Monthly Archives: November 2016

Audience with an Ash: Artist Talk on December

The School of Music and Fine Art Visiting is delighted that Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey will be delivering the Visiting Artist Talk on Tuesday 6 December in the Royal Dockyard Church at 18.15. The talk is free to attend.

The artists will be talking especially about their role in the development of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding National Beauty, which has been awarded Heritage Lottery and Arts Council funds to help record and raise awareness of ash tree die back.

For 25 years, Ackroyd & Harvey’s work has been exhibited in contemporary art galleries, museums and public spaces worldwide; sculpture, photography, architecture, ecology and biology are disciplines that intersect in their work, revealing an intrinsic bias towards process and event. Often reflecting environmental and scientific concerns, they are acclaimed for large-scale interventions in sites of architectural interest.

The Ash Project is an urgent cultural response to the devastating effects of Ash dieback, and combines a major new commission by Ackroyd and Harvey which will continue their environmental investigations and will result in a large scale public artwork supported by cultural institutions in Kent and in landscape partnerships across the country. The commission is complimented by a two year programme of public engagement to include artists’ walks, green wood working, an evolving Ash Archive, public programmes at University of Kent and Folkestone Triennial.

For more info go to http://www.ackroydandharvey.com/ and http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/getting-involved/the-ash-project

University Carol Service and staff tickets

The Chaplaincy is now accepting requests from staff for (free) tickets for the University Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral.

This year’s event takes place on Tuesday 13 December at 20.00. Full details are available on the relevant pages of www.kent.ac.uk/chaplaincy

Requests for staff tickets will be honoured until the allocation of tickets for staff runs out. In past years the supply has normally been exhausted within three or four days of this announcement.

This year’s Carol Service appeal will be for Porchlight, a major local homelessness charity (Registered Charity No 267116).

A half moon rising behind Canterbury Cathedral at night. Kent.

Student Tickets to University Carol Service

The University Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral is on Tuesday 13 December at 20.00.

Free tickets for students will be given out in the foyer of the Grimond Building on Monday 5 December at 12.45 and at Woolf Lecture Theatre, on Tuesday 6 December at 19.00.

In order to stand the best chance of getting a ticket on either occasion you will need to arrive earlier than the distribution time and join a queue. Strictly one ticket issued per student presenting themselves in person, with ID, at the ticket distributions.

Fancy acting a bit Wyrd?

The University of Kent Players are looking for people to join them, either on stage or back stage, in their next production – Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters, adapted by Stephen Briggs.

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, this comedy tells the story of three witches trying to save the kingdom of Lancre from the evil Duke and Duchess and to ease the mind of the lately murdered King Verence.

The production will be supporting the Orangutan Foundation, of which Terry Pratchett was a trustee and long-standing supporter.

Auditions take place on Thursday 1 December and Tuesday 13 December at 17.30 in Keynes Senior Common Room, with the production taking to the Gulbenkian stage 6-8 April 2017.

There is also a read-through of the play tonight (Tuesday 22 November) at 17.30 in Cornwallis South S33. Just come along and join in – no obligation!

If you are interested in being involved in this production in any way, please email the Players for further information.

 

Microsoft Office 2016 available for staff

If you use a standard University staff PC, you can download Microsoft Office 2016 now.

This means that you can choose when you get it. In January 2017 all Staff Managed Desktop PCs will be moved onto Office 2016.

How to download Office 2016 on a Staff Managed Desktop:

    • Close all Office programs.
    • Click Start.
    • Click ‘Install a Program from the Network’ – search for this if you don’t see it.
    • Select Office 2016 from the list of available programs.

Once you’re using it, please contact us if anything is confusing or not working as it should. We’ll either find a workaround or help move you back to Office 2013.

Software compatibility

Even if Office 2016 isn’t listed as compatible with some software, issues are likely to be insignificant. Most software should still work well if it works now with Office 2013. Software providers are cautious about claiming compatibility if they haven’t finished extensive testing.

Getting Office 2016 for other PCs or devices

To get Office 2016 on a staff laptop or non-standard staff PC or Mac, or your own personal device:

  • Ask your line manager or department’s IT person
  • If you manage your University owned laptop, PC or Mac, you can borrow a disc from the Welcome Desk in Templeman West (contact us if you’re not on the Canterbury campus).
  • You can get an educational discount for Office 2016 on your personal laptop, tablet or computer

Sign-up now for Charity Santa Run

Get in the Christmas spirit and join in the Santa Run on Wednesday 7 December.

