Find out about the latest release of new features for the KentVision Project in our KentVision: Latest Tools story. 

Since the launch of KentVision last year, we have been engaging with diverse stakeholder groups across the University to determine the schedule for its immediate and future functionality development and release. The KentVision Board has established six Functional Area Working Groups to enable and assess feedback from a variety of individuals and teams across the University. This will enable us to best prioritise future improvements to the system. 

Functional Group members represent a mixture of colleagues from Divisions, professional services and central teams and are split across the following operational areas: 

• Statutory and Core student record 
• Admissions, Clearing and Recruitment 
• Assessment 
• Finance 
• PGR 
• Student Activity and Experience 

The proposed order of delivery has been assessed against the academic calendar and our statutory requirements. Further work will be undertaken following the completion of deliverables committed for August 2022 to strengthen and refine the delivery estimating and create a schedule for delivery into 2023. 

What will be delivered by August 2022? 

We have committed to introduce improved processes and functionality by August 2022. This will improve the experience for both staff and students. Some examples of this include: 

• New automated communications for student immigration compliance will help us stay in touch with the relevant students and ensure we comply with government regulations. 
• We are improving enrolment and re-registration processes to ensure accurate collection for Data Futures – improving data compliance and the student experience. 
• Improved usability of the right to study screen in enrolment ensuring that students are able to progress through enrolment and re-registration in a timely manner, helping us comply with Home Office rules. 
• We will continue to improve the results release process and result letters ensuring they are clear and meet the needs of our students for the re-sit period.  
• Enhanced functionality including changes to improve progression/award rules and exam board reporting particularly for the re-sit period. Post-exam board functionality will allow chairs actions to be recorded and CSAO will be automatically notified – removing administration burden and preventing unnecessary communications. 
• Full support for the clearing processes, ensuring permissions are allocated known issues are resolved, and underlying processes for the new telephone offers initiatives are enabled.  
• Development of the integration between KentVision and the new CRM. 
• A new process to roll forward scholarship fund reference data to the next academic year.  
• Improvements to the student financial registration processes – ensuring facilitation of student engagement and timely addition of payment information. 

Next Steps? 

• Technology and process improvements for statutory data compliance and PGR student management areas are to continue with deployments scheduled through July and August. Along with planning for the autumn – the new academic year and admissions cycle. 
• A timeline for delivery from September 2022 of the far-ranging and numerous improvements will be shared at the end of August. 
• Detailed business readiness activities, including transition plans and training and communication. 
• Continuous updates on how our improvements, plans and communications are informed by feedback from our students and staff. 

For the first time ever, the catering department has been able to purchase fresh produce from the Kent Community Oasis Garden (KentCOG).

Several crates of organic Swiss chard made their way to the Gulbenkian Arts Centre Café for Senior Chef, James Argent-Paine, to use in his daily specials. James used his exceptional culinary skills to produce a delicious chard soup, and an equally tasty dish of fish cakes and stir-fried chard.

The chard travelled a total distance of 1.3 kilometres (a 3-minute drive, or 15-minute walk) from plot to plate, meaning the vegetable was not only fresh and delicious, but chock-full of vitamins and minerals.

Local produce is not only tastier and healthier, but it’s also better for the environment, as it eliminates the need for fuel-intensive transportation, excessive packaging, and unnecessary preservation methods.

The KentCOG team commented that it was “so wonderful to see the food grown by students, staff and community members making its way into campus meals!”

Typically, the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers grown in the garden are available free of charge to volunteers, or by donation to visitors. This is the first time KentCOG has sold its produce at market value to another commercial service.

This culinary collaboration is an exciting step towards a more sustainable future at Kent.

About Kent Community Oasis Garden

Launched in September 2018, the Kent Community Oasis Garden is a multiuse space for students, staff, and the local community run in partnership with East Kent Mind. The garden provides a space for people to grow food, learn new skills, and enjoy some peace and quiet.

The garden is a pesticide free space, adopting permaculture principles and building hibernacula to look after the neighbouring creepy crawlies.

The Community Oasis Garden runs lots of different activities including ecotherapy sessions, insect talks, craft sessions, and foraging workshops.

For more information about the Kent Community Oasis Garden, please visit the Kent COG website.

This has been very successful time for Kent’s Catering Team. Not only have they won the highly sought-after Street Food Award at the 2022 U Dine Awards. But 11 of their food outlets have been presented with an Elite Food Hygiene Award too!

Here’s some more detail about each of these fantastic achievements from our catering team:

Street Food Award at U Dine Awards 2022

The awards, held at the University of Birmingham on Thursday 16 June, celebrate and recognise excellence across the university hospitality sector and are supported by the Institute of Hospitality (IoH). The awards were hosted by celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE.

