The E-Learning Team are pleased to announce that the next event in our series of ‘Digitally Enhanced Education webinars’ will take place on Friday 5 February, 10.00 – 12.10 with a theme of ‘Technology to Develop Inclusive Learning Experiences’.

Please find the agenda for the event below.

10.00 – 10.05 – Dr Phil Anthony: Introduction

10.05 – 10.20 – Ben Watson: Digital accessibility as the fundamental building block for good user experience

10.20 – 10.35 – Paul-Georg (Postgraduate research student in Kent Law School): What technology for inclusion means to me

10.35 – 10.50 – Dr Stefano Biagini: Strategies to improve Accessibility and Inclusivity in Higher Education

10.50 – 11.05 – Matthew Deeprose (University of Southampton): Making it simple to ensure the use of colour is both on brand and accessible.

11.05 – 11.20 – George Rhodes (Accessibility Consultant): Mapping public sector accessibility legislation compliance

11.20 – 11.35 – Daniel Clark (University of Kent): Catalyst or Distraction: The Global Pandemic and its Impact on Digital Accessibility in Higher Education

11.35 – 11.50 – Claire Gardener (University of Derby): Digital Accessibility at Derby

11.50 – 12.05 – Ian Woolner (Microsoft): Accessibility tools in Microsoft 365

If you would like to join the webinar series, please express your interest by enrolling on the Digitally Enhanced Education Webinars Moodle module, or by requesting access to the Team Digitally Enhanced Education webinars linked to the webinar series.

Colleagues from outside the University of Kent are very welcome to join and so feel free to circulate. Please register your interest via the link here if you haven’t already. We will send you an invitation to join the Microsoft Teams site.

We hope to see you there.

The E-Learning team

Kent Hospitality has donated hundreds of packaged food items to Canterbury-based homeless charity, Catching Lives, amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

After another national lockdown was announced and restrictions were tightened, Kent Hospitality made the difficult decision to close all but one of its 13 catering outlets. Instead of letting surplus stock go to waste, they decided to donate it to Catching Lives to ensure the supplies went to those in need.

The team donated items including tea bags, soft drinks and confectionery – all of which were gratefully accepted by staff at the day centre near Canterbury East station.

Catching Lives is an independent charity aimed at supporting the rough sleepers, homeless and vulnerably housed in Canterbury and East Kent. They provide basic services like food, showers, laundry, clothing, and a range of support services to help people tackle their issues and access accommodation.

Earlier this week, a report by the Runnymede Trust showed that less than 1% of university professors in the UK are black, a figure that has not changed in five years. Here at Kent, work is underway to address racial inequality and to create a change in culture. We are early in the process of this activity and are committed to working with students and staff as we continue to take it forward. Next week Georgina Randsley de Moura, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance, who is the EG lead on this work, will publish a blog setting out our approach.

As part of this work, we are launching our ‘Challenging Racism’ campaign, which includes a programme of learning and development for staff. We will also provide staff and students with clear and transparent information and updates relating to this work on the website so that we can be held accountable by our community for the actions we take in this area. In the meantime, I would urge all staff to sign-up to a short series of live webinars on ‘Race & Racism’  that have been developed in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and City, University of London.

With the Spring Term now underway, it was good to hear of the experiences of some of our international students at this week’s Global Showcase event. It was truly heartening to see that that even those who have not been able to join us in person due to Covid-19 feel that they are very much part of our community and have a strong sense of receiving an international experience. My thanks go to all of you who have worked so hard to support our international students alongside with the rest of our student body

Over 130 people took part in the event, and there is no doubt that there is a huge amount of work taking place across the University to develop our international activities and that having to move online has paved the way for innovative thinking around our offer to international students. In addition, while we were all disappointed that the UK will no longer be part of the Erasmus scheme, the new Turing scheme will provide global opportunities for UK students to study and work abroad. We are well placed to engage fully with this scheme as it starts in September 2021, and which targets students from disadvantaged backgrounds among others.

We have now held the second of our Covid-19 staff webchats this week. It was good to hear from a range of staff once again and to see so many of you via the screen! I hope you find the meetings useful. We will continue to do these weekly and post the videos of the meetings afterwards for those who are unable to attend.

With my very best wishes to you and your family,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Don’t forget to join our weekly Covid-19 Staff Webchats, currently taking place every Thursday via Microsoft Teams.

