As part of the Student Success Project’s Inspirational Speaker series, Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Politics at the University of Wolverhampton, Meena Dhanda, gave a talk on Wednesday 6 March entitled ‘Caste consciousness: the necessity of internal critique’.

In her talk, Professor Dhanda shared the problems encountered in morally and politically confronting caste consciousness. Fear of ’emergent vulnerabilities’ closes discussion, but attention to internal critiques of inherited ways of life opens the path for truly decolonised ways of thinking. This talk was followed by a meal out with Meena.

Dr Laura Bailey, Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics and SECL Student Success Lecturer, said: “In a fascinating talk and a lively discussion over the course of the evening, Professor Dhanda gave us the benefit of her considerable expertise on the issues raised by campaigns to make caste discrimination illegal in the UK, like discrimination based on ethnicity or gender. Along the way, we also learnt the term ’emergent vulnerability’, which is a tactic of claiming victimhood in a way that is parasitic on real victims (at dinner afterwards, for instance, we drew parallels with the #MeToo movement and the way that certain men were portrayed as victims for losing their careers).”

On Saturday 23 March, the Ingram oil tanks will be removed using a crane. The Sports Centre road will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians from 07.00  to 12.00.

The parking bays in the vicinity of the tank bund will be coned off on the evening of Friday 22 March. During the removal, there will be no access to the Sports Centre P&D and Sports Centre Blue Zone car parks .

We apologise for any inconvenience and will endeavour to keep any disruption to a minimum. If there are any queries, please contact Estates Customer Services on ext 16666.

Ronald Wooldridge
Senior Services Engineer (Mechanical)

The Staff Connect absence module, which went live in January 2019, currently allows managers to record their team’s Time off in lieu (TOIL) as authorised paid absences but does not allow for staff to record TOIL being earned.

Feedback from many teams in the University is that they operate individual TOIL management systems (such as e-Days, spreadsheets or Outlook) and would like an equivalent solution in Staff Connect.

The next upgrade of the Staff Connect software in late March will allow the recording of TOIL to be added to the system. It is anticipated that this functionality will be made live in late March or early April after it has been fully tested. New user guides and manager guidance about the use of the TOIL solution will also be made available.

The introduction of the recording of TOIL in Staff Connect fits with the project’s aim to streamline our HR processes and provide employees and managers with a one-stop-shop for most HR-related activity. It will deliver a consistent way of recording TOIL across every area of the University and support the principles of Simplifying Kent in reducing duplication of systems with their associated costs and effort.

TOIL guidance

Paid TOIL on an hour-for-hour basis can be awarded to those who are contractually obliged to work a prescribed number of hours per week.  The decision whether to offer time off in lieu will be made by the responsible supervisor and will be communicated to the member of staff before the work is undertaken. The taking of TOIL leave must be mutually agreed between the member of staff concerned and the responsible supervisor.

TOIL balances in Staff Connect are kept separate from annual leave entitlements. For Staff in grades 1-6 TOIL can be earned by the hour. For Staff in grades 7 and above, TOIL is an informal non contractual arrangement but may be accrued, by exception, only in half day or full day blocks and where pre-agreed.

For all staff TOIL should be taken in half-day or full day blocks.

In the case of grades 1-6 if a staff member with an outstanding TOIL balance changes post or leaves the employment of the University of Kent, they should speak to their line manager to arrange to reclaim this TOIL. If the TOIL cannot be taken then the department may choose to pay this TOIL balance as overtime. There is no corresponding entitlement for grades 7 and above.

Many of you have enquired about various aspects of the Organising for Success project and how you can find out more about what is proposed and be able to raise issues that concern and/or interest you.

Organising for Success is built on four key proposed changes:

1. Creation of new academic groups.
2. Creation of new administrative and professional support arrangements for these new academic groups. These new arrangements will include devolved resources from some professional service departments and would involve the removal of the current faculty structure.
3. New Executive Group (EG) portfolios to build on synergies across professional service functions, reflect strategic themes and strengthen the focus on the student experience. These new portfolios will mean that a range of existing central professional service units will have different reporting arrangements.
4. New leadership model for our academic groups with leaders who are empowered and equipped to enable their areas to respond positively to our new environment and challenges.

There are clearly some significant changes included in these headline proposals and so we are holding a series of five topic-based engagement sessions during March/April on:

• Devolution of Professional Services
• Organisation Structure (excluding schools)
• School Configurations & Governance
• The Faculty Layer
• New Leadership Model

Each of the sessions will be led by a member of the Executive Group (EG) and take place on a range of dates and in various locations. If you’re interested in attending a session, click on Staff Connect, where you can search for the session(s) you’re interested in under ‘Training Request’. Select ‘Briefings and Updates’ in the drop-down menu marked ‘Type’ and hit the blue Search button to see all the sessions.

As we are using Staff Connect to manage event bookings, each one will generate a request to your line manager to authorise your attendance – it is our expectation that managers will support attendance unless there are strong operational reasons justifying a refusal.

