The new training and appraisal functions are now live on Staff Connect. You can already use Staff Connect to view your payslip and view and change your personal details but the additions of training requests and the recording of appraisals (RPDs) extends the benefit of the system significantly.

You can now request a reservation on a training activity run by the Learning & Organisational Development (L&OD) team, which will be automatically forwarded to your line manager to authorise.

As well as booking on to training courses, you will be able to securely record your Appraisal (RPD) within the system.  All staff will have a record made when their Appraisal (RPD) discussion has taken place.  Having a clear and agreed organisational record that these discussions have taken place is a significant step forward and will enable managers and leaders to monitor and ensure that high quality appraisal discussions are taking place in line with the University’s commitment to staff.  Having the option to save appraisal paperwork within the system will also provide a strong safeguard for this important personal data. More information is available on the RPD website.

Line managers will also be able to set up “delegations” in Staff Connect, enabling other members of staff to approve requests on their behalf.  They can nominate different delegates for different people management processes, e.g. their PA for training course requests, and another manager for appraisals (if this reflects what happens in practice). User guides for both managers and staff regarding delegation set up and management are available on the Staff Connect Delegation page. Managers will be able to delegate other people management responsibilities as they become live in the system (eg authorising annual leave from early 2019).

Line managers will now have the ability to view reports on training and appraisals. In addition managers will have access to reports on the organisational hierarchy and post reporting structure, as appropriate to their position. This will help managers to identify any discrepancies in the structure which they should then notify to hrsysplan@kent.ac.uk for correction.

If you have any questions about Staff Connect and the launch of this new module, there is guidance, including a frequently asked questions section, on the Staff Connect website.

To find out more about using Staff Connect to book on to L&OD training courses and to record Appraisals (RPDs), please come to one of the demo and drop-in sessions available for all staff and line managers. Please go to L&OD Staff Connect information to find out more.

This is the latest update in the Staff Connect Phase 2 project. The new staff absence and the recruitment modules will go live in early 2019. If you have any questions about the project, please contact staffconnect@kent.ac.uk

Thinking about going abroad but not sure where to start?
Come along to Go Abroad Fortnight! With events, workshops and activities over two weeks – there is a something for everyone!

Over the two weeks there will be a series of events to help you find out about the opportunities available to you. Whether you are considering adding a term or year abroad to your degree, working abroad or would like to know about summer schools available, there is an opportunity that is right for you.

Going abroad is not only for students, we also have an information session for staff to learn about the opportunities available to them through the Erasmus+ programme.

PS: You can gain Employability Points by attending sessions!

The Universities at Medway have been awarded a further significant donation to The Medway Student Support Bursary. This donation will provide bursaries to home (UK/EU) students from Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Greenwich and the University of Kent each year. This is an excellent opportunity to apply for additional funding and the selected recipients will receive a bursary of either £2,500 (Autumn applications) or £1,250 (Spring applications).
Applying for this bursary is easy. Check the eligibility criteria below, if you meet the requirements, all you need to do is complete the application form and return it along with the required evidence by the deadline. The Selection Criteria and Important Notes below will provide guidance on this.

The deadline to apply by is 12 noon on the 9 November 2018 (Autumn term applications) and 12 noon on 8 February 2019 (Spring Term applications)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA OF THE MEDWAY STUDENT SUPPORT BURSARY
In order to be eligible to apply for The Medway Student Support Bursary you must:

•  be a home student (UK/EU)
• be currently registered full or part-time on an undergraduate degree programme based at the Medway Campus
• demonstrate a household income of £42,875 or less

SELECTION CRITERIA OF THE MEDWAY STUDENT SUPPORT BURSARY

• Your application will be considered on the basis of your fulfilment of the eligibility criteria and the 350-500 word statement sections demonstrating:
• why you are in need of financial support and what has changed in your financial circumstances since embarking on the programme
• what the award will be used for (See important note below)
• information about you and your aims and aspirations for the future
• You may want to include additional information relating to volunteering or ambassadorial work that you have done or are planning to do within the local community e.g. voluntary work, paid work, sports contributions, community activity organisations such as the Scouts etc.)

