Monthly Archives: May 2018

Kent Experiences – Learning and Work Week

Following on from Learning at Work Week, our Kent Experiences have been advertised and we have already received some great feedback from the first Special Collections tour which took place last week by Information Services. We have a variety of different experiences now available, with our Estates Department having added 3 NEW activities.

You can view a brief descriptor of all the current opportunities by clicking on this link and then register your interest by following the outlined instructions or by completing this poll. Once your interest has been registered you will be contacted with more information and details of who to contact to finally agree your activity date and time

Most experiences can be arranged on a date and at a time which is suitable for you and they are a great opportunity for you to learn more about the organisation and areas of the University you wouldn’t normally get involved with.

Kent Hospitality Pride Award nomination deadline

The deadline for the next Pride Award is 12pm, Wednesday 13 June.

The Pride (‘Personal responsibility in delivering excellence’) Award recognises members of Kent Hospitality staff who go out of their way to deliver excellent customer service.

Any Kent Hospitality staff member (permanent or casual) may be nominated from Canterbury and Medway campuses. The award is given out four times a year with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers, a certificate and a badge.

Nominations can be made by any member of University staff, students or visitors. Make your nomination online or alternatively you can pick up a paper form next to the red nomination boxes located in all Kent Hospitality’s catering outlets in Canterbury and Medway, as well College reception areas.

Please make your nominations detailed, providing as much information as possible why the nominee is being put forward for a Pride Award. The panel are looking for staff who achieve more than just what is expected in their role (ie hardworking, professional, positive and friendly attitude).

Congratulations to March’s Pride Award winner – Dave Jordan, Health & Safety and Food Safety Advisor.

For further information please contact: pride@kent.ac.uk

Cancellation of Billhook Nook concert TODAY (31 May)

Regrettably, today’s outdoor Billhook Nook concert has been cancelled due to the muddy conditions and weather forecast. The concert will now take place in the Colyer-Fergusson Foyer at 13.10 on Wednesday 6 June.

Places available on pre-retirement seminar – 4 or 27 June

Learning and Organisational Development have places available on a pre-retirement seminar taking place on either Monday 4 June or Wednesday 27 June, from 9.00 to 16.30.

The seminar will provide you with an introduction to the issues affecting your retirement and help you to plan both financially and emotionally for the next phase of your life.

It will include sessions on:

financial planning including investments and taxation
your occupational pension benefits
your state pension entitlement
adjusting to and planning for retirement

To secure a place on 4 June please email the Learning and Organisational Development team ldev@kent.ac.uk.

To secure a place on 27 June, please make a booking via the Learning and Development events calendar.

Kent students, staff and alumni to march at Canterbury Pride – 9 June

The University has been a proud sponsor of Canterbury Pride for the last two years, and members of the LGBT+ Staff Network and student society have again joined forces to organise Kent’s representation in the parade on Saturday 9 June.

All colleagues and students are invited to join the group to fly the flag and show support for LGBTQIA people. To join the team please register online and bring your printed ticket to the event. Guests, friends, partners, children etc are welcome. You will not be allowed entrance if you (and your guests) do not have your printed ticket.

The parade starts at 11.30 and you will need to be outside the Marlowe by 10.45 to register. Kent organisers will have a large banner (like the image above) so you should be able to spot them.

Contact the LGBT+ Staff Network for more details. View the event on Facebook.

PS – don’t forget to check out the LGBT+ Staff Network’s exhibition on LGBTQIA role models and allies at the Templeman Gallery, which is on display until 6 July.

VC Open Forum at Medway – Friday 6 July

Message from Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor and President:

As part of my commitment to meet as many colleagues as possible and get their views on the University, I have spent the past few months visiting schools and professional service departments, having open conversations with staff.

In addition, I planned two Open Forums for anyone to ‘drop in’. The first of these took place at Canterbury campus in March and the second will be held at Pilkington Lecture Theatre, Medway, on Friday 6 July from 10.30-11.30. These forums are open to all University of Kent staff, to share with me their thoughts on the University: what works; what doesn’t, and how they would like to see things done differently. This will all help to shape the review of the University strategy and priorities over the next few years.

