Yearly Archives: 2015

CSRfm Listener Survey Now Live

A new survey has launched which gives people the opportunity to submit their feedback for Canterbury’s local Community & Student Radio station, CSRfm.

The station is currently in the process of putting together its new operating plan, and responses will go directly towards helping establish CSRfm’s mission going forward. Responses are especially welcomed from anyone who doesn’t listen to the station.

The survey, which can be found online at www.csrfm.com/your-station/win-a-10-amazon-voucher, will be online from now until Sunday 2 August 2015.

The essence of the survey is geared towards the station’s programmed broadcast; the shows on the schedule, the genres that are catered to, and the music that is played.

This year the station is also also offering respondents with the chance to win 1 of 5 Amazon.co.uk vouchers (valued at £10 each).

For any further information please contact us via d.packer@csrfm.com – or on 01227 816101.

Annual Event for New Staff – Friday 10th July 2015

Learning and Development are holding their Annual Event for New Staff on Friday this week, the 10th July. Staff who have joined the University during the past academic year have been invited to attend.

The event builds on the information from the termly Staff Induction & Information Fair and is a way for the Executive Group to share information about the University’s plans for the future.

If you have received an invitation to this event and have not yet replied to say that you can attend, can you please email ldev@kent.ac.uk to book before Wednesday 8th July, so that we can confirm your place.

KENT Alumni Magazine Summer 2015

We are delighted to announce that the Summer 2015 edition of KENT Alumni Magazine is now available online.

If you are a member of staff who is also a Kent alumnus, we’d be very grateful if you could confirm this by sending a quick email (alumni@kent.ac.uk ), so that we are able to ensure our records are correctly updated. As you are a staff member, we have not sent a hard copy of the magazine to you, however we would be more than happy to forward you one in the internal mail if you would like – just let us know, and we will send one across to you. Alternatively, if you fancy a stroll, the magazine is also available in the Rutherford Annex foyer, as well as in the Registry and college receptions, so feel free to help yourself!

The magazine features news on the History Projects, which will reflect on the University’s past as we celebrate Kent’s 50th anniversary year. And with the UK’s position in the European Union on the line, you can read about the University’s stance on the situation as we celebrate the international learning environment of our European centres.

If you missed ‘QI Live at Kent’, then have no fear! We give you the lowdown on this special one-off edition of the popular TV quiz show which took place on the Canterbury campus in February and featured a host of big names in British Comedy, all of whom have close links to the University.

If you haven’t heard about our 50th Festival yet – then where have you been? Find out all the information you need to know to ensure you join us on 4-6 September and help us celebrate the end of Kent’s 50th anniversary in style.

If you have any comments on the magazine, or have stories or photographs which you would like to share, we would love to hear from you so please get in touch (alumni@kent.ac.uk)!

Happy reading!

Fiona Jones (Eliot, 2000), Elena Roberts (Darwin, 2000) and Kasia Senyszyn (Keynes, 2004)

Development & Alumni Engagement Team, Development Office, Rutherford Annex

Science Extravaganza

On two of the hottest days of the year so far 30th June and the 1st July, over 250 Year 8 and 9 students from local schools visited the University of Kent’s Canterbury Campus to participate in Science Extravaganza. The two days were organised by the Partnership Development Office who worked with the 7 academic schools (Biosciences, Computing, Engineering and Digital Arts, Maths, Statistics and Actuarial Science, Medway School of Pharmacy, Physical Sciences and Sport and Excercise Sciences) within the Faculty of Science.

All of the students had a taste of what the academic side to university life might be like when they were all treated to the Opening Lecture ‘The Origin of Life’ in the setting of Keynes Lecture Theatre 1. This was given by Dr Vladimir Gubala ably assisted by Dr Gaby Roch who made a representation of a comet as part of the lecture.

The students then went to two practical workshops led by each of the university’s seven academic schools from the Faculty of Sciences. These gave the students hands on experience of science activities not normally available to them at school.

Some comments from students who obviously had a great day at the university:

  • ‘I got to use equipment that I have not used before. It was fun, exciting and cool. I loved it!’ Rasmina
  • ‘I enjoyed everything because I’ve never learnt anything like this before’ Evie
  • ‘I enjoyed today because it had a lot of fun activities such as programming robots and maths’ Eithan
  • ‘I enjoyed today because it gave me an insight into university life. Thank you for an amazing day’ Ellis

Changes to childcare vouchers: Government Tax-Free Childcare delayed

The expected launch date of the Government’s Tax-free Childcare Scheme was autumn 2015, but this has now been delayed until early 2017. Details of the delay can be found on the Government’s website.

In early 2017, the Government is launching a new tax-free childcare scheme that will provide parents with a new way to save on their childcare costs.* Staff at the University of Kent are currently able to save on their childcare costs through the Busy Bees Benefits Childcare Vouchers, and the Oaks’ Workplace Nursery Salary Sacrifice Scheme. For staff participating in Busy Bees vouchers and/or the Oaks’ scheme, the new Government initiative will provide another option which they might like to consider. If staff decide to stay in their existing scheme, they can do so.

However the Government has stated that, once their scheme launches in 2017, no one will be able to join any childcare voucher scheme other than their new tax-free childcare scheme. This means that staff won’t be able to join the Busy Bees Benefits Childcare Vouchers scheme after 2017. It also means that those already receiving these vouchers won’t be able to opt out, and then opt back in after the new scheme is launched.

