Monthly Archives: March 2017

The Band at the Marlowe

The Marlowe are excited to announce that The Band, a brand new musical featuring the songs of Take That, is coming to Canterbury from Tuesday 20 February to Saturday 3 March 2018.

Created in association with Britain’s most successful band and written by Olivier-Award winning writer Tim Firth, it stars the winning band from the BBC One television show Let it Shine.

Tickets are on sale to University on Saturday 1 April at 09.00. To book call the Box Office at 01227 787787 and quote season code MARCOR171 .

UK withdrawal from the European Union

From Anthony Manning, Dean for Internationalisation and Rory Murray, Kent Union President

Dear Students

As you will be aware, the government has recently taken forward additional steps, through the triggering of Article 50, which will lead to UK’s exit from the European Union. Given this situation, Rory Murray, Kent Union President, and I would like to reiterate the fact that the University of Kent remains committed to the values of international education. These values are, and will always be, a fundamental aspect of the University’s Internationalisation Strategy and are also central to the key principles which underpin the activities of Kent Union.

The University and the Union remain committed to supporting students and staff as further details linked to the implications or Brexit emerge.

To find out more about what we’re doing and what support and advice is available to you, please contact

In addition UUK has complied a series of FAQs which may assist you with queries that you have:

As the UK’s European university, Kent’s connections with Europe and the wider international world, in the form of students, staff, educational-provision and research, are of critical importance to the nature of our global impact.

This is why, since the outcome of the EU referendum, we have been proactive in supporting our community and highlighting the necessary ongoing importance of Europe and the wider international world for Kent the wider UK Higher Education sector:

Some of our activities to date have been summarized below:

  • Lobbying linked to key areas of Brexit-related impact for students and staff, with Universities UK (UUK), in line with the Brexit priorities document which is available here. This is very much with the support of our Vice-Chancellor, who is also the current national president of UUK
  • New agreements and associated meetings with European Universities to allow ongoing European student exchange
  • Development and support of European and other international partnerships to facilitate ongoing educational collaborations
  • Support through Human Resources for our staff who feel impacted by the impact of Brexit
  • Collaboration with UUK’s International division to inform governmental decision making linked to the future of Erasmus+
  • Communications with students and staff through the Internationalisation Forum, staff meetings and the forthcoming Europe Day
  • Student and staff communications through web and email via schools and professional service departments to clarify matters of concern as they have arisen, either in line with governmental information or the queries of individuals
  • International and cultural events across campuses

As a manifestation of our recognition of the importance of the many dimensions of our internationalisation, please see one or more of the video-inks below which demonstrate how, as students and staff at Kent, there are many ways in which #WeAreEuropean and that, one way or another, we are #ALLinternational:

Student WeAreEuropean Video
Staff WeAreEuropean Video
#ALLinternational Video
#Student#GlobalCitizenship Video

Anthony Manning (Dean for Internationalisation) deaninternational@kent.ac.uk

Rory Murray (Kent Union President), Union-President@kent.ac.uk

Student Success Mini Seminar – 19 April

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

We are delighted to confirm the seminar, which will provide an overview of the revised Academic Advisor System in Psychology, will be held by Dr Emma Alleyne on:

– Wednesday 19 April 2017, Canterbury Campus, Keynes College, Lecture Theatre 4, 13.00-14.00.

Past implementation of the Academic Adviser System in the School of Psychology has resulted in limited engagement by staff and students. The purpose of this seminar is to introduce the new format taken within the School and present some of the early lessons learned and plans for future development.

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

We can also confirm that the fourth seminar will be delivered by Prof Toni Williams, Head of Kent Law School, and will present an excellent opportunity to learn more about Micro-Affirmation theory.

The seminar will take place on Wednesday 10th May 2017, Canterbury Campus, Woolf Seminar Room 6, 13.00-14.00 further information will be circulated shortly, but please do make a note in your diaries.

Prof Dame Julia Goodfellow, Vice-Chancellor

UK withdrawal from the European Union

Dear Colleagues,

The Prime Minister has now written to the President of the European Council announcing formally the UK’s intention to withdraw from the European Union. There will be a process lasting two years during which the terms of withdrawal are to be agreed. The timescale can be extended only if there is a unanimous vote at the European Council.

