A new strategy for how we provide IT such as PCs, laptops and software is coming, and we need your feedback to write it:
Your desktop, laptop and mobile feedback, combined with interviews across the University, will inform our computing strategy.
The survey is open until 3 January. Thank you for your time and your feedback.
This Friday (4 December), the Marlowe are holding a lunchtime event from 13.00-15.00 where two representatives of the University can attend for free.
The event includes a complimentary lunch with cast members of the pantomine plus fizz and juice courtesy of Biddenden Vineyard.
The first two members of staff to email communications@kent.ac.uk and ask for a ticket can go!
Staff members at Santander Universities have played an important role in supporting the Kent Law Campaign Student Group fundraising activities and initiatives as well as taking part in their own personal challenges such as bungee jumping and taking part in the Canterbury Legal Walk.
Throughout the 2014/15 academic year Adam Baker, Sam Winstanley, Sahar Habibmohammadi and Thomas Smith have helped raise a significant amount of money for the Campaign. Their commitment has been recognised by Santander Foundation who, for the second year running, matched their fundraising total pound for pound through their Staff Matched Donation Scheme. Therefore on behalf of the University of Kent we would like to thank Santander UK for donating £3,458.75 towards the Kent Law Campaign and supporting us once more.
Hilary Edridge (Head of Campaigns), Felicity Clifford (Campaigns Officer) and members of the Kent Law Campaign Student Group were delighted to receive a giant cheque from Adam, Sahar and Thomas on Thursday 26th November. Including the University’s match their generosity becomes £6,917.50 towards our vital work.
The Pride (Personal responsibility in delivering excellence) Award recognises members of Kent Hospitality staff who go out of their way to deliver excellent customer service.
Any Kent Hospitality staff (permanent or casual) may be nominated from Canterbury and Medway campuses. The award is given in December, April and October with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers.
Nominations can be made by any member of University staff, students or visitors. Red nomination boxes are located in all Kent Hospitality’s catering outlets in Canterbury and Medway, as well College reception areas. Alternatively, you can download the form and email it to Rooie Thomas.
Please make your nominations detailed and provide as much information as possible. The panel looks for staff who achieve more than what is expected in their role.
The deadline for the next award is 13.00, Friday 11 December 2015.
For further information, contact/see: Rooie Thomas: R.J.G.Thomas@kent.ac.uk, T: +44 (0)1227 827659, Tanglewood.
Professor Ray Laurence, from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies, will feature on BBC Radio 4’s Ancient Ways With Bettany Hughes on Friday 4 December 2016 at 11.00.
Bettany Hughes is a broadcaster and writer. In the programme, Bettany follows the ancient Roman road to Istanbul, tracing its route through Albania, Macedonia and Greece, exploring how the Egnatian Way helped to shape Europe and the Middle East. In the first episode, she journeys from the Adriatic shores of Albania to the Macedonian plain where Alexander The Great grew up.
Ray was interviewed for the programme on the contribution of Roman roads in the on-going definition of the geography of Europe, migration in the Roman Empire much higher than the levels experienced in Europe today as well as Cicero’s exile in Thessaloniki.
The series consists of three episodes, and will be found on the BBC’s iPlayer.
Are you thinking of staying in Kent over the winter break? Each year many students choose to spend the holidays here, and this proves a great chance to explore the local area and take part in the many activities that Kent has to offer. Visit our winter break website for information about:
You can also stay in touch by liking our ‘Staying in Kent over Christmas’ Facebook page.
The Music department will be getting into the Christmas mood next month, with a series of festive musical events throughout December.
The seasonal musical celebrations will get underway this Friday, 4 December, in ‘A Baroque Christmas,’ in which the Cecilian Choir and String Sinfonia come together in excerpts from Handel’s popular ‘Messiah’ and Vivaldi’s much-loved ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons, together with a sparkling Double Oboe Concerto. The following weekend, on Saturday 12 December, the Chorus and Symphony Orchestra join forces for a rare performance of Vaughan Williams’ ‘The First Nowell,’ originally written as a nativity play but later turned into a concert piece featuring popular and less well-known carols and Christmas songs.
On Wednesday 16 December, a festive ‘Watch This Space’ will see assorted groups including Minerva Voices and the Flute Group in an informal event on the foyer-stage at lunchtime; then at 17.15, conductor Ian Swatman leads the Big Band in the now traditional Christmas Swing-along, featuring well-known seasonal classics and audience carol-singing with the Brass Group, followed by mulled wine and mince pieces in the foyer.
Full details and tickets are on the Music at Kent What’s On website; come and join us as Colyer-Fergusson rings with seasonal music to celebrate the Christmas season!
Student Ambassadors play a vital role in helping potential students to think about whether they would like to study in higher education (HE) generally, what subjects they might like to study and if they might like to become students at the University.
Student Ambassadors have been supporting the University’s outreach programme for over a decade ‘our outreach programme reaches over 10,000 local students a year and focuses upon study at HE’ including everything from large awareness raising events to small scale subject-specific experiences. The successful scheme has also been extended to support student recruitment activities across the University and this work concentrates particularly on applying to Kent.
The Student Ambassador Scheme offers a real opportunity for students to improve their employability skills by undertaking a range of different activities, as well as improving their subject knowledge, while representing the University. These events take place on campus or in local schools, further education colleges or community settings.
Academic schools or professional service departments are able to recruit their own Undergraduate and/or Postgraduate Student Ambassadors. Funding to support outreach work is offered through the outreach budget within each academic school and full training is provided to Ambassadors by the Training Team within the Partnership Development Office.
Two documents are available for academic schools that already recruit or wish to recruit Student Ambassadors:
These documents can be found on the student ambassador scheme website, along with further information and useful contact information.
Dr Anna Katharina Schaffner, Reader in Comparative Literature and Medical Humanities from the Department of Comparative Literature, has won a Wellcome Trust Humanities and Social Sciences Small Grant for a research project entitled ‘Human Energy: A History’.
This project analyses bio-medical, psychological, and spiritual models of human energy. Embracing an interdisciplinary and a cross-cultural perspective, the research will explore theories of human energy ranging from ancient India, China, and Greece to the present day, investigating models of human energy such as qi, prana, chakras, auras, the Ãclan vital, libido, and bioenergy.
Although syndromes entailing the loss of human energy (including depression, stress, and burnout) are spreading rapidly, no generally accepted model of human energy exists in Western culture. The project asks why is this the case, and what can we learn from history and the East about this phenomenon?
For further details about the Wellcome Trust’s funding schemes, please see the page here: www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Humanities-and-social-science/index.htm