‘Thinking and working beyond the discipline: building student confidence, creativity and employability’ is the title of a workshop taking place on Thursday 16 February 2017, from 16.30 – 17.45, in Grimond Seminar Room 5(Canterbury Campus).

The workshop will be presented by Dr Ian Bride (School of Anthropology and Conservation, Social Sciences Faculty and winner of a Social Sciences Faculty Teaching Prize in 2016) as part of the ‘Developing Teaching for Experienced Staf’ at the University.

Dr Bride fully concurs with Frier’s view that education should offer means by which we build critical, intellectual and practical capacities through creative and experiential learning that enable people to deal with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. In the context of his School, he therefore seeks to challenge students to question the value of natural (and social) science generated knowledge as the only (or certainly, the most valuable and relevant) form for directing the design and implementation of successful conservation strategies. This informs the practice Dr Bride will be talking about in this session; practice that is undertaken both within and outside the formal curriculum. The hope is that participants will be able to relate his approach to their own learning and teaching practice, and consider similar innovative interventions therein.

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

Dr Bike is a free service available to University of Kent students and staff. Trained bicycle mechanics come to campus to check over and adjust your bike for free.

Dr Bike is visiting Medway campus on the following dates:

• Thursday 9 February 2017
• Thursday 9 March 2017
• Thursday 11 May 2017
• Thursday 8 June 2017

Dr Bike will be located on the grass in front of Rochester Building on the Pembroke campus between 11.30 and 14.30 on these days. Please check the @unikent_travel twitter feed (which can also be seen on the Transport News webpage) for confirmation on the day.

In response to recent statistics that guests on Radio 4’s long-running Desert Island Discs who choose Classical Music are now in the minority, SMFA Lecturer Dr Ben Curry was interviewed by Radio Kent’s Julia George on his reaction.

A fascinating discussion followed, which touched on ways of listening, memory and identity in relation to how we choose and perceive music.

You can hear the interview on Radio Kent’s Best of the Week (29 January 2017) – Ben’s contribution is at 1:15.

Dr Jo Pettitt and Dr Axel Stähler from the Department of Comparative Literature will host a post-film discussion of Denial (2016) at the Curzon Canterbury cinema on Thursday 9 February 2017.

Denial is a timely drama that emphasises the importance of history and the ongoing battle to prevent it being rewritten, directed by Mick Jackson. Adapted by David Hare from Deborah E. Lipstadt’s book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier, the powerful film features a startling turn by Timothy Spall as David Irving, the discredited historian who sued Lipstadt for libel over his beliefs about the Holocaust.

Jo and Axel will discuss issues brought up in the film, the history from which this film is based and its political connotations that are relevant today.

The film starts at 18.15 and the discussion will take place in the foyer afterwards at 20.30. The Curzon cinema advises booking for the film in advance.

For more details of the Curzon Canterbury, please see: www.curzoncinemas.com/canterbury/info

You may have already seen the University’s new mobile catering unit situated on the Jarman Plaza.

The Street Kitchen is street food at its best – serving fresh, home-made dishes quickly and at great prices. With dishes costing £4, the menu changes every week to keep things interesting and to offer something that everyone will love. We accept the KentOne card as well as cash and debit/credit cards. Students with a catering package can use their credits too.

The Street Kitchen is open from 10.00, check out our blackboards to find out what’s on this week. We’re open to ideas, so if you’d like to see us serving a favourite dish or national cuisine, come and let the catering team know at catering@kent.ac.uk

Applications are now open for the spring 2017 Public Engagement with Research Fund.

This fund (£20,000) builds on the University’s commitment to embed public engagement with research across the institution. The fund is open to applications (maximum budget £2000) from academics in all three Faculties with a deadline of 17.00 on Monday 13 March 2017.

Information on the activities funded in the last round of this fund (summer 2016) is available at https://www.kent.ac.uk/publicengagement/per-summer-2016-awards.html

The application form and guidance is available on the public engagement pages at https://www.kent.ac.uk/publicengagement/per-fund.html

Please read the guidance carefully before you write your application. If you have any questions about the fund or wish to discuss a potential application please email Maddy Bell, Impact & Engagement Officer, at peresearch@kent.ac.uk.

Welcome back! We hope you had a great vacation and that you’re feeling refreshed. Our new Sport at Kent booklet has something for everyone, whether you’re a student, staff or member of the public. There are even activities for non-members. Pick up a copy, choose something you like and give it a try!

Kent Sport is pleased to provide a brand new service on the Canterbury campus; the Cycle Hub. This fantastic facility will provide bicycle rental completely free of charge for Gold and Silver members. You can also use the facility for bicycle maintenance and ask the experts for advice on everything cycling related.

Kent Sport provides an exciting range of fitness and dance classes at the Sport Centre such as circuits, Zumba, BodyPump, spinning, Hatha Yoga and many more. And watch out for FitnessFest coming on the 13 March – for one night only Jeni is back!

Some events do not require membership like our Let’s Play initiative which offer a wide range of activities from just £1 such as basketball, table tennis, volleyball and many more. Let’s Play also run This Girl Can weight lifting sessions, climbing and swimming lessons.

Popular termly one-off events return with UV sports night, bubble football and many more offered for as little as £2 per person.

On 3 March, Kent Sport will once again be hosting the Firewalk in support of Pilgrims Hospice. Be brave and sign up for this great charity event!

The Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic will once again be hosting the triathlon camp, which aims to give targeted advice and guidance to participants to improve their performance. The camp runs from the 10 to 12 March.

For more information, download the Sport at Kent booklet or pick one up from the Sports Centre and Pavilion receptions.

The Department of Religious Studies and the Department of Philosophy are jointly organising a symposium on religion and atheism on Wednesday 15 February from 13.00 – 17.00 in Keynes Seminar Room 15.

The symposium follows the recent publication of a new book entitled, Religion and Atheism: Beyond the Divide (Routledge, 2016), co-edited by Professor Richard Norman, Emeritus Professor of Morale Philosophy, in the Department of Philosophy and Dr Anthony Carroll (Heythrop College, London). The book includes chapters by Religious Studies colleague’s Professor Robin Gill, entitled ‘Faith, Ethics and Values’, and Dr Anna Strhan, entitled ‘Matters of Life and Death’.

The symposium will discuss some of the main themes of the book and seeks to move exchanges between the religious and the non-religious onto a more constructive level and do justice to the diversity of religion and belief. It includes sessions on ‘Shared Values’ with Professor Robin Gill and Professor Richard Norman, ‘Rethinking the Binary Divide’ with Dr Chris Deacy and Dr Lois Lee and ‘How Can Dialogue be Fruitful’ with Dr Anthony Carroll.

The full programme for the symposium and how to book are available at: https://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/events/index.html?eid=23676&view_by=month&date=20170213&category=&tag