Monthly Archives: July 2020

Three people talking in a learning environment

Virtual Postgraduate Open Event on Monday 27 July

Kent’s Virtual Postgraduate Open Event takes place next Monday and you will be able to discover more about Kent’s postgraduate programmes in Canterbury, Medway, Brussels or Paris.

Our staff and students will be on hand to any questions and help you discover why Kent is a great place for postgraduate study.

You will hear from the Dean of the Graduate School, get the latest funding information and learn about the discount incentives that are available for current students. You will discover all about our specialist dedicated postgraduate facilities and resources.

The virtual open event will be held on Monday 27 July from 16.00 -18.00.

Book now to reserve your place and to keep updated on everything that will happen on the day.

 

Congratulations for our July graduates star graphic

Week of Celebrations, 20-24 July 2020

This week will see a host of celebrations for our students.

We have the July Graduations 2020, Kent Student Awards and virtual events for schools. There are also special events such as celebratory video messages, conferral of degrees and a crowd-sourced poem.

You can find out more information about the Week of Celebrations here.

Return to Campus series – Spotlight on Estates

As Kent prepares for a phased return to campus, many of our colleagues are busy ensuring a safe return for us all. We’ve been talking to staff across the Estates department to find out what they’re doing as part of a special ‘Return to Campus’ series.

In our first feature, we hear from Gary Richardson, Maintenance Stores Supervisor about the work of the Estates Maintenance Stores team and Sarah Cooke, Head of Customer Services and Engagement, on the Design & Print Centre’s contribution.

Gary Richardson: ‘The Estates Maintenance Stores team have been operating remotely over the lockdown period, researching, and investigating products relating to both customer enquiries and order requests. We have also been kept busy maintaining stock levels for essential maintenance requirements on both the Canterbury and Medway campuses.

We have procured a diverse spectrum of products from hand-sanitising gel and foot-operated dispensers, pumps, electrical components, and boilers, to Perspex sheets enabling our talented maintenance teams to manufacture bespoke screens. This will enable staff, students and visitors to return to campus and enjoy the safest possible environment.

As a team, we’ve worked hard to offer choice and obtain the best possible value for the University.’

Sarah Cooke: ‘We first started to look at the social distancing signage requirements in early May, and it was evident we would need to move quickly to produce everything needed to make the University’s campuses compliant with the government’s guidelines.

‘Thankfully, we have our own in-house Design & Print Centre, which has proved invaluable in turning around the signage in this time-frame. Lesley Farr, Graphic Design Supervisor, has created a whole suite of social distancing signage designs, which accommodate the needs of each school and department. The turnaround time from request to design is far quicker and cheaper than it would have been to outsource this to an external company, and the signs are aligned with the Kent brand and colour palette.

‘Once the designs are agreed, Ian White, Production Supervisor, reviews the orders. Through Ian’s contacts and knowledge, he was able to swiftly secure the print materials needed at competitive rates and there has not been any delay in production. The three Print Technicians; Hannah Bentley, Melanie Smith and Craig Richards have been working hard on campus to print all the floor vinyl’s and posters required, while maintaining social distancing and enhanced hygiene procedures.

‘I have been managing the Design & Print Centre for just under a year now and I am so impressed with this team and how well they work together.’

Find out more about the services the Estates department provide.

In our next Return to Campus feature, we’ll look at the work of the Facilities Management team. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kent Student Awards logo

Kent Student Awards virtual event, 20 July

On Monday 20 July, Vice-Chancellor Karen Cox and Kent Union 2019/20 President Sasha Langeveldt will be announcing the winners of the 2020 Kent Student Awards.

Join us online at 15.00 to find out who has won each of the 9 categories as well as the prestigious Student of the Year and Group of the Year awards! You can view the nominations on the Kent Student Awards site.

The event will be released at 15.00 on Monday 20 July on YouTube and Facebook and the video will also be shared to the Kent Union Facebook page. Join in the conversation by using the hashtag #KentStudentAwards.

Someone typing on a Laptop mac and writing in a notebook

Care First webinars w/c 20 July 2020

The Covid-19 webinars from Care First continue the week commencing Monday 20 July. Please see below for the schedule and where you need to register.

Monday 20 July 2020 –  ‘  ‘Mindfulness: how practicing mindfulness can help during the Coronavirus Pandemic’

Time: 14.00 – 15.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 21 July 2020 – ‘Health At Work Centre on ‘How to build healthier habits beyond lockdown’

Time: 11.00 – 12.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 22 July 2020 – ‘‘The science behind social distancing’

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

Thursday 23 July 2020 – ”Travelling Safely after COVID-19′

Time: 14.00 – 14.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 24 July 2020 – ‘Lizzie Marlow on ‘How PayPlan and Care first support people with debt’

Time: 12.00 – 13.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Looking for students to contribute to a crowd-sourced poem

We are looking for students to get involved and contribute to a crowd-sourced poem. Kent alumnus, former Canterbury Laureate, and Glastonbury Festival poet-in-residence Dan Simpson is creating this special, unique poem for our July graduates of 2020.

If you are interested, then please send him a line or two and from this he will weave together a poem of many contributions. If you are stuck for inspiration, here are some suggested questions to get started:

  • Tell us about a memorable moment during your studies.
  • What is the main thing you will miss about the University?
  • What challenges did you overcome, and who supported you during these challenging months?
  • How does it feel to be graduating at this time?
  • What are your hopes for the future?
  • Give us three words to describe your time at Kent.

