youngsters enthusiastic to learn to run more efficiently.

Further details can be found on the University’s Events Calendar.

Gulbenkian Cafe Discussion: You are invited!

Following the recent staff survey, changes are being put in place at Gulbenkian Cafe and we want to share these with you.

Whether you are a regular user of the Gulbenkian Cafe, or have never set foot in here, this is your chance to meet the Cafe team, hear about the changes we have planned, and have your say.

Gulbenkian Cinema
Thursday 13 August
5-6pm

RSVP to d.yard@kent.ac.uk

Graduate passes Portuguese proficiency exam

Natalie Cafasso Forman, a Hispanic Studies BA (Hons) graduate, has just passed the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners (CELPE- Brás) after learning Portuguese as part of her degree.

The CELPE- Brás, set up by Brazil’s Ministry of Education, is the only one of its kind recognised by the Brazilian Government and is required by foreign students who wish to study in Brazil and may be required by foreign professionals who wish to work or register with professional bodies in Brazil.

Natalie, the first student from Kent to pass the exam, said of her achievement: ‘Having studied Portuguese as a wild module along with my degree I felt it was really worth taking the Celpe Brás exam, as it’s a nationally recognised certificate often required by Brazilian employers and can help me get a job in Brazil, which would be amazing. I’d love to live and work in Brazil in the future. I would quite like to acknowledge Dr Antônio Márcio da Silva as it’s all down to his great teaching and encouragement!’

Congratulations to Natalie and we wish her every success in the future.

Three BA (Hons) Fine Art graduates selected for 2015 Platform Graduate Award

The School of Music and Fine Art is delighted to announce that Ben Crawford, Evdokia Georgiou and Nadia Perrotta, three recently graduated BA (Hons) Fine Art students, have all been selected for the prestigious 2015 Platform Graduate Award. Their work will be exhibited at Turner Contemporary, Margate, in September, after which the final winner from the region will be chosen.

Now in its third year, the Platform Graduate Award aims to support graduate professional development and nurture emerging talent from universities and colleges in the South East region.

Last year’s winner, Sophie Dixon, was also from the BA (Hons) Fine Art in the School of Music and Fine Art, for which she received a  £2500 bursary from Platform and a year of mentoring from an experienced art professional.

The Platform programme is a coalition of visual arts organisations in the South East: Turner Contemporary, Margate; Aspex; Portsmouth; De La Warr Pavilion; Bexhill; MK Gallery; Milton Keynes and Modern Art Oxford, and has been initiated by CVAN (Contemporary Visual Art Network South East).

For details on the 2014 awards, and last year’s winner, Sophie Dixon, go to CVAN website.

Medway law student interviewed by Sky news and national radio

Medway law student Gemma Blythe has been interviewed by Sky News and a national radio station, both broadcasters seeking her perspective on the latest cuts to legal aid.

Gemma, a stage 2 LLB Law student, studying part-time at the University’s Medway campus, is an active committee member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) and a founding member of the YLAL Kent group. She also works as a Criminal Caseworker for law firm Kent Defence.

In the Sky News article ‘Barristers strike over cuts to legal aid‘, Gemma was interviewed along with Jonathan Black, president of the London Criminal Court Solicitors Association, Joanne Cecil, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, and a Ministry of Justice spokesperson. Her views were sought after barristers made a decision to strike in solidarity with criminal defence solicitors, who face cuts of 8.75% to their fees. Gemma was quoted as saying: ‘Those who cannot afford to pay for a solicitor, and those who are denied legal aid, are suffering at the hands of the Government.’

Former BBC sports presenter Georgie Frost also interviewed Gemma for her daily ‘Consuming Issues’ show, a consumer finance programme on Share Radio. In the interview, Gemma details how ongoing cuts to legal aid are dramatically affecting the amount that solicitors and barristers are paid and how ‘proper pay’ for legal professionals is important to ensure the best representation possible for clients seeking justice.

Follow Gemma on her blog ‘Thoughts on the criminal Justice System‘ and on Twitter @gemma_blythe.

