The National Express 270 service to London Gatwick Airport is unfortunately being cancelled this month.

The service launched in December 2015 but due to lack of numbers, National Express have come to the decision that it is not financially sustainable to keep the service running.

The service which called at Canterbury and Medway campuses will cease running from 17 July 2016.

If you still wish to travel by coach from the University campuses to London Gatwick airport you can take a National Express coach to London Victoria and change.

The 022 service calls at Keynes bus stop at the Canterbury campus and has a regular service to London Victoria.

The 022 and 007 services from Hempstead Valley shopping centre in Medway also go to London Victoria.

Sent in by transport@kent.ac.uk 

Honorary professor in the Centre for Journalism, Keith Somerville, is to receive a prestigious prize for his ground-breaking examination of the history and politics of ivory in Africa.

Keith has been awarded the Marjan-Marsh Prize – given annually by the King’s College’s Marjan Centre for the Study of War and the Non-Human Sphere and the Marsh Trust “to someone who has made an invaluable contribution to an area where conflict and conservation overlap”.

Keith will share the award with Stephane Crayne, who trained and led anti-poaching teams in the Central African Republic. Both will receive their awards and give a presentation on their work at King’s College on 23 November.

At the award ceremony, Keith will also be launching his  book Ivory – Power and Poaching in Africa, which played a key part in his nomination.

Half of Tanzania’s elephants have been killed for their ivory since 2007, and a similarly alarming story can be told of herds in northern Mozambique and swathes of central Africa.

Keith’s new study of the history and politics of ivory in Africa forensically examines why poaching happens and why it is corruption, crime and politics, rather than insurgency, which we should worry about.

On Sunday 24 July 2016, 13.00 – 17.00, at London based No.W.Here Arts Ltd, a one-day symposium called Fictitious Capital has been organised by School of Music and Fine Art Lecturer and Director of Programmes (Fine Art and Event & Experience Design), Dr Andrew Conio. A writer and video artist, Dr Conio is also one of the speakers at the event, which examines the economic forces behind the decimation of artist and community spaces in the East End.

‘Fictitious capital’ was defined by Marx as non-productive capital that circles the world at infinite speed in the form of hedge-funds and derivatives that vampire-like suck the value out of labour and production.

Other speakers include Dave Beech, artist, writer and Professor of Art at Valad Academy in Gothenburg; Anca Carrington, economist, psychoanalyst and editor of the book Money as Emotional Currency; and Dr Emily Rosamond, Canadian artist, writer and educator, and previously a lecturer in the School of Music and Fine Art..

Tickets cost £3. For more details and to book go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fictitious-capital-tickets-26421819373

About the venue
no.w.here is a performance, residency and project space, film production studio resource and gallery in Bethnal Green. After a (fictitious) price of £3.5m was placed on the building by the owners they have successfully achieved Asset Of Community Value status and this event is part of their campaign to retain one of London’s most important arts spaces.

No W Here Arts Ltd – 316-318 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 0AG
http://www.no-w-here.org.uk/

Professor Wenjia Liu is completing her year at the University as a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies on the 28 July 2016.

Wenjia Liu is from the School of Architecture at Zhengzhou University (who funded her visit to Kent), she works on the sustainable conservation of archaeological sites in modern urban space. She came to Kent to work with staff and PhD students to investigate the changing values associated with heritage sites both in the UK and in Italy over the last 50 years. In addition, she hoped to identify approaches within Western concepts of planning and conservation that may be applicable in China.

Whilst at the university, Wenjia visited several historic cities including London, Rome and Athens and took part in the Managing Change: Urban Heritage between Conservation and Development conference. She met several famous scholars from archaeology, architecture and heritage management with whom she was able to discuss and exchange ideas and who gave her lots of valuable suggestions and inspiration.

Wenjia is now working on two papers, one on ‘Strategies for the Conservation of Archaeological Sites in Context of Modern Urban Development: Case Study on London’ and another on Sui-tang National Archaeological Park in Luoyang, which will include some comparisons between Louyang Park and the Roman Forum.

We wish Wenjia every success with her papers and hope to remain in touch in the coming years to hear more about her work.

Viv Oliver from the Finance Department, along with her partner Tony, and tandeming friends Jim & Kate, have just returned from an epic two day ride from Dover to Paris. This has been the highlight of their training plan in the lead up to an even more epic challenge in support of Macmillan Cancer Research.

On 20th August, they are riding the Newcastle to London “Ride 24”, 310 miles in 24 hours. If you would like to add your support to their fundraising for Macmillan please visit their Just Giving page.

