SMFA’s Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and acclaimed award-wining contemporary visual artist, Adam Chodzko, is one of eight artists featured in Slow Violence, an exhibition, symposium and events developed collaboratively by UHArts and the Contemporary Arts Practice Group, School of Creative Arts, University of Hertfordshire.

The artists will reconsider the prevalent and far-reaching threat of climate change. The Symposium, which is free, is on Wednesday 29 November from 10.30 to 16.00, and brings together a diverse roster of speakers from the fields of environmental psychology, visual arts and business.

The Exhibition Opening Reception is also Wednesday 29 November, and then runs until 20 January 2018.

For venue, opening hours and more info http://www.uharts.co.uk/whats-on/2017-autumn-and-winter/slow-violence

Exhibiting internationally since 1991, Adam Chodzko works across media, from video installation to subtle interventions, with a practice that is situated both within the gallery and the wider public realm. http://www.adamchodzko.com

Venue:

Art and Design Gallery, College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB
+44 (0) 1707 285395 | uharts@herts.ac.uk | www.uharts.co.uk

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday 09.30-17.30, Saturday 09:30 to 15.30. Admission free.

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning and Teaching Network session taking place on Friday 8 December,  from 13.15-14.30, in the UELT Seminar Room.

Presented by Dr Anthony Manning, Dean for Internationalisation, the session will focus on Curriculum Internationalisation and how this can be embedded in your academic practice at module level.

It will provide an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of what is meant by internationalising the curriculum and to reflect on aspects of internationalisation which are already present in your provision in relation to taught content, teaching approaches and assessment.

Throughout the session, examples of good practice will be shared and discussed. Time will be allocated for questions and to provide support to staff working on module specifications.

This session will be of particular interest to staff who updates their module specifications or are planning to write new programmes. Staff are encouraged to bring their module specifications to the session. All staff are welcome to attend.

To book a place please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

The Centre for Mental Health recently published a collaborative report on NHS mental health services – and SSPSSR student Amy Hardie was involved in the project.

For over 30 years, the Centre for Mental Health, as the charity is now known, has conducted and disseminated research about understanding, current practice, knowledge, services and solutions in the mental health landscape. Working with the NHS Benchmarking Network, the Centre for Mental Health briefing paper is a detailed analysis of NHS data.

Amy joined the charity for her year in Professional Practice as part of her BSc Social Sciences degree. Amy’s role was as Policy Research Assistant and she quickly realised that she was analysing data and drawing conclusions that had national significance and impacted on government policy.

Andy Bell, Deputy Chief Executive of the charity says of Kent’s professional placement year: ‘We benefited enormously from Kent’s placement scheme. It boosted our capacity to get important messages across to policy-makers in Government, in Parliament and more widely across the country. It extended our analytical capacity and our ability to respond quickly to consultations, inquiries and debates. We recommend the placement scheme to any charity wanting to make a difference nationwide.’

Amy’s work throughout the year centred around data analysis which formed the basis of the ‘Mental Health NHS Benchmarking Network Data for England and Wales: the last five years in adult and older adult mental health services’ (Bell et al., 2017).

Amy says: ‘I am humbled to have been a part of this project as it is expected to have substantial impact and add to the growing evidence base developing around a current lack of mental health services available in secondary care.’

A year in professional practice is available to Criminal Justice and Criminology and Social Sciences students; for more information contact SSPSSR Placements Co-ordinator, Ellie Jupp.

Colleagues are invited to attend the next session of the ‘New Approaches to Teaching for Experienced Staff at Kent’ taking place on Tuesday 5 December, 12.55-14.00 in the UELT Seminar Room.

Presented by Dr Stefan Rossbach, School of Politics and International Relations and winner of the Social Sciences Faculty Teaching Prize 2017.

