Massification through the use of simulations; examples from child protection is the title of a workshop taking place on Tuesday 7 March 2017, from 12.45 to 14.00, in the UELT Seminar Room (Canterbury Campus).

The workshop will be presented by Presented by Professor Jane Reeves, Centre for Child Protection, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, Social Sciences Faculty as part of the Developing Teaching for Experienced Staff at the University.

The trend towards massification in the UK in higher education comes with both concerns and opportunities; concerns regarding quality issues but opportunities in increasing numbers to reach a wider audience with bench marked good practice. The Centre for Child Protection at the University of Kent blends real educational innovation with the opportunity to improve practice across a range of child protection professionals and help young people protect themselves from grooming and abuse online. This session will introduce you to the educational innovations the Centre has led on to enhance and modernise transferable teaching and learning in this area.

Please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk to book a place.

All staff are welcome to attend the Learning and Teaching Event on ‘Assessment and Feedback Pilot projects: Anonymous Marking and Examination Feedback’ which takes place on Wednesday 8 March 2017, 13.15-14.30 in the UELT Seminar Room (Canterbury Campus).

Presented by Dr Louise Naylor, Director of UELT and Dr Edd Pitt, Lecturer in HE and Academic practice, UELT. Edd Pitt will talk about the use of anonymity in marking and the Schools participating in the pilot of AM across modules. Staff and student views will be examined along with the practicalities of implementing anonymous marking for online assessments. Louise Naylor will look at the recently approved policy of providing exam feedback for students and how Schools have worked with the policy.

To book, please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

The University of Kent’s Online Store is an excellent platform to advertise your products, services and events.  Attracting 100’s of visitors every day, the store offers a convenient and secure solution to taking card payments and is great way to reduce associated administration.

It is also FREE to use.

Please visit our site to find out how you could use the Online Store or contact us by emailing store@kent.ac.uk tel: 816160.

A series of inspiring lectures in association with Medway U3A will take place at the University’s Medway campus from March to May 2017.

You can explore a subject purely for interest in a friendly group, led by an expert tutor.

Lectures include:

• The Black Death: plague, pestilence, and social disorder, Friday 17 March, 10.00-13.00, £15
  Julia Cruse PhD
• A history of beer in Kent, Saturday 1 April, 10.00-13.00, £15
  Jeremy Kimmel BA PGDip
• An Introduction to Modern Art, Saturday 1 April, 10.00-13.00, £15
  Katia Mai PhD
• Manipulating monarchs: Tudor and Elizabethan Propaganda, Friday 12 May, 10.00-13.00, £15
  Julia Cruse PhD
• The history of science (up to 20th century), Saturday 13 May, 10.00-13.00, £15
  Jeremy Kimmel BA PGDip
• Art in Context, Saturday 13 May, 10.00-13.00, £15
  Katia Mai PhD

To find out more and to book your place see our Tonbridge webpages or telephone 01732 352316.

The January update on Staff Connect explained the launch date had moved to March 2017 due to issues with the migration of data between the legacy and the new system. These issues have now successfully been resolved. This has been a substantial milestone towards the delivery of the project, and means we are still on track to launch Staff Connect in March.

The work undertaken by everyone involved, but especially the business who as well as completing their day job, are also having to duplicate their work in the new system, has resulted in significant progress and confidence in the planned March launch date.

Of course as with all complex projects, issues can arise at any time and therefore we will issue a further update nearer to the March pay day.

Meanwhile, if you would like to refresh your knowledge of Staff Connect, have a look at the project support site where you will find tutorials, guidance, FAQs and an online walk through of Staff Connect.

Katerina Flint-Nicol – Staff Connect Project Support Assistant

The meeting of the University’s Court on Friday 3 February 2017 was very well-attended with the highest turnout in recent years.

Members of Court gathered for refreshments before the meeting started and it was pleasing to see so many members, including Emeritus Professors, former students and former members of the University Council, return to the University for the meeting.

Sir David Warren, Chair of the University Council, chaired Court; the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, gave a presentation on the Annual Review 2016 and Bob Scruton, Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee, presented the Financial Statements for 2015/2016.

Professor Jane Reeves, Co-Director of the Centre for Child Protection, gave a presentation on innovation in teaching and learning, and the success of the award-winning Centre for Child Protection, which was very well-received.

It was the Vice-Chancellor and President’s final meeting of Court before her retirement, scheduled for August 2017, and Sir Julian Brazier, MP for Canterbury and Whitstable, thanked her for her outstanding achievements and extremely successful period of leadership.