Please email your work to congregations@kent.ac.uk by next Wednesday 22 July by 5pm.

Chris Morrison giving a talk in front of a projector

Launch of the University of Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy

Blog written by Chris Morrison, Copyright, Licensing & Policy Manager…

I am delighted to announce the launch of the University of Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy 2020. As mentioned in previous posts this has been a collaborative effort involving University staff, students and peers across the sector and beyond.

The strategy is aligned with the University’s 2025 strategy and sets out a vision that by 2025 people working and studying at Kent will feel confident in making informed decisions about using copyright material and will understand the role copyright plays in innovation and creation of new knowledge.

Copyright issues have become particularly pressing as we have responded to the pandemic by shifting our work online as we never have before. It is now particularly important to understand the implications of copyright law and licences when sharing the work of others, and how to communicate the work we create whilst at the University.

I am very pleased that Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience, has agreed to be the senior academic champion for the strategy. Richard says:

“The launch of the University of Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy represents a milestone. Across the sector, there is a deal of confusion among both students and academics as to precisely what can be done for teaching and other purposes with material produced by others. The Strategy aims to clarify this and provide support and other services to enable staff and students to move forward with confidence. By confronting copyright issues head-on, University of Kent is at the forefront of the sector and will enable the institution to respond more appropriately to the current pandemic and beyond.”

The strategy sets out a number of key values related to copyright. It clarifies that staff and students should act responsibly, but also be able to question assumptions about copyright. The strategy confirms Kent’s commitment to supporting its staff make informed decisions and we have just published entirely new copyright guidance that addresses the main areas that we come across at the University.

I’m looking forward to convening the steering group for the strategy which Richard Reece will be chairing, as well as developing our network of people whose roles involve advising on aspects of copyright law.

If you have any thoughts relating to the strategy, or you’d like to get involved in our work please get in touch: email copyright@kent.ac.uk

Professor George Saridakis

Call for academic papers on Covid-19 themes

Professor George Saridakis from the Kent Business School is leading three special issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic in prestigious academic journals.

Researchers are encouraged to submit papers with strong theoretical and/or empirical focus for consideration for publication in Information Technology & People, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research and Sustainability.

The titles of the special issue calls are:

Professor Saridakis said: ‘It is a great pleasure to contribute to the Covid-19 research by co-editing three special issues with distinguished colleagues on these timely themes at some of the leading academic journals in this field.

‘The special issues aim to answer some important questions in each of the above Covid-19 related themes. With answers, we can shape policies that are more effective and, can improve personal and societal wellbeing.’

For more information on the Special Issues, prospective authors can contact Professor George Saridakis directly.

Liz Ralph holding Pride Award

Congratulations to Liz Ralph, Kent Hospitality’s PRIDE Award Winner

Assistant Housekeeping Manager Liz Ralph was the latest PRIDE Award Winner last month as she was nominated for producing numerous face masks during the early stages of lockdown.

Throughout lockdown, a skeleton Hospitality housekeeping team have continued working on campus to complete essential cleaning services, and it was when supply chain problems and an NHS shortage occurred early on, that Liz stepped in to produce hundreds of colourful, practical and reusable face coverings for the team still working on campus and beyond.

Describing her dedication, an extract from Liz’s nomination read: “she would often work late into the evening in her own time and cost to produce these much needed face masks for our essential housekeeping staff and deliver them on-site until an alternative supplier could be sourced, […] on top of this Liz made additional masks which she delivered to the vulnerable areas in her local community.”

We are sure that there are more of our staff going above and beyond, so if you know of any Kent Hospitality staff member from either the Canterbury or Medway campus it is easy to nominate them for a PRIDE Award. Just submit a nomination via the PRIDE website by completing our online form.

The award is given in March, June, September/October and December with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers, a certificate and a PRIDE Award pin badge.

The closing date for the next PRIDE Award is currently Wednesday 16 September 2020 at 12.00.

Templeman Library re-opening

Templeman Library reopens tomorrow

Templeman Library is reopening with a limited service on Wednesday 15 July. There will be a limit on the number of people allowed in the building and you will need to follow a one-way route to ensure social distancing.

The Library will be open Monday to Friday 9.00-17.00, via Main Entrance and Library Road Entrance only. Don’t forget your KentOne card to gain access.

Because of the restricted numbers allowed in the Templeman Library at this time, please consider whether your visit to the Library is essential. If you need a resource, please consider looking for an e-resource in the first instance using LibrarySearch Digital. We wish to give those people most in need access to the Library including postgraduates and those studying for August exams/assessments.

A limited ‘Click and Collect’ book borrowing service will be available for items not available in a digital format.

To use a study space (with or without a student PC), collect a ‘clean me’ sign from the Welcome Hall to place on the desk you’re using. This lets us know that the space needs cleaning and tells others not to use it before it’s been cleaned. You’ll be able to use a recently cleaned study space and PC.

Printers are available in all open study spaces. You will be asked to use a wipe to clean the touchpad before use.

See more information about reopening of Templeman Library for details on safety measures in place and which services are available. These services will be regularly reviewed and are subject to change.