The 3.5km charity fun run, hosted by Kent Sport, starts and finishes at The Pavilion, Parkwood, on Canterbury campus. You can join in the fun from 12.00-14.00, with the run starting at 13.00. Cost is £2 and tickets can be bought in advance at The Pavilion or Sports Centre reception or on the day.

There will be a free hot chocolate and mince pie waiting for every runner at the finish line as well as Santa’s lucky dip. All runners will receive an official chip time with the top three males and females receiving a medal.

Facebook event: http://ow.ly/iEwa306pNnM

Kent expert’s evidence published in Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill

Expert evidence submitted by heritage law expert Dr Sophie Vigneron was published in the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill ahead of the completion of its Public Bill Committee stage last week.

The Bill, introduced to Parliament by the Government on 19 May 2016, aims to enable the UK to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and accede to its two Protocols. The Convention entered into force in 1956 and has now been ratified by 127 states. The UK signed the Convention in December 1954 and has been publicly committed to ratifying it since 2004.

Dr Vigneron, the author of several articles on the protection of cultural heritage at a national and international level and of a book on the regulation of auctions in France and in England, submitted written comments on clauses 16, 17 and 21 of the Bill.

Within clause 16, Dr Vigneron commented upon the definition of unlawfully exported cultural property and urged inclusion of reference to the 1954 UNESCO Convention. She fully supported comments submitted by Professor Ulph on Clause 17 regarding the mental test (mens rea) where it is argued that a subjective test of ‘knowing or suspecting’ would be best to deter secrecy in the art market. Commenting on a reference to ‘good faith and without knowledge’ in Clause 21, Dr Vigneron said it was ‘not conducive of a higher standard of care by buyers or traders in the art world.’

Dr Vigneron is a member of the Institute of Art and Law, and the Société internationale pour la recherche sur le droit du patrimoine culturel. You can watch Dr Vigneron talking about cultural heritage law in her TED style ‘Think Kent’ lecture on YouTube.

pubTALK special – Trump and Brexit: the end of political polling?

‘Trump and Brexit: the end of politicial polling?’ is the theme of a pubTALK special on
Thursday 1 December at The Jolly Sailor, Canterbury, from 19.00

The last six months have seen two cataclysmic events in politics. The UK voted to leave the EU, and Donald Trump was elected to the White House. Most polls saw neither result coming.

In 2015, after the general election polling ‘miss’ in Britain, questions were raised over the value of polling, with one Labour peer saying polls were ‘corrupt’ and should be banned during election campaigns. After the polling fiascos of 2016, this debate is set to ignite once again.

In light of this, Q-Step are excited to host a panel discussion followed by a Q&A on the future of opinion polling in politics. Should polls be banned? Are they reliable anymore? What worth do they have for democracies today?

Josh TownsleyDee GoddardJack Bridgewater and Tom Barton will lead the discussion on Thursday 1 December at The Jolly Sailor please arrive from 19.00 for a 19.30 start. As always, the evenings are free to attend and anyone is welcome to attend.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch or you can get up to date information via our website or mailing list.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Keli Jenner/ Joe Warriner

Website: www.kent.ac.uk/qstep
Twitter: @UniKentQstep
Tel: 01227 827716 | E-mail: qstep-info@kent.ac.uk

Keynes College – Annual maintenance

Keynes College annual maintenance will take place from Saturday 7 January until Friday 13 January 2017.

There will be a total power shutdown on Sunday 8 January 2017 from 08:00-12:00 which will affect Keynes College and Careers.

Fire alarm testing will also take place on Sunday 8 January 13:30 – 15:00 in Keynes College and Careers where the fire alarms will sound continuously; this is to ensure they are operating correctly.

There will be electrical testing of study bedroom corridors and cleaning and re-lamping of lighting in general areas and teaching spaces.

We apologise for any inconvenience this work may cause, if you have any queries please contact the Estates Helpdesk on extn. 3209.

Eliot College – Annual maintenance

Eliot College annual maintenance will take place from Saturday 17 December 2016 until Friday 13 January 2017.

There will be a total power shutdown on Sunday 18 December from 08:00-12:00 which will affect Eliot College, Eliot Extension, Becket Court and also the Senate and Mandela Buildings.

Fire alarm testing will also take place on 18 December from 13:30 – 15:00 in Eliot College, Eliot Extension, Becket Court and the Senate and Mandela buildings, where the fire alarms will sound continuously; this is to ensure they are operating correctly.

There will be electrical testing of study bedroom corridors and cleaning and re-lamping of lighting in general areas and teaching spaces.

Electrical safety checks will be carried out in the main kitchen and Mungos Bar.

We apologise for any inconvenience this work may cause, if you have any queries please contact the Estates Helpdesk on extn. 3209.