Location: Royal Dockyard Church, Chatham Dockyard

Date and time: Wed 27 Feb, 19.30

The Chineke! Foundation was established in 2015 to provide career opportunities to young Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe. The Chineke! Ensemble will be performing in Chatham this February, with tickets free for all students and staff (£10 for public).

Strauss (arranged Franz Hasenoehrl) Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders! (8 mins)

Florence Price String Quartet in G (1929) European premiere (13 mins)

Beethoven Septet in E flat Op 20 (42 mins)

Chineke!’s motto is: ‘Championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music’. The Chineke! Ensemble is comprised of exceptional musicians from across the continent brought together multiple times per year.

The event has been organised by University of Kent Arts&Culture, and tickets can be booked online.

Dr Lavinia Brydon, Lecturer in Film and Media in the School of Arts, has won a place on a British Academy and Academy of Science South Africa collaborative workshop. Taking place in Gauteng on Thursday 21 – Saturday 23 February, the workshop will explore the theme ‘Urban Lives’.

More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and this is projected to increase to almost five billion by 2030, with the majority of the urban growth concentrated in Africa and Asia.

The challenges and opportunities of living in an urban environment need responded to in a number of ways, drawing together academic, aesthetic, artistic, literary and policy perspectives and thought.

This workshop aims to bring together early career researchers based in the UK and South Africa who are able to contribute multiple disciplinary and cross-regional insights from the humanities and the social sciences to our understanding of urban life.

Lavinia’s research interests extend from the representation of place on screen to location filming, screen media tourism, DIY arts practices (including pop-up cinemas) and the construction of leisure spaces. She is looking forward to growing these interests within the ‘urban lives’ theme and with researchers who can offer different disciplinary perspectives and take her beyond the British context that she usually works within.

To read the full details about the workshop, please see the British Academy page.

Dr Frances Guerin, Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts, has just been interviewed for the podcast series This Is Not A Pipe Podcast.

This Is Not A Pipe Podcast explores critical theory, cultural studies and philosophy. It takes its name from the title of the painting by René Magritte.

In the episode, Frances discusses her book The Truth is Always Grey: A History of Modernist Painting (University of Minnesota Press, 2018).

In particular, Frances considers the question of what grey is: ‘It’s such an interesting question. The way that it is spelt even – is it grey or gray – how do we even write grey, and what is it? There’s this big question mark that sits over the colour grey’, she explains, ‘I think a lot of that is because we don’t pay much attention to grey.’

‘There’s this assumption that grey is all about reflecting depression; and the metaphor I always give is  the London sky, which is depressing and its gloomy, and we think of grey as describing the approach of death. And when painters and critics talk about grey, they talk about it as not a colour – they’ll say it’s colourless, or a non-colour, or somehow the same as black and white.’ And yet, in the episode, Frances goes on to explain why this is not the case and argues for the richness and vibrancy of the colour.

To find out why, you can listen to the episode on the This Is Not A Pipe Podcast page.

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning & Teaching Network session taking place on Friday 8 February, from 13:30-15:30 in the UELT Seminar Room, Canterbury.

Presented by Harriet Cannon and Jenny Brady, Disability Advisory Team, University of Leeds.

In this two hour session we will explore what makes an inclusive exam paper, and examine themes related to inclusive assessment practices.  Set in the context of a rapidly diversifying student body, we’ll discuss the interplay of academic integrity and genuinely equitable assessment methods, describe the difference between inclusive assessment and modified assessment, and explore how assessment language can inadvertently contribute to discrimination and poor student outcomes.

Using guidance and materials developed by the University of Leeds, this interactive session will enable participants to work together to create inclusive exam papers, using real-life examples, as well as providing an opportunity to discuss this important topic. Participants are encouraged to bring along their exam papers.

Please confirm your attendance by completing the online booking form.

As we approach a possible period of adverse weather, here’s a timely reminder of the University’s snow policy for both the Canterbury and Medway campuses. Students are also being sent similar information today.

The Adverse weather policy for staff has been re-written in the last year and includes updated guidance for managers and their teams as well as clarity over pay arrangements:

https://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffinformation/documents/policies/adverse-weather/Adverse%20Weather%20Pay%20Policy%20V1.3.pdf

You can also find it on the HR list of policies for staff:

https://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffinformation/policies/a_to_z.html

The University recognises that staff and students may face difficulties attending the University and returning home during periods of adverse weather conditions such as heavy snow falls or flooding which may result in journeys to work being extremely hazardous and may create significant transport disruption.

The University must ensure that disruption caused to its services remains minimal whilst at the same time protecting the health and safety of all its staff, students and visitors to campus.

In the event of adverse weather or transport disruption staff are responsible for:

•   making every effort to get to work if possible and safe to do so;
• assessing the risk in travelling and not undertake journeys if they consider them to be unsafe;
• following the reporting arrangements if likely to be delayed / unable to travel to work;
• ensuring they make the necessary arrangements such that where appropriate they can work from home if adverse weather is forecast;
• taking up opportunities offered to them to make up time for work already paid;

Our Estates Department Travel and Transport team provide information on planning your journey should you be in need of assistance – https://www.kent.ac.uk/transport/planning.

The University will not normally close, but there may be circumstances in which a reduction to ‘essential services only’ is declared either at Canterbury, Medway or both

Should that happen, we will inform you by email and by updates to the University’s News Centre – http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/.

This will result in all teaching being cancelled and the closure of the majority of University services while those service staff deemed ‘essential’ focus on safety, security and the needs of students who live on campus. Professional service departments should already have determined which staff are ‘essential’ and discussed with them their duties under these circumstances.

If you have any queries relating to this policy, please discuss them with your line manager.

Denise Everitt | Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer

Having formed just over two years ago, the team of University staff players came from a background of little or no netball experience. With the intent to try something new and get active during their lunch breaks at the University of Kent, each player has thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and have seen improvements in their skills and overall fitness.

Kent Sport staff member and Unicorns coach Sadie Appleby has taken the team from strength to strength: “I am absolutely thrilled to coach a team of such fantastic ladies. Each one has made huge leaps with their skills and I really look forward to where the team can go in the future!”

All the Unicorns have shown commitment and determination in training sessions, have improved their knowledge and skills and shown outstanding sportsmanship in every match. This hasn’t gone unnoticed and is regularly commented on by umpires, other teams and the league committee. With their shining reputation it was no surprise that Kent Unicorns were awarded ‘Team of the Year’ at the Thanet and District Netball League presentation evening – a great accolade and a fitting tribute to their determination.

Congratulations to the Kent Unicorns and we look forward to seeing what the new year brings!

Fancy playing netball? If you’re looking to get active, have fun and learn new skills, Kent Sport run open staff netball sessions each Monday at 1pm in the Sports Centre – just £2 per session with a Bronze membership (free for Gold and Silver Kent Sport members).  See membership options.