The University Cecilian Choir, conducted by Dan Harding, will take listeners on a choral pilgrimage through Europe, in a lunchtime concert at St Thomas’ Catholic Church, Burgate, Canterbury on Thursday 16 March.

The concert starts at 13.10, admission is free with a retiring collection.

The Choir, comprising students, staff and alumni of the University, will unveil a programme of music including works by JC Bach, Lassus, Gounod, Victoria and Ola Gjeilo.

More details: https://www.kent.ac.uk/music/whatson.html

As part of the School of Politics and International Relations Public Speaker Programme, we are pleased to welcome Bruno Waterfield, Brussels correspondent for The Times.

The talk will take place on Thursday 6th April at 18.15 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 3, followed by a drinks reception in Grimond Foyer. This event has been rearranged from 29 March.

This is a free event and booking is not required. All are welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there. For further information, please contact polirnews@kent.ac.uk.

More than nine months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, where are we now? What does the response to the vote tell us? Is Britain about to discover that sovereignty is a myth? What is it anyway? And is democracy too dangerous in a “post truth” era or when the “dog whistle” sounds to rally the xenophobic masses?

With personal experience of over 14 years as a reporter in the legendary Brussels bubble, Bruno Waterfield, of The Times, will give a sometimes irreverent take on life after Brexit. Exploring the EU’s historical development, this event will examine the roots of the populist challenge to the international and domestic political order amid turbulent elections across Europe.

Wed 8 March, Colyer-Fergusson Hall, 13.10

Daniel Harding, director

A Feelin’ You’re Foolin’…

General Harding’s Tomfoolery, the 12-piece dance-band performing from original band-parts from the 1930s through to the 1950s, invite you to bring your dancing-shoes as we recreate the Golden Age of Swing! Programme includes classics such as The Charleston, American Patrol, Tuxedo Junction and Moonlight Serenade, with close-harmony singers, The Minervettes. There will be dancing: period costumes also welcome!

T: admission free

Dr Eleni Kapogianni, Lecturer in Linguistics in the Department of English Language & Linguistics, will be guest speaker at the International Institute of Korean Studies colloquium, to be held at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) on Wednesday 8 March 2017, with a talk entitled ‘Language-Specific, Culture-Specific, and Universal Characteristics of Irony and Sarcasm’.

The talk is scheduled for 15.00. To attend, please email Dr Hae-Sung Jeon at UCLAN at: HJeon1@uclan.ac.uk

The use of irony comes so naturally that it is reasonable to suppose that it is a universal human skill. Studies on genetically and culturally distant languages indicate that sarcastic and non-sarcastic irony is indeed omnipresent. What hasn’t been investigated extensively, however, is which features of irony are truly inherent to its nature (therefore universal) and which are language- and culture-sensitive. In her talk, Eleni will focus mainly on Korean and English, reviewing existing data and analyses that provide clues on three culture-specific issues of (a) the boundary between sarcastic and non-sarcastic irony, (b) the use of self-irony and positive-irony, (c) the relationship between irony and (im)politeness. In order to further the discussion on language-specific versus universal characteristics of irony, she will also present preliminary findings from a survey investigating speakers’ intuitions about the use of irony in 12 selected languages.

The talk is scheduled for 15.00. To attend, please email Dr Hae-Sung Jeon at UCLAN at: HJeon1@uclan.ac.uk

Students at the University had the rare opportunity to observe a real-life Dragon’s Den style investors meeting.

The Kent Investors Network held its February meeting at the Kent Business School’s Canterbury campus with five businesses seeking investment.

Usually such meetings are held strictly in private, with only potential investors and businesses invited. The chance for students to see behind the scenes has come about through the business school’s wide contacts with the county’s business community.

For students on the Business Start-Up Journey – the business school’s flagship student enterprise programme – it was the chance to see how potential investors quiz a business looking for backing.

At the end of the Journey, selected students will themselves pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, hoping to win a cash award to develop their business.

Student, Jai Sun, said: “This was an excellent event. We are getting so much help learning how to run our own businesses. It is excellent.”

