Exactly a year ago today the Kent Enterprise Hub was relocated to the Canterbury Innovation Centre and rebranded as HIVE, Hub for Innovation and Enterprise. HIVE, as the institutional support for entrepreneurship, has continued to offer student enterprise activities on both the Canterbury and Medway campuses; and business support to students, alumni and staff looking to start-up their own businesses.

Through 2015-16 146 business advice sessions were held and over 166 students entered entrepreneurial competitions. Alongside this, the HIVE Start-Up Scheme has experienced multiple successes including:

Big Ideas competition
This year 64 students submitted applications and ‘elevator pitch’ videos for the University’s Big Ideas competition. A shortlisting panel of judges then met and selected six student groups/individuals to compete in the final round, where the students pitched their idea to a second panel of judges and answered a Q&A session.

The overall winners of the competition were: Ceseare Dunker, a first year Politics student; and Rayyan Sorefan, a first year Law student. Cesare and Rayyan presented their idea ‘eLog’; an app that allows users to track their journey from A to B. This is done through photographs, geo-tagging and time mapping. The app allows users to provide evidence of their journey to an institution-providing asylum.

Both Cesare and Rayyan will be going to Virginia, USA in August to test their idea against other entrepreneurial students from around the world.

IBM Universities Business Challenge
10 students were selected to form two teams to represent Kent in the IBM Universities Business Challenge. The teams met for two hours weekly and were mentored by the HIVE administrator through a series of simulated challenges.

The two student teams then attended the IBM Universities Business Challenge in London and the teams finished fifth and ninth in the semi-finals. Students feedback that the experience not only improved their entrepreneurial mind-sets but also added to their employability skills; and gave them more to talk about at interviews.

Start-up workshops
This year the University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce to support HIVE. From this, the Chamber has carried out a series of business start-up workshops in the spring term. These workshops covered: Ideas generation; Sales and Marketing; Finance and Funding; Tax, insurance, and liability; and Creating a business plan.

Conferences
HIVE ran two conferences this year, supported by the Kent Opportunities Fund and Student Project Grant Scheme. The first was the Women in Enterprise Conference, held in November 2015; and the second was the App Development Conference, held in March 2016. Both conferences were well attended by students, staff and local businesses, having a lasting effect on the local entrepreneurial community.

‘Innovation and Enterprise will become more important for everybody in the University, from undergraduate students to senior staff. I am pleased that the Hub for Innovation and Enterprise has moved to the smart environment of the Canterbury Innovation Centre’.

Professor Philippe De Wilde
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Staff and students are invited to experience A Taste of Japan on Wednesday 17 August.

A Taste of Japan will be hosted and performed by students from a number of Japanese universities who are taking English short summer courses at the Centre for English and World Languages (CEWL).

Highlights will include a Japanese tea ceremony, trying Japanese crafts and watching performances by students.

The event is free to all University staff and students. It takes place on Wednesday 17 August from 17.00-18.30 in Keynes Teaching Foyer and Keynes Quiet Senior Common Room on Canterbury campus.

Carly Turnham, Recruitment, Admissions and Marketing Officer in the School of Psychology, will play in her first roller derby bout on Saturday 20 August at 15.00.

This is also the first ever home game for her team, Apex Predators, who will be playing against Surrey Rollergirls B.

Roller derby is a full contact, fast-paced team sport played on traditional roller skates, with speed, big hits, clever tactics and blink-and-you’ll-miss moments!

To find out more and to buy your ticket for the event taking place at Medway Park Leisure Centre, please go to: http://apexpredators.brownpapertickets.com/. Adults’ advanced tickets are £10 – children’s tickets are free.

See you there!

Two finalists from the Business Start-Up Journey selected to attend the European Innovation Academy (EIA) have returned following their educational trip.

The EIA, which took place last month in Nice, France, is a 15-day programme of entrepreneurship education which gives “every participant the opportunity to be immersed in the extreme international start-up environment”.