The new webchats are a chance for colleagues to learn more about the latest Covid-19 updates across the University. The webchats focus on key developments from the teams managing our Covid response, while also giving you a regular forum to feedback on the impact of the pandemic and find out more about latest guidance.

You can see recordings of our first two staff webchats, focusing on a general update of Covid-19 and its impact on the University, here: 

• COVID-19 all-staff briefing – 14 January 2021
• COVID-19 all-staff briefing – 21 January

The following webchats are planned for January/February:

• Thursday 28 January (15.30-16.30) – HR, Health & Safety and Working from Home
• Thursday 4 February (10.00-11.00) – Online Teaching, Practice and Advice
• Thursday 11 February (16.00-17.00) – Student Community, Safety and Support
• Thursday 18 February (13.00-14.00) – Financial Response to Covid
• Thursday 25 February (10.30-11.30) – TBC

Find out more

To find out more about the Staff Webchats – including how to sign-up to the next one and recordings of previous sessions – please see our Covid-19 Staff Webchats webpage.

Safety on campus 

The safety of our students and staff on our campuses remains of paramount importance. There are currently around 1,000 students on the Canterbury campus and much fewer numbers at Medway. We are providing essential services for these students, including our libraries and some study spaces which have remained open following updated risk assessments. We are also emailing students to remind those in term-time accommodation of the need for testing before using campus facilities and also to remind all students of the availability of community testing around the country.

The majority of students on campus are adhering to social distancing regulations and following the guidelines set. However, there have been a small number of instances where students have gathered in groups, not following Covid-19 restrictions. The majority of these incidents are dealt with effectively by Campus Security; however, some are escalated to the Police. Kent Police have a dedicated Officer to deal with Covid breaches within the Canterbury district. We are in regular contact with the Police to ensure we are responding appropriately and continue to do all we can to limit transmission.  

The Government guidance is clear that students should remain at their permanent homes and should not return to campus unless absolutely necessary. We appreciate many of our students will wish to return to Kent as soon as they can, and we await further Government guidance as to when this might be permitted.   

Reviewing our teaching provision 

The Office for Students has written to all universities asking that they conduct a review of the 2020-21 academic year. The focus of the review is to determine whether students have been provided with sufficient information to understand what their academic experience would be like this year, whether they have been kept updated on changes and whether they have received what they were promised. The review must also look ahead to teaching and assessment plans for the remainder of the year, to determine whether the plans in place will sufficiently enable students to achieve the learning outcomes they expect from their study programme. This is a large piece of work, which we are currently planning how to deliver and we will provide more information shortly.  

Staff wellbeing 

The national lockdown has undoubtedly put significant pressure on staff, with many working from home whilst balancing childcare, caring responsibilities and other personal demands. As outlined in last week’s staff newsletter, the University is committed to looking after the wellbeing of our staff and takings steps to reduce pressures and workload where possible.  

In the University’s ‘Impact of COVID-19 on staff contribution’ policy, we recognise how the pandemic has changed the way we all work and our commitment to ensuring our staff feel supported during this time. Our updated COPE Framework provides practical advice for staff and managers as well as access to online resources and support for working remotely. Staff are encouraged to discuss their personal circumstances with their line manager to agree any temporary adjustments to their workload which will enable them to be more effective and to reduce pressure at this difficult time.  

More information about working from home is available on our Staff Coronavirus webpages.  

As part of their service reduction, Stagecoach have temporarily suspended operating the Unibuses to and from Canterbury campus.

This means that the Number 4 bus will be the only bus serving the Canterbury campus at this time, every 30 minutes.

See Stagecoach service updates webpage to learn more about changes to their services during the pandemic.

The University has always been committed to working across all protected characteristics and promoting a culture of diversity and inclusivity for all. Recent global events have pushed issues related to race and ethnicity to the fore, prompting Kent to seek to better understand and tackle racism at the University.

The University is leading the way in the sector by launching its “Challenging Racism” campaign, which includes a blended programme of learning and development for staff. The programme will be delivered by Inclusive Employers over a period of six months. It aims to open channels of discussion and reflection around racism, as well as awareness and understanding of challenges associated with ethnicity and race.

