Details and selection process for the Sandpits

The Future Human Signature Research Theme have been allocated two Vice-Chancellor PhD Studentships to start in the 2023-24 academic year. We will be allocating these two studentships to named supervisory teams running a pre-determined project. To select these supervisory teams, the Future Human leadership team are running a research Sandpit event, specifically designed to creatively generate cross-disciplinary projects that align with the Theme. The Sandpit event will include 20-30 academics, from a range of disciplines and career stages, through which it is hoped 8-15 project ideas will be formed. From these project ideas, two supervisory teams will be awarded the PhD studentships. Seedcorn funding awards are available to support the development of other projects ideas arising from the Sandpits.

More details about the Sandpits are provided in this document and a full briefing pack will later be provided to those academics involved in the Sandpits. It is anticipated that more than 30 academics will be interested in attending the Sandpits, so we need a run a process to select the academics to attend this event. A short application form can be found on the last two pages of this document, which will need to be submitted to the Future Human Leads by 9:30am on Wednesday 28^th September 2022 to be considered for the Sandpits (email your application form to futurehuman@kent.ac.uk). The applications should come from individual academics (rather than pre-formed teams), as the purpose of the Sandpit is to develop new collaborations and projects. If you are not able to attend the set dates for the Sandpits, or are not selected for them this time, there are still other ways to get involved with the resulting projects and we hope to run a similar process for the 2024-25 studentships.

Dates

22^nd July 2022                                     Sandpit applications open

28^th September 2022                          Sandpit applications close

28^th September 2022                          Staff notified of outcome of applications

12^th October 2022                               Pre-Sandpit workshop (12-1pm delivered live and online)

19^th and 20^th October 2022                     Sandpits (in person, 9:30am-4pm, must attend both days)

3^rd November 2022                                    Pitching/presentations of projects

8^th November 2022                                    Staff notified of outcome of studentship projects

• In the Sandpits, teams of two or more academics will form to co-develop a PhD project idea. The project proposals will be presented to a Panel two weeks after the Sandpit.
• Additional supervisors and/or advisors can be added to this team, and these people do not have to be at the Sandpit. They may be from academia (Kent or another institution) or from business/industry. They do not need to be involved in the pitching of the projects.
• Projects will need to be within the scope of the Future Human Signature Research Theme. For more information on this, please see the description on the Future Human website and blog and read the short paragraph on the following page. More information on Future Human will be provided in the in the pre-Sandpit workshop.
• Projects will need to be demonstrably interdisciplinary, and ideally involve academics from two or more Divisions.
• In addition to being suitable for a PhD studentship, the project will need to propose a plan to develop and submit an application for external funding.

What to expect from the Sandpits

The Sandpits on the 19^th and 20^th October will bring together 20-30 academics from a range of disciplines and Divisions. The Future Human team will facilitate the Sandpit to guide the participants through a number of interactive conversations and activities that allow everyone to share ideas and engage their curiosity. Through this process, participants will develop ideas and interests for projects that can be shared with and commented on by peers, allowing a dynamic reframing and revising of ideas. Co-design lies at the heart of the Sandpit, and we will help support participants to self-organise into collaborative teams centred around a research idea or ideas – suitable for PhD Studentships – that they are interested in exploring further. The formed teams will co-develop their research ideas and gradually work this up into a project pitch that is scheduled for the week after the Sandpits.

The Sandpits are scheduled to run all day and in-person on the 19^th and 20^th of October. Sandpits can be intense, but also intellectually exhausting. The activities across the days will be interspersed with break-out time, coffee stops, and varied tasks to help keep the mind active. Participants will need to attend the whole of both the Sandpit days. If you cannot make a section of a day because another commitment cannot be rescheduled, please let us know. We will try and schedule the day so that start/finish time and more flexible activities (e.g. break-out sessions) are run when childcare commitments are more likely (e.g. the school run).

An overview of Future Human

Future Human explores the use of tools, techniques, and technology for human enhancement and/or restoration (sometimes referred to as human augmentation). Only a true transdisciplinary approach can fully understand the opportunities, limits, challenges, and risks of using scientific and technological advancement to restore or improve performance/function and overcome current limits of body and mind.