The EIA, dubbed the “World’s Largest Extreme Accelerator for digital innovations”, features inspirational talks and workshops from speakers of Stanford University, Google and University of California Berkeley.

Brenda Okandju (Keynes, 2012) and Mate Tukacs (Medway, 2012) attended the programme following their success in the pilot of the Kent Business School’ Business Start-Up Journey (BSUJ) during the academic year 2015-16.

Mate, a full-time Entrepreneur and recent School of Computing graduate remarked: ‘The EIA was one of the best experiences in my entrepreneurial life. Amongst the 400 participants, I met some of the most open minded people I have ever come across, resonating completely with my mentality and outlook on life. The talks and lectures were exceptional in quality, deep, to the point, and very practical.’

Select student finalists from across the University who complete Stage 5 of the Business Start-Up Journey (BSUJ) are selected to attend the European Innovation Academy at the close of each academic year.

The BSUJ is an extra-curricular start-up accelerator programme for students of the University of Kent. The Journey scales up in the new academic year and will run from the purpose-built and philanthropically funded ASPIRE space, launching in early 2017.

For more information on the BSUJ click here.

The European Summer Schools at the University’s centres in Paris and Brussels have just taken place for the fourth time since they were first created in 2013 as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations.

Scholarships were awarded to Kent Undergraduate students and external applicants to spend a fortnight participating in academic sessions and cultural activities in these two major European capital cities.

Students in Brussels studied on the theme of ‘Europe and the World’ benefitting from dynamic sessions including those on International Migration, European Neighbourhood Policy and a discussion with a member of the British Embassy on the EU referendum result and the future of the EU.

Students also had the chance to visit the European Parliament to discuss the EU with a current MEP, as well as to take part in an all-day guided tour of the battlefields of WW1 in Ypres, Flanders. Here, students learned about the human cost and political impact of the First World War and discovered how it helped to shape today’s Europe.

Students in Paris studied on the theme of ‘Revolutions’ immersing themselves in French culture by exploring the city’s art, architecture, film, drama, writing and philosophy. Through a series of interconnected lectures and excursions guided by academic specialists, students visited a wide range of culturally and historically significant sites including the Pompidou centre, Versailles and Picasso Museum.

At the end of the Summer School, the students had developed close friendships with each other and had gained analytical and intercultural skills that they can take with them into their studies and out into the job market. The programme has also helped to promote Kent’s European Centres.

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the generosity of the programme’s sponsors, including Student Project Funds.

Sophie Punt, Academic Division

Fifty eight Year 10 students sampled life at Kent when they attended a five-day residential Summer School last week (25-29 July).

Participants from the University’s Partner Schools across Kent and Medway had the opportunity to experience university life first-hand, living in campus accommodation and attending lectures and seminars.

Organised by the Partnership Development Office, the Summer School was coordinated by University staff and supported by a team of nine student ambassadors, all current University of Kent students.

During the Summer School, students resided in Tyler Court and participated in a variety of taster sessions all of which reflect Kent’s wide ranging provision in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences faculties.

The sessions provided an insight into academic study at university level through a range of interactive and challenging activities. Evenings were taken up with some exciting social activities which reflect the diverse opportunities offered by sports and societies at Kent.

The Summer School programme is part of the University’s commitment to widening participation and outreach in the local region. Previous participants have found it invaluable in helping them to gain a better understanding of higher education and to make informed choices about their future.

For further information please contact Jack Fox in the Partnership Development Office.

University staff are encouraged to sign-up for a free app service, providing round-the-clock safety reassurance.

SafeZone is a simple-to-use application that’s free to download. It’s designed to help staff and students summon security or safety assistance via their mobile phones.

The app works within designated zones covering the Canterbury and Medway campuses (including Historic Dockyard, Chatham and Liberty Quays student accommodation), as well as our centres in Tonbridge, Brussels and Paris.

Many staff and current students have already signed-up and it is hoped that the majority of new students will download the app when they arrive in September.

