We are looking for volunteers to assist with a variety of duties at this July’s graduation ceremonies.

The ceremony dates and times are available on the Congregations webpages.

This is a special day for all of our students and staff so any help you can offer at any of the ceremonies would be appreciated as we aim to make the day as memorable as possible for all our guests. We would not be able to achieve the success of Congregations without your help.

Any helpers who volunteer at two consecutive ceremonies in one day will be provided with refreshments.

We offer full training for your roles and members of our team will be there on the day to support you.

We have a variety of roles and if you’d like to help or need further information please email congregations@kent.ac.uk with the dates and times that you are able to assist.

If you have never volunteered at Congregations, then this year is your year!

Darren Ellis
Corporate Events Manager

There’s only one week left to nominate a talented student for this year’s Kent Student Awards.

Students, staff and members of the public can nominate a student to win a Kent Student Award up until 26 February.

The awards recognise and celebrate student achievement in extracurricular areas of university life. View the award categories.

Kent Student Award winners will receive £400 and it’s something impressive to add to the CV. Runners-up will also receive £100.

Please share this with colleagues, students and local businesses to encourage nominations.

The Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies is pleased to announce its new MA programme for the 2017/18 academic year, International Heritage and Law, is now open for applications.

The MA is a distinct programme combining the study of heritage with an understanding of the legal frameworks which govern the management of our heritage. It will be of particular interest to those who wish to study cultural heritage as an academic subject, those who wish to pursue a career in international heritage and development, lawyers who want to specialise in cultural heritage issues or heritage specialists who want to acquire a better understanding of legal issues. The programme draws upon staff expertise in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies alongside staff from the Kent Law School.

Dr Sophia Labadi, Director of the new MA, commented: ‘This innovative MA will help students acquire cutting-edge knowledge and skills increasingly required to develop a career in the heritage sector.’

For more details, please see the programme page here: www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/759/international-heritage-law

Friday 24 Feb, 13.10

Daniel Harding, Douglas Haycock conductors

Cory Adams percussion

Ahead of its performance in the Cathedral Crypt, the University Chamber Choir presents choral music set amidst the backdrop of the new exhibition in Studio 3 Gallery, ‘Soft Formalities.’ Programme includes works by Purcell, Hassler, Tavener, Warlock, Alexander Campkin and Alec Roth.

T: Admission free

On Monday 13 February, 140 people gathered at the Canterbury campus at a conference on Understanding Fundraising organised by the Centre for Philanthropy.

In keeping with the Centre’s goal to be a bridge between academia and practice, attendees included fundraising scholars from across the UK, mainland Europe and North America as well as representatives from large and small charitable organisations.

Lively discussions on how race, gender, cause area and donor desires affect fundraising success, as well as the invisible nature of the fundraising role, ensured a buzzing and intellectually stimulating atmosphere.

The conference was an opportunity to showcase research conducted by both colleagues and PhD students in SSPSSR, including projects on gift giving, fundraising in schools, and the personal and social characteristics of successful fundraisers.

It was also an opportunity to spread the word about our new MA Philanthropic Studies, which is delivered part-time by distance learning and designed with the needs of both practitioners and aspiring scholars in mind.

Further information:

contact Dr Triona Fitton for details of the Masters programme
Centre for Philanthropy

Law School Professor Nick Grief (pictured) will reflect on his experiences of representing the Marshall Islands before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) when he delivers a free public talk and discussion in Canterbury next month.

Professor Grief’s talk on Tuesday 7 March, ‘Beyond Law’s Limits? Holding Nuclear-armed States to Account in the International Court of Justice’, will examine a case he was involved in for the Marshall Islands. This tiny state in the Pacific Ocean, lodged applications in the ICJ against each of the nine nuclear-armed States, accusing them of violating international law by failing to pursue in good faith and conclude negotiations for the worldwide elimination of nuclear weapons.

The talk is one of a number of free lectures organised by the Centre for Critical International Law (CeCIL) focussing on topical international legal issues . The first in the series, held in November, featured Dr Sophie Vigneron discussing the destruction of cultural heritage for religious and/or political purposes from the Byzantine era up to current events in the Middle East.