Join us for the 50th Festival

The full programme for the 50th Festival, 4-6 September 2015, is now available.

We have celebrated the University’s 50th anniversary year in style and the stage is now set for the grand finale. The Festival is an open invitation to all staff to come to campus at the weekend, bringing family and friends to join the fun.

The weekend begins on Friday evening with a celebratory event at Canterbury Cathedral to which all staff are warmly invited – please register for this event as tickets are going fast.

The campus will be transformed with a welcoming festival atmosphere on the Saturday and Sunday, with over 100 activities and performances with which to get involved. From street entertainment and science experiments to live music and creative performances, there will be something for everyone! There will also be activities for children so staff can bring their families with them on the day.

At present, over 1,000 alumni, friends and former staff from all over the world have registered for the weekend and we look forward to welcoming them home to Kent.

Many staff are already supporting their school or department in staging an event; please email the Events team if you would like to help during the weekend.

Kent alumna jumps from a 160ft crane in aid of the Kent Law Campaign

Natalie Salunke, Kent alumna and Chair of the Kent Law Campaign Young Alumni Group, jumped off a 160ft crane on Saturday 25th July in aid of raising money for the Kent Law Campaign.

The 160ft crane bungee jump, organised by UK Bungee Club, took place at the O2 Arena in London. Natalie was one of three Campaign supporters taking part; however Natalie completed a solo jump which took courage when facing the height at the top of the crane! To date she has raised £325.00 for the Campaign through this challenge. There is still time to show you support and congratulate Natalie by sponsoring her on her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/Natalie-Salunke/.

Natalie has risen over £7.5k for the Campaign by taking part in a variety of challenges ranging from abseiling down the ArcelorMittal Orbit to skydiving; now she can add bungee jumping to her list. We would like to say a huge thank you to Natalie for her dedication, time and support over the years.

Open-air Shakespeare Festival on campus

Open-air Shakespeare comes to the Canterbury campus this summer with performances of two of his best-known plays.

Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed on the grass slopes alongside Eliot footpath as part of the first Canterbury Shakespeare Festival from 14-16 and 21-23 August 2015.

The Festival has been launched by a group of undergraduate students at Kent who wanted to bring together student theatre and local amateur dramatics. Founder of the festival is Benjamin Chamberlain, a first-year Religious Studies student. Others involved include Elliot Huxtable (Drama and Theatre) and Philip Hunt (English & American Literature), who are directing the two shows, and Drama and Theatre students helping with marketing, design and acting.

Jordan Coverdale (Drama and Theatre), who is marketing the Festival, said: ‘As a group, we were keen to share our love of Shakespeare with members of the Canterbury community. The University was the perfect venue for this, not only because of our close ties, but for its stunning views across the city.’

Performance details are:

  • Romeo and Juliet – Friday 14 August to Sunday 16 August, 19.30 nightly and a matinee (14.30) on Saturday.
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Friday 21 August to Sunday 23 August, 19.30 nightly and 14.30 on Saturday.

Tickets prices are £12 (standard) and £8 (concessions – OAP, children, students). There is also a 4+ family deal – buy four or more tickets for one performance and get them all at the reduced price of £7.50 each.

To find out more, see the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival webpages: www.canterburyshakespeare.co.uk

Student’s talk receives 10,000 views

A TEDx talk by Alexander Stylianoudis, a Criminology and Sociology student, has been viewed online more than 10,000 times in less than a month.

Alexander’s talk, which was part of the TEDx conference held in June at the Gulbenkian , attempts to justify big corporations that avoid paying tax.

His talk, titled ‘Tax Avoidance: A Necessary Evil?’ highlights the positive impact these corporations have on society and how politicians could improve their popularity by pressuring corporations that avoid paying taxes.

Alexander said: ‘I wanted to highlight the “inconvenient truth” that although some corporations try to avoid taxes they also do a lot of good to our economy and society. I am surprised and happy that my talk has generated interest and discussion online. Hopefully, this will bring about a serious debate on corporate taxation in the United Kingdom.’

TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). Talks cover almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

Watch Alexander’s TEDx talk.