Human augmentation is the application of science and technology to improve human performance temporarily or permanently. This can be achieved at two levels: 1) optimisation, and 2) enhancement. Human performance optimisation is the improvement of human performance up to the limit of biological potential without adding new capabilities (e.g. wearing glasses). Human performance enhancement is when performance goes beyond the limit of biological potential (e.g. using binoculars) and can include additional capabilities that are not innate to humans (e.g. night vision googles). Optimisation and enhancement can be applied to a range of populations, from those with an injury or chronic disease, to an elite athlete. Thus, the outcome of augmentation may be to restore performance/function to that of a ‘normal’ person or extend it beyond biological potential.

What and how the body can be augmented defines the possible, but other fields such as law, politics and ethics will help determine its place in society. The opportunities that human augmentation provides for changing how we work, how we stay healthy, and how we live and experience our everyday lives crosses multiple government strategies, Research Councils and Challenge Funds, and provides scope for broad collaboration outside of academia.

The Future Human Signature Research Theme considers both optimisation and enhancement, and the consequences of their development and application across any human population and society.

If you have any questions about the Sandpits or Future Human more generally, please get in contact with Sarah Hotham (s.hotham@kent.ac.uk) or Lex Mauger (l.mauger@kent.ac.uk).

Future Human Sandpit Application Form

The Kent and Medway Business Summit returns on Friday 13 January 2023 in the award-winning Sibson building on the Canterbury campus of the University of Kent.

Annually, Kent Business School hosts the Kent and Medway Business Summit, which brings together some 300 businesses and policy makers to debate key themes.

KBS is committed to transferring its intellectual wealth, skills and knowledge into the work environment. Building relationships and collaborating with private, public, and third sector organisations helps to stimulate new areas of research and enterprise.

“The Kent and Medway Business Summit is a unique platform, not only to discuss challenges and opportunities of our region, but especially to forge new partnerships between businesses and academics that can make a difference in finding innovative solutions to these challenges,” said Professor of Management Science Paola Scaparra.

All UoK staff are welcome to join ‘The Kent & Medway Business Summit’ to exchange knowledge and take steps towards collaborative working with the outside world.

Bringing together businesses, key policymakers and leading academics, The Kent and Medway Business Summit features the latest news from key projects, expert keynote speakers and collaborative panel discussions.

To attend, book your Early Bird Tickets Released for 2023 Kent & Medway Business Summit – . To get involved with presentations or workshops email KBSBusiness@kent.ac.uk

Article from Dr Thomas Parkinson

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, asylum seekers crossing the Channel daily in unsafe and hostile conditions, and almost 90 million displaced people worldwide in 2021, forced migration has become a defining challenge of our times. As a university at the heart of a border county, and with a strong tradition of civic and community engagement, we believe the University of Kent has a key role to play in leading debate, research, and advocacy.

Our Migration and Movement Signature Research Theme builds on this institutional commitment. Since its launch in September 2021, our SRT has grown an active network of researchers from across the University’s Divisions, promoting an inclusive and interdisciplinary research culture and raising the University’s profile as a leading hub of expertise in this area. We’ve also built and strengthened partnerships with charities, NGOs, and businesses nationally and internationally.

Migration and Movement is proud to be leading Kent’s application to become a University of Sanctuary, part of a national movement that looks to build welcoming communities for displaced and vulnerable people seeking sanctuary from persecution.

As an institution, we are already doing a great deal to develop our campuses as places of welcome, safety and inclusion. Our Article 26 scholarships provide places and funding for refugees and asylum seekers to study at Kent each year. We support CARA (Council for At Risk Academics) and its work to provide urgent assistance to academics in danger or forced into exile. We are supporting Kherson State University in the Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine through the national twinning initiative, and participating in local activities through Canterbury for Ukraine to welcome Ukrainians settling in our area. Our pioneering Kent Law Clinic has for many years provided much-needed legal services to support asylum seekers in their quest for settled status.

But the University of Sanctuary process calls on us to do more – to examine our weaknesses as well as our strengths, to develop further support for those seeking sanctuary, and to bring a ‘whole university’ approach to bear on ensuring our institution is truly a welcoming place for all.

A Steering Group was set up earlier this summer to formally launch our Sanctuary journey. This academic year, we are commissioning a consultation with students, staff, and members of the local community with lived experience of seeking sanctuary to inform the University’s commitments and objectives. Working through the Migration and Movement theme, the University will engage in a wide range of Sanctuary-related activities in 2022/23, including policy and advocacy work and hosting series of cross-disciplinary open lectures on migration.

I’m delighted to be presenting on these activities, and on our application to become a University of Sanctuary, at this week’s staff conference.  I’ll outline what the application process means for the University, and how you can become involved. Come along and find out more on Thursday afternoon (3.30 – 4.15) in the Templeman Lecture Theatre (and on Teams).