A further talk on ‘Turkey’s Gülenist Purge and the Defence of Human Rights’ is planned for Wednesday 31 May. Dr Darren Dinsmore will discuss the state of emergency in Turkey. Amongst questions he will consider will be: the limits States can place on human rights in times of emergency; the likely response of the European Court of Human Rights to Turkey’s use of emergency powers; and the role of human rights courts regarding systematic violations of human rights.

All the CeCIL events in this series take place in The Friends Meeting House, 6 The Friars, Canterbury at 7pm (with tea, coffee and light refreshments available from 6.30pm). They are free and open to all.

For further details on other CeCIL events, see the Kent Law School webpages.

The Centre for English and World Languages (CEWL) is pleased to announce its spring 2017 edition of Voicebox focusing on Internationalisation. Sebastien Cadinot, Director of CEWL, says the publication reflects how ‘we approach learning and how our educational culture influences our interactions in and out of the classroom’. It includes several articles from teaching staff who have recently had the opportunity to travel and teach  in countries such as Finland, Italy and India and explore international perspectives on Learning and Teaching. Of particular interest is the article on Finnish pedagogy written by Rebecca Coleman, EAP tutor, who taught for a week at the University of Helsinki where a negotiated syllabus is the norm and ‘the power of thought’ is strongly encouraged. For the EAP tutors that taught in Italy (Jonathan Fitchett) and India (Trisha Spencer and Charlene Earl), it is evident that the students seemed to enjoy a more communicative approach in terms of pedagogy which interestingly corresponds with the methodology we employ with our international students here at CEWL.  For more VoiceBox articles, please click the following link: https://www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/about/voicebox.html

Fauré’s Requiem will be performed by the University Chamber Choir on Friday 3 March in The Crypt at Canterbury Cathedral.

Conducted by Daniel Harding and Douglas Haycock, the concert features a new chamber edition by Michael Higgins of Fauré’s sublime setting, releasing its radiant harmonies, against the backdrop of the Cathedral’s evocative Eastern Crypt.

Also including works by Purcell, Warlock, Lassus, Alexander Campkin and Alec Roth, the concert presents fragments of dreams, desire, loss, dance, beauty and sleep, culminating in a tranquil vision of redemption and eternal rest in Paradise.

Tickets, priced £13 (full) and £7 (reserved) are available from Gulbenkian webpages.

The concert is in memory of David Humphreys whose fund continues to sponsor this annual concert in memory of his wife, Julia.

The next meeting of KEIN (the Kent Enterprise and Impact Network) will take place on Tuesday 21 February, from 12:15-13:45, in the Medway Building, Room M3-04 on the Medway Campus. The event comprises a networking lunch, followed by two short presentations with Q+A, and then an informal discussion.

This session will focus on consultancy with a presentation from Dr Jaideep Oberoi, a Lecturer in Finance at Kent Business School. Jaideep developed a consultancy project with a large multi-national insurer. He will share the steps that he took to develop the project and explain why consultancy works for him.

The second speaker will be Kate Farrow from KIE’s Project Development Team. Kate is integral to the smooth running of consultancy projects as she drafts the contracts between the University and partners. Kate will share her expertise of the consultancy process and will be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you have any enterprise ideas or ideas prompted by the presentations, this is also an opportunity to share these and hear about how the University can provide support.

All University staff are welcome to attend. To reserve your place at the session, including a free buffet lunch, please make a booking via the Learning and Development website.

If you would like to come along for the presentations only, you are welcome to turn up on the day without booking a place and feel free to bring your lunch with you.

For more information about this event and the speakers, please see our Enterprise webpages.

If you have any questions or queries, please email: enterprise@kent.ac.uk or phone 01227 824754. We hope to see you there.

KEIN is a network jointly created by Kent Innovation & Enterprise (KIE) and Learning and Development (L&D). It brings together academics, researchers, technicians and other members of staff interested in collaboration, impact, innovation and enterprise activities.