The University would like to congratulate Professor Yvonne Sherwood, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Oslo in a ceremony on 1 September.

In recognition of Professor Sherwood’s research in Religious Studies, she received a Doctor Philosophiae Causa. Professor Sherwood was also invited to give an address on behalf of the new honorary doctors in the degree congregation, held in the Univeristy Aula.

Professor Sherwood has been regularly involved with the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo as an external examiner for PhD vivas, a research collaborator and guest lecturer.

This is a wonderful achievement, which acknowledges Professor Sherwood’s significant contribution to the field of Religious Studies and is also a marker of the international reputation of researchers at Kent.

Photo (left to right): Yvonne Sherwood, Professor of Biblical Cultures and Politics, University of Kent; Aud Valborg Tonnessen, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo; Svein Stolen, Rector, University of Oslo.

Credit: UiO/Terje Heiestad

The Senior Management Team within Estates are looking for inspirational members of staff who have made a difference to colleagues or customers through dedication, innovation, understanding or skill.

The Customer Services Award is given to an Estates staff member or team who:

• provided a timely and professional service to customers;
• were responsive to customer needs and requests;
• were courteous and considered the needs of the customer when making decisions.

Winners will be selected on a monthly basis, each receiving a £20 Amazon voucher.

The purpose of the award is to recognise and reward excellent customer service. Send us your nomination now

Nominations will be judged on a monthly basis with the results being published on the Estates website. The deadline for receiving nominations for the next award is 12.00 on Friday 6 October 2017.

To enhance your skills and future employability, do you know you can take either Arabic or Mandarin as part of your degree? There are still opportunities for you to sign up for various levels of studying Arabic or Mandarin from complete beginners to more advanced levels.

Benefits of language study

Learning a language is not only enjoyable, it improves your cultural awareness, develops your adaptability and makes you a more confident and effective communicator, and improves your future employability.

To expand your horizons, search our languages on the online module catalogue (https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/modules ) using the following codes: LA307, LA308, LA522 and LA523 for Arabic modules; LA302, LA303, LA502, LA503, LA518 and LA519 for Mandarin Chinese modules.

For more information, follow the link below to see what is on offer for you: https://www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/courses/world/world-lang-modules.html

The School of Politics and International Relations is delighted to invite you to an event to celebrate Professor Richard Sakwa’s 30 years at the University of Kent.

Richard will be reflecting on, and trying to make sense of, the last 30 years of Russian, European and global politics, and his time at Kent in the last three decades, in a lecture titled ‘From Gorby to Corby: The Clash of New World Orders’

The lecture will be on Wednesday 20 September 2017 in Sibson Lecture Theatre 3, commencing at 17.00. There will be opportunity for some discussion afterwards, followed by a drinks reception held in Sibson Atrium from 18.45 until 20.00.

After periods working at the University of Essex and then the University of California, Santa Cruz, Richard joined the School on 1 September 1987. Since then, in numerous books, journal articles, chapters and edited works, he has written about the fall of the Soviet Union, the challenges facing post-communist Russia, the nature of the 1989 anti-revolutions, the turbulence in Europe, and developments in global politics. His latest book is Russia against the Rest: The Crisis of Post-Cold War Order (Cambridge University Press, due out in autumn 2017)

This is a free event but please confirm or decline your attendance to Jill Hayes via this link https://doodle.com/poll/tef6fum39rx2z6sz by adding your name and ticking the box if you are able to attend

Please email Jill Hayes (J.Hayes@kent.ac.uk) confirmation or decline, should you have any difficulty with responding to the RSVP link above

Richard is very much looking forward to seeing you at his celebratory event!

The Templeman Library is open across all four floors!

Two years ago, the centre of the Library closed for refurbishment as part of the Templeman Library Development project. Now it’s open again, with new study spaces and service locations. We’re still completing some moves and changes in time for the start of term, but we encourage you to come and have a look.

Read about the main changes you’ll see around the building.

If you’re starting at our Medway campus in September, you might be wondering where to study, how to get online, and how to find the books you need for your course.

Here’s an overview of the library and IT services you can use.

Drill Hall Library

The Drill Hall Library is your main library at Medway. It has the books and you need, plus study spaces, PCs and laptops, printers, photocopiers and scanners, and support for your subject.

• Read this useful guide to the Drill Library. It tells you the basics, like when it’s open and how many books you can borrow.
• Visit the Library for your induction session, which has been pre-arranged by your School or department, to learn your way around.
• Look out for games, competitions and fun prizes in Welcome Week.

IT services for you

Here are some of the IT services you can use as a Kent student:

• Over 500 student PCs, laptops and 800 study spaces in the Drill Hall Library and University of Kent buildings. All the PCs in Kent buildings have Windows 10
• University WiFi (eduroam) in all buildings at Medway. You can set it up before you arrive on campus
  • Print, copy and scanning machines across campus
• If you need IT help, visit the Welcome Desk in the Drill Hall Library, or contact our IT & Library Support Desk.

Research students

Need a space to work? You can use the Postgraduate Researchers’ Room in the Drill Hall Library. This newly designed and furbished room is available for postgraduates from all three Medway universities, providing an excellent space to study, network, practice presentations and meet those with similar research interests.

Not a Medway student?

If you’re at Canterbury and you need a book that’s only in the Drill Hall Library, you can request it to be delivered to the Templeman Library through LibrarySearch.

You can also visit our Medway campus and use the Drill Hall Library. To borrow books, you’ll just need your KentOne card.

A shuttle bus runs in term time between Medway and Canterbury campuses.

Want to know more?

Visit our Hello Library and IT! website for more tips and guides.