Book your place now for the second Student Success mini-seminar, to be held on Medway and Canterbury campuses next month (March).

The seminar, which will provide an overview of the student experience activities at Kent Business School by Kayleigh Bliss and Caroline Hawkett, will take place on:

• Wednesday 8 March 2017, Medway Campus, Sail and Colour Loft Building, Seminar Room 216, 13.00-14.00.
• Friday 10 March 2017, Canterbury Campus, Marlowe Building, Lecture Theatre 2, 13.00-14.00.

The purpose of the event is to share details about student experience at Kent and to allow colleagues from across the University to meet and exchange ideas.

The seminar will provide an overview of the adaptations applied at Kent Business School Medway as part of the Student Success Project. We will discuss the School’s approach to the project and the four overarching issues that have driven our work to date; Expectations, Non-attendance, Engagement and LTA practices.

We will provide further detail on the adaptations that have proven most successful – including the introduction of peer mentoring, student report cards and the pilot of an Academic Skills Development Week for stage one students. We will also discuss where activities haven’t had the desired impact and explore reasons for this.

All staff are invited to attend. To register your attendance please email Elizabeth Buswell.

Student Success (EDI) Project bulletin

The latest Student Success (EDI) Project bulletin is now available on the staff-only section of the Student Success website.

This term’s bulletin provides a more detailed outline of the work being carried out in phase one schools. Please feel free to circulate to colleagues.

Haydn’s popular Nelson Mass will be performed in the Royal Dockyard Church, Chatham on Wednesday 29 March by the University of Kent Choir and Orchestra (Medway).

The Mass will be conducted by Dr Stelios Chatziiosifidis and the soprano will be School of Music and Fine Art alumna Philippa Hardiman. It will be preceded by a talk from Richard Holdsworth MBE about Nelson and the Historic Dockyard Chatham

In 1771, a 12 year-old Horatio Nelson arrived in Chatham to begin one of the most celebrated careers of all time. In a unique collaboration to celebrate these historic connections between Britain’s most celebrated naval figure and the award-winning Historic Dockyard Chatham, the School of Music and Fine Art (located on the Dockyard) and the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust will present a performance of the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei of Haydn’s popular Nelson Mass.

The Nelson Mass is Haydn’s largest and his only minor-key mass, set in D minor at the opening, but leading to a victorious D major finale. It is also one of his most well-known and beloved choral works, and notable for the demands on the soprano soloist. Haydn later catalogued the Nelson Mass as Missa in Angustiis (mass for troubled times).

Tickets, priced £10, are available for purchase from the Gulbenkian webpages and the Historic Dockyard.

We have been made aware that some people are parking in accessible bays on campus when not entitled to do so. It is essential that accessible bays are only used by those with a valid Government Blue Badge or accessible permit to park. If people with a real need for the bays cannot park, it can seriously disrupt their day and may result in missing lectures or work time.

Please remember that some people who require these bays:

• Have no other option but to drive and park on campus
• Require the larger bays to get out of their vehicle, for example fully opening the car door if they are in a wheelchair or on crutches
• Need to move their vehicle to other accessible bays multiple times within one day
• Need to park as close to their building as possible

If you park in accessible bays when you are not entitled to do so, you may receive a Parking Charge Notice. There is no warning given for this PCN.

If you cannot find a space, drive to another car park valid for your permit. Park Wood Courts generally have spaces available every day.

For further information please contact our parking team: parking@kent.ac.uk

All are welcome to attend Kent’s first Researching the Rainbow Conference on Wednesday 22 February from 15.30 in the Woolf Lecture Theatre, as part of LGBT History Month 2017.

The conference showcases some of the excellent research being conducted across the University related to LGBT+ issues and people, and is a fantastic opportunity to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration and networking. Research posters will also be on display. If you would like to submit a poster, please email lgbtstaffnetwork@kent.ac.uk ASAP.

Speakers include academics and students from the Schools of English, Law and History, discussing topics such as British colonial laws on sodomy, transgender and parenting identities within the law, homosexual WWII clandestine operatives and queer exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Pete Mercer from Stonewall will also be attending to provide an update on the charity’s work to support LGBT+ people, as well as Terry Gore from Catching Lives and Carin Tunaker from Porchlight, who will be talking about their research on LGBT+ homelessness.

The conference is free and open to all, including guests and alumni. You do not need to book but it would be helpful for catering purposes, if you could please register here. Further information on the agenda and other LGBT History Month activities, are on the LGBT+ Staff Network blog.