International Partnerships is reaching out to students who are currently on their term/year abroad 2017-18, either at Kent, or at one of our partner universities across the globe. Send your best photos and videos capturing those special moments for a chance to win an amazon voucher.
For more information see: https://www.kent.ac.uk/goabroad/photo-video-competition.html
Our popular one month membership offer is back again this spring – from 1 April to 30 April 2018 inclusive, you and your friends and family can enjoy a wide range of activities for half the usual price of Gold public membership at Kent Sport.
Adults can get membership for just £35.50. Juniors (anyone in full-time education or 16 to 18 years old) pay just £28. Under 16’s pay £3.90 per activity.
The Spring membership offer provides unlimited access to modern sports facilities including the fitness suite, squash courts, all outdoor facilities and entry to all fitness and dance classes. If you’re looking to explore the campus, and maybe further, then Gold members can also hire a range of high-quality bikes for free through the Kent Sport Cycle Hub.
To purchase your membership, visit the Sports Centre or Pavilion receptions. Membership is available to purchase and use until 30 April only. For further details and terms and conditions, please visit our membership webpage. You can view the Kent Sport facility opening hours here.
*To apply for the junior rate please bring with you proof of full-time education (student card etc.)
To stay up to date with Kent Sport news, events and special offers, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @UniKentSports
Dr William Rowlandson, Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies in the Department of Modern Languages, was interviewed for the Portuguese daily national newspaper Público concerning the ongoing industrial action in Higher Education in the UK.
Público is a daily newspaper published in Lisbon, with a circulation of around 28,000.
In the interview, published on 25 March 2018, William puts the industrial action into a wider context of changes to Higher Education sector.
To read the full article (in Portuguese), please see the page here.
Students from 15 schools involved in the Academic Peer Mentoring (APM) scheme attended an awards ceremony on 28 March hosted by the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) in UELT. Mentors and colleagues from participating Schools joined in the celebration of students’ engagement and achievements.
The awards were presented to the mentors by Professor April McMahon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Education and Dr Louise Naylor, Director of UELT. Mentors and colleagues from Architecture, CEWL and SLAS made presentations and showcased the impact this additional student-centred learning support has had on student achievement. The APM scheme is an important intervention in the University’s Student Success project.
The APM experience shows that mentors benefit greatly from the scheme as they deepen their understanding of the course content as well as enhance their employability skills.
Please visit the School of Architecture’s blog to hear mentors/mentees’ feedback regarding their experience of the APM scheme.
91% of previous Kent peer mentors, who are in touch with the alumni office, are now in graduate jobs, compared to 80.4% for Kent graduates in general.
“The University’s peer mentoring scheme is a fantastic way for students to develop valuable employability skills such as communication, planning and leadership” (Amy Wiggins Medway Careers Adviser)
95% of mentors would recommend the APM scheme to others.
”Among the most full academic experiences”
“One of my students wanted to drop out but she didn’t and said it was down to the academic peer sessions. She wouldn’t have a degree if we’d let her drop out”
If you would like to be involved in the APM scheme, please check/contact your School’s website/ School as Schools will be shortly recruiting Mentors.
To find out more about the APM, click here or email mailto:slasapm@kent.ac.uk
Students, staff and members of the public have until 6 April to nominate a student or group of students to win a Kent Student Award.
The Kent Student Awards recognise and celebrate student achievement in extracurricular areas of university life. View the award categories.
Kent Student Award winners will receive a personalised brick on the Kent ‘Footsteps Path’ and it’s something impressive to add to the CV.
Please share this with colleagues, students and local businesses to encourage nominations.
Earlier in the week saw the announcement that there were a new set of proposals coming out of the talks facilitated by Acas between UUK and UCU.
These proposals focussed on the creation of a new Joint Expert Panel, comprised of actuarial and academic experts nominated in equal numbers from both sides, to deliver a report agreeing key principles to underpin the future joint approach of UUK and UCU to the valuation of the USS fund.