The Oaks’ Workplace Nursery Salary Sacrifice Scheme will not be affected: it will continue, and qualifying staff will still be able to join the scheme.

No couple will be able to be part of both Busy Bees Benefits Childcare Vouchers and the new government scheme. Your partner can’t be in a childcare voucher scheme if you are in the government scheme, and you cannot have one child in a childcare voucher scheme and another in the government scheme.

The University wants parents to have the time and opportunity to opt into the scheme that benefits them, and so has put together information which will allow staff to compare the different schemes, and the savings they could make. Which scheme is right for you will depend on your circumstances and what childcare you might need over the coming years. The “Changes to tax-free childcare/ Information for parents” guide, can be found here.

The launch date of the Government’s tax-free childcare scheme is not yet known, but it is recommended that parents act now, if they would like to join the Busy Bees Benefits Childcare Vouchers Scheme. Kent staff can join the Busy Bees Childcare Voucher scheme via the Staff Finance website.

*This tax-free childcare scheme is a separate initiative to the increase in free childcare for working parents – see website for details.

Symposium on ‘Religion and the Global City’

Dr Anna Strhan, from the Department of Religious Studies, and Dr David Garbin, from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), are co-organising a symposium entitled ‘Religion and the Global City’, to be held on Friday 11 September 2015, with funding from the Leverhulme Trust, the Department of Religious Studies, and SSPSSR.

This symposium adopts a non-reductive stance in exploring city dynamics of religious presence in global contexts. How to religious groups make space and ‘take place’ in the global city? What kind of spatial models, morphologies and ‘religeopolitics’ do they produce and adopt? To what extent does religion contribute to the ‘hyper-diversity’ of multicultural cityscapes? What kind of religious centralities and peripheries are produced or reproduced on global cities?

The day will consist of four sessions on ‘Power, Visibility, and the Politics of Space’, ‘Centralities, Peripheries, and Religious Reterritorialisation’, ‘Religious Media, Publics, and Global Cultural Flows’, and ‘Global Migration, Everyday Multiculturalism, and Religious Place-making’. Phil Hubbard (Kent), Paul-François Tremlett (Open University), Jeremy Carrette (Department of Religious Studies, Kent), and John Eade (University of Roehampton) will be discussants for the event.

The event is free, but spaces are limited. To book, please email the event organisers, David Garbin (D.Garbin@kent.ac.uk) and Anna Strhan (A.H.B.Strhan@kent.ac.uk).

The workshop will follow on from the British Association for the Study of Relgions’ Annual Conference, ‘Religion in the Local and Global’ earlier the same week.

For the full programme of the symposium, please see the page here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/thrs/events/index.html?eid=13555&view_by=month&date=20150902&category=&tag=religious

Let’s Play Staff and Postgraduate Summer Activities

Alongside the Let’s Play Staff Cup, Let’s Play will be hosting a few weekly sports sessions that will be available to all Staff and Postgraduate students throughout the summer.

The sessions available are as follows:

Badminton – Wednesdays from 12.30-13.30 at the Greenwich Sports Hall.

Yoga – Wednesdays from 12.30 – 13.30 at the Greenwich Sports Hall.

Kettle Bells Class – Thursdays from 17.30-18.30 at the Greenwich Sports Hall.

Midday Mile – Thursdays at 12.15 from outside the Medway Building.

Both Badminton and Kettle bells will start as of next week.Yoga is will start as of Wednesday 15th July.

Each of these sessions are £1 and can be paid for via www.kent.ac.uk/sports/letsplay.

£10 for sessions cards and £20 unlimited year access cards are also available to be purchased through www.kent.ac.uk/sports/letsplay.

If popular we hope to keep these sessions going throughout the full year.

Let’s Play Staff Cup at Medway

Over the summer the first ever Let’s Play Staff Cup will take place. It will run in a similar fashion to the VC’s Cup held on the Canterbury campus, whereby departments compete against each other in a different sporting activity each month, in order to be crowned overall winner.

The competition will take place on the first Thursday of every month, beginning the 2nd July.

The competition will start at approximately 13:15 and end by 13:50 at the latest to ensure all staff members have time to change and eat in their lunch hour.

The dates of the competition and the individual sports are as follows:

  • 2nd July – Volleyball (Minimum 6 players required per fixture)
  • 6th August- Petanque (Minimum 4 players required per fixture)
  • 3rd September- Sports Day (Minimum 1 male and 1 female participant per competition, 5 competitions, participants can compete in more than one competition)
  • 10th September – Pub Quiz and Presentation (Minimum 3 participants)

Weather permitted all competitions will take place outside on the Rochester Lawn although the Greenwich Hall has been booked in case of adverse weather conditions.

Each team will receive points based on where they place in each competition. The team with the most points after all four competitions (Pub Quiz included) will win the overall Cup.

All staff are encouraged to come along and support at these events and if there are departments who haven’t already entered but would like to, please contact Francesca Plom via email or on 01227 824081.

If successful we hope to make this a bigger annual event for all Medway staff to enjoy throughout the year.

Keynes College Window Replacement to B Block

Monday 6th July – Friday 14th August, 2015
You are made aware that a contractor has been appointed to undertake the above work.

During this period, a scaffold will be erected around this particular block of the college.
Estates will be liaising directly, with the various groups that occupy and use B block.

This work is expected to be completed by 14th August.

Apologies in advance, for any inconvenience caused by these essential maintenance works. If you should have any queries then please contact the Estates Helpdesk on ext. 3209.