Monthly Archives: November 2018

The Pride Award nomination deadline is nearly here!

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 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 (i.e. hardworking, professional, positive and friendly attitude).

Congratulations to September’s Pride Award winner – Becky Wyatt, Keynes College Receptionist.

For further information or for guidance on submitting nominations please contact: pride@kent.ac.uk

Changes to the Campus Shuttle – have your say!

The University are making some changes to the Campus Shuttle service. We need your feedback to help us make these decisions.

If you are a user of the free shuttle service between Canterbury and Medway campuses, please select the link below to complete our survey. The results of the survey will be presented to the University’s senior managers so make sure you have your say.

Complete the Campus Shuttle survey

The survey should take around 5 minutes to complete. The deadline for the survey is 9 December 2018 (23.59).

Professor Richard Drayton to deliver CeCIL Annual Lecture

Professor Richard Drayton, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at King’s College London, will deliver the 2018/19 Centre for Critical International Law (CeCIL) Annual Lecture on Thursday.

His talk on ‘The right to property vs the property of rights: The British Empire and Private International Law’ begins at 18.00 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 (GLT1) and will be preceded by a reception in Aphra Foyer from 17.00.

Originally from Guyana and Barbados, Professor Drayton’s research explores how persistent forms of global inequality were constituted through the European imperial expansion. In 2001 he was awarded the Forkosch Prizeby the American Historical Association and in 2002, he was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize for History. His 2016 book Whose Constitution? Law, Justice and History in the Caribbean has been cited by the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago in the 2018 judgement that struck down the criminalisation of same sex sexuality in the country.

Each year, the CeCIL Annual Lecture brings leading figures in the field of international law to Kent to share their cutting edge contributions to international legal thinking. Previous speakers have included Professor Anne Orford (Melbourne Law School), Professor Peer Zumbansen (King’s College London), Professor Gerry Simpson (London School of Economics) and Professor Vasuki Nesiah (New York University).

In anticipation of this year’s event, CeCIL is posting a special series of Professor Drayton’s quotes on its Facebook page.

CeCIL is an innovative research centre which aims to foster critical approaches to the field of international law, and other areas of law that touch upon global legal problems. In addition to an annual lecture, CeCIL offers a busy programme of activities for Kent Law School students, including a speaker and films series and workshops for students keen to develop their employability and international law skills.

Looking for a festive feast on campus?

Christmas is almost upon us, and if you’re looking to celebrate the occasion with a festive meal on campus, here are a few suggestions:

Rutherford Dining Hall:
Christmas Lunch (3 – 14 December) – 2 courses for £7.50 (ex VAT). Choose from traditional roast turkey or festive nut roast* followed by Christmas pudding or chocolate orange torte*. To book a table, please call the dining hall on 01227 823500.

For more information, please visit Rutherford Dining Hall’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/rutherfordbagit

Dolche Vita:
Christmas Lunch Special (3 – 14 December) – £8.50 (ex VAT). Includes a complimentary Christmas cracker and mince pie. Choose from roast chicken or festive nut roast* with all the trimmings. No booking required.

For more information, please visit Dolche Vita’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/dolchevitakent

Cargo (Medway):
Christmas Menu (26 November – 16 December) – 2 courses for £14.95 or 3 courses for £17.95. Booking required. Choose from a range of starters, mains and desserts. Menu features Christmas favourites such as: homemade leek and potato soup, traditional roast turkey and Christmas pudding. To book a table, please call the bar on 01634 582615, email cargobar@kent.ac.uk or message through Facebook.

For more information and to view the full menu, please visit Cargo’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CargoBarMedway

And that’s not all! There are plenty more festive offers and promotions across campus to celebrate the season. Keep an eye out for festive hot drinks, cakes, street food and specials. Visit your nearest café, bar or restaurant to discover what’s on offer.

*Suitable for vegans

ELLsoc help organise talk on constructed languages

Dr Bettina Beinhoff (Anglia Ruskin University) recently delivered a fascinating talk on the topic of constructed languages (e.g. Klingon and Dothraki). This talk was organised by CLL, ELLsoc and Dr Eleni Kapogianni, Lecturer in the Department of English Language & Linguistics.

‘To the layperson, a constructed language like Klingon might at first seem like a collection of random sounds,’ writes Dr David Hornsby, Head of the Department of English Language & Linguistics, ‘The reality, however, is that creating a convictional fictional language requires a large amount of technical knowledge and skill, as Dr. Beinhoff’s talk demonstrated.’

Not only was this a successful talk, which extended to a wide audience, but the creator of the Dothraki language in Game of Thrones, David Peterson, was taught by our very own Professor Amalia Arvaniti, Professor of Linguistics in the Department of English Language & Linguistics, as postgraduate a student at the University of San Diego.