From September, the app will also enable the University send targeted notification messages to staff and students in the event of an on-campus incident and help locate and mobilise first aid trained staff and fire marshals.

The SafeZone app is part of a suite of security software leased by the University from CriticalArc, a global technology company with headquarters in Australia and offices in the UK, Bahrain and the US.

Find out more and sign-up on our SafeZone webpages.

Auctioning babies makes sense; the babies go to new parents who’ve proved by paying more than anyone else that they will give them the best start in life; the parents who’ve brought them into the world get real compensation for their pain and trouble. At least that’s what everyone in Market World thinks.

Professor Taylor Gooby’s novel, The Baby Auction follows the story of Ed, a tough, spirited and streetwise young woman, and Matt, innocent and loyal, an outsider, hate this world, where the market decides everything. Anna, a successful business woman and Dain one of the Enforcers who police the city, think it offers a brave new world.

The Baby Auction tells the story of Ed and Matt’s love and of their struggle against Market World, of their pain and trials and ultimate escape. It also tells how Anna and Dain come to discover that there is more to life that success in the city, and that they must overcome the contempt of all those around them, mistrust and betrayal before they can prove their love for each other through self-sacrifice.

Professor Taylor Gooby explains why he wrote The Baby Auction: ‘I became an academic because I am passionate about social justice and want to understand how modern civilised societies permit injustice, inequality and oppression. How can people exploit their fellow citizens for profit? How can someone treat another person without respecting them, as a person? That’s what people do in market societies.

‘My writing and research made me one of the leading academics in the field but it never really answered these questions. I wrote The Baby Auction to understand how real human characters, striving and struggling and loving in a world driven entirely by market forces might live a humane and generous life. Market forces may shape.’

Find out more at Google Books.

Due to heavy water leakage, the paving slabs outside the main entrance to the Medway Building will be lifted to enable a waterproof membrane to be installed. The work will take place from Monday 1 August to Friday 12 August.

During this period, access to the entrance will be limited during these urgent repairs; however, we will endeavour to keep the door in operation as much as is feasibly possible. Barriers will be erected around the affected areas with relevant signage advising of alternative access routes.

The work will be completed as quickly as possible and with minimal disruption, although there will be some noise disruption.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and your patience in this matter is greatly appreciated. If you have any queries, please contact the Estates Helpdesk on 01227 823209.

Paul Potter, Maintenance Assistant

Sunday August 7 sees the launch celebration event for both the first public manifestation of the Stour Valley Creative Partnership (SVCP) and new student forest commissions in Kings Wood, Challock. Fine Art Students from both the School of Music and Fine Art and the University of Creative Arts have installed temporary installations in the forest.

SVCP, formed to continue the legacy of Stour Valley Arts which closed last year after 21 years due to Arts Council England funding cuts, is a new partnership between Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership, Ashford Borough Council, Forestry Commission, Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, University for the Creative Arts and the University of Kent.

Diane Comley, Partnership Office for Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership comments: ‘We are holding this, our first public event, as we want to celebrate achieving most of our first goal to secure the legacy of SVA. University students from both UCA and University of Kent’s School of Music & Fine Art have been visiting the woods and four new sculptures have been created to be on display over the summer. Please come and join us to celebrate these new beginnings and this wonderful resource.’

Tim Meacham, Lecturer in Fine Art and Partner College Liaison Officer from the School of Music and Fine Art, who will represent SMFA and the Ian Bride School of Anthropology & Conservation said:

‘The partnership continues the long standing relationship between the University and Kings Wood forest, ensuring that students from a variety of disciplines like fine art, architecture and anthropology, will continue to benefit from the extension of their studies and the opportunity for public engagement which activities in the forest offer.’

The event is on Sunday August 7 from 11.00 to 14.00, Kings Wood, Challock, Kent.

For more info go to: http://www.kentishstour.org.uk/major-projects/stour-valley-creative-partnership/