A vision for Medway as ‘The Waterfront City of Kent’ was among the exciting plans unveiled at a recent presentation.

The presentation, at our Medway campus on 12 April, was given by Simon Cook, Principal of MidKent College, on the Medway Place Board (which he chairs) and the Medway Champions Scheme.

The Place Board and Champions Scheme aim to put Medway on the map by:

• addressing negative perceptions of the area, promoting Medway as a place to be proud of,
• attracting significant national recognition for Medway through, for example, a bid to be UK City of Culture 2025.

For staff unable to attend, Simon Cook’s Place Board presentation is available here.

Explore a visual and tactile representation of the breadth of research undertaken at Kent.

Kent’s PhD Quilt is the first of its kind. Each quilt block was created by a different PhD student, representing the core concept of their PhD. Quilting was done in collaboration with the Canterbury Quilters Society.

Come along to its grand unveiling, before it sets off across the country as a unique form of public engagement. Meet the amazing students researching topics from Moby Dick to the ivory trade, and the talented quilters who added their own artistic interpretation to the quilt.

Tuesday 30th April 18:00-20:00 in the Colyer Fergusson Foyer. Wine and nibbles will be provided. Let us know you are coming by signing up or email graduateschool@kent.ac.uk

“I wanted to provide an opportunity for Kent PhD students to explore alternative ways of communicating their research, while enhancing their own well-being through mindful creativity. I’ve been quilting for a few years, and create textile portraits of endangered species to help raise awareness and funds for them. Quilting is both a really fun pastime, and a fun way of engaging people in my work. I thought a visual and tactile representation of the breadth of research undertaken at Kent would be a unique form of public engagement. Kent’s PhD Quilt is the first of its kind. Each quilt block was created by a different PhD student, representing the core concept of their PhD. Quilting was done in collaboration with the Canterbury Quilters Society.”  – Commissioned by Laura Thomas-Walters, PhD Candidate.

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to Lawrence Jackson Deputy Head of Film and Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts.

Lawrence Jackson is a film practitioner and academic, and in this latest interview Lawrence reveals why he relates to the protagonist in the 2016 comedy film Mindhorn, how he hated growing up in Guildford, why he played in his own fantasy world as a child in an age of Blake’s 7 and Dr. Who, why he thought he would be murdered if he read a whodunnit, why he loves ELO and the Traveling Wilburys but thinks the Goombay Dance Band’s ‘Seven Tears’ is unspeakably bad, and how he used to write down the charts every Sunday (as you can imagine, this part of the interview got me very excited!). We find out that his family’s political and religious ideology isn’t really his own, and why it was that he was so disappointed when John Major won the 1992 General Election. We also discover why going to boarding school at age 13 was a key experience, and we find out whether Lawrence is a looking back or a looking forward type of person.

The School of Arts is delighted to announce the launch of a dedicated website for the Playing A/Part research project, investigating the identities of autistic girls through creative practices.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Playing A/Part is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the universities of Kent and Surrey, involving academics, arts practitioners and the autistic community in participatory research. Academics from drama and media arts at the University of Kent are working with specialists in psychology and autism at Surrey, alongside a steering group of autistic women and .a multidisciplinary advisory board.  The Principal investigator on the project is Nicola Shaughnessy, Professor of Performance in the Department of Drama and Theatre and the project is in partnership with Limpsfield Grange School in Surrey.

By offering participants (aged 11-16) the opportunity to take part in a range of creative participatory activities, the research aims to gain insights into how autistic girls and adolescents experience themselves and their world. The team are evaluating how creative activities affect self-awareness and well-being. The creative tools include improvisation, puppetry, storytelling and collaborative media production.

The new site includes information about the research and the team, videos about the research, links to publications and further resources, and details of past and forthcoming events.

The site can be found here.

Dr Gloria Chamorro, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the Department of English Language and Linguistics and Project Leader for the English Hub for Refugees Project, was invited to Valley Invicta Primary School, Kings Hill, to talk to Year 5 and 6 pupils and teachers to raise awareness about the situation and needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

In the one hour session, Gloria allowed pupils to explore and learn about the journeys many refugees take, and highlighted the turmoil and upheaval that a large number of individuals and families go through, especially minors.

Gilly Linnane, Assistant Headteacher at Valley Invicta Primary School, said: “the session was thought-provoking, interesting and engaging; children and adults alike enjoyed the competitive quiz elements and learning facts about refugees and asylum seekers (across the UK and beyond). The session was carefully matched to the age and abilities of our pupils and many children kept asking more questions after the workshop”.

Interested in collaborating with industry, public sector or third sector? Want to enhance your networking skills? Attend the Enterprise and Impact Training Day on 1st May 2019!

What and Why: Develop the confidence and skills to engage in – or build further on – collaborations with non-academic external partners (industry, public sector or third sector). The day will include:

• A skill building session on initiating collaborations and networking
• Practical case-studies presented by academics
• An overview of different routes to enterprise and innovation activities
• Lots of opportunity to ask questions, engage and exchange experiences

Who is it for: academics and researchers at any stage of their career but relatively new to collaborations with external partners and/or wishing to build on networking skills.

When: Wednesday 1 May 2019, 9:45 – 16:30

Where: Jennison Seminar room 1, Canterbury Campus, University of Kent

Who by: Jointly organised by Kent Innovation & Enterprise, and Learning and Organisational Development and facilitated by Jenny Wade, an independent leadership consultant.

How to sign up: via Staff Connect search for ‘enterprise’ under Training.  Places are limited to 20 participants and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

If you’d like more information please email enterprise@kent.ac.uk

The Assessment and Feedback Steering Group is holding a meeting with all staff to discuss the proposal to introduce a Winter Assessment Period.

You are all invited to attend on Tuesday 7 May 14.00-16.00 in Rutherford Lecture Theatre 1, Canterbury campus.

The paper that AFSG submitted to Education Board in February 2019 can be found at the following link.

We invite your view on the paper. In case you cannot attend the meeting, please feel free to address your feedback/comments to: afsgconsult@kent.ac.uk