Monthly Archives: February 2016

Vice-Chancellor’s Cup – Volleyball

Last week we saw the Vice-Chancellors Cup heating up with volleyball. All 20 departments registered staff teams to play with great success from both the rookies and the veterans.

Kent Business School proved they were a force to be reckoned with winning all but one of their games. Followed closely by the School of History in second and Information Services in third.

Paul Davis on the Record Profits team said: ‘Having taken part in the Cup last year I was very impressed with the organisation for Volleyball this year: I thought it was a major improvement having fixed courts and 5 minute matches.

A special mention must go to departments competing for the first time – School of Arts, History, and The Deanery for starting strong and fully immersing themselves into the Vice-Chancellors Cup fun and games. The volleyball photos can be seen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1014604665272496.1073741898.171942899538681&type=3

We now have both netball and basketball to look forward to in March, as well as a bonus event with the Back to the Future (fun) run.

To stay up to date with Kent Sport news and the Vice-Chancellors Cup (www.kent.ac.uk/sports/vicechancellorscup), Like @UniKentSports on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The Elective Collective Community Project by Event & Experience Design student

Charlotte Harding, a 3rd Year student on the BA Event & Experience Design in the School of Music & Fine Art, sees the culmination of her innovative project for the Medway Student Scholarship in an exhibition at the Nucleus Arts Gallery in Chatham. The project The Elective Collective included workshops with a number of clients of Caring Hands in the Community to create personalised artwork that intends to inspire people and promote the use of art in the community.

Caring Hands in the Community, located at the heart of Chatham town centre is a resource for housing, job searches, counselling and rehabilitation help for those in the chains of addiction.

Says EED Lecturer Peter Hatton: ‘Charlotte devised an inspirational participatory project to work with homeless adults at the Caring Hands Centre. She had a small team of her peers on the course to support her alongside staff at the centre in running a series of activities including mask making and photography. Her intention was raise awareness of homelessness and to increase the visibility of the homeless through their artwork. The mask making was a form of self-portraiture, an expression of individual identity. Participants in the workshop were then given a disposable camera to document their environment outside of the centre. Nucleus Arts have contributed to the project by giving the participants the exciting opportunity to exhibit this accumulative personal narrative in the gallery. This public facing exhibition will be both a celebration of the participants and their stories and the awareness-raising element of the project.’

The exhibition will run from 10-16 March, with the preview on Fri 11 March from 14.00-16.00.

Language Exchange evening 14 March

The Language Exchange evening from 17:00 – 19:00 on Monday 14 March gives you the chance to practise your language skills and socialise with other students. The event is also open to students who are native speakers of these four languages.

If you are studying these languages with the Centre for English and World Languages(CEWL)come along to meet other students at Kent who are native speakers and share their knowledge of language and culture.

Booking details and further information:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/international-pathways/current-students/calendar.html?eid=15932&view_by=day&date=20160314&category=&tag=

Vice-Chancellor’s Esteem Lecture

Dr Joanna Williams will deliver the next Vice-Chancellor’s Esteem Lecture on Thursday 25 February. The title of the lecture is “Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity”. It will be held in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 and will start at 18.30. The event is open to all and is free to attend.

This lecture will explore the myriad threats to academic freedom today that emerge from within as well as outside of universities. Dr Joanna Williams will consider the enduring importance of academic freedom, not just to the liberty of individual scholars but to the fundamental purpose of higher education and the nature of the university.

Dr Joanna Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent. Her latest book, ‘Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity: Confronting the Fear of Knowledge’, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in January this year. Her previous book, ‘Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can’t Be Bought’ came out in 2012. Joanna is a frequent commentator on higher education in the national mainstream media and she is the education editor of Spiked.

For more information about the lecture, please visit: http://www.kent.ac.uk/events/esteem/2015-16/lectures/williams-joanna.html

Teaching Awards- last chance to nominate

This is your last chance to nominate that fantastic individual who has shaped your university experience. There are a number of different categories this year, including but not limited to: Best Teacher, Best Academic Advisor, Course Rep of the Year and Fantastic Feedback. If you would like to nominate someone, visit: www.kentunion.co.uk/teachingawards The nomination form is short, easy to fill and should only take a minute or two. Nominations close on the 1st of March 2016, so get nominating! Make sure that fantastic individual is recognised and rewarded!

Three-day summer school for students considering an LLM

Students from across all degree disciplines can apply now for a three-day Pre-LLM Summer School at Kent’s centre in Paris.

The Summer School offers an immersive experience of postgraduate study to students considering whether to apply for a one year LLM (Master’s in Law) at Kent.

Sample classes are offered across the range of Kent LLM specialisations, including Intellectual Property Law, Human Rights Law, Environmental Law, Law and the Humanities, International Commercial Law, International Migration Law.

Through these classes students will engage in structured discussions that introduce both the advanced subject knowledge and the critical and theoretical analyses that distinguish the School’s distinctive approach to postgraduate study. There will also be reading groups and an opportunity to discuss the mechanics of the application process.

The Pre-LLM Summer Programme will be held at Reid Hall, located in the heart of Montparnasse in Paris, on 27/28/29 June and repeated on 29/30 June and 1 July. A non-refundable fee of £80 includes accommodation, lunch and refreshments.

To apply, please complete an online application form https://www.kent.ac.uk/law/postgraduate/taught/prellmapply.html (including a 500 word statement detailing your interest in studying an LLM at Kent) by Sunday 3 April 2016.

More information about the Summer School is available on Kent Law School’s website https://www.kent.ac.uk/law/postgraduate/taught/prellm.html or via the School’s postgraduate office: klspgoffice@kent.ac.uk

More information about the Kent LLM (and the 11 specialisations available) can be found at: www.kent.ac.uk/law/postgraduate/taught

Social Sciences Faculty Research Fund

The Social Sciences Faculty Research Committee invites applications from Academic and Research Staff for the allocation of financial support to promote and enhance activities that lead to high quality research.

The deadline for applications this term will be by 17.00 on Friday 25 March 2016. Completed application forms should be emailed to Maryse Duarte (M.Duarte@kent.ac.uk).

Details on how the fund operates and an application form are available on the web at https://www.kent.ac.uk/socsci/faculty/funding/index.html

One-stop-shop for Medway admin

Medway students can use the new Medway Student Administration Office webpages to easily complete core tasks such as request a status letter or apply for council tax exemptions.

This great new resource can help Medway students throughout their University journey, with links to help with starting University and getting settled to preparing for graduation.

The Medway Student Administration Office also has new iPads in the Gillingham Building reception so students can complete core tasks with the support of staff.

These are just some of the improvements we’re making to enhance your student experience. To find out more visit the enhancing your student experience webpages.

Follow Medway Student Administration Office on Twitter.