Monthly Archives: October 2017

Kent Cricket fireworks night offer

Kent County Cricket Club is offering University staff and students discounted tickets for its Fireworks Night on Sunday 5 November.

The event is held at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, CT1 3NZ, with entertainment starting from 15.00 including a funfair, live music from Old Town Souls, competitions and more (hosted by KMFM’s Laura Nevitt).

Gates open at 15.00, fireworks display at 18.00, with live entertainment until 19.00.

Discounted ticket prices available in advance are:

Adults £6
Junior (2-14) £3
Family (2 adults, 2 juniors) £15.

Book online using promo code TEAMKENT (e-ticket only, discounted rates don’t apply to telephone bookings or purchasing at the gate).

Visit the website for further information.

For anyone looking to attend a Medway fireworks display, there is a free event held at the Great Lines Heritage Park in Gillingham on Saturday 4 November.

Dr Aki Pasoulas (SMFA)- work performed at International Computer Music Conference on 19 October

Dr Aki Pasoulas, Director of Programmes (Music), Director of Education, and Director of MAAST (Music and Audio Arts Sound Theatre) in the School of Music and Fine Art, has had his electroacoustic composition ‘Irides’ selected to be performed on Thursday 19 October in a concert at the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2017), which is the most prestigious yearly international conference for computer music researchers and composers. Held in a different country every year, the 2017 event is in Shanghai. More info can be found here.

Dr Paul March-Russell- keynote speaker at Comparative Literature Network symposium

Dr Paul March-Russell, Specialist Associate Lecturer in the Department of Comparative Literature, will be giving the keynote speech at the third Northern Comparative Literature Network symposium to be held at the University of Birmingham on 28 October 2017.

The symposium, entitled ‘Of Borders and Ecologies: Comparative Literature and the Environment’ will bring together scholars working on questions of the Environment and its representation in Comparative and World Literature.

Paul’s paper is titled ‘Combined and Uneven Developments: World Literature and Ecocriticism’. He will respond to the Warwick Research Collective’s ‘Towards a New Theory of World-Literature’ published in 2015. The authors argued that world literature must be undergirded by a Marxist analysis that proffers a world-historical view of the unevenness in economic and cultural production, exemplifying their argument by making comparisons with Franco Moretti’s application of Immanuel Wallerstein’s theory of world systems to literary development. Paul will broadly accept their argument but will also contend that their criticism of Comparative Literature is misplaced. Instead, he will show, via an analysis of how the discipline emerged, that their real target is the traditional Marxist bete noire of Formalism. He will argue that Comparative Literature has already evolved beyond its Formalist inheritance and that part of this evolution has involved an engagement with Marxism.

Attendance at the conference is free, but places are limited. To register, please email Jade Douglas stating your name, affiliation and position (MA, PhD, ECR etc.)

The full programme for the conference is available here.

Do you need help with your academic writing?

Individual Writing Tutorials give you the opportunity to discuss your academic writing with a member of staff from The Centre for English and World Languages (CEWL), who will give you advice on the structure, coherence and cohesion of your work. Individual sessions last 20-30 minutes each and are free of charge.

Course dates: Tutorials are available all year

Registration: make an appointment by emailing us.

The sessions aim to guide you through the process of revising and editing your academic writing. You will learn how to identify organisational and syntactical strengths and weaknesses in your writing and edit your own work

Please note: this is not a proofreading service.

Philosophy Sixth-Form Conference

A-Level students from the Kent region will be on campus this week to attend the School of European Culture and Language’s Philosophy Sixth-Form Conference, on Wednesday 18 October 2017.

Staff from the Department of Philosophy will be delivering sessions to give a taster for studying these subjects at university level. A mixture of seminars and plenary sessions are offered throughout the day, including such tempting titles as ‘Becoming a New Person’, ‘Do We Have Any Duty to Obey Our State’s Laws?’, ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘I Want to See Him Suffer: Pain, Punishment and the Law’, and ‘Democracy, the EU and Brexit’.

The day will run from 10.00am, with five half-hour seminars and a campus tour.

Participating members of the Department include Dr Alexandra Couto, Dr Graeme Forbes, Dr Edward Kanterian, Dr Lauren Ware and PhD student Alyx Robinson. The conference will be introduced by the Head of Department, Dr Todd Mei.

If you would like further information on participating, please contact Mary Daly.

For the full programme of events, please see the event page.

