Event date and time: Wednesday 16 January, 16.00-17.30
Event title: Multi-lingual Communication, Minorities and Identity
Event location: Grimond Lecture Theatre 2
Inspirational speaker Professor Itesh Sachdev examines the complex relationship between language, communication and group identity in multi-lingual communication, using data from indigenous and migrant minorities and majorities around the world.
Further details: email Alison Webb – acw42@kent.ac.uk
The Student Success Staff Seminar due to take place Wednesday 16 January 2019, Medway Campus, Pilkington Building Room 127, 1pm-2pm will be rescheduled. It has come to our attention that this seminar clashes with several other Medway events. We will be in contact shortly with a new date.
The Canterbury event Friday 18 January 2019, Canterbury Campus, Keynes Seminar Room 13, 1pm-2pm will still go ahead.
The University of Kent’s Annual Learning and Teaching Conference takes place on Monday 17 June.
This year’s conference will be focusing on interaction and inclusivity in learning and teaching, and we are inviting proposals for workshops, discussion papers, mini-presentations and posters from Kent staff involved in teaching or supporting students’ learning.
The deadline for receipt of proposals is 28 February. You can find more details of the theme and arrangements, and a straightforward and friendly booking form.
The Annual Learning and Teaching Conference is open to all who are interested in celebrating our excellent teaching at Kent, improving our support for students’ learning, sharing good practice, and trying out new ideas. It’s a welcoming space for us to think, talk and learn together; but we know the impact lasts much longer than the day itself. From previous conferences have come successful funding bids, published papers, collaborative research, and changes to practice – last year, for instance, our keynote presentation inspired several schools to try out new approaches to student induction.
To book a place on the conference please complete the online booking form.
Since 2 January 2019, staff have been able to request annual leave and record sickness absence through Staff Connect; the University’s integrated HR and Payroll system.
This is part of the continuing development of Staff Connect which aims to streamline our HR processes and extend employee and manager self-service, providing a one-stop-shop for as many HR activities as possible.
If you have any questions about Staff Connect and the launch of this new module, there is guidance and support available, including;
There are a couple of recurring questions that we thought it would be useful to highlight:
Bank holidays and customary days
Annual leave entitlement for seconded staff
Staff Connect calculates annual leave based on your current role. Unfortunately this means that staff on secondment cannot book annual leave for their substantive role until they return to their post. We are currently looking into whether this can be amended.
Sick leave
All new sickness absences need to be entered in Staff Connect. Any absence which started before 2 January 2019 should be managed via Payroll.
Team calendar view
We have temporarily removed the ‘view team calendar’ button as it is not showing the correct information. The issue has been raised with our suppliers as a matter of urgency.
‘My View Session Ended’ message
This message occurs for some users. This issue has also been raised with our suppliers. If you get this message and cannot enter absence you can ask your manager to do it on your behalf.
This is the latest update in the Staff Connect Phase 2 project. The new staff recruitment system, replacing i-Grasp, will go live in February.
The SECL Student Success Project is offering students the chance to meet with an Academic Peer Mentor over a FREE drink and cake.
The Academic Peer Mentoring (APM) scheme is a chance for undergraduate students to be mentored in their studies by experienced students, and this is a great chance to learn more about the scheme. If you’ve never heard of Academic Peer Mentors before and you’re not sure how they can help, then this is your chance to see how they can benefit you.
All you need to do is email SECL@kent.ac.uk with ‘Meet Me in the Gulb’ in the subject, tell us what course you are on and we’ll do the rest!
Beginning on Wednesday 30th January, the SECL Student Support team will begin running weekly drop-in sessions in the Staff Room (on the first floor of Cornwallis North West, opposite SECL Reception), 14.00-15.30. There is no need to register – just turn up.
Refreshments will be provided and all students are welcome to drop by just to relax, play board games, read, or have a chat. If you have some time between afternoon lectures or seminars, please come along and join us!
Email seclstusup@kent.ac.uk for more information
The Year in Computing gives Kent students from any subject area the opportunity to add a Year in Computing to their degree to help improve their skills and employability. To help interested students find out more, the School of Computing, have arranged a “kick start lunch”, with free pizza, on Tuesday 22 January,12.30-14.00, in Cornwallis SW101.
Many students are keen to learn the tech skills that will make them stand out to a graduate employer, or simply want to learn more about computing for their own interests. The Year in Computing is a free-standing, self-contained year, offered to students from other schools in the University and can be taken after stage two or three (that is, between your second and final year, or after your final year). This extra year can be taken after stage 2 or the final year of a students’ current degree programme.
The Year in Computing will especially be of interest to you if:
If you would like to attend, please book your place online.
Building on the Wellbeing Zone theme for January 2019, here are links to some articles and publications expanding on the theme of alcohol consumption and how high levels of consumption adversely affect health and relationships.
The University of Kent Wellbeing Zone is a free tool to help you learn more about all aspects of wellbeing and you can use it to better manage your own health and wellbeing.
Logon today at www.kent.wellbeingzone.co.uk Or create an account by clicking ‘Register’ and using the following organisation Code : KENT1
Tickets for the Researching the Rainbow Conference at the University of Kent on 15 and 16 February 2019 are now available,
The Conference will be held on Friday 15 February from 14.00-19.00 2 and on Saturday 16 February from 10.00-17.00 and is free to attend and open to all.
The call for Papers is also open until 20 January, so there is still time to register as a contributor. Papers are welcome from academics at any stage of their career, students or professionals.
Research posters from any discipline are also welcomed for display. If you would like to give a talk (15 or 30 minutes) or display a poster, please email lgbtstaffnetwork@kent.ac.uk by 20 January.
The University can also offer 10 students or early career researchers (up to three years post PhD) up to £140 towards travel and accommodation. Please email lgbtstaffnetwork@kent.ac.uk if you are interested.
This is the University of Kent LGBT+ Staff Network’s third annual Researching the Rainbow Conference and will be held on the University’s Canterbury campus.
The conference, which takes part during LGBT History Month, is to showcase the vast array of excellent research being done on or related to LGBT+ people and issues, and to encourage multi-disciplinary collaboration and networking.
Previous topics have included gay and lesbian representation in the media, transgender issues within mental health care and parenting law, British colonial laws on sodomy, homosexual WWII clandestine operatives, and queer exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
Having listened to your suggestions from the recent Campus Shuttle survey, which over 450 staff and students completed, we have introduced some changes to the shuttle service this term.
In response to your feedback:
Medway student feedback was clear in wanting the new service from Liberty Quays to the Pembroke campus and the Historic Dockyard. To ensure we can keep an hourly service, the decision had to be made to remove one of the stops at Canterbury. The majority of you in the survey said you’d prefer to keep the Keynes bus stop, or had no clear preference.
Features of the new vehicles include Wi-Fi, USB charging points, more comfortable seats, a toilet and fold out tables on the larger vehicle. Both of the vehicles will be wrapped in a University of Kent design.
*We aim to have the new booking system available in the next couple of days. We will tweet from @CampusShuttle when booking becomes available.
If you have any feedback about the changes to the shuttle service, please email TransportTeam@kent.ac.uk