The Kent Investors Network was founded in 2009 and is comprised of a group of angel investors who consider investing in high-growth businesses or start-ups seeing funding.

Typical investments range from between £50,000 to £1million. Members are generally successful business people from a range of backgrounds including finance, ecommerce and marketing.

The Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee is the main forum for consideration and negotiation between the University and its staff. Its membership includes Management, Union, and Staff representatives who meet each term. The second meeting of the academic year is due to take place on Wednesday 01 February 2017. The Committee website contains links to all of the previous meeting minutes and forth coming meeting papers.

If you would like to comment on any of the Agenda items / papers, please contact your Representatives.

GMB representatives:
– Lou Cogger (l.cogger@kent.ac.uk)
– Robin Hornsey (r.k.hornsey@kent.ac.uk)

UCU representatives:
– Dr Owen Lyne (o.d.lyne@kent.ac.uk)
– Dr Paul Hubert (p.j.hubert@kent.ac.uk)
– Sian Lewis-Anthony (s.lewis-anthony@kent.ac.uk)
– Mark Dean (g.m.dean@kent.ac.uk)
Unison representatives:
– Phil Rogers (p.rogers-89@kent.ac.uk)
– Derek Baldwin (unisonbranchsec@kent.ac.uk)
– Katie Norton (K.S.Norton@kent.ac.uk)

Unite representative:
– Trevor Reece (t.w.reece@kent.ac.uk)

Non-union staff:
– Mark Ellis (M.K.Ellis@kent.ac.uk)
– Linda Lough (l.m.lough@kent.ac.uk)
– Stephen Rowlstone (s.rowlstone@kent.ac.uk)

The Learning and Development Team are delighted to announce their new Mentoring webpages, including the launch of the new Kent Staff Mentoring Scheme.

It is intended that the new Staff Mentoring Scheme will offer support, structure, information and guidance for all aspects of staff mentoring needs which may include career planning and development, promotion, dealing with difficult work relationships or situations, and support areas of work-life balance.

The Staff Mentoring Scheme is a fantastic opportunity for staff to become more involved in mentoring either as a mentor, mentee or both. As part of the launch of the scheme, complimentary introductory and skills workshops will be available for staff before any commitment to a mentorship is confirmed and starts, and will be held in Canterbury and Medway. For staff who wish to participate in these workshops, please book a place via the Learning and Development.

In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding the Kent staff Mentoring Scheme, please do not hesitate to contact Jena Dady, Learning and Development Adviser J.Dady@kent.ac.uk or a member of the Learning and Development team ldev@kent.ac.uk.

The Student Learning and Advisory Service shares their top revision and exam tips.

Get ready early
Exams often seem a long way away then suddenly uncomfortably near! Don’t let time defeat you, start preparing for exams as soon as possible. Do a little bit each week, step up the amount later. Build up your revision-strength gradually for maximum examination athleticism. Find out more about revision and exams.

Organise your revision and make a timetable
Make a revision timetable which leaves empty spaces to cater for real emergencies. Do a spell of revision before each urgent task. Pick up additional tips and prepare for exams at SLAS workshops.

Also, have a look at our online revision and exams leaflets.

Learn to ‘over-learn’
Over-learning simply means re-writing notes, using index cards and trying varied and interesting ways of going over material. Don’t write out essays and learn them off by heart. It is better to spend time reflecting on a range of answers so that you over-learn the material. Pick up additional tips and prepare for exams at SLAS workshops.

Also, have a look at our online revision and exams leaflets.

Always carry work with you
Break the work up into small pieces. Always carry work with you. Carry an exam question in your head and scribble down ideas at odd moments. Pick up additional tips and prepare for exams at SLAS workshops.

Also, have a look at our online revision and exams leaflets.

Use exam papers from former years
Familiarise yourself with instructions written on exam papers. These can be difficult to understand if you read them for the first time under the stress of exam conditions. You will feel prepared and more confident. Check which questions come up regularly and brainstorm answers to them. Pick up additional tips and prepare for exams at SLAS workshops.

Also, have a look at our online revision and exams leaflets.