The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science is pleased to announce that the first of the ‘Maths For All’ 2017-2018 guest lectures will be by the talented Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE on Wednesday 18 October, at 16.30 in Keynes Lecture Theatre 1, Canterbury campus. 

During the talk, Anne-Marie will discuss her journey into STEM, what inspired her to start STEMettes, and some words of advice for those looking to pursue a career in the STEM industries. 

Anne-Marie’s exceptional set of achievements include passing GCSEs in Mathematics and IT aged ten, being the youngest girl ever to pass A-Level Computing at age 11, and being one of the youngest people to be awarded a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science by Oxford University, aged 20. 

She is the CEO and co-founder of STEMettes, an award-winning social enterprise inspiring more than 14,000 girls and young women into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She has also co-founded Outbox Incubator, the world’s first tech incubator for teenage girls, as part of her work with STEMettes. 

Anne-Marie was recently awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Years Honours for services to young women and STEM sectors. 

Her talk is part of the Student Success Project’s Inspirational Speaker Series and is open to all students, staff and members of the public. Refreshments will be available following the talk in Keynes Atrium. Seating is limited so please RSVP at https://m4aannemarie.eventbrite.com 
 

The School of Music and Fine Art again has two Fine Art graduates through to the first stage of the Platform graduate award exhibition at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate.

This year, Luiza Jordan and Tayler Goatier have been selected and their work is being exhibited at the Turner until Sunday 5 November.

The winners of the first round going through to the final will be announced at a special event on Tuesday 24th October at the Gallery. In the five-year existence of the Platform Graduate Award, fine art students from SMFA have won the final award twice, in 2015 and 2017.  The award includes all the major fine art art degree courses in the South East of England outside London. This is a spectacular achievement!

Luiza Jordan works with space and architecture and explores the uses of material in relation to gender. Large immersive clusters of material evolve in raw, organic processes as her interventions attempt to find hidden connections between materials, spaces, buildings and architecture. By using places of transition, and situating her work in spaces with industrial and institutional sensibilities, she injects a sense of new, feminine, unbound and constantly mutating life. You can follow Luiza on Instagram here and see her portfolio on her website.

Tayler Goatier works primarily in sculpture and installation. Being diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones Disease) at the age of 1, Goatier spent the majority of her childhood in hospital making art. Her current practice explores disability. Using herself as her main source of research, she explains the physicality of her condition by using meringues as a metaphor for her fragility and constant reconstruction to her own skeleton. She is also a food blogger. Recent exhibitions include Reverberate, The University of Kent, 2017 and WE ARE HUMAN-ISH, Canterbury, 2017.

For further information see the Turner Contemporary webpages.

Don’t forget that the deadline is approaching for applications to the Short-Term Enhanced Efficiency Retirement Scheme.

The scheme provides an opportunity for academics who have a good past service record, but don’t feel that they themselves will be able to make an optimum contribution to the next REF, and who meet the eligibility criteria, to request to leave the University with a severance payment of one year’s salary.

The scheme is open for applications until 31 October 2017, with successful applicants leaving the University on dates to be agreed from January 2018 onwards. Further details of the scheme and the timetable are available on the HR webpages.

On 10 and 11 October Gulbenkian is inviting you and your team out for a crazy evening of entertainment.

Described as ‘The Office meets cage fighting’, this Gervais-inspired comedy with incredible physicality sees two colleagues face off across a small room.

Bring your office along for a night out and get 25% off when you book four or more tickets.

Find out more and book online

Enhance your CV and improve your employability by taking a Study Plus course in something different from your main area of study.

Study Plus courses are non-credit bearing and are FREE to all Kent students. There is a wide variety of courses, which allow you to explore your creative side as well as learning new skills to help you during your studies and when you graduate. If you have good attendance on a Study Plus course, you will earn Employability Points and the course will appear on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR).

Build your employability and business skills with a Business Start-Up Workshop with HIVE and Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. Or learn how to become a student mentor with Student Mentoring at University. Both of these courses take place at the Medway campus with many more launching soon.

You can sign up for a course via Workshops in the Student Data System

Visit the Study Plus website to view the full range of courses, and find out more.

The Development Office is looking for volunteers to assist with a variety of duties during November’s graduation ceremonies.

The ceremony dates and times are below:

Canterbury: Friday 24 November

• 09.45 – 11.15
• 12.30 – 14.00
• 15.15 – 16.45
• 19.30 – 21.00

Rochester: Wednesday 22 November

• 14.30

This is a special day for all of our students and staff so any help you can offer at either of the ceremonies would be appreciated, as we aim to make the day a memorable experience for our students and their families. We would not be able to achieve the success of Congregations without your help.

Any helpers who volunteer at more than two ceremonies consecutively in one day will be provided with refreshments.

We offer full training for your roles and members of our team will be there on the day to support you.

We have a variety of roles and if you would like to help or need further information please email congregations@kent.ac.uk with the dates and times that you are able to assist.

If you have never volunteered at Congregations, then this year, is your year!

Learning a language can enhance your communication and intercultural skills as well as being fun!

The Centre for English and World Languages offers 20 week courses in French (Beginners) and Japanese (Beginners and Post-Beginners) at the Medway campus. Classes will begin on 11 October 2017.

We are currently offering 50% discount for the first 35 Kent students who apply reducing the cost to just £110 for the whole course.

Kent staff can apply for funding from Learning and Development.

Visit the Language Express website to find out more and to book.

From bacterial magnets to anti-cancer treatment – exploiting novel materials found in nature.

Join Dr. Sarah S. Staniland, Reader in Bionanoscience at The University of Sheffield for this year’s Wain Medal Lecture on Wednesday 18 October, 17.00, Woolf Lecture Theatre.

Nature has evolved many fascinating, intricate and remarkable processes – some of which are quite obscure and whose physiological function is not fully appreciated. Dr Staniland will be exploring one such process, found in a group of bacteria that are magnetic – the magnetotactic bacteria. The lecture will uncover how we can use this knowledge and understanding of biological magnet formation to make our own nano-magnets or magnetic nanoparticles. One exciting application of this research is the development of artificial magnetic nanoparticles for use in diagnostics and cancer treatment.

The lecture is free and open to all.