How would you enhance teaching at Kent?

Are you interested in encouraging and enabling teaching and learning innovation? Do you have a great idea that would improve the quality of teaching, teaching-related activity, support for teaching, or the student learning experience at Kent?

If so, you need to meet TESSA!

We already have University Teaching Prizes, which reward colleagues on their achievements. But sometimes what’s needed is funding to try something new, to test out an idea or a different way of working. That’s where TESSA comes in; the Teaching Enhancement Small Support Award.

We’re piloting this small grants scheme during 2017/18. You can apply for funding between £500 and £3,000, with up to £5,000 on offer for large, high-impact, collaborative projects across schools in more than one faculty, or across schools and professional service departments.

There will be two rounds of funding available this year, and the closing date for the first is 20 November 2017. All colleagues who contribute to teaching, learning or teaching support are eligible to apply – you don’t have to be an academic, or based in a school. We hope to see a wide range of applications from around the University.

Professor April McMahon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Education, says ‘I am delighted we are able to launch this new awards scheme. Every application will show how committed we are at Kent to enhancing the quality, innovation and enjoyment of teaching and learning for students and colleagues.’

Find out more and download the short application form

SLAS services just one click away

The Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) in UELT is pleased to introduce its ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM: SLAS CONNECT for all 1:1 appointments and SLAS workshops and events.

To book a 1:1 appointment with a learning advisor, Royal Literary Fellow or maths/stats tutor, please go to SLAS Connect.

To book a place on one of our wide range of study skills workshops and events, please go to SLAS Connect.

Please visit the SLAS website for further details and information about the range of programmes and initiatives that SLAS offers students and colleagues.

Estates service disruptions – Darwin and Cornwallis

Darwin Rose Garden – Removal of Trailing Cherry Trees

Removal trees will take place from Monday 16 October – Wednesday 18 October 2017

On Monday 16 October between 08.00 and 16.30, the removal of the trailing Cherry trees is due to take place.

There will be some noise disruption and some of the footpaths will be closed whilst the works are carried out.

The trees will be replaced week commencing 6 November 2017.

Cornwallis Octagon/ Computing 2 Lift Out of Order

The lift will be out of order from Friday 13 October – Friday 20 October, 2017

The Cornwallis Octagon/ Computing 2 Lift will still be out of order until Friday the 20 October 2017 due to the failure of the door mechanism. Lift engineers are scheduled to attend and carry out modifications.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. If there are any queries please contact Keith Margrave on 01227 824129 or email k.margrave@kent.ac.uk . Alternatively contact the Estates Helpdesk on Extn 3209.

Jennison Building- portable appliance testing (PAT)

Portable appliance testing is scheduled to take place from Monday 16 October until Friday 20 October 2017 in Jennison Building.

Please ensure all equipment is available for testing.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we will endeavour to keep any distruption to a minimum. If there are any queries please call the Estates Helpdesk on extn 3209.

Film and digital art festival comes to Medway

International festival, 51zero, brings together established and emerging artists, students, graduates, curators and critics for a week-long celebration, from Friday 27 October to Thursday 2 November in Rochester and Chatham.

51zero, which takes its name from the geographical coordinates of Medway, focuses international collaboration, artistic production and exhibition of film, video and digital art. Working from within Medway, 51zero partners with cultural organisations in the UK and overseas to commission, curate and present contemporary moving image work.

The programme features contemporary artists and established musicians, alongside emerging practitioners and students from the School of Music and Fine Art.

The festival opens on Friday 27 October with an eclectic evening of silent short films, animations and heritage moving-image, screened alongside live music performances at Rochester Cathedral.

Events continue at the Cathedral Crypt and the Guildhall Museum presents exhibitions, installations, participatory performances and a strand curated by students of the University of Kent, until the following Thursday.

On Thursday 2 November, a final showcase of films by emerging artists, as part of Open Projector, will be hosted by the University of Kent, as well as a final discussion forum, bringing together a mix of international and emerging artists, local students and graduates, curators, critics and musicians.

Open Projector takes place in The Royal Dockyard Church, 17.00 – 18.30, providing an important opportunity for emerging artists, graduates, and students to screen and discuss their work in a peer group environment. The public is invited to participate in this closing strand of the festival, which will precede a closing discussion forum, accompanied by a communal supper from 18.30 – 21.30

All events are FREE and open to all. Find out more