Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning & Teaching Network half-day workshop taking place on Wednesday 13 February, from 13:30-17:00 in the UELT Seminar Room, Canterbury.

Presented by Dr Anne Wilson, Royal Literary Fund Consultant.

Do you have a brilliant idea for a project that would help improve your teaching and students’ learning? Or a project that develops your skills, leadership or reputation as a practitioner? If you do and would like to write a coherent grant proposal for either a TESSA or a Faculty Learning and Teaching Enhancement Fund grant, this workshop is for you. Come with an idea and develop it in a supportive atmosphere with colleagues’ help and the advice of an experienced grant proposal writer.

After this workshop you will be better able to:

assess whether your idea meets the criteria of the TESSA or Faculty Fund

• establish what the funders will look for when assessing your application

• match the aims and outcomes of your project to University priorities

• identify aspects you need to develop or where you need further information

• draft different sections of the application

It will be essential for participants to bring a laptop that will connect them to the TESSA and Faculty grant pages and to come with an idea (however undeveloped) for a  Teaching and Learning project.

Please confirm your attendance by completing the online booking form.

GOLKK Theatre, one of the Graduate Theatre Companies sponsored by the School of Arts, will be performing as part of the Resolution 2019 festival, currently being held at The Place, London on Thursday 31 January 2019. They will be performing the premiere of a piece entitled rest[less].

The Place is a dedicated dance and performance venue located in central London. It hosts the London Contemporary Dance School, validated by the University of Kent.

rest[less] is a non-narrative piece, exploring the physical and psychological effects of over-working. It uses a unique movement language translates the topic into a seemingly abstract and absurd world. Inspired by the construction of beehives, the performance shows a relentlessly buzzing world of ‘work’ juxtaposed with a warm, honey-soaked ‘home’. A gallery of rehearsal images can be found on the School of Arts’ Facebook page here.

GOLKK was formed in 2016 and were Visiting Artist in Residence at the School of Arts and The Gulbenkian in 2018. During their residency they performed their previous show, Peeking in the Portrait, in Canterbury and Paris before taking it on a 2018 summer tour of gallery venues across Kent and then as part of Camden Fringe.

GOLKK Theatre consist of alumni Kristin Bacheva (BA Drama and Theatre, MA Physical Acting), Grace Wranosky (BA Drama and English America Literature, MA Physical Acting), Olaf Leiros (BA Drama and Theatre, MA Physical Acting),  and Luke Stokes (BA Drama and Theatre, MA Physical Acting).

rest[less] will be performed as part of a triple bill with Celine Fortenbacher’s Putzi Kamionka and PaMa’s Nono Sono the same evening, starting 7.30pm. Tickets cost £16/£12 concessions and can be booked here.

Aida Sharaf, a Stage 2 BA (Hons) in Film and Drama student in the School of Arts, has won a Community Scholarship for her application to produce a concert with original songs, with the aim of helping to raise awareness about mental health, abuse and discrimination. The concert, titled ‘Music for Change’, will take place on Wednesday 13 March 2019 at the Gulbenkian.

The Community Scholarship is offered by the University’s Student Services team and is aimed at students who are interested in providing opportunities within the local and campus communities. The scholarship offers the recipient financial support, advice and project management support, and the opportunity to develop personal and employability skills.

Aida is looking for singers, song writers, instrumentalists and composers to perform in her concert, titled Music for Change. Aida says ‘I thought this project would be a great opportunity to bring people together in order to create original songs. I have written a few songs for myself, and other singers who have joined me on the project. I have also recruited a few other song writers to perform and tell their stories, and others who are happy to pass their songs on to other singers. I have recruited some instrumentalists and composers to create raw sounds in order to complete the songs, however some songs will be performed over backing tracks. This is a concert allowing people to express themselves and tell their stories and also ensure others out there that they are not alone.’

The technical aspects of the concert will be covered by Tech31, a government-funded organisation which gives young people the opportunity to develop production and technical stage skills.

If you are a singer, song writers, instrumentalist or composer and would like to be involved with the project, please contact Aida at the following email: as2120@kent.ac.uk

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 £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 attached 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 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 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 March (Spring applications) and all applicants will be advised of the outcome shortly afterwards.

The Medway Student Support Bursary application form is available for download as a Word document here.

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 M2-13 (Medway Building 2nd Floor).

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

Acting in accordance with the Higher Education Code of Governance and the Office for Students Audit requirements, the University Council has established a Register of Interests for members of Council and for all staff.  It is at the discretion of individual members of staff what, if any, interests they declare.  It should be noted, however, that declaration provides a protection for the University and individuals against any possible allegations of impropriety.

For the purposes of the Register an interest is defined to be any financial or other personal interest an individual may have in any relationship or proposed relationship between the University and an external body.  This would include consultancy, employment, directorship or other activity within a commercial concern, shareholding, or membership of statutory and public authorities.  Other education establishments and companies with which the University has an actual or potential business relationship should also be included, as should any interest that a family member might have that could give the appearance of a conflict, even where no actual conflict exists.

The following documents can be accessed on the Council Secretariat website.

1. Policy on Disclosure of Interest
2. Declaration Form for University Staff

The University’s Policy on Personal Benefit can be found online too.

All staff are invited to submit new or updated declarations for incorporation in the 2018/2019 Register. Council Secretariat will be pleased to provide confidential advice to any member of staff on this matter.

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

The latest issue (23 January 2019) includes congratulations from our Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox, to all involved in the award of £4.3m from the Cultural Development Fund and in bringing together leaders from business, local government and academia for the Kent Business Summit in our Sibson Building.

There is also an update on Executive Group and Extended Executive Group (Executive Group plus Deans) meetings, including discussions on University innovation and on postgraduate students..

The ‘Long Read’ focuses on International Kent and is written by Professor Karen Cox and Anthony Manning, Dean for Internationalisation.

The Bulletin is distributed fortnightly to all members of the Senior 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.