On Tuesday 5 November, the Kent branch of the University and College Union (UCU) announced its intention to take part in strike action over an eight-day period, from 25 November until 4 December, and action short of a strike (ASOS) to last beyond that date.

The planned action comes off the back of a national UCU ballot asking members to indicate whether they would be prepared to strike or take action short of strike (ASOS) on issues around pay and working conditions. Kent is one of 55 institutions where UCU secured a mandate for industrial action on the issue of pay and conditions.

The University’s Executive Group (EG) has recognised the strength of feeling expressed and the frustration that many staff feel on key issues around pay and conditions. EG is also aware that the potential for industrial action is unsettling for many of our staff and students.

This outcome is within a context of challenging circumstances at Kent and the sector as a whole. The higher education sector is facing unprecedented financial, regulatory and political challenges and the competitive recruitment environment has had a particular and unhelpful impact on Kent’s finances.

EG will continue to reflect on what all this means for Kent, and the options open to them. EG has also indicated to UCU that they are positive about an ongoing dialogue and hope that, through discussion with them and other stakeholders, a way forward may be found.

In the event that strike action goes ahead, EG will do all it can to minimise disruption and more information will be published to help staff navigate this difficult time and mitigate against the impact on students, whose experience remains the utmost priority.

The Templeman Library has been selected as a 2020 Civic Trust Awards Regional Finalist!

The Templeman Library has been coined the heart of the Canterbury Campus. Sitting in the middle of campus, with some of the best views across the city, it’s a hub for finding books and resources and studying alike.

The extension and refurbishment project was a challenge undertaken by Information Services and architects at Penoyre & Prasad which aimed to transform the library into a 21st century flagship learning environment by refurbishing the existing building, as well as extending to allow room for even more resources, study spaces and other learning facilities. To add a new lecture theatre, seminar rooms, exhibition space, archive area, conference facilities, more study space and new café, a huge 5,400m² extension was constructed. The building also got a new welcome hall, plus upgraded windows and façade.

The Civic Trust Awards aims to encourage the very best in architecture and environmental design, to improve the built environment for us all through design, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility, but also to reward projects that offer a positive cultural, social, economic or environmental benefit to their local communities.

Our project will now be considered for a National Award or Commendation by the National Judging Panel. Wish us luck!

Colleagues are invited to the Learning and Teaching Network session titled ‘The Mindfulness@Kent initiative: what is it, why is it needed and does it really work?’

The session takes place on Wednesday 20 November, 13.00-14.00, Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6.

Dr Elisabeth Curling, Senior Lecture at the school of Bioscience, will lead the session.

Dr Curling will explain how and why the practice of mindfulness across the University is actively helping a diverse range of students (and staff) who are studying and working within the higher education sector at Kent.

The session will focus on our widespread development of staff and student Mindfulness courses and drop-in sessions (from very humble beginnings in 2015) within the University of Kent and elsewhere and how this can really improve both staff and student well-being and academic success.

This session will provide an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of what is Mindfulness, how it positively affects brain function if practised regularly, and how you can get involved in Mindfulness provision for your students.

During the presentation, examples of Mindfulness courses and drop in sessions taking place at Canterbury and Medway will be shared and discussed, as well as giving you a flavour of our future initiatives. Plenty of time will be allocated for questions and discussion after the presentation.

The University Support Prize was awarded to us in July 2019 for this work on Mindfulness provision across the University.

This session will be of particular interest to academic and professional support staff who are involved in supporting students in any way, but all staff are welcome to attend who are interested in finding out more about Mindfulness.

To confirm your attendance please complete the online booking.

The Student Success (EDI) Project are delighted to present a special one-day Staff Symposium, in which we look at the ‘what, why and how’ of addressing the Black and Minority Ethnic student attainment gap at the University of Kent. Delegates will hear:

‘Why‘ we need to address attainment gaps, and potential consequences for the University of Kent if we don’t

‘How’ Student Success interventions are supporting students and impacting attainment gaps in Student Success Project Schools

‘What’ the University of Kent and your school needs to do to reduce attainment gaps, and ‘when’ you should take action

Who should attend?   All University of Kent staff – we can ALL do something to reduce attainment gaps.

Event booking information:

 Delegates may attend either the morning or afternoon sessions, or both.

A buffet lunch and poster exhibition will provide networking opportunities, with Student Success Project School staff on hand to discuss interventions in their respective schools, highlighting ‘what is working’ but also what challenges they have faced.

Full event details, Symposium programme and ticket reservations are available on Eventbrite via this link:     Student Success Project: Staff Symposium tickets 

Event organiser:   Chris Laming – Student Success project Administrator

Contact:                 studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk

Dr Patty Baker, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies, has received funding from the Institute of Classical Studies to hold two public outreach events in early 2020. She will work with local floral designers, flower growers, and the Canterbury Flower Club leading workshops that focus on how Roman floral designs and gardening can assist in promoting sustainable floristry today.

This workshop brings together two strands of Patty’s work experience. First, her research focuses on Greco-Roman medicine, health, and wellbeing. Recent publications explore the sensory experiences the Romans had in their gardens along with their conceptions of ‘pure air’ that they believed contributed to their humoral balance that informed their mental and physical health. Through her research, she found that flower crowns, like gardens, were believed to have balancing properties. Second, she had a summer and holiday job when she was an undergraduate working as a florist, so knows the business and how to arrange flowers.

The global nature of the floristry business makes it environmentally unsustainable. There is a movement to grow and buy local, seasonal flowers, as well as to avoid the use of non-biodegradable floral sundries. By introducing historical methods of design to those who work in the field, Patty is hoping to contribute to this growing environmental movement.

Just to remind you the staff survey will remain open to all staff until 13 November. You can take part in the survey now via this link.

This is an excellent opportunity for you to provide confidential feedback on your perception of Kent as a place to work and help us understand some of the issues that affect your working life – what we do well and what we can do better. We want to know how we measure up against our values and Kent 2025 ambitions during this time of organisational change.

Unlike the previous survey, the main purpose is to gauge feelings across the University during this time of change, enabling us to benchmark engagement levels during and after the Organising for Success project. Obtaining a measure of how well (or not) the University is navigating through change will provide valuable feedback on how and where to act. The results will be used for high-level action planning which will feed into the strategy for effectively delivering Organising for Success.

The Staff Survey is just one method of obtaining staff feedback during this time of change. Organising for Success was developed following extensive feedback from staff, with a number of staff engagement sessions as the proposals were developed. The focus is now on implementing the agreed proposals to ensure we can deliver the project by the end of 2020.

Staff will continue to have a voice as the plans are implemented – each implementation strand for Organising for Success will form stakeholder groups as needed to implement part of the project, with Strand Leads responsible for ensuring appropriate levels of engagement with all stakeholders.

Additionally, as announced in a  recent VC blog, EG members and colleagues will be holding further Open Forums later in the year which will allow feedback on what is working, what is not working as well as we would like, and how we can do things differently. Please visit the dedicated Organising for Success webpage for more detail.

For more information on the survey, please see our Staff Survey webpages.  If your question has not been answered here, please speak to your line manager or email: staffsurvey@kent.ac.uk