Surrogacy law reform champion Dr Kirsty Horsey has secured a Kent Faculty Research Fund grant of £3,375 to critically test a ‘myth’ that traditional surrogacy (where the surrogate uses her own egg) is materially different to host surrogacy (where the surrogate is implanted with genetic material unrelated to her).

Dr Horsey will undertake empirical research to determine what difference may or may not exist between the way traditional and host surrogates view both their surrogacy journey and their genetic connection to the child.

The research project, ‘Surrogates Views on traditional surrogacy: is it different?’, is timely given that both the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission are conducting a UK-wide review of laws on surrogacy. The Law Commissions are aware that some jurisdictions regulate traditional and host surrogacy differently and recognise that there is a gap in research in this area. Dr Horsey’s findings will help fill this gap, informing legal reform as well as public and political debate on surrogacy.

Many of these myths were dispelled in a report published by Dr Horsey back in November 2015. Her report, ‘Surrogacy in the UK: Myth busting and reform’, provided an unprecedented insight into how surrogacy is practised in the UK. It was produced as part of Surrogacy UK’s Working Group on Surrogacy Law Reform. Dr Horsey subsequently organised a London conference looking at surrogacy law reform in May 2016, the proceedings of which were subsequently published in a special edition of the Journal of Medical Ethics and Law.

Dr Horsey is a Reader in Law at Kent Law School. She is also part of the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Surrogacy.

The Athena SWAN team will be hosting a special meeting of the Women’s Network on Thursday 5 March in honour of International Women’s Day, on the theme of inspirational women. We will be holding an informal discussion about the amazing women who have inspired us in work and life.

The event will take place from 12.00 – 14.00 in the UELT Seminar Room. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in the conversation, or just listen and get inspired. Lunch will be provided.

Please book your place via Eventbrite:

You are warmly invited to a Menopause Café next week! Hosted by the Athena SWAN team the event is open to staff of all ages and genders, and is an opportunity to eat cake, drink tea and discuss menopause in an informal environment.

When: Thursday 20 February at 15.00

Where: Suite 3, Darwin Conference Suite.

Please book your place via the Eventbrite website

Menopause Café was founded by Rachel Weiss in Perth, Scotland. For more information, please visit the Menopause Café website

As part of international activity on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), members from the University Sustainability team, Kent Union and colleagues from across the University are hosting a fortnight of activities beginning on Friday 14 February.

There is something for everyone from open lectures, outdoor activities, community events and student led actions that focus on climate and ecological sustainability. See the full timetable.

This week, University of Kent students join other university and school students from the city for Youth Strike 4 Climate on Friday 14 February demanding climate action. The following day, University of Kent students will facilitate Mini-Citizens’ Assemblies for all-age participants as part of the Culture Declares Emergency family day at the Gulbenkian.

These events are aimed to help the community discuss the tough choices that are necessary to effectively move away from fossil-fuelled to sustainable society and lifestyles and parallels the national Climate Assembly UK that is currently underway.

Next week’s activity will be focused around the Sustainable Development Goals Teach-In, an NUS-coordinated campaign where universities across the UK aim to make links to the SDGs within their taught courses during the week of the 17- 21 February 2020.

For more information about the SDG teach-In please visit our Sustainability Education web pages.

Anyone who takes part in the SDG Teach-In or is just interested in finding out more about the SDGs is welcome to join us for our Sustainable Development Goals Lunch to talk to operational and academic staff from across the University and beyond about sustainability over a fantastic bespoke Sustainable lunch. The lunch takes place Tuesday 25 February, 12.00 – 14.00 in Keynes Teaching Foyer.

We’re planning a fantastic buffet including a delicious Butternut Squash and Sweet potato curry with all the trimmings and places are limited so please email sustainabilty@kent.ac.uk to let us know you will be coming.

The University of Kent’s Community Cup team played their first fixture of their Kent FA Community Cup campaign on Sunday morning. Despite the gusting winds of Storm Ciara, the team managed to rally together and walk away with an impressive 4-0 victory against Lateef Restaurant.

The first half was an interesting performance with both teams struggling to break away from the right hand side of the pitch due to the powerful cross winds. With just minutes of the first half remaining, Billy Radford, managed to secure the opener, with a big help from a deflection and the unpredictable weather conditions.

With the wind behind them in the second half, the team pressed on and goals from Charlie Dast (1) and James Budge (2) secured the victory for the team.

The victory against Lateef Restaurant puts the team in a strong position going into their last fixture of the group stage (hopefully in better weather) against Christchurch University on Sunday 1st March, 10:30am kick-off, at The Pavilion, University of Kent. The Pavilion Café Bar will be open for refreshments, so why not show your support for the team.

If you are interested in joining the team or are looking for casual football opportunities on campus, please email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk for further details. All levels and abilities are welcome!

The Facebook album for the Kent v Lateef Restaurant can be viewed on this page.

Love the SMSAS Public Lectures? Here are the details for the talks coming up:

The next lecture is titled: A story of doughnuts, power lines and the London Underground

When:  Tuesday 25 February 2020, 18.00 – 19.00

Where: Sibson Lecture Theatre 3, University of Kent Canterbury Campus

Who: Dr Constanze Roitzheim, University of Kent

Audience: The talk is suitable for a general audience and is free to attend.

Abstract: Topology is a new form of geometry that looks at things quite differently compared to the classical, Euclidean approach. We will explore how this can be applied to the world today as well as how it can be used to solve problems that have been open for several thousand years.

May Lecture

When:  Thursday 14 May 2020, 18.00 -19.00

Where: Sibson Lecture Theatre 3, University of Kent Canterbury Campus

Who: Professor Peter Clarkson, University of Kent

Title: Rogue Waves, Tsunamis and Solutions 

Audience: The talk is suitable for a general audience and is free to attend.

It’s #saferinternetday on 11 February, a day which aims to make sure that anyone using the internet feels safe online, whether they are browsing, banking, sharing information about themselves, giving an opinion or posting photos.

Dr Jason Nurse, Lecturer in Cyber Security and Director of Public Engagement at the Kent Interdisciplinary Research Centre, has some great tips on how you and your students can stay safe online which he has released in collaboration with Futurum.

Futurum resources are created with scientists and researchers, which means they are factually correct, current and, above all, safe for the public, teachers and students to use. Below are some of our very latest research articles and activity sheets, and you’ll find even more on our website.