The period while negotiations take place is likely to create uncertainty for many of us. A wide range of issues concerning our present relationship with the European Union are clearly going to be affected. I want to take this opportunity of setting out what the higher education sector – and this University – is doing on the issues that are likely to be of most concern for us.

Most important, from my perspective is for there to be clarity on the status of EU citizens living in the UK. I was pleased that the Prime Minister’s letter states that she hopes to strike an early agreement on the rights of citizens living in the United Kingdom and UK citizens living in the EU. The University employs about 800 staff who are able to live and work in the UK under EU Treaty rights. Many more of us – myself included – have family members who are also affected. A favourable resolution of this issue is the very top priority for Universities UK, the national organisation that I currently head. I, and my fellow Vice Chancellors, are making clear both to the government and to our local Members of Parliament the vital contribution that our international community contributes not only to our teaching, learning, research and campus experience, but also to the economy, culture and social fabric of our region.

The University has offered practical support to our staff which it will be keeping under review. Details can be found at:

https://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffinformation/hr-referendum/

The Brexit negotiations will of course need to reach conclusions in a wide range of other areas. There will be a short and long term perspective. There is a UUK briefing that sets out comprehensively our objectives and our actions to promote these objectives:

https://www.kent.ac.uk/european/advice/government-brexit-priorities-universities.pdf

The University of Kent’s own responses include:

  • Developing and supporting our European and other international partnerships to facilitate ongoing collaboration in research and education. Phillipe De Wilde and Anthony Manning are leading on this.
  • Reaffirming our commitment to international student exchanges – Erasmus will be a major theme of Europe Day (9 May) this year.
  • Active support for a simplified and improved visa regime for international staff and international students;
  • Reviewing opportunities for our European Centres

As the UK’s European university, Kent values intellectual and cultural diversity. We are proud to be an outward-facing and international institution with more than 25% of our students and nearly 40% of academic and research staff coming from outside the UK. I am confident that, whatever happens within the wider political picture, the strength of our own European vocation will endure.

Best wishes

Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, Vice-Chancellor

Centre for Critical Thought Lecture with Paul Auerbach on 30 March 2017

Centre for Critical Thought Lecture: Paul Auerbach, Thursday 30 March 2017, 17.00 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 (GLT1).

‘Socialist optimism: an alternative political economy for the twenty-first century’

The Centre for Critical Thought invite you to their forthcoming talk with Paul Auerbach. Paul Auerbach, Reader in Economics at Kingston University, offers an alternative political economy for the twenty-first century in Socialist Optimism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Socialism as human development gives a unity and direction to progressive policies that are otherwise seen to be a form of pragmatic tinkering in the context of a pervasive capitalist reality.

All are welcome to attend, no booking necessary.

Sports Club Night

On Saturday 25 March, the UKC Rowing Club, UKC Ultimate Frisbee Club, UKC Korfball Club, UKC Fencing Club, Kent FC and UKC American Football club battled it out at the Pavilion to win £200 for their club! Despite the cold, the teams went up against each other in heated dodgeball, hockey, netball and tag rugby fixtures.

There were strong match ups throughout the night, the Korfball team winning their hockey fixture against the Frisbee Club who despite being one pair of glasses down brought it back to win their next dodgeball game 3-0! Both the American Football and Fencing teams pulled out strong performances with a netball win for the American Footballers, despite the oddly round shaped ball, and a solid win in Tag Rugby for the Fencing lads.

Kent FC and UKC Rowing Club who were both undefeated for a long spell of the tournament and faced each other in a deciding dodgeball game! Balls were dodged, players pummelled, sweat shed and cheering heard from the UKC Rowing sub bench but in the end it was Kent FC who won the match and with the victory were named the champions and walked away with £200 for their club!

If you and your club also want the chance to win some money for your club and try out different sports, keep an eye out on the Kent Sport Facebook Page for upcoming events!