 

Learning & Teaching Network session: Enhancing the Academic Adviser system – working with students as partners

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning & Teaching Network session taking place on Wednesday 5 December, from 13.15-14.30 in Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6, Canterbury.

In this session Kent Business School’s Student Success Team and Director of Education will go through their new academic adviser system and the rational for its implementation. The new system includes the use of an appointment management system and offers students the opportunity to meet with their adviser as part of a group meeting or one-to-one. The team will also discuss the different variations introduced at Medway and Canterbury.

To confirm your attendance please complete the online booking form.

Tackling the stigma of poverty: ThinkNation comes to Gulbenkian Theatre

On 8 December, as part of Project Twist-It, we invite you to join young people when they present, live on stage, their ideas and stories on how we can tell a new story about poverty to improve public understanding and take away the stigma.

Hosted by Billie JD Porter (BBC, Channel 4) ThinkNation: Project Twist-It LIVE will kick off with a special screening of ThinkNation’s Project Twist-It film. Focusing on young people from across the UK, the film sees them share stories and insights on poverty, highlighting their ideas on how we can all change the narrative.

During the day, young people from diverse backgrounds will workshop their talks and stories with mentors from the world of tech, arts, public sector, business and academia before presenting to the audience, LIVE ON STAGE, that evening.

We’re delighted to have a very special acoustic performance of She Drew The Gun‘s song, Poem, which features in the film.

The song will be performed live by She Drew the Gun lead singer, Louisa Roach at the event.

University Carol Service 10 Dec: Free Student Tickets

Student Tickets for the University Christmas Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral (which takes place at 20.00 on Mon 10 Dec) will be available at the Grimond Foyer at 12.45 on Monday 3 Dec; and 17.45 on Tues 4 Dec. To be sure of getting your tickets (one per Student ID presented) please arrive early and be prepared to join a queue. The Carol Service will feature performances by the University Chamber Choir and student Gospel Music singers. There will be an appeal for Porchlight, a charity supporting homeless people in East Kent.

Click here for more information and how to gain your ticket.

Wheelchair access and Sign Language (BSL) interpretation will be available at the event, reflecting the values of Disability History Month (but please notify us of any requirements). Students with disabilities should apply direct to the University Chaplaincy for tickets and advice about access and seating.

Tickets on sale for the University of Kent Players Radio Play

The University of Kent Players are proud to present a live recording of The Scarlet Pimpernel, a staged radio play set during the French Revolution.

Following the success of their first staged radio play, the Players will be taking the most elusive of characters, The Scarlet Pimpernel, to France and back (and back again) on Friday 30 November/Saturday 1 December 2018.

During the French Revolution, a mysterious English nobleman known only as The Scarlet Pimpernel, snatches French aristocrats from the jaws of the guillotine. Armed with only his wits and his cunning, he recklessly defies the French revolutionaries while being hunted by ruthless French agent Chauvelin.

Radio dramas were once the most popular form of entertainment and were usually broadcast as live performances. This performance recreates the entire experience – from actors performing to a foley team creating sound effects such as daring horse riding and swashbuckling fights.

“They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek him everywhere…..”

Buy tickets

Tickets cost £6.50 (£6.00 for concession) and are available online.

Dust to dust competition reveals winners

SECL are delighted to announce the opening of the exhibition for the Eastern Academic Research Consortium (Eastern ARC) project, ‘Dust to Dust: Redesigning Urban Life in Healthy Soils‘. The project took the form of an urban design competition in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals which include zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. Held in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, the exhibition will showcase winning proposals from the competition that took place earlier this year.

Currently 98% of cultivable land on earth is being farmed and two thirds of the world’s soils are suffering degradation. The continued encroachment onto, and transformation of, soils resulting from urban sprawl will significantly impact the sustainability and resilience of urban life. Ideas were invited for urban designs, planning approaches, and tangible interventions that could be implemented in real-life cases of urban planning and development with successful designs promoting a close relationship between urban life and soil ecosystem services.

Six teams were selected and took part in a charrette at The Prince’s Foundation in London to cross-fertilise ideas and refine designs to prepare museum exhibits. Teams comprised people from various countries, taking on cases from cities in Europe and the Americas. These teams included representatives from NGOs, city government, design and engineering firms, consultancy, and academics.

The project was organised by Dr Benjamin Vis, Eastern ARC Research Fellow (Digital Humanities) in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies. Dr Vis said of the project: ‘This exhibition goes beyond simply learning from the past. It is fantastic to see how cross-disciplinary engagement with the archaeology of tropical Maya cities has highlighted a relationship between soil health and urban life that can be translated into sustainable improvements through contemporary urban design.’

The exhibition takes place from 30 November 2018 – 17 February 2019 at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia. There will be a formal opening on Friday 30 November; for details of this event, email secl@kent.ac.uk.