Dr Margherita Laera, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre in the School of Arts, will be a guest speaker at the London venue Rich Mix as part of an event entitled ‘Europa – Myths of Europe’ on Wednesday 24 October 2018.

The event is part of a monthly free series of talks on Europe organised by the music, theatre and dance company Dash Arts.This session will ask what Europe is by looking at the mythologies associated with it. Starting from ancient, historical, and contemporary myths, the event will explore European identity and the role that theatre has played in forming it. Alongside an informal conversation, the evening will also feature exquisite music from Greek lyra and laouto duo Bonnendis.

The panel of speakers will also include author Timothy Garton Ash (Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford), dramaturg Katie Ebner-Landy, and Dash Arts artistic director Tim Supple.

The event is free to attend and begins at 7.30pm. For more details, please see the Rich Mix page.

The Alcohol and Substance Misuse Policy sets out the University’s position regarding drugs and alcohol in the workplace. You can read the Policy on our HR webpages.

The latest issue of the Leadership Bulletin, designed to give an overview of key developments at Kent, is now available.

The latest issue (17 October 2018) includes a summary by our Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Karen Cox on the financial challenges facing the University and plans to overcome them.

There are also updates on Executive Group meetings and the launch of this year’s TESSAs (Teaching Enhancement Small Support Awards).

The Bulletin is distributed fortnightly to all members of the Leadership Forum to cascade to staff in schools and professional service departments. If you haven’t received your copy yet, you can read the bulletin online.

Find out more about the Leadership Bulletin and see previous issues on the OVC webpages.

The Learning and Organisational Development (L&OD) team is pleased to announce its continued support and participation in the Advanced HE Women Only Programme, Aurora.

On behalf of the L&OD team and the University of Kent Aurora Champion Professor Yvonne Sherwood, a huge congratulations to this year’s 2018/19 cohort!

To mark the start of the programme, this year’s Aurorans and previous Alumni came together at the launch event on Wednesday 10 October. The event was opened by our Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox, who delivered an inspiring talk about her own career journey and shared positive words of encouragement to this year’s participants.

In addition, two previous Aurora Alumni, Natalia Crisanti, Project Officer, Student Support and Dr Ana Leite, Research Associate, School of Psychology, shared their own stories of how the Aurora Programme had positively impacted their own personal and professional development journeys.

The event provided an opportunity for this years Aurorans and previous Kent Aurora Alumni to network, share their experiences and create some ongoing development opportunities as a wider group, as well as to reinforce and spread the word about the positive impact the programme can have.

For more information about the Aurora Programme please contact Jena Dady, Learning and Organisational Development Adviser, J.Dady@Kent.ac.uk

Dr Anne-Maria Brennan, Lecturer for the Centre for Professional Practice, has just returned from the 6th International Congress for the History of Medicine in Muslim Heritage which was held in the Medical Faculty of Fez, Morocco.

While there, she delivered a paper on the Enrichment of the Teaching of Biology, Anatomy and Physiology exploring how the cultural heritage of medicine can be used to enrich the biomedical and medical curricula in a way that inspires the imagination as well as the intellect.

She also chaired sessions on the influence of Islamic culture on the dawn of the Padua School of Medicine and life and work of Professor Naguib Pasha the father of modern obstetrics and gynaecology in Egypt.

The Centre for Professional Practice offers flexible, part-time work-based studies.  The Master’s in Professional Practice and short courses have been specifically designed to meet the needs of working professionals who wish to develop their academic ability while maintaining their professional role. To find out more, see the CPP webpages

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning and Teaching Network session on ‘Enhancing the Academic Adviser system: Managing Progress Profiles; the Virtual Student Advisor (VSA) and appointments’.  The session takes place on Wednesday 31 October 2018, 13:15- 14:30, Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6, Canterbury Campus.

Presented by Dr Louise Naylor, Director, UELT and James Grant, Systems Development Manager – Student Success (EDI) Project.

In this session, we will consider the outcomes from the reviews of the Academic Adviser system, feedback from the Faculties plus the HEA Collaborative Retention Project, aimed at Enhancing the Academic Adviser System that supports the personal and professional development of students.

This has included the development of Progress Profiles to monitor student performance & attendance, the Virtual Student Advisor and Appointment Management system pilots as part of the Student Success Project .

This is the first of a series of LTN events with case studies from KBS and SECL planned for later in the year.

To confirm your attendance at this session please complete the online booking form.

This session will be recorded and will be available after online.

Becky Wyatt, Keynes College Receptionist is the winner of the September 2018 Pride Award. The Personal Responsibility in Delivering Excellence Award recognised Becky’s ‘consistent exceptional customer service throughout the years’ as well as ‘playing a key role in assisting with the processing of all guest feedback for the 2018 conference season.’

 Becky helped compile almost 600 individual items of guest feedback received either verbally, through written feedback forms, or online reviews, into one document where feedback is monitored, analysed and responded to by Kent Hospitality.

 Extracts from Becky’s nomination read:

 ‘To have completed this mammoth task of compiling invaluable guest feedback in addition to all other reception duties, without ever compromising her exceptionally high working standards, proves Becky’s continued commitment to delivering excellence in her role. Becky is a highly valued member of the reception team, she always delivers outstanding customer service professionally, with a smile, and is proud to represent Kent Hospitality. I cannot think of anyone, who with such consistency and attitude, better embodies what the Pride award is designed to recognise and reward.’

 Any Kent Hospitality staff (permanent or casual) may be nominated from Canterbury and Medway campuses. The award is given in March, June, September/October and December with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers, a certificate and a Pride pin badge.

 It’s really easy to nominate a member of the Kent Hospitality team for a Pride Award. Just visit the Pride website and complete our online form or go into your nearest college reception to complete a nomination.

 The closing date for the next Pride Award is Wednesday 5 December 2018 at 12 noon.

Cellular Dynamics – a collaboration between the School of Biosciences and the Music Department – will feature in the Norwich Science Festival, Monday 22 October, at 19.00 in the Norwich Octagon.

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 Professor Dan Lloyd from the School of Biosciences, the performance features musical repertoire for piano duo – including Ravel, Debussy, Glass and others – selected and performed in collaboration with Daniel Harding, Deputy Director of Music, and Matthew King (Professor of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama).

Cellular Dynamics has previously featured in the Cheltenham Science Festival, and has been selected for the British Council SPARK Festival in Hong Kong (January 2019). Previous incarnations have included performances in the Canterbury Festival, and with chorus and string orchestra in the Colyer-Fergusson Hall.

International Partnerships will be hosting the following event during Go Abroad Fortnight:

‘Staff can go abroad!’ – Erasmus Opportunities
Friday 19 October, 11.00 – 12.00 – Keynes Seminar Room 4
Learn about the opportunities to undertake staff training at our partner universities across Europe.

For more information, please visit our website.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Kent County Cricket Club is offering University of Kent staff and students a special rate to attend their annual Fireworks Night. Taking place on Monday 5 November 2018, gates to The Spitfire Cricket Ground in Canterbury will open at 17.00. The evening offers a night of entertainment in addition to the fireworks display with live bands and a funfair from 17.30.

Enter the code ‘uni2018’ when buying tickets online in advance to receive the 25% discount making a single adult ticket only £6.

Visit the Kent Cricket website for more information.