All the results from this event can be found here (http://www.toptournament.co.uk/unikentsports/5767101336780800/sports_club_night_#) and see photos from the event on Kent Sport’s Facebook page (UniKentSports).

Kent academic releases debut solo album

University of Kent School of Music and Fine Art (SMFA) lecturer and soprano Sarah Dacey released her debut solo album Calliope on 26 March.

Sarah – best known for being part of the Juice Vocal Ensemble – has teamed up with pianist Belinda Jones on the new album.

Featuring songs by some of the UK’s finest composers, including Kerry Andrew, Roger Marsh, Bushra El-Turk and Duncan MacLeod, the album is being issued by the SMFA’s Foundry Studio.

Studio Manager Phil Marsh described the songs’ subject matter as ‘eclectic’ and ‘a wonderful example of the breadth of 21st Century vocal repertoire that’s seldom published or recorded’.

For more information on Sarah Dacey see: www.sarahdacey.com

Enjoy a Pint of Science at this month’s pubTALK

It’s the last pubTALK of the academic year already – where has the time gone?!

For April’s pubTALK we are excited to be welcoming Dr Michael Mills who will be discussing Doomsday Prepping and Contemporary American Politics. As usual, the talk will be held on the first Monday of the month (3rd April) at The Jolly Sailor, Canterbury.

At this pubTALK, we are also excited to be launching the University’s Pint of Science festival! Pint of Science is an international science festival that aims to deliver exciting and relevant research to the general public in an interesting, engaging and approachable way by bringing scientists to the pub and other accessible places. Universities across the world, simultaneously host their events each year in May and covers all aspects of research which are themed under the titles ‘Beautiful Mind’, ‘Atoms to Galaxies’, ‘Our Body’, ‘Planet Earth’, ‘Tech Me Out’ and ‘Our Society’.

This year will be the first time that the University of Kent is participating, so come along to pubTALK on Monday 3rd April (7pm to 9pm) to find out what Pint of Science events will be running and how you can get tickets.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Filmmakers nominated for international award

The world premiere of ‘Do Donkeys Act?‘ takes place this month at CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.

The filmmakers, David Redmon and Ashley Sabin have been nominated for a DOX:AWARD, the international competition for the best and brightest in contemporary filmmaking.
‘Do Donkeys Act?’ attempts to overcome man’s egocentric way of seeing the world and our fellow creatures. The actor Willem Defoe’s voice accompanies the long poem, which makes up the film’s philosophical thought experiment. Is it possible to reach beyond the limits of language and arrive at a true recognition of our relationship with other species? And does a donkey ever stop staging its own donkeyness when faced with a camera?

CPH-DOX is the third largest documentary film festival in the world. Each year the festival fills Copenhagen’s cinemas with a selection of more than 200 films from around the world.

Dr David Redmon, a Lecturer in Criminology within the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, uses media to depict the experiential life of animals, objects, places, and people within haptic, somatic, and physically tactile modes of expression.

Early Career Awards for Understanding Unbelief

Further to the Understanding Unbelief programme joining the University of Kent, calls for proposals for Early Career Awards as part of the programme are now open.

The Understanding Unbelief programme is led by Dr Lois Lee from the Department of Religious Studies, along with Professor Stephen Bullivant (St Mary’s University, Twickenham), Dr Miguel Farias (Coventry University) and Dr Jonathan Lanman (Queen’s University Belfast), and is majorly funded through a generous grant from John Templeton Foundation.

The Early Career Awards stream will provide £120,000 to support contributions from early career researchers to the task of advancing our empirical understanding of the array of phenomena commonly labelled ‘unbelief’.

Through the programme, the University of Kent will make around 8 awards of around £15,000 for research activities lasting up to 18 months (proposals for research activities of shorter duration are also welcomed).

Funding may be used to support a number of research activities, including new research, further dissemination of existing research and seed funding for the development of future research projects.

Further details, including eligibility requirements and the application procedure, please refer to the information sheet provided by selecting of the two following formats:
PDF
HTML

Deadline for full proposals: Thursday 1 June 2017.

For more information on the Understanding Unbelief programme, please visit www.understanding-unbelief.net