Monthly Archives: June 2020

Rest days for staff

The University appreciates that this is a difficult time for all staff as we respond to the significant challenges presented by Covid-19. In recognition of this, and to provide some much needed time for recuperation, our Executive Group may, from time to time, grant additional rest days. The latest of these were announced this week and, for most of us, will be taken on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 July.

These rest days are fully paid and are in addition to annual leave. We want you to spend some time away from work with your families and to look after your own wellbeing. Please talk to your manager who will facilitate and coordinate requests for taking these days off.

Wherever possible, the rest day should be taken on the designated day, or in the designated week. However, to retain flexibility and accommodate as many staff as possible, especially those providing essential services on campus, individuals can agree with their line manager to take the rest day on another day within two weeks of the original date.

If you work part-time, you will receive a day’s leave regardless of the number of hours you work. If the designated day is on a day you don’t normally work, you can agree a suitable day with your line manager within two weeks of the original date.

It is important that academic staff take a break from work too so, if you are not taking annual leave during the vacation and working normally, you should take the rest day.

Rest days will not apply for staff employed on timesheet contracts who generally work a limited number of hours each week. However, if you are working full-time on a timesheet contract, please enter a rest day on your timesheet and you will be paid for this. You will also need to agree the day off with your manager.

The rest days are an ad-hoc thank you from the University to let you know how much your efforts are appreciated and there are no plans to make them a regular feature.

Find out more

For further information, including who’s eligible for the rest days, see the FAQs on the HR webpages.

Close up of exam desks and chairs

Exam results 2020

It’s nearly time to receive your exam results! See below for the results release dates and how to access your results.

Final Year and Diploma

Results will be released on Thursday 25 June 2020 by 18.00.

Stage 2

Results will be released on Monday 6 July 2020.

Stage 1 and Foundation

Results will be released on Monday 13 July 2020 by 17.00.

Resits

The Stage 1, 2 and 3 referral exam results will be released on Monday 7 September 2020 by 17.00.

Results 2020 – Postgraduate

Please refer to your School.

Please note exam result dates have recently changed due to the unprecedented COVID-19 situation.

How to access your results

You must log on to the Results Site to view your results using your SDS login details. The results website will be unavailable until results are released. If you have failed to satisfy the examiners, a letter detailing your options will be available from the ‘My Progress’ page on the Student Data System.

If you would like to discuss your results, please contact your School.

Canterbury – School List

Medway – School List

See the exams web page for more information including FAQs.

Kendra Calhoun, a Ph.D. Candidate in Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Student Success Talk: Kendra Calhoun

The School of European Culture and Languages invites you to this online Student Success talk entitled Race, humour and activism online through the lens of Black digital culture given by Kendra Calhoun.

When

Thursday 2 July 2020 at 17.00 – 18.00 via Zoom.

To register please visit the Eventbrite website.

About this Event

Kendra Calhoun is a Ph.D. Candidate in Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her research is in the interdisciplinary field of sociocultural linguistics and brings together theories and methods from fields including sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, communication and media studies, humor studies, Black Studies, and feminists studies. Calhoun critically analyzes the intersections of language, race, and power and explores how they take shape in face-to-face and multimodal online contexts.

In her online discourse research, she focuses on the linguistic and cultural practices of Black social media users in the U.S. She has researched Black discourse practices such as racial humor and digital activism on Vine, Tumblr, and Twitter. Her dissertation research analyzes diversity discourses in institutions of higher education in the U.S. She analyzes the rhetoric of institutional discourse at multiple institutions and how it compares to the lived experiences and understandings of diversity of graduate students of color.

Video sharing, Forms, Teams and more O365 tips

Office 365 has been renamed Microsoft 365, and some new tools and features are available.

Video sharing, Forms and new features in Teams

Stream, available from Wed 24 June, offers video recording, Teams meetings recording, online video storage and sharing. Any recordings you make in Teams will automatically save into Stream with a link from your Teams channel.

Forms now available: use it to quickly build simple forms and short online polls.