If you are able to attend the Medway Open Forum, please register your attendance here.

Learning and Teaching Conference 2018 – Wednesday 20 June

There is still time to register for this year’s Learning and Teaching Conference taking place on Wednesday 20 June, 9.00-16.00, Keynes Lecture Theatre 1 and Atrium Foyer, followed by a drinks reception.

This year’s theme is Promoting Powerful Student Learning Experiences In and Out of Class. The theme interprets learning holistically, encompassing both curricular and co-curricular activities that support students’ growth while at university. The morning sessions highlight partnerships between professional services staff and academics in enhancing students’ learning. Those sessions will be relevant to a range of professional and frontline student services staff who support students’ learning. The afternoon sessions feature examples of innovative teaching that blur the boundaries of the classroom.

The event is an opportunity for the University of Kent community to come together around the shared goal of supporting student learning.

The event is free and all staff are welcome to attend.

Please book your place by emailing cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk.

To view the draft programme please see https://www.kent.ac.uk/cshe/news-events.html?tab=learning-and-teaching-conference-2018

A final programme will be sent to those who have registered shortly before the event.

Condolences for Jacqueline Hill

We are saddened to learn of the death of Jacqueline Hill (née Marchand) on 28 April this year, at the age of 89. With her husband John, she was a founder of the original University of Kent Language Centre from 1966. She taught French language within what was initially the Institute of Language and Linguistics (ILL) and later the Board of Applied Languages and Linguistics (BALL) before her retirement in 1992.

As someone directly responsible for preparing students from a wide range of disciplines for study in Europe, she played a key role in building ‘the UK’s European University’.

Cellular Dynamics to feature at Cheltenham Science Festival

Cellular Dynamics – a collaboration between the School of Biosciences and the Music Department – will be one of the opening events of the Cheltenham Science Festival on Tuesday 5 June at 20.30 in the Parabola Arts Centre.

Cellular Dynamics merges cutting-edge biological research with live musical performance. It explores fundamental biological processes and concepts – such as cell growth and division, neural development, and synthetic biology – through projection of images and video derived from research undertaken at Kent. Curated and presented by Dr Dan Lloyd from the School of Biosciences, the performance features musical repertoire for piano – including Satie, Debussy, Glass and others – selected in collaboration with Daniel Harding, Deputy Director of Music, and performed by pianist and composer Matthew King.

The Cheltenham Science Festival is described by Professor Brian Cox as “the premier science festival in the UK”. Cellular Dynamics will also be featured at the Norwich Festival of Science (October) and the Hong Kong Festival of Ideas (January 2018).

Prestigious Inner Temple scholarship for Kent student

Kent Law student Andreas Malekos is one step closer to achieving his ambition of becoming a barrister after being awarded a prestigious scholarship of almost £20,000 by the Inner Temple.

The Inner Temple BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course) Scholarship of £19,700 will help support Andreas during his year of vocational training. The BPTC is designed to equip Andreas with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and competence to prepare for pupillage, the next stage in his professional training.

Andreas was interviewed at the Inner Temple, one of four Inns of Court that aspiring barristers are required to join, in March. After being taken to the Inn’s magnificent library, he was given half an hour to read an unreported case from a choice of three in his chosen area of law. He chose a criminal case involving psychoactive substances (legal highs), a topic he had studied in Public Law 2 the previous year.

He was then interviewed by a panel of four Inner Temple barristers, two of whom were Queen’s Counsel. Andreas said: ‘The panel members were incredibly charming and I immediately felt more at ease. I was first asked to analyse the case which I did by summarising the arguments made and the decision given. I was then asked for my opinion on the case – I criticised the judge for the lack of expert evidence referred to when reaching the decision that nitrous oxide (laughing gas) was not a medicinal substance.’

Andreas plans to begin his BPTC at City Law School in September. Although his main interests currently lie in both Criminal Law and Property Law, he says he is yet to come across an area of law that he doesn’t enjoy and will approach the BPTC with an open mind.