Important notes:

• awards will not fund general (exceptional travel may be considered) programme travelling expenses or new equipment such as laptops or phones
• awards are intended for the student‘s use only and not for family support
• The first payment will only be made upon submission of a thank you letter to the donors outlining how the Bursary will be used to support the Bursary recipient.
• The second payment will only be made upon submission of a report outlining how the Bursary has supported the Bursary recipient and how this support has impacted on their academic studies.
• successful recipients will be able to hold other awards whilst in receipt of the Medway Student Support Bursary such as the NSP and may reapply for a further bursary in subsequent years
• successful recipients will be required to sign a Bursary Agreement which sets out the conditions of the bursary award
• payment of the bursary will be suspended immediately, and any payments may be required to be returned, if an awardee:
  (i) ceases to hold an offer of a place at any of the Universities,
  (ii) ceases to be a registered student at any of the Universities,
  (iii) becomes a debtor to any of the three Universities,
  (iv) is found to have made a misrepresentation or misleading or fraudulent statement in connection with his/her application
• recipients are expected to remain in satisfactory academic standing
• students out on a placement year are not eligible for that year, but may apply once academic studies are resumed
• successful recipients will be required to write a report to the board detailing how the bursary has supported them and how this support has impacted on their academic studies. The deadline for submission of the report by the Medway Student Support Bursary recipients is 1 March 2019 (Autumn applications), and 24 May 2019 (Spring applications).
• All applications confirmed as meeting the eligibility criteria will be taken forward. The bursary recipient(s) will be chosen by the Medway Student Support Bursary Board which will meet in early December (Autumn applications) and early March (Spring applications) and all applicants will be advised of the outcome shortly afterwards.

Your completed application along with all required evidence can be scanned and emailed to us at medwaymastersoffice@kent.ac.uk or a paper application can be submitted to M2-25 (Medway Building 2nd Floor).

We look forward to receiving your application and remember, the deadline is 12 noon on the 9 November 2018 (Autumn applications) and 8 February 2019 (Spring applications).

Jane Glew, Medway College Master.

Dr Graeme A. Forbes, Lecturer for the Department of Philosophy, has recently helped launch The East Kent Philosophy Teachers’ Network website. This website includes a full programme of a recent conference at the Kings’ School, Canterbury.

The East Kent Philosophy Teachers’ Network was started this year out of a desire to foster a community of Philosophers in the East Kent area, a support network for teachers of Philosophy, and collaboration between the University of Kent and Schools in East Kent in engaging students with the subject.

Graeme writes ‘I’m really proud to launch the website of the East Kent Philosophy Teachers’ Network. Philosophy is an amazing subject that has been shown to boost children’s literacy and numeracy, has been linked to good citizenship since ancient Greece, and deals with questions of enduring and global interest. Historically, professional philosophers in universities have been cut off from teachers and children in schools, even when the buildings are a short walk from one another. The Network exists to make it easier for teachers, academic philosophers, and schoolchildren in East Kent to share the benefits that philosophy can bring. Launching the website makes the work of the Network more visible so it can develop and grow as more teachers join’.

To visit the website, please see the link here.

Dr Paul March-Russell, lecturer for the Department of Comparative Literature, has contributed a chapter to the edited collection Gender and Short Fiction: Women’s Tales in Contemporary Britain (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature, 2018).

In this new monograph, editors: Jorge Sacido-Romero and Laura Ma Lojo-Rodríguez, explain why artistically ambitious women writers continue turning to the short story, a genre that has not yet attained the degree of literary prestige and social recognition the novel has had in the modern period.

The book is the culmination of a four-year project based at the University of Santiago de Compostela, and comprises of researchers from across the UK and Europe, of which Paul was a founding member. Paul’s chapter is titled ‘In the Company of Wolves: Feminist Fairy Tales after Angela Carter’.

To buy the book on Amazon, please see the link here.