All the events are designed to cater to large audiences of approximately 50 staff. Where we are over-subscribed, we will look to arrange additional sessions where possible. There will also be a number of pop-up roadshow events detailing more about the changes and collating feedback.

The School of Arts will host a talk and Q&A session with television producer Daisy Lilley, entitled ‘Constructing Reality: In Conversation with Daisy Lilley’, on Tuesday 19 March 2019 1pm-3pm, in the Aphra Theatre.

Daisy Lilley is a creative producer with vast experience across factual and entertainment TV production – both prime time and daytime. Some of her projects include Love Island, Come Dine with Me, and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

Daisy is also the co-creator and executive producer of the social media-based reality series The Circle, launched in September 2018, which follows a group of contestants who are only able to interact with each other via a specially designed voice-activated social media platform. The contestants must use the platform to become the highest rated participant in order to win the £50,000 prize.

The Circle will be returning to Channel 4 for a second series later this year, and has also been snapped up by streaming service Netflix, who plan to make the French, Brazilian and U.S. adaptations of the programme.

This Q&A will examine Daisy’s process of fusing old and new forms of media to create, develop and deliver some of the most addictive content on contemporary factual entertainment.  Daisy’s work fuses traditional television and digital culture forms making viewing practices multimedia experiences.

The event has been organised by Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, Lecturer in Media Studies, who said: ‘This is a great opportunity to meet an industry professional working on the cutting edge of traditional and new media forms. Daisy’s work is troubling contemporary streaming practices, such as Netflix, as she puts audience interactivity and multimedia experiences at the forefront. Come and learn about the future of TV viewing and tweet out your questions to @UniKentArts‘.

The event is free to attend and open to all. For full details, please see the page here: www.kent.ac.uk/arts/newsandevents/calendar.html?eid=37135

Alumna Faye Golley, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy of Artin 2016, is currently curating the Strangelove Time-based Media Festival 2019, which will feature a special symposium at the Folkestone Quarterhouse, held on Friday 22 March 2019.

Faye is Founder and Gallery Director of Casement Arts, a window gallery in Folkestone, Co-director of Threads Nomadic Gallery, which aids artist development through regular discourse and criticism outside main institutions, and is curator and project manager of the Strangelove Time-based Media Festival.

Faye explains how her involvement in the Festival came about: “In my first year of being a graduate I threw myself at as many opportunities that I came across; I volunteered at a number of arts festivals. My first proper job was as an assistant producer for Threads Nomadic Gallery, which led to me joining the team and being invited to curate a show as part of Strangelove Festival 2017.

“As a student I also did some invigilating at Studio 3. The way audiences entered and interacted with the exhibitions always fascinated me. Which way did they walk around the show? Was this the way the curator had intended them to walk? Which work did they stop at again was this all planned by the curator? I loved it when someone broke the trend, and now when I curate shows I try and think of how that person would move around the space.”

The Festival was launched at the Photographer’s Gallery in London, 23 February, before moving to the Turner Contemporary in Margate and the Fabrica in Brighton, with the festival will concluding with five days of events in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter from 20 March.

The theme of the symposium is ‘Past, Present Future: What is Time-Based Media?’ It will begin with a rough history of video art by artist and writer Chris Meigh-Andrews, who also will chair the programme, followed by presentations from Larry Achiampong, Manuel Vason, Jane England, Keith Piper and Lois Keidan.

Tickets for the symposium cost £8/£6 concessions. To book, please see the Folkestone Quarterhouse page here: www.quarterhouse.co.uk/whats-on/past-present-future-what-is-time-based-media

For all the Festival events listed by location, please see the page here:
www.strangelovefestival.com/programme-by-location

Professor Ian Beckett’s monograph, A British Profession of Arms: The Politics of Command in the Late Victorian Army (published by Oklahoma University Press), has been shortlisted for the Templer Medal of the Society for Army Historical Research, awarded annually to the best book on British military history published in the previous year. The final award will be announced and presented to the winner by HRH the Duke of Kent at the National Army Museum on 9 April 2019. Professor Beckett retired from teaching at Kent in 2015 but remains an Honorary Professor in the School of History.

Unibuddy is a platform which allows prospective students to talk to current students. It gives students a unique opportunity to ask questions which they might not be comfortable asking a member of Kent staff. Students are able to chat informally with a peer and get a real feel for what it might be like if they choose to study at Kent. Current Unibuddies who have said that they used the platform to speak to a current student before starting at Kent said it really helped them feel more confident about going to university.

Ambassadors who sign up to Unibuddy get employability points and we also announce a buddy of the month every month with the chosen buddy winning a £10 Amazon voucher.

We currently have 28 ambassadors on the platform but currently no ambassadors who are based in Medway. We want to change this!

To find out more and apply to be a Unibuddy please visit the Kent Union site: https://kentunion.co.uk/buddyplus