Yearly Archives: 2018

Kent REF 2021 panel appointments

We are pleased to announce that five distinguished researchers from Kent have been selected for sub panel membership/chairmanship from over 4,000 nominations made by subject area organisations to HEFCE*.

University representatives are:

Professor Gordon Lynch (SECL) – Chair of Sub Panel 31 Theology and Religious Studies
Professor Alisoun Milne (SSPSSR) – Member of Social Work & Social Policy (Sub Panel 20)
Professor Paul Allain (School of Arts and Graduate School) – Member of Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies (Sub Panel 33)
Professor Iain Ramsay (Kent Law School) – Member of Law (Sub Panel 18)
Professor Richard Whitman (School of Politics and International Relations) – Member of Politics and International Studies (Sub Panel 19)

Over the coming months, panel members will help to define the assessment framework and criteria for the next REF submission in 2021. They will then participate in the assessment itself during the year following submissions.

To find more about preparations for REF 2021 and a full listing of panel appointments to date, see the REF webpages.

(*Higher Education Funding Council for England)

Improve Your English – FREE English Classes

Improve your English for FREE this summer with the Centre for English and World Languages.

We offer English language classes every weekday afternoon from Monday 18 June to Thursday 19 July 2018.

The classes are for anyone aged 16 or over whose first language is not English – you don’t have to be a Kent student. They are taught by students on our CELTA teacher training course.

The classes cover the four skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking, as well as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. You will have the chance to meet new people and practice speaking English.

To book your place, please email cewlcelta@kent.ac.uk

For more information, please visit our CEWL website.

Call for papers exploring law and sustainable development

A call for papers exploring the role of law in overcoming challenges posed by global sustainable development has been issued to postgraduate students across the social sciences and humanities faculties by Kent Law School’s Graduate Conference committee.

This year’s two-day interdisciplinary Graduate Conference, ‘Law and Millennium Goals: No-one left behind’ will be hosted at Kent Law School on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June. The call for papers closes on Monday 16 April.

The conference seeks to engage early career scholars in an informal, critical discussion of the legal and theoretical framework underpinning diverse themes within the sustainable development agenda; themes can include (but are not limited to):

Environmental issues
Global policy-making and strong institutions
Human rights
Corporate responsibility
Law and development
Gender inequality
Access to healthcare and medicine
Economic and social change
Transnational law
International trade

Abstract submissions, no longer than 250 words, should be sent to lawgradconference@kent.ac.uk by Monday 16 April 2018. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by Monday 30 April 2018. Contributors who would like their paper to be considered for the best internal paper prize, the best external paper prize and/or the best poster prize are asked to submit full paper submissions no later than Wednesday 25 May 2018.

The conference also includes the annual Clive Schmitthoff Memorial Lecture. This year’s lecture on Monday 4 June will be delivered by Dr Celine Tan, the Director of the Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy (GLOBE) based at Warwick Law School.

All students are welcome to attend the conference which will be held on Kent’s Canterbury campus. Further details are available via email from the Graduate Conference Committee. Follow the committee’s Facebook page and/or their @KLSPGConference Twitter account for updates.

Postgraduate Heritage Walks Series – registration is now open!

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Postgraduate Heritage Walks Series, a postgraduate-run event funded by the Postgraduate Experience Awards.

Wandering and Wellbeing: revitalise mind and body and increase productivity through heritage walks in the Kentish Countryside

This exciting programme of walks will be led by postgraduate students throughout May and June 2018 and will focus on the connection between engagement with heritage and wellbeing. The walks will include visits to some of Kent’s remarkable historic villages and monuments, archaeological sites and places of natural beauty.

Registration is open to all postgraduate students, and a limited number of bursaries are offered to cover the cost of transportation and admission fees. For more information and to see the full programme, visit the webpage.

Are you a postgraduate student who has a great idea for a postgraduate event? Applications for the second round of Postgraduate Experience Awards are being accepted until Friday 27 April! Apply today.

Graduate School Prizes – nominations now open!

The Graduate School is delighted to be introducing a series of prizes to recognise the excellence of its postgraduate researchers and the outstanding work carried out by our academic and administrative staff members in support of postgraduate research and education.

The Graduate School Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

Research Degree Supervisor (one per Faculty)
School Director of Graduate Studies
Administrator working in support of postgraduate education and/or research
Postgraduate Research Prize (one per Faculty)

Each prize will be in the sum of £500 and will take the form of a transfer to the winner’s school, centre or departmental budget for the 2018/19 financial year. The funds can be used for:

Travel and subsistence in relation to research including conference fees, books, consumables, survey costs or any other cost that can be shown to relate to their research
Staff development courses and related travel and subsistence costs

The prizes will be announced and presented at the Postgraduate Research Festival Launch Event on 18 June 2018 followed by a celebratory dinner, and the deadline for applications is 30 April 2018.

Please visit the webpage for full criteria and application information, and do not hesitate to contact the Graduate School with any queries: graduateschool@kent.ac.uk.