Tuesday 2 February 2021 sees the first of three 90-minute Live Webinars on the topic of “The history of race in the UK”. The University will be partnering with Liverpool John Moores University and City, University of London, to deliver a series of live webinars, followed by an Inclusive Allyship programme for a cohort of 40 people across all 3 institutions.  Staff at Kent will also be invited to participate in two closed Inclusion Circles designed to enable BAME staff to share their experiences on the topics of ‘BAME wellbeing’ and ‘Taking action on race inequality and inclusion’.

Race & Racism  Webinar Series

Webinar 1: The History of Race in the UK – Tuesday 2 February 2021 at 10.00

 Join us for this webinar looking at the history of race in the UK, including the UKs role in enslavement, the British Empire, and the impact this legacy has had on the present day.  

We will be looking at:

• A brief history of how and when Black people came to the UK, their experiences, and rights
• The effect of Britain’s history on today’s inequality
• Why it’s important to understand Black British history

The guest speaker at the first webinar is Chantelle Lunt, a final-year student at Liverpool John Moore’s University (LJMU) studying Criminology and Sociology. During lockdown Chantelle founded the Facebook group Merseyside BLM Alliance which was formed with the goal to address the issue of racism and to create a space where people can safely channel their passion for fighting racial injustices. You can find out more about the group from this LJMU news article. 

Chantelle Lunt

Here’s two other webinars to look out for:

Webinar 2: White Privilege – What is it and how does it affect society?  – 18 March 2021 at 12.00

Webinar 3: Let’s Talk About Race  –  19 April 2021 at 13.00

Look out for more info on upcoming events!

Please scan the QR code

or click this Eventbrite link to register.

When did you join the University and why?

I joined Kent in 2005 as an IT Technician in the Department of Electronics (now the School of Engineering and Digital Arts). This was an exciting opportunity to support staff and students in a very technically demanding department, which was actively pushing boundaries in its research and teaching. I worked alongside some excellent IT colleagues, as well as subject technicians, who were experts in their fields. I later took up the role of IT Team Manager, before becoming IT and Technical Services Manager and then Director of IT and Technical Services. After a 15-year career providing technical support to students and staff, I am thrilled to be taking up the role of Head of Technical Services leading the profession here at Kent.

What did you do before joining Kent?

I completed my undergraduate degree in 2001 and worked for a large pharmaceutical company supporting their IT systems and staff across the UK. After two years, I made the switch to higher education, becoming an IT user support specialist at Imperial College London. I had always remembered how technical staff had been pivotal in supporting myself and other students during university. They were the unsung heroes who were always on hand when you needed help.

Why has your new role been created and what’s its remit?

My new role has come about following the University’s pledge to support the national Technician Commitment, a sector-wide initiative led by the Science Council to help address key challenges facing technical staff working in higher education. Universities and institutions who sign-up to the commitment agree to improve and safeguard vital technical skills. The commitment ensures greater visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians across all disciplines. My role will lead this work and ensure these principles remain embedded here at Kent. My vision is to build on the already exceptional work undertaken by technical colleagues throughout the University. Our aim is to deliver a truly customer-focused, innovative and professional technical service by highly skilled, diverse technical experts, utilising leading technology, equipment and facilities, to provide the very best experience to our students and staff.

Tell us more about who’s who within your team?

I am fortunate to work with some exceptionally talented colleagues at Kent. Technical service staff operate across almost all our subject areas, from science and laboratories to arts and theatres. I will be working closely with divisional and departmental Technical Managers to deliver that positive change and to support the University’s strategic ambitions. I am also working closely with colleagues in other professional service departments, including IS, Estates and the Safety, Health and Environment Unit. By continuing the collaboration of technical staff and professional service teams, we can create a consistent experience for our students and colleagues.

What are your immediate plans for the new team?

Over the next 12 months, I will be working with colleagues to produce the first technical service strategy. This will include our Technician Commitment action plan and a three-year roadmap that delivers against the principles of technician visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability. I will also be working closely with technical managers and divisional management teams to support the transition to the new divisional structure, and wider collaboration of technical services within and across divisions.

Covid-19 permitting(!), what are your interests away from work?

I love spending time at the beach with my wife and our two children. I also enjoy cycling and keeping active. When the weather’s not great, you’ll find me doing some form of DIY. My latest project is using my Amazon Alexa to automate the lighting in my house – much to my wife’s frustration who, rightfully so, doesn’t see the problem with a traditional light switch! I guess once a technician always a technician…

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best advice I have been given was from my Dad (which he borrowed from someone more famous): “The harder you work, the luckier you become.”