Teams improvements:

  • See up to 9 people at once on the screen (49 people view is coming later this year)
  • You can upload your own background image: see the branding web pages for a choice of Kent images you could use
  • If you record a Teams meeting, all participants are emailed a link to the video

Skype for Business will go in July

Skype for Business will be retired from use at the University in July 2020. Microsoft plan to withdraw the service, as Microsoft Teams offers the same chat and screen sharing functionality with much more. We’ll send a reminder in July.

Directory (Delve) tips

To find someone’s Kent username, look in the Outlook Address Book when creating a new email. The username is under a field called Alias. You can search for people in Delve by username.

To easily view directory information within Teams, add the Who app in Teams.

Check email accessibility in Outlook online

When composing an email from outlook.office365.com, in the top menu (to the right of the Send/Attach links) click the ellipses  , then click Check for accessibility issues.

Help and support

If you have any questions about any of the Microsoft 365 tools:

People working on five laptops together on a desk.

Digitally Enhanced Education – A Guide to Teaching Online course

The E-Learning Team are delighted to announce the launch of the Digitally Enhanced Education – A Guide to Teaching Online course. The course has been put together by the E-Learning Team, with contributions from academic colleagues, students, Information Services, the Library and Student Support and Wellbeing.

This course has been designed to help academic colleagues from around the institution to transition part or all of their teaching online. We would encourage all academic colleagues to engage with this course and to make use of the materials we have provided.

The course is divided into themes and topics and, whilst there is a natural pathway through the course, the individual sections can be viewed and undertaken in isolation, in any sequence and at a time of your choosing.  All staff have been automatically enrolled, so you can access it straight away. Live webinars will be provided to supplement this course and will be advertised in the coming weeks.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please do feel free to get in touch via elearning@kent.ac.uk

 

studyplus campus online

Have you ever considered Study Plus?

The Study Plus scheme is part of the Kent Extra range of activities available to University of Kent students. It provides a range of short-term courses and workshops which can improve your employability skills, develop your personal creativity or expand your cultural and academic knowledge.

Free to students registered on an existing Kent programme of study, Study Plus builds your key transferable skills alongside your main subject specialism. It also enhances your student experience through providing a chance to learn new skills alongside your degree.

Study Plus courses are non credit bearing. You will be eligible for Employability Points and if your attendance on a Study Plus course meets the minimum requirement of 66% the course will appear on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR).

It’s amazing the impact that a short Study Plus course can have, some students have used the scheme as a springboard to a career path.

Cassie Barnard took Digital Photography when she was a student at Kent. She is now building her career as a music photographer as a result. Read about her experience of the course and see some of her work.

Study Plus will be undergoing some changes for 2020/21, the details of which have yet to be finalised. If you would like to find out about future courses, please join the mailing list (using your student email).

SECL Student Success talk – Linguistic Profiling

The School of European Culture and Languages is excited to tell you about their next SECL Student Success Inspirational Speaker event via Zoom.

University of Michigan PhD candidate Kelly Wright will be discussing her research in: Linguistic Profiling: Passing for American means Speaking Without an Accent

When:

Thursday 25 June between 17.00 – 18.00 via zoom.

Kelly Wright’s research focuses on the link between Linguistic Production and Perception, and she is currently developing a dissertation on Raciolinguistic Profiling and Phonetic Perception. Her qualifying work on linguistic profiling in the housing market details how perceived racial and regional identity shape access and opportunity.

For free tickets, please click on this Eventbrite link. You will then be sent the zoom link via email.

 

Macbook pro on white table next to a plant and yellow table lamp

Care First webinars – w/c 22 June 2020

As the Covid-19 situation is progressing and the Government guidance continues to change as lockdown restrictions are eased, individuals may be feeling anxious about going out and whether it safe to do so. Mental Health support during times like these are paramount, which is why Care First have worked hard  to ensure their services remain available 24/7 throughout the pandemic to provide emotional and practical support and ensure they have every aspect of your overall wellbeing covered.