Given that for some time now, students have had access to mobile, networked devices that allow them to draw on vast quantities of information at any point in time, it is not original any more to suggest that ‘the teacher’ is no longer the centre of knowledge in classroom situations. However, student expectations and teaching styles (including the design of teaching spaces) seem slow to adapt. This session aims to explore the radical implications and creative potential of ‘de-centred’ learning, where students are not just recipients or ‘consumers’ of knowledge, but ‘nodal points’ in the creation of learning.

To confirm your attendance please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

The Estates Department and the Safety, Health and Environment Unit carried out fundraising events on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 November in aid of Children in Need.

Staff baked and donated a huge variety of cakes and savoury goods, with the Estates Department raising £238 and the Safety, Health and Environment Unit raising a further £33, with the total amount raised being £271.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to make and donate items, and to all of the generous donations going to Children in Need.

The University’s corporate membership of the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, means that staff can access some great discounted deals for the new season.

Special members’ offers include:

• Peter Pan: Friday 24 November 2017-Sunday 14 January 2018 – 15% off saver/non-peak shows, top four prices
• Anton & Erin: Broadway to Hollywood: Thursday 15 and Friday 16 February – £3 off, Thursday evening, price band A
• Legally Blonde: Monday 19-Saturday 25 March 2018 – 20% off, Monday-Thursday, price band A & B
• Shrek: Wednesday 11-Sunday 22 July 2018 – 10% off Wednesday-Thursday evenings

Full details of Member Discounts are available here.

The Marlowe also offers a number of special Members’ Evenings, including a discounted top ticket and post-show drink with cast members.

For the new season, these include:

• Peter Pan – Wednesday 13 December 2017
• Beautiful – Monday 26 March 2018
• Jersey Boys – Tuesday 2 October 2018

Full details of upcoming Members Evenings are available here.

To obtain your discounted tickets, you no longer need to use a special booking code. Instead, the first time you book using the new system, visit the Marlowe website and:

1. Go to My Account (it’s under the person icon, top right of the website) or set up an account if you don’t have one yet
2. Under the ‘Company Name’ option, choose the name of your employer

You will automatically be registered as a Business Membership staff member and every time you log into the website to book tickets, your discount will be applied in the basket.

Enjoy the shows!

The University of Kent Players will be presenting a live recording of the classic romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story in the Gulbenkian Cafe on 24 and 25 November.

This new style of production by the Players provides the audience with an exciting glimpse in to the glamorous world of radio plays in the 1940s and a chance to meet the cast of a bygone era.

To add to the occassion, the Gulbenkian is offering a two-course dinner menu for £15 at 19.00, prior to the performance. This is available to book online alongside booking your tickets here or call the box office on 01227 769075.

UKC Women’s Campaign and Kent Union have organised a march on  27 November 2017 to show solidarity and support for rape and sexual assault survivors.

Everyone is welcome to come and march with us, regardless of personal experiences.

The march will begin at Westgate Hall, at 17.00, with hot drinks and food and mingling and start marching at 18.00 from the hall, up the high street, loop back round and finish at the Marlowe Theatre steps where we shall take pictures and say our thanks and mingle/go our separate ways.

Find out more on the Facebook event.

What do you want from your experience at Kent? What do you think is available to you? What are you taking advantage of? What is most important to you in that experience?

If you are a 2nd or 3rd year undergraduate student at the University of Kent, please come to one of our focus group discussions to tell us.

Refreshments will be served. Sign-up using the links below.

The project is sponsored by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education and the Kent Union, with support from the Centre for the Study of Higher Education. The goal is to develop a framework for powerful student experiences that will help all students make the most of their time at Kent and staff to support them with this. Your input is vital to this project!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Medway Focus Group:

https://www.facebook.com/events/543195446027804/ or https://doodle.com/poll/x7b4szer9hb4psck

Social Science Focus Group:

https://www.facebook.com/events/721681764705950/ or https://doodle.com/poll/pncdnbud2av7q6t4

Humanities Focus Group:

https://www.facebook.com/events/283345825524244/ or https://doodle.com/poll/9w7kgaxypmccf9fp

Science Focus Group:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1492042244427594/ or https://doodle.com/poll/h7yqph87ms8xus5c