From Simone Davies | Director of Marketing, Outreach, Recruitment & Admissions

Since joining Kent back in September 2019 I have had lots of discussions and conversations about our brand. Every one of us can point to something that makes Kent special – articulating that in a way that resonates with all our audiences from staff and students to partners and stakeholders isn’t quite so easy.  

What now seems like a long time ago – pre-pandemic we ran a number of workshops with staff and students which led to three key themes being identified: Connection, Collaboration and Community. The way these three themes come together to be more than the sum of their parts gives us a starting point to create a new brand identity for the university. They underpin everything we do and are very much linked to our key strategic priorities: Education and Student Success, Research and Innovation and Engagement, Impact and Civic Mission. 

We are on a journey and I’m excited that we’ll be able to share with you where we’re heading. The University of Kent brand is evolving and the work we’re doing now is about moving us on from the identity that was created over a decade ago to something that is reflective of who we now are and our ambitions for the future.  

This is very much about the way we present ourselves both internally and to the outside world, it’s about how we differentiate ourselves and stand out in what is an increasingly competitive landscape. It’s about people knowing who Kent is and what we stand for – it’s about communicating what makes us special. 

We have two groups of staff and students supporting and inputting into this work which includes staff across both central and Divisional teams plus undergraduate and postgraduate students. And we need to know what you think – there will be a face-to-face roadshow taking place on 16 and 17 June and this will be supported by a digital roadshow until 20 June. Plus we will be speaking to partners and stakeholders to make sure that what we’re saying is aligned to what they think about us. 

Who we are and how we portray that can be emotive but hopefully as we develop this narrative and visual identity it will resonate with what we’ve heard you say and will amplify our truth. 

I’m really looking forward to sharing where we’re up to next month and seeing what people think as this really important work gets closer to launch. 

The E-Learning Team are pleased to announce that the next event in our series of ‘Digitally Enhanced Education webinars’ will take place on Wednesday the 8^th of June from 14:00 – 16:30 (GMT), with the theme ‘Digitally Enhanced Assessment and Feedback’

Agenda:

• 14:00 – 14:05 – Dr Phil Anthony (University of Kent): Introduction
• 14:05 – 14:35 – Professor Kathleen M. Quinlan & Dr Edd Pitt (University of Kent): Digitally Enhanced Assessment and Feedback: promising practices from the literature 2016-2022
• 14:35 – 14:50 – Siân Shaw (Anglia Ruskin University): Using HoloLens for authentic learning
• 14:50 – 15:05 – Dr Andy Clegg (University of Portsmouth): Assessment and Feedback: Reflections and simple guiding principles for law
• 15:05 – 15:15 – Break
• 15:15 – 15:30 – Professor Margaret Bearman (Deakin University): Designing the digital into higher education assessment
• 15:30 – 15:45 – Sarah Knight (Jisc): Redesigning assessment practices for a digital age
• 15:45 – 16:00 – Assistant Professor Alexandra Mihai (Maastricht University): ePortfolios: combining authentic assessment and a space for independent learning
• 16:00 – 16:15 – Professor Yong Zhao (University of Kansas): Learning without borders
• 16:15 – 16:30 – Professor John Hattie (University of Melbourne): The power of Feedback

Colleagues are very welcome to join this community and so feel free to circulate. Please ask anyone wishing to join to complete the Digitally Enhanced Education registration form if they haven’t already. We add them to the mailing list linked to the series.

If you would like to present at a future event, please submit a short synopsis and Phil Anthony will be in touch.

The University is undertaking an Employability Health Check to help us identify areas of good practice and to collect ideas for future activity. We are hosting online round tables for staff, and individual surveys with students. If you would like to take part, please add your details to https://www.kent.ac.uk/ces/contact/form.html and we will send you the appropriate links.

Professional Service colleagues 14^th June 10.00-12.30

Academic colleagues 30^th June 10.00-12.30

Students will be contacted 7^th-16^th June

These events are hosted and facilitated by an external company. If you are unable to attend, but would like to feed ideas into this review, please email headofces@kent.ac.uk.

The University of Kent is partnering with a number of organisations to host Canterbury Stands with Ukraine, a major community event to be held in Canterbury city centre on Saturday 28 May. 

From Canterbury Stands with Ukraine:

Canterbury will show its solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people at a major community event to be held in the centre of the city on Saturday 28 May.

The open event will bring together VIPs, city dignitaries, the general public and a wide range of charities and volunteer organisations that have begun to welcome the increasing number of Ukrainians coming to the area to escape the war. Ukrainians themselves are leading these efforts, with the delivery of welcome packs, advice and guidance, language support, counselling services, and a wide range of other support services being made available through the sustained efforts of supporters in the community.