For further information on the staff conference programme, visit our webpage.

The Director and Dean of Global and Lifelong Learning, Dr Anthony Manning, has gone missing. His last known whereabouts was somewhere within the labyrinthine corridors of Rutherford College, but official efforts to locate him have proven futile. Can you help us find our missing Dean or will you leave him to an otherwise underwhelming fate?

Come and join the teams from Global and Lifelong Learning (GLL) for an exciting Escape Room experience and help them locate Dr Manning. By solving puzzles, deciphering cryptic emails, and finding hidden clues, you can get to know our team and unlock the wide and diverse opportunities we offer.

Taking part in this session will help colleagues from across the University to jointly discover the diversity of our learning opportunities and services through work-based learning and internationally focused courses and experiences.

As you journey through the tasks, in this thrilling fusion of ‘Where’s Wally?’ and ‘Prison Break’, you will unlock connections and collaborative potential that will help you to access and benefit from GLL’s wide-ranging provision.

Through the tasks provided you will also gain further understanding and awareness of many different student community groups at Kent, ways of developing tools to help our student community and mechanisms to provide transformative global and lifelong learning experiences for all.

The event will take place 11:15 on Friday 16 September in Templeman Seminar Room 2.

Over the weekend the Royal Family confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will take place at 11.00 on Monday 19 September, which will also be a Bank Holiday across the UK.

We will be marking the Bank Holiday here at Kent while recognising that we will still need some essential staff on our campuses to support students. More detailed guidance on this will be shared with managers shortly so that they can support local arrangements in their area, including payment details for those who need to work and how those on campus can watch the funeral should they wish to.

Welcome Week and Staff Conference 

This is a busy period for teams across the University as we prepare to welcome students and start the new term. Both Arrivals Weekend and Welcome Week will still be going ahead but with some changes to the programme – a Silver Team including central and divisional staff is looking into this as a priority, with more details to follow.

Alongside this, our Staff Conference will still go ahead later this week, including the Staff BBQs on Wednesday and Friday. There will however be some other alterations to the programme, including a minute’s silence at the opening of the Conference and the cancellation of the drinks reception on Thursday. More information will come on this tomorrow.

Books of Condolence 

As the national period of mourning continues this week, some staff may wish to pay their respects in person at Westminster Hall while the Queen’s coffin lies in state and managers are asked to support short-term leave arrangements for those who wish to do this. Our Books of Condolence are also still open all this week at the Templeman and Drill Hall libraries, along with our digital version.

This remains a sombre time for the country and I know many will be feeling reflective or saddened by the recent events. I hope that everyone feels they have the space to mark this week how they wish to, and do continue to seek support from your line manager if you are finding things difficult.

Martin

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR & Organisational Development

Following the message of condolence from the Vice-Chancellor, we have books of condolence available so that staff and students can leave their memories, tributes and reflections on Britain’s longest-serving monarch. These are located in our main two libraries as well as online and will remain open for staff to sign in Rutherford reception until Friday 23 September, along with the online version.

Canterbury  

In the Welcome Hall of the Templeman Library, to the left as you come through the main entrance.

Medway 

In the Drill Hall Library reception, shared with Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Greenwich.

Online 

A digital book of condolence is also available for those at our other locations who may not be able to sign in person.

Support and guidance 

Many of us will be feeling sad about the news of Her Majesty’s passing, while hearing about bereavement, loss and significant national change can be difficult. Recent events may also bring up feelings of loss about other people in your life.

Even if you are not experiencing direct feelings of grief, a significant change like this can be unsettling – please do speak to your line manager if you are finding things difficult and remember that free, anonymous support is available at all times via our Employee Assistance Programme.

Dear colleagues, 

It is with great sadness that last night we received official confirmation that Her Majesty the Queen had passed away peacefully at Balmoral, with her family by her side. The thoughts of all of us are with the Royal Family at this time as we unite in grief with the nation and all those around the world who have been touched by her dignity, devotion and unfailing sense of duty. 

This is an unprecedented and deeply sad moment for the country and I know that many of you will want to pay your respects personally. We will shortly have books of condolence available on our Canterbury and Medway campuses for staff and students who wish to leave a message and are also reviewing activity across the University to see what we will need to pause or adjust as a mark of respect over the coming days. 

I will provide a further update shortly as arrangements are confirmed for the national period of mourning.  

Karen 

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President