 Care First are still providing webinars for you to sign up to, here’s the schedule for w/c 22 June:

Monday 22 June 2020 –‘‘How Care first services link together to support your overall wellbeing’

Time:  14.00 -14.30 – To register click on this Go webinar link

Tuesday 23 June 2020 – ‘Top Tips for writing a C.V’

Time: 13.00 – 13.30 – To register click on this Go to webinar link 

Wednesday 24 June 2020  – ‘The Psychological impact of COVID-19’

Time: 14.00 – 14.45 – To register click on this Go to webinar link 

Thursday 25 June 2020 – ‘Social Media, safeguarding and young people’

Time: 11.00 -11.30 – To register click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 26 June 2020 –  ‘Top tips for a ‘fitter’ financial
future following lockdown’

Time: 12.00 – 12.45 – To register click on this Go webinar link 

 

A man's having physiotherapy on his back

Help is available with Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic

Don’t suffer in silence. Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic is available for any of your aches and pains with our free initial online consultations.

Some may think that an online consultation is not worthwhile due to the lack of manual therapy, but there are still lots of benefits to be gained from them. Here is a list of some of the injuries and problems we have been able to help people with:

•       Shoulder and neck pain due to different work station positions

•       Elbow and wrist pain due to extra gardening time

•       Elbow and wrist pain due to more computer work

•       Patella tendon flare ups due to increased running volumes in lock down

•       Marathon runners concerned about how to maintain fitness

•       Shin splints and medial tibial stress syndrome

Not all injuries have been treatable through online consultations, however, using assessment tools in different ways has helped narrow down a potential diagnosis such as an ACL tear, meniscal tear and FAI and led to referrals and scans to the appropriate people.

Vicky helped me with my shoulder pain and repetitive strain by asking questions around the topic and learning that it also related to my neck. With the help of the exercises she gave me, plus a follow-up appointment, I have a toolkit to ward off these problems in future.

– Sandra Virgo

During lockdown, there has been expanding waiting lists and having that referral letter written by a physiotherapist to send to the GP could help with being referred for a scan or further treatment.

The Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic is still offering free initial 20-minute online or telephone consultations with Vicky Annis, lead Physiotherapist. Consultations are open to all, whether you have used the clinic previously or not; and whether you are a student or staff member at the University of Kent or from the wider community. To book, please email: physio@kent.ac.uk.

Keynes-Festival-of-Arts logo

Winners of Keynes’ Virtual Festival of Arts

Keynes college launched their Virtual Festival of Arts between the 15 May – 5 June, with the aim to engage with students, create something uplifting and feel a sense of community, in what has been a difficult time for us all.

The response was phenomenal, with over 90 students entering across the University, with the hope that sometime next academic year, they’ll be a post-lockdown major exhibition in Keynes. There were 3 overall winners, who won cash prizes and will have the opportunity for their creation to be permanently displayed in Keynes.

Here are the 3 main winners:

In FIRST place, we have Silvia-Raisa Simeria’s digital visualisation ‘Hometown’.

She describes her work: ‘my visualisation attempts to recreate a seer looking into a crystal ‘cube’. The cube can be seen to represent the fixed and rigid aspects of the lockdown. The inside creatively represents some of the activities that I feel the seer and all of us long for within lockdown’.

In SECOND place, is Katie Roger’s music composition ‘Nocturne in D flat’, which she composed during lockdown. This piece is soothing, emotive and beautifully executed – a mindful moment for us all.You can listen to this piece via this Facebook page.

Winning THIRD place, is Jess Patrick’s ‘Four Walls’, poetry combined with photography, which explores the isolation people are experiencing in lockdown.

She describes it as a shared experience that can and will be conquered. We particularly like how the piece tells a story of lockdown that may resonate with many of us, expressing frustrations, sadness and ultimately hope.

One of Bethany Chater’s (Masters Officer. & College Support Co-ordinator)  favourites, is this:

No alt text provided for this image

The sculpture, called ‘Let that sink in!’ is by Mila Morelli and it won a highly commended award of ‘Best Contemporary Sculpture’. The artist said: ‘Because no amount of hand-washing can remove the fear and uncertainty that currently bubbles beneath the surface of society.’

You can enjoy viewing all of the entries via the virtual gallery on Virtual Festival of Arts Instagram page.

The entries and announcements of the highly commended winners can also be viewed on the Keynes Facebook page.

The College Life Team is also proud to present their newsletter which went out to all Keynes students and Alumni, during lockdown. You can access all the issues here, and enjoy some delicious recipes, exercise regimes, and guess the year of the golden oldie photos!

Happy reading!