Dr Sophia Labadi from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies is to attend a conference entitled ‘Evidence On Trial: Weighing the Value of Evidence in Academic Enquiry, Policy and Everyday Life’ at Durham University on 12-14 July 2016, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Institute of Advanced Study.

Dr Labadi has been invited to take part in a panel on ‘Evidence under the Heritage Bridge’. This panel aims to explore how to best address what kind of evidence is required to inform those who manage World Heritage sites so as to meet obligations to protect the past for future generations and realise a shared sense of belonging for all relevant stakeholders. The 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage defines these obligations, establishing a mandate to foster global solidarity through wise stewardship of these unique sites.

Dr Labadi was a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in 2012. Her paper will focus on World Heritage and sustainable development.

Full details of the conference are available at: www.dur.ac.uk/ias/decennial/

Ray Estaire, a jazz artist emerging from London’s underground music scene and Kent alumna, will warm up the crowds before Gabrielle and Will Young at Rochester Castle Concerts on Thursday 14 July.

Tickets at:

• Castle Concerts website
• 01634 338338
• Central or Brook Theatres in person
• Rochester Visitor Information Centre in person

Sent in by A.Mash@kent.ac.uk 

Six students, from the University’s HND and BA (Hons) Top-Up courses had their designs selected from thousands of entries to make the winners’ list of 40 in the national Design Factory competition, the annual multi-disciplinary project for BA design students set by the Design Museum in London. One design, by James Li, appeared in the top 10 of all entries.

In previous years, the School of Music and Fine Art franchised courses, based at the Tonbridge campus of West Kent College, have also produced winners. The student classes spent a month working on the Design Factory brief: ‘Make It Different’ – rethinking the way designs are made in order to help produce a better and more sustainable future.

The winners from the BA (Hons) Top-Up course were:Jonathan White who designed an app that helps contact the nearest wildlife rescue centre; Kirsten Herpe, also a 2015 winner, invented a game-like points system for encouraging the choosing of healthy school meals; Fred Sirman, invented a collectible bootleg toy made from old Simpsons dolls mixed with superhero figures. Fred has won twice before.

There were two winners from the HND Year 2:Ricardo Olmos, who mocked-up a virtual reality visualiser that shows beach-goers the dangers of littering; James Li, who produced a design for a skin-thin smart device screen that is embedded in the hand.

The winner from HND Year 1 was Ed Clarke, who designed an eco-friendly shoe that produces energy as it is worn.

School of Music and Fine Art Lecturer and Partner College Liaison Officer Tim Meacham said,
“This is a fantastic achievement, particularly as the courses are competing nationally against much larger institutions. The awards are a testament to the students, the quality of teaching and the dedication of the staff.”

Simon Thompson Professor of Computing and Peter Taylor-Gooby Professor of Social Policy, together with the Food Bank Bear, are planning to do the ‘London 100’ Bike Ride on 31 July, to raise funds for Canterbury Food Bank. The Food Bank provides emergency food parcels to individuals and families in short term financial crisis across the Canterbury District.

According to the latest child poverty statistics, there are over 4,000 children living in poverty in the Canterbury District out of a total population of 135,000 people – that’s one in seven children. A sudden change in circumstances, such as a family break up, illness, an unexpected bill, a delay in benefits, redundancy or even reduced working hours can result in people being unable to feed themselves and their family and the Food Bank is there to help.

The London 100 is a hundred mike cycle rally starting out the Olympic Park, along the Embankment and out through Kingston to take in Box Hill and Leigh Hill, then back to the finish in front of Buckingham palace. ‘It’ll be a great ride and for a wroth while cause,’ said Peter. ‘So far we’ve raised more than £400. Our target is £1,000. Please donate via Canterbury Food Bank website at https://www.canterburyfoodbank.org/contact_us.php ‘

We would like to hear from staff from across the full range of the University’s schools and departments, regarding what being a member of the UK’s European university means to you and any benefits or opportunities that you have experienced.

Perhaps you have travelled abroad to share best practice or have benefitted from working in an internationally diverse environment; maybe you have learnt a new language; encountered alternative ideas or engaged with an international project or venture. Whatever your experience we would like to hear about it.

Colleagues are invited to share experiences and opportunities – whether formal or informal – of working at the UK’s European university. This need not be long, even a single sentence would be helpful.

We have already asked students what it means to them and this is what they had to say in the form of the following video.

Over the summer we will be making a similar video featuring our staff, and responses received will be used to inform how this takes shape. As such, please also indicate if you would like to take part.

Please email h.sullivan-guckian@kent.ac.uk to share your experience or to indicate your interest in participating in this project.

Sent in by h.sullivan-guckian@kent.ac.uk