Free English classes

You can join CEWL’s Free English language classes if your first language is not English. They are taught every weekday from 18 June to 19 July by students on the CELTA teacher training course. You can also earn employability points for attending the classes

What do the classes cover?

They cover the four skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking, as well as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. You will have the chance to meet new people and practice speaking English.

For more information, click here

Or to book your place, please email: cewlcelta@kent.ac.uk

Research survey

You are invited to take part in a short 5 minute survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MAReseach2018 and subsequent focus group (if you wish) to contribute to some research currently being undertaken on why some students breach non-academic discipline regulations and establish if UK Universities go too far or not far enough in attempting to control student behaviour on and off of campus. The survey will be open until 6 April 2018.

The Main focus of the study is to establish what are the reasons are for growing numbers of student misconduct on and off campus in the UK, how Universities currently manage student misconduct and how UK institutions collect and synthesis data to inform policies, procedures and Regulations designed to address student misconduct.

Why have I been chosen?

You have been chosen as University records identify you as a current student at the University of Kent.

Do I have to take part?

No, participation is entirely voluntary.

What will happen to me if I take part?

You are invited to a) complete a survey, and b) confirm whether you wish to volunteer to participate in a one-hour focus group. Focus groups will be arranged to minimise inconvenience to participants.

Benefits of taking part

Your participation in this research can result in a number of benefits, including

Feeding into University non-academic discipline regulations for current and future students.
Feeding into further research in the areas of student discipline

You need to be aware that

Data from this study will inform the development of policy and practice within the University. All participant contributions will be anonymised and used only to illustrate broad themes and findings. Your confidentiality and anonymity will be maintained.
There will be consultation between the researcher and participants regarding the data.
Data from this study may also be used for publication and disseminated at conferences. Information about or from participants used for external purposes will be anonymised. The University will not be identified by name but given a pseudonym and identified only by key characteristics and mission, enabling other researchers to consider the implications of the research for their own contexts.
You will have access to the report and findings if you so wish.

Contact for further information

Alison Mansell, Student Conduct and Complaints Manager, M1.02 Keynes College, University of Kent, a.mansell@kent.ac.uk

Students and staff performing at the Marlowe Theatre

Members of Kent students, staff and alumni are taking to the Marlowe stage mid-April with local amateur theatre company Canterbury Operatic Society in their production of Oklahoma!

Students Eleanor Farley and Beth Aherne alongside staff members, Leanne Hardy, Mariah Young and Marina Ivanova will be performing with a talented cast of local performers, including some Kent alumni, from Thursday 12 to Saturday 14 April including two matinees on the Friday and Saturday.

Oklahoma!, the first musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, making it an even more special production. It is a colourful and energetic musical about an obstacle-filled love story between the dashing cowboy Curly McLain and Laurey Williams, a winsome yet willful farm girl.

The story is set against a colourful background of high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys – pistols and all! The show is chock full of upbeat showtunes and promises to be a very entertaining evening.

Book your tickets online now via the Marlowe Theatre Website.

pubTALK – Monday 9 April – The social life of a teenage brain

After a brief break, pubTALK is back! Please join us next Monday at The Jolly Sailor, Canterbury where Dr Heather Ferguson will be discussing ‘The social life of a teenage brain’.

Understanding and predicting other people’s thoughts, feelings, intentions etc is a unique human ability that develops from early infancy, and is often referred to as ‘mindreading’. In fact, in every day life these mindreading abilities are engaged so readily that it’s easy to forget just how complex they are – we are constantly working out what other people do/do not know, to ensure successful interactions, and avoid misunderstandings or embarrassment!

For a long time, it has been assumed that children reach adult-like levels in these important social skills by around seven years old. In this talk, Heather Ferguson will explore the ‘black box’ of a teenager’s mind to discuss how social communication abilities continue to develop change across the teenage years, and what might influence these changes, both positively and negatively.

As usual, pubTALKs will be in the upstairs function room at The Jolly Sailor, Canterbury. Doors open at 19.00 for a 19.30 start and entry is free of charge. Everyone is encouraged to stay behind after the talks to continue the discussions for a drink or two!

You can find out more about pubTALKS via our website or by subscribing to our mailing list.

Coffee with colleagues: More vouchers now available

Due to the success of the Coffee with Colleagues scheme our sponsors have generously offered to make more coffee vouchers available for colleagues to invite someone they have never met in person, or do not know very well, to talk about their respective role or a work-related matter over a complimentary cup of coffee (or tea!).

This year, there is also a ‘mystery colleague’ option for more adventurous colleagues willing to be matched with a colleague at random.

Registration has been extended to Friday 13 April but don’t wait too long to register as numbers are still limited and vouchers allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, all you will need to do is complete a short form giving details about yourself and your guest.

Coffee with Colleagues is part of the Kent Colleagues Connect programme, jointly funded by the Academic Division, Commercial Services and Learning & Organisational Development. This programme offers a number of opportunities throughout the year to meet colleagues across the University in an informal setting and learn more about their role.