The event – to be held at Canterbury Christ Church University’s Augustine House – will hear from those who have fled the war as well as those hosting them in their homes and will include performances from Ukrainian and UK singers.

Among the organisations to be represented at the event is Canterbury for Ukraine which through its social media presence and active leadership since the start of the war has spearheaded local efforts to provide critical support services to those most in need.

Also present will be representatives of religious, political, business and educational organisations in the city and beyond.

A key element of the programme will be the opportunity for the public to meet the key volunteer and charity organisations involved in supporting the Ukrainian community and to find out how they can help and support these efforts.

Denys Nizalov of Canterbury for Ukraine said: “This will be an important event for us in the city as we take a moment to acknowledge the amazing work being done. But it will also encourage us to redouble our efforts to help those most affected by this horrific war. It is humbling to see the response that Canterbury and its people have made in the last three months but I know there is also the wish on the part of many people to do more. So I would encourage anyone interested to come along and find out how they can help.”

Councillor Connie Nolan, who will be speaking at the event, said: “This event represents an important moment for Canterbury and for its support of those who are arriving in our area due to the terrible impacts of the war in Ukraine. I’m extremely proud of the way that the city has responded to the challenges of the last few months, putting in place such a wide range of services and providing such a warm welcome to those who need it most.”

Canterbury Stands with Ukraine will take place at Augustine’s House, Canterbury Christ Church University, CT1 2YA (nearest parking can be found at Old Dover Road and Watling St car parks) from 10.30 – 13.00.

For further information and to register your interest, please go to: www.facebook.com/groups/canterbury.for.ukraine

Thank you to all Kent staff and students who recently took part in a number of physical challenges and group activities during our first ever Giving Week to raise funds for the new Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy.

The Centre is a partnership between the University, the national charity Parkinson’s Care and Support UK, and the Kent Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, where it will be based. It will be the first of its kind in the UK to provide the therapies, knowledge, tools and social community needed to overcome many of the physical and mental limitations imposed by Parkinson’s disease.

The challenges included a 5k ‘campus trek’, with the Sheriff of Canterbury presenting medals to the participants, and a lunchtime music concert from East Kent Rock Choir which had over 250 attendees.

An impressive £15,000 was raised through Kent Giving Week which will make a vital contribution towards establishing and running the much-needed Centre. Anyone wishing to donate can do so here: https://www.kent.ac.uk/parkinsons/support-us/donate

Professor David Wilkinson, who will be leading research at the Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy, said: ‘I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in these fundraising events – your support is invaluable. The Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy will play a significant role in helping those with Parkinson’s disease in the local community have access to non-therapeutic therapies that can make a huge difference to their quality of life.’

The Kings School in Canterbury has selected the Centre as its Charity of the Year with its staff also participating in a number of fundraising challenges such as a 5k fun run, a family/dog inclusive circular walk and a family BBQ. Additionally, a member of staff at King’s School is independently taking part in 11 Tough Mudder challenges throughout 2022 to raise money for the Centre.

Our first Giving Week was officially launched on Monday 9 May by Vice-Chancellor and President, Karen Cox. Each year the University will select one of its funding priorities to benefit from a week of fundraising activity.

Kent Staff taking part in Kent Giving Week’s 5k campus trek

TED talk-style event providing insights into Parkinson’s treatments and therapies at Kent Giving Week

A netball challenge takes place during the Kent Giving Week Livestream

Left to right: Elizabeth Gordon (Parkinson’s Care and Support UK), Professor David Wilkinson (Kent), Spencer Goddard (CEO of Kent MS Therapy Centre)

June celebrates Pride month and the annual Pride Canterbury parade. The University of Kent has a presence at this event each year and as we pull together our plans, one of the things we want to do is showcase the brilliant advances in LGBTQIA+ research taking place at Kent.

We want to celebrate your work by sharing an overview of your ongoing and completed research at the University of Kent stall which will be located in the Dane John Gardens on the 11 of June.

How you can get involved

Please submit your contact details and an abstract of your research project in this Microsoft Form to showcase your ongoing or completed research at this years’ Pride Canterbury event.

If you have any questions please contact Josh Turner on communityliaison@kent.ac.uk.

Please submit your contribution by Monday 6 June 2022.

This event celebrates the diversity of our varied and wonderful communities of human sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Look out for more information in the coming weeks on to get involved with Pride Month and join the parade.