You are invited to attend the (online) Kent Global Showcase – 16 March 2022 

Dr Anthony Manning, Director and Dean for Global and Lifelong Learning explains more here: 

Register to attend 

Professor Richard Reece will outline the next steps for consultation on the approach to Global Engagement at Kent
This year, the Kent Global Showcase event will be held from 14:30-16:00 (UK time) on the 16 March. Colleagues from across university will provide an overview of some of the current global engagement initiatives in focus and examples of good practice from our divisions. At the event Professor Richard Reece will outline the next steps for consultation on the approach to Global Engagement at Kent. 

During the event we will also hold the next session of our Solidarity with Ukraine group. This will provide an update on the available support organised by the University for both our staff and students. 

Spotlight Sessions
During the session there will be a spotlight session delivered by Kent’s Catherine Morris, Environmental Advisor, on the important intersection between sustainability and internationalisation. Emma Marku, Internationalisation Officer and Laura Charleton, Senior Lecturer in LSSJ, will also focus on virtual mobility, exchanges and Summer/Winter schools.  

Attending the Showcase will offer you an excellent opportunity to gain updates from Kent colleagues relating to Partnerships, Recruitment and Alumni engagement.  

As always, there will be lots of opportunities to ask questions and identify avenues for support during the event.  

Register to attend

From Philip Pothen | Director of Engagement

Among the groups most affected by the pandemic have been our schoolchildren. The impacts of home schooling and stop-start lockdowns, the effects of mask-wearing, social distancing, bubbles and other measures in the classroom and the lack of continuity and predictability in their learning have disrupted their lives and their educational development.

As we finally but tentatively emerge from Covid, our thoughts turn to how we can begin to make up for the missed learning, the lost fun, creativity and opportunities that schoolchildren and young people have missed out on over the last two years.

One of the most ambitious and exciting initiatives to address this challenge is Kent County Council’s Reconnect programme. It represents a significant commitment to our county’s schoolchildren and young people and, as a university with a similar commitment to the learning, progression and skills of everyone in our region, I believe this initiative fully deserves our support.

It was this commitment that drove our wish to apply to host and deliver an event which would help address some of these challenges. The recent news that we are being funded to deliver a Youth Summit is fantastic for the university but great for the programme and our young people too as I think we have a great deal to offer.

In summary, the Kent Youth Summit will be a vibrant multiplatform event co-designed with Kent County Council and with young people themselves for young people living in our county. Over five days at the end of June our Summit will address many of the negative impacts of the pandemic, reconnecting young people to a world of learning, engagement and creativity and providing a platform for them to express themselves on subjects of importance to them.

Typically, learning activities will be designed to take place in the weeks leading up to the event, with engagement building up to and culminating in a week-long, on-campus Youth Summit, involving keynote speakers, debates, competitions, exhibition spaces and much more. These activities – some delivered by our academics and some by students – will be linked to real-world themes underpinned by high-quality teaching and world-leading research expertise.

We’ll also amplify these activities across the county through the work of KMTV, through our own communications channels and through regional media so that as we emerge from the pandemic we can ensure we recognise, reward, and celebrate young people’s efforts and achievements, and ensure that their voices are heard.

It’s great to receive good news – but the hard work starts now! Watch out for regular updates on the Summit as we bring plans together and do get in touch if you think your work could be a part of it.

Dr Bashir Abu-Manneh | Head of School of English

On 24 February, the School of English (in association with the iCCi and the British Council) hosted Abdulrazak Gurnah, our own Nobel Laureate in Literature, for an “In Conversation” dialogue with Amy Sackville and me. The Gulbenkian Theatre was packed and the event was livestreamed.

With characteristic charm, generosity, and straight talking, Gurnah elaborated on key aspects of his worldview and fiction. We discussed the problems of departure and arrival, his sense of what belonging means, how justice informs his work, his critical intervention in English literary studies, his teaching and its relation to his fiction writing, and telling stories that need to be told. Gurnah talked about why stories about neglected lives and forgotten people matter, about the human effort to survive in the face of adversity and hostility, and about the importance of travel, journeying, and understanding the cosmopolitan histories of pre-colonial East Africa. He also foregrounded the particular dimensions of forced displacement and the human responsibility to provide refuge for those escaping war, state violence, and terror.