The Street Food Award is an accolade which recognises on-trend, innovative street food operators. The University of Kent was presented with the award for their adaptable and dynamic street food van – The Street Kitchen.

Since its launch, The Street Kitchen has become a much-loved food destination amongst staff and students, serving delicious, grab-and-go meals at low-cost prices. The menu changes every week, meaning customers never grow bored of eating the same dishes week in week out.

Over the years, The Street Kitchen has cooked up a variety of dishes from across the globe, including South African bunny chow, Jamaican jerk chicken, Italian arancini balls, and Korean chicken burgers.

The Street Kitchen team work incredibly hard to appeal to the student demographic, keep on top of food trends, produce exciting plant-based options, and provide customers with a mouth-watering street food experience.

Keith Williams, Head of Trading, said: “It’s fantastic the University of Kent has won this award, and quite an achievement given the calibre of the competition. It’s brilliant to see the hard work, creativity, and innovation from Street Kitchen chef, Sam Ranger, recognised by the sector.

Sam will join other U Dine award winners on a 3-day insight tour into the hidden gems of Tuscany and its regional cuisine. Expect to see some incredible Italian dishes on the Street Kitchen’s menu soon!”

The three other shortlisted contenders for the Street Food Award included Newcastle University, The University of Leeds, and The University of Nottingham.

Elite Food Hygiene Awards

11 of Kent’s food outlets have been presented with an Elite Food Hygiene Award.

Scores on the Doors hands out ‘Elite’ awards to businesses who have demonstrated real consistency and care in the field of food hygiene – achieving three consecutive five-star ratings for ‘very good’ food hygiene.

The Scores on the Doors Food Hygiene Rating System helps customers choose where to eat or shop by providing clear information about a businesses’ hygiene standards.

Food Hygiene Ratings are determined at routine inspections carried out by Environmental Health Officers from the local council. The hygiene standards found on these inspections are rated to show how closely the business is meeting the requirements of food hygiene law.

Businesses who have achieved ‘Elite’ status have maintained years of exemplary hygiene standards, ensuring food is properly handled, kitchen and dining areas are clean, and food safety records are kept up to date.

David Jordan, Safety and Compliance Adviser, proudly presented Elite Food Hygiene Awards to the following outlets:

• Rutherford Dining Hall
• Bag It
• Create Café
• The Street Kitchen
• Hut 8
• Origins
• Darwin Kitchen
• Gulbenkian Café
• J’s Tea Bar
• Dolche Vita
• Mungo’s

David Jordan said, “To achieve Elite hygiene status in 11 of our catering outlets has been one of the proudest moments of my career. Over 72% of UK businesses hold a five-star hygiene rating, but only 12% have been presented with an Elite Food Hygiene Award.”

It can take more than four years to build up three sets of consecutive five-star hygiene ratings. The catering team are hopeful that both K-Bar and Sibson Café will achieve Elite status when they receive enough inspections to be eligible. Both outlets currently hold two consecutive five-star hygiene rating awards.

The Division for the study of Law, Society and Social Justice (LSSJ) Research Festival will be taking place in July.

When

• Thursday 7 July 2022 in Medway from 14.00 – 18.00 in the Rochester Boardroom
• Friday 8 July 2022 in Canterbury from 9.15 – 18.00 in Darwin Conference Suite

The content is primarily internally facing but colleagues from across the division and the wider University are warmly invited to join us at either or both campuses. Staff expenses for travel between the Canterbury and Medway campuses will be reimbursed.

You are welcome to join us for all or part of the day. To register please visit the Eventbrite website.

Draft Medway Programme:

Rochester Boardroom, Rochester Building

14.00 – 14.05: Welcome and Introduction, Dawn Lyon, Director of Research and Innovation, LSSJ and Kate Ludlow, Research and Innovation Manager, LSSJ

14.05 – 15.20: Panel: Migration and movement, with Tracee Green / Emma Soutar (CCP), Aravinda Kosaraju (KLS), Rachel Larkin, Bridget Ng’andu (SSPSSR), and Jo Warner (Chair, SSPSSR)

15.20 – 15.40: Tea and Coffee

15.40 – 17.00: Workshop: Body Mapping, led by Tara Young

17.00 – 18.00: Drinks (location TBC)

Draft Canterbury Programme:

Darwin Conference Suite, Darwin College

09.15 – 09.30: Welcome and Introduction, Dawn Lyon, Director of Research and Innovation, LSSJ and Kate Ludlow, Research and Innovation Manager, LSSJ

09.30 – 11.00: Panel: Childhood and Civil Society with Ellie Jupp, Emily Lau and Ali Body (SSPSSR), Melissa Nolas (Goldsmiths)

11.00 – 11.20: Tea and Coffee

11.20 – 12.00: Research Choices and Journeys with Miri Song (SSPSSR), and Lydia Hayes (KLS)

12.00 – 14.00: Lunch with parallel sessions

Research Exchange / Walking and Talking / PGR Speed Dating / PGR Posters / Sound Workshop / Craftivism Workshop / Sensory Research (smell/touch stall!)

