Many of our live BAG week events are now fully booked. However, we have lots of webinars and blogs that can be viewed any time during the week. L&OD are also updating the rolling blog every day, so look out for any new activities.

Activities you can access:

Facebook live given by the Uni Boob Team on behalf of CoppaFeel!

Working from Home blog by Carin Tunaker.

Microsoft Teams Training from our IT Team.

Age related issues, with Covid 19 in mind blog by Sarah Vickerstaff.

Staying Strong webinar for UNISON members.

BAME Staff Network, meet the Co-Chairs blog.

BAME Staff Network video

Online inclusion – make the virtual accessible to all, a blog by Natalia Crisanti.

Free online physiotherapy consultations with Kent Sport.

Kent Sport are offering free 20 minute online or telephone consultations with Vicky Annis, lead physiotherapist at the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic. Consultations are open to all staff. To book a consultation, please email physio@kent.ac.uk. These sessions are available until 27 May 2020 and there are limited spaces.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – Supporting your Wellbeing during Covid-19.

Webinars from Sodexo and Care First – our EAP Providers. Please click on our Supporting your wellbeing story.

Preparing to come out of lockdown – you can access a fact sheet on preparing to come out of lockdown, and register for a webinar on Monday afternoon, 11 May at 14:00.

The available webinars cover all aspects of living under lockdown and the Covid-19 crisis, on the home page of the EAP website, (login: uokent and password: university).

Also available to view:

Top tips to boost your Immunity with Care first

Social Media use during isolation

Keeping children occupied at home

Care first – Management Support

Tips to keep control of your finances

Easy ways to keep active from home

Sleep & Anxiety: Tips to getting a good night’s sleep

Bereavement

Information for Mental Health First Aiders – Supporting people remotely

Support & Information around COVID-19 & Care first guidance

Care first isolation & loneliness support

Care first – emotional support

Domestic Abuse during COVID-19 & how Care First can offer support

Understanding Furlough

Social Media, Technology & Young People

Understanding COVID-19 & how Care First can support you

Mental Health Awareness in line with COVID-19

Tips for working from home & support from Care First

Hopefully with the live sessions and all of the above we have something for everyone – “it’s your BAG”!

Celebrations were had in SMSAS at the beginning of March when Rachel McCrea was awarded the 2020 Guy Bronze Medal by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS). President of the Royal Statistical Society said: “Dr McCrea has made a profound contribution to statistical ecology. […] The Guy Medal in Bronze has been awarded for her innovative and novel work in statistical ecology, with particular reference to the development of goodness-of-fit tests and model selection strategies for complex ecological data”.

We are absolutely delighted by the fact that the festivities have continued into May owing to the well-deserved promotion of Rachel to professor.

Rachel is SMSAS’s Deputy Director of Research, and Director of Studies for our new sandwich programme, Year in Data Analytics. Rachel is also the Director of the National Centre for Statistical Ecology and part of the University’s respected Statistical Ecology research group.

Rachel completed a Natural Environment Research Council-funded research fellowship in 2016 and was also awarded an EPSRC New Investigator Research Award in 2018 for a project Modelling removal and re-introduction data for improved conservation.  This project will develop new statistical approaches to make the most of the information available from removal and re-introduction data.

Further information on Rachel’s impactful research can be found on the Statistical Ecology at Kent blog.

Congratulations Professor McCrea!

Dr Todd Mei, Head of the Department of Philosophy, has recently been interviewed by the journalist Dana Lewis, alongside BBC political commentator Jo Phillips, on a podcast episode of ‘Back Story’.

Todd uses the words of Aristotle to extol the virtues of courage and justice in times of a global pandemic.

He says: “In these kinds of situations, as a result of the pandemic and as a result of our lifestyle changing, it does require resilience, solidarity and community.”

“Day to day, people who we encounter in shops and communities are taking on significant importance in our daily lives. I would hope that this would go on to create a greater appreciation for low paid workers. Hopefully, it will create a renewed respect and appreciation for community workers and encourage businesses to get involved with meaningful work, which does not just equate to monetary value, but also makes the workers feel like they are doing something that contributes to society.”

You can listen to the full episode online (Todd’s segment is at around 16:00)

The Government has now published its recovery strategy in support of a lifting of the restrictions brought in to manage the coronavirus. Like others in the sector, we are working towards a phased return of our activities and will need time to prepare and adapt our ways of working as well as our physical spaces and buildings before they can be re-opened.

While the Government’s strategy does not refer directly to universities, it does confirm that scientific research laboratories can now begin to re-open. This is welcome news, but it is essential that the appropriate health and safety measures are in place before we resume lab-based research. We have already started work on how we can do this and will draw on best practice from the sector as well as following government advice on ensuring a safe working environment. We will continue to update you on our progress in this area.

Over the coming months, we will gradually begin to recommence our activities on campus in a measured and considered way. The health and wellbeing of our staff and students remain at the forefront of all our planning and the appropriate measures will need to be in place before we begin to transition back to more face-to-face ways of working.

In the meantime, you should continue with your current working arrangements as agreed with your line manager.

My very best wishes to you and your families,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Following the extension to the scheme due to the disruption caused by Covid-19, the current window for KVSS applications will close on 24 May.

This additional window of the scheme was introduced in light of the University’s financial situation and the need to make significant savings in staffing costs this year. It is open to specific groups of staff, including those in areas where we know that savings will need to be made. Full details, including information on how to apply, are available on the HR staff webpages.

There will be a final window of KVSS only for those staff who are formally put at risk of redundancy as a result of changes under Organising for Success. Unless you are formally put at risk of redundancy under Organising for Success then the 24 May deadline will be the final opportunity to apply. If we are in a position where we need to make further staff savings next year, we will unfortunately not be able to provide terms as generous as KVSS.

All staff interested in applying are encouraged to discuss with either HR or their line manager for further details about how the scheme works. If you would like to discuss this confidentially or would like impartial advice, please remember that the Employee Assistance Programme is available 24/7, with more information on the Occupational Health staff webpages.

Find out more about the Kent Voluntary Severance Scheme