Since then, UUK have given the UCU assurance that employers would not seek to return to the previous position agreed at the JNC on 23 January, and would commit to achieving a solution that includes an element of defined benefit.
Yesterday, UUK have confirmed that employers have indicated their support for the proposals and the UCU announced that their branches and Higher Education Committee have voted to put the proposals to their members in a ballot.
In the meantime, discussions continue between UUK, USS and the Pensions Regulator to make sure of the necessary statutory and regulatory support.
The Campus Shuttle will continue to run to the usual timetable over the Easter weekend including the bank holidays- Friday 30 March 2018 and Monday 2 April 2018.
The shuttle runs during term-time only. This means the last day the shuttle will be running this term will be Friday 6 April 2018.
The shuttle will start running again at the start of the summer term on Tuesday 8 May 2018. Booking will be available a week or so before this date.
For more information, visit www.kent.ac.uk/campus-shuttle or follow @CampusShuttle on twitter.
Entrepreneurs in residence at the University’s Hub for Innovation and Enterprise, Convert Energy, have won the award for Most Promising New Business at this year’s Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
This year’s award ceremony saw seven companies win accolades ranging from Excellence in Customer Service, Manufacturer of the Year through to Business of the Year, and Convert Energy were delighted to have been selected for the award, which was sponsored by Skills Hub Kent & Medway.
After receiving the award Director David Browne said: ‘We are thrilled to have won this award and receive the recognition for our business. We always knew the energy sector could benefit from our skills and expertise, bringing something different to the marketplace, but to have independent judges acknowledge where the business is and its future potential is incredible and such a boost to the team. I want to personally thank the sponsors for selecting us but also as a recent alumnus of Kent and residents within the Hub for Innovation & Enterprise we certainly could not have developed the business to this stage so quickly without their dedication and support. I’m a very proud alumnus of Kent and hence there was only one place I wanted to start my business.’
Convert Energy is an independent technical consultancy and low energy products provider, delivering full turnkey projects in the South East and a design/supply service nationwide, founded by Kent Alumni David Browne and Ben Glancy. They have been entrepreneurs in residence at the Hub for Innovation and Enterprise, the University’s dedicated support for entrepreneurship and self-employment, since 2016.
If you would like to know more about the work of the Hub why not visit their webpage.
Join in the KM Big Quiz at the University on Friday 20 April.
The quiz, from 19.00, will take place in the Sports Centre on our Canterbury campus.
Kent staff and students can save £15 off the advertised price of £65 for a table of eight, by using the code UKC18.
Each table will have a ploughman’s supper andbottle of wine on it. A bar will also be available.
Prizes including Eurostar tickets plus a fun raffle and other games.
Book your table here.
The next Student Success seminar “Undergraduate Curriculum Review – School of Psychology” will give an overview of the main findings of the review which sort to modernise and streamline the Undergraduate curriculum in the School of Psychology.
This seminar, delivered by Dr Libby Drury, will look at how Psychology aim to align with the School’s strategic vision and the overall mission of the University Plan 2015-20, to adapt to increasing UG student numbers and to make best use of the revised British Psychological Society’s accreditation system. Please circulate this invitation to colleagues.
This seminar will take place on:
31 members of the school took part in nine focus groups designed to elicit students’ and staff’s opinions of how to improve the curriculum. Qualitative data from the focus groups was analysed and the most frequently mentioned issues were grouped into eight themes, including 1) increased consistency 2) large, varied cohort teaching 3) core skills, 4) curriculum flow, 5) teaching delivery, 6) avoiding duplication, 7) meeting expectations and improving transferable skills, and 8) student engagement. Data within each theme is presented in three sections; what works well, systematic issues and suggestions for improvement.
To book a place on any staff seminar simply email through to studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk
More information on this and all the staff seminars can be found on the website
A recording of the BTEC seminar and Prof Karen Cox’s Inspirational Speaker Talk can be found on the staff only section of the SSP website.