“Writing made my life feel useful and fulfilling”, he affirmed. As his work captured loss, tragedy, and past injury, it facilitated a process of retrieval and restitution. His work, he said, thus lingers on necessity and tries to get at truth: “It always feels very important to me as a writer to say that I am speaking as truthfully as I can”. So he challenges the exclusions and ideologies of power and insists on universal human needs. If human cultures can be “ugly, monstrous things” and an unexamined sense of belonging risks self-delusions, remaining cautious and open to the experience of others can save us from narcissistic self-regard.

After such rich ruminations on literature and writing, I left the event thinking that Gurnah’s singular literary achievement feels truly historic for Kent. His impact on our School of English and on our critical and creative practices felt deep and enduring. For me, Gurnah epitomises the best of Kent: a confident educational institution committed to neglected voices and democratising narratives and publicly engaged in the pursuit of global justice. What better civic mission for our University?

If you missed this event you can view our livestream here.

Living with Covid

Following the recent Government announcements on ‘Living with Covid’, all legal Covid-19 restrictions in England have now ended. However, this doesn’t mean that Covid has gone away – we continue to encourage all staff to keep the health and safety of each other in mind, particularly those who are vulnerable or who have close friends or relatives who are shielding.

That means:

• Staying at home if you have Covid-19 symptoms until you have had two negative lateral flow tests 24 hours apart – you can work from home during this period if you feel able to
• Wearing a face mask in crowded indoor spaces as we have been
• Getting tested regularly if you can when you are coming onto campus

Where can I get test kits?

Test kits can be ordered online and can also be sourced from a number of community locations such as pharmacies and libraries. Unfortunately, as part of the recent Government updates we are no longer able to distribute test kits ourselves due to changes to the licences for universities.

“Responding to the impact of Covid-19 has taken an enormous effort across the University and everyone has really pulled together to help us through the worst of it. The recent Government changes move us into a different phase, with fewer restrictions in place across the country. However, lots of people will understandably have concerns around this, particularly vulnerable staff or students – it’s up to all of us to keep on thinking of others and doing the things we can to keep each other safe.” 
Martin Atkinson, Director of HR & Organisational Development

Get involved with the leadership development programme

T&OD are pleased to share with you details of a new leadership development programme and invite you to identify proposed participant to take place in the first cohort, starting in April 2022.

The leadership development offer has been reviewed and a gap for operational and first-line managers developing into a leadership role was identified.

The programme ‘Stepping up’ is proposed to address this gap.

The Stepping Up programme has been designed for members of staff with general people management experience over and above basic procedural knowledge and skills. These individuals will either be new staff or have been identified as having the potential to progress to a more senior management/leadership role. 

The brochure outlines the programme, including session dates and programme content. This is aligned with current and future organisational requirements, contemporary leadership and management practice. 

The programme is open to academic and professional services colleagues.

There will be a maximum of 15 people on the first intake, with plans to run further cohorts starting in both September and January. 

Within the brochure you will find a nomination form which needs to be filled out by the applicant and a statement of support will be required by their manager (Word version here). 

Please complete and return the form to the T&OD team (Ldev@kent.ac.uk) by 1st April 2022. They will confirm the cohort by the 8 April 2022. 

The most indulgent day of the year is almost here again. Nothing is more irresistible than a stack of pancakes, drizzled in maple syrup, slathered in Nutella, or spritzed and sprinkled with traditional lemon and sugar.

Shrove Tuesday falls a little later this year, which means we’ve all had plenty of time to practice our pancake flipping skills (in theory). But if you would rather leave the hard work (and washing up) to the experts, here’s where you can get your pancake fix…

Gulbenkian Café (Gulbenkian Arts Centre)

10.00 – 16.30 (whilst stock lasts)

American style pancake stack topped with:
– Bacon and maple flavour syrup £4.50
– Chocolate and banana (V) £4.50
– Apple, cinnamon, golden syrup, strawberry coulis, and soya yoghurt (Ve) £4.50

Mungo’s (Eliot College)

9.00 – 21.00 (whilst stocks last)

*HALF PRICE PANCAKES ALL DAY*

American style pancake stack topped with:
– Blueberry and maple flavour syrup (V) £2.25
– Bacon and maple flavour syrup £2.25
– Banana and honey (V) £2.25
– Nutella (V) £2.25
– Nutella and banana (V) £2.25

Vegan pancakes also available – just let a member of staff know.

V – Vegetarian | Ve – Vegan

Woody’s – Pancake Challenge

You can also head to Woody’s for their special pancake day menu. And join Woody’s later in the evening to see 12 people complete in the Woody’s Pancake Challenge and be in the chance of winning £100.