14.00 – 15.15: Collaborative research: partnerships and co-production with Chrissie Rogers, Vivi Triantafyllopoulou and Serena Tomlinson (Tizard), Amanda Bates (CHSS), Darren Weir (KLS) Helen Brooks (Arts) and others TBC

15.15 – 15.35: Tea and Coffee

15.35 – 17.15: ECR Spotlights with Asta Zokaityte, Clare Williams, Flora Renz and Ida Petretta (KLS), Kayla Wicks (SSPSSR) and Jolie Keemink (PSSRU)

Meet the Author with Beth Breeze, Heejung Chung, Carolyn Pedwell (SSPSSR), and Erika Rackley, Eleanor Curran, Sheona York (KLS)

17.15 – 18.00: Drinks, Darwin Conference Suite

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 13 July from 14:00 – 16:30 (GMT), with the theme ‘Pedagogy and Practice when Teaching and Learning Online’

Agenda:

• 14:00 – 14:05 – Dr Phil Anthony (University of Kent): Introduction
• 14:05 – 14:20 – Dr Martin Compton (UCL): Ungrading: More possibilities than some might think
• 14:20 – 14:35 – Dr James Wood (Associate Teaching Professor at SNU): Enabling feedback-seeking, agency and uptake, through dialogic peer and teacher screencast feedback
• 14:35 – 14:50 – David White (University of the Arts London & President of ALT): Design-Research: 15 experiments in online creative education
• 14:50 – 15:05 – Dr Ellie Davison (University of Lincoln): Top Ten Tips for producing accessible, engaging video microlectures
• 15:05 – 15:15 – Break
• 15:15 – 15:30 – Dr Emma Hargreaves (University of Kent): Cocreation in curriculum design – a blended approach
• 15:30 – 15:45 – Molly Edwards (Student from UCL): Partnerships between students and staff in Higher Education
• 15:45 – 16:00 – Maria Méndez (Southbank International school): Happy students = Happy learners or Embedding wellbeing activities in our lessons (both online and presencial)
• 16:00 – 16:15 – Allison Wolfreys (Open University): Creating an audio drama for undergraduate legal education
• 16:15 – 16:30 – Assistant Professor Eliana Elkhoury (Athabasca University, Canada): A summary of the “Champions of reimagined assessment” campaign

Please share

Colleagues are very welcome to join this community and so feel free to circulate. Please ask anyone wishing to join tocomplete the Digitally Enhanced Education registration form if they haven’t already. We add them to the mailing list linked to the series, and they will receive the joining link via email on Tuesday 12 July.

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

The legal reversal of the Roe v Wade decision in the USA has been sending shockwaves across the world.

If you have questions about this or feel emotionally affected by what has happened or its potential ramifications, please do contact the Staff Employee Assistance Programme. You can get in touch with them by phone or via their website any time of the day or night. You can be transferred to a counsellor if you wish to discuss an emotional concern. If you want advice of a more informative nature, there are Information Specialists available for you to talk with. In connection with Roe v Wade, this could be related to issues such as human rights, abortion or infertility. You simply call the usual number (0808 168 2143), ask to speak to one of the Information specialists and you will be put through. It is worth noting that the Information Specialists are available Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 20:00.

Increasing levels of COVID are leading to an increase in the number of queries about what people with symptoms or who test positive should do. Here is the Government public health guidance summarised in a University context:

• Stay home if you are unwell. If you have symptoms of a respiratory illness and either a high temperature or do not feel well enough to be at work/study, you should stay at home. You can return to on-campus work/study once your fever has gone or you feel better, even if a cough persists.
• If you have taken a private COVID-19 test and the result is positive you should self-isolate for 5 days from the date of the test whether you have symptoms or not. If you are symptom-free, work/study from home if you can. You can return to on-campus work/study after the 5 days. If you have symptoms and they last for more than 5 days, you can return to on-campus work/study once you feel better, even if a cough persists.
• If you live with or stayed overnight with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you can continue to work and study, but you should try to limit your close contact with others, consider wearing a face covering when around other people, and wash your hands more frequently than normal.