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 

Back at the start of the summer, many of you popped by the Templeman Library to help us shape our updated look and feel for the University. Since then we’ve been beavering away turning your feedback into a final proposition that we feel really celebrates where we are now and where we want to be in the future. At Kent, we stand for ambition – and I can’t wait to share the first set of new creative with all of you from Thursday next week at the Staff Conference. 

Throughout recent weeks we’ve also been gathering more and more information on how key audiences respond to our new approach. At the brand roadshow itself, around 70% of staff and students felt that our ‘ambition’ positioning would help us be more confident, with a clear majority feeling that ‘Option 1’ (below) – based around bold visuals and a ‘k’ brand device – was authentic to Kent and would help us stand out from the crowd. This was backed up by ongoing positive feedback from prospective students and a high-performing ‘teaser’ campaign which some of you may have seen both online and on buses around our campuses. 

It has been a hive of activity as we pull together all the different creative assets we need in the new brand. Striking photography is key feature of our new direction, so we’ve run fresh shoots with students across our campuses. More of these will follow soon so watch this space! Our website will have a makeover, including a new homepage that brings the different themes of our Kent 2025 Strategy to life. Watch out also for a new brand video launching during the Vice-Chancellor’s Welcome and Introduction next week – showcasing what we are all about across our audiences and sparking inspiration for where ambition can take us. 

This will be supported by a much wider rollout across the University in the weeks and months to come. In-depth brand guidelines have been drawn up to help people with communicating consistently, including new tone of voice guidelines for different audiences. We’re about to finalise a brand toolkit with all the day-to-day things we all need, like PowerPoint presentations, email signatures, digital and print templates and merchandise. Everything from the signs at the entrance to campus to tote bags and mugs are on the list – lots of which you will start to see from Thursday next week. 

It’s been a huge undertaking but worth every effort when you see the modern, sharp and dynamic visual identity we’ve been able to develop – plus the huge potential the central theme of ‘ambition’ offers in how we embody the brand to talk about the amazing things that happen at Kent. As we move past next week, the wider work to roll this out team by team will begin in earnest. In the meantime, I can’t wait for everyone to get their first sight of an exciting new direction for the University.  

Nell McCreadie | Assistant Director, MORA

The School of biosciences warmly invites you to our public lecture “How your food choices will help you age better and change the planet!” with Dr Cassandra Coburn.

Dr Coburn is the author of Enough: How your food choices will save the planet, which is an excellent read on how we can age better and save the planet by taking charge and making simple dietary choices. Blackwells book store on campus will be stocking the book at a discounted price for £9.99.

Dr Coburn is also the editor in chief of ‘the Lancet Healthy Longevity’.

This lecture is part of a scientific conference, “Nutrition and the Biology of Ageing,” running at the University of Kent between 12-14^th September 2022. The event is organised by Dr Jenny Tullet and Dr Marina Ezcurra.

The lecture will take place in Sibson Lecture Theatre on Monday 12 September from 17.00 – 18.00. Please use this link to register your interest.

Article from the HR Department

Over the last 14 months, colleagues in HR and Finance have partnered to embark on an exciting project to improve the University’s staff establishment controls. The project was initiated in November 2021 with the aim to implement a budgeted HR establishment system to effectively manage our people resources and provide improved correlation between HR and Finance data with a more accessible view of the budgeted staffing establishment. This will be delivered as enhanced reporting within the Staff Connect system.

The system will enable managers across the organisation to gain a better insight into which posts are occupied, vacant or being actively recruited to at a single source, as well as showing how these fit within the total staffing budget allocated to the Division / Department, giving greater financial management and structure control to devolved Finance and HR teams. This will enable approval of new posts or changes to be devolved out to the local management teams, with the aim of simplifying the recruitment approvals process.

Following a lot of hard work building, validating, and completing initial testing of the system, we are now pleased to announce the soft launch of the enhanced reporting capability within Staff Connect. This comes with a host of new features, benefits, improved processes, and ways of working.

Soft launch commences from beginning of September and will last for a few months, during which appropriate training and support will be given to relevant managers and staff on how to use the system. The aim is to roll out the system across all areas of the University during this soft launch period, so please do not worry if you don’t hear from the central teams straight away.

Follow-up communications will be circulated imminently to the relevant teams that manage staff budgets and establishments, including user guides for the new system. Staff from the Management Accounts team will be in touch to arrange training sessions.

Our Staff Conference this year (15-16 September) covers a lot of exciting topics and lying at the heart of the programme is health and wellbeing. Throughout the conference and in the days building up to it, there are a wide range of activities that will be good for your mind and soul as well as your body.

For all of our wellbeing activities and events take look at our daily sessions, but for now here’s a sneak peek of what we have in store…

Free classes at Kent Sport

From Monday 12 – Thursday 15 September, Kent Sport is offering a range of classes including Pilates and Express Spinning for you to enjoy. While some of the sessions have proven to be very popular, there are still classes with availability so book your spot via this booking form.

Health checks and monitoring

As well as taking you on a tour of the facilities of The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences (SSES), on the Monday (12) and Wednesday (14) you’ll be able to book a slot to receive some basic health tests i.e., blood pressure and BMI checks. To book your slot please email Lucy Hale.

On Tuesday 15 September and at our Medway campus book an appointment with our Occupational Health Department to get a blood pressure check.

See the schedule for more details

Wellbeing activities at Medway

It’s Wellbeing Wednesday on the 14 September as our Medway campus runs several activities including sitting back and relaxing in an acupuncture chair massage. For details read our story Staff Conference: At Medway.

Dance fitness session

Start your Friday (16 September) by being active and join Lizzie Holland for a fun dance class. Whether you’re a beginner or more experienced, this 45-minute session will get you moving as you learn a low-impact dance routine.

See the schedule for more details

How our Employee Assistance Programme can help you

This online session on the Friday, is a great opportunity for you to hear from the experts at CareFirst (EAP) on what they can do to support you no matter what your need is. Whether you need information or have questions regarding issues such as stress, or nutrition, Care first online wellbeing can provide the answer.

See the schedule for more details

Financial wellbeing

On the Friday qualified and experienced Certified Money Coaches will be leading an online session that can help us to understand our relationship with money and advise on strategies and tactics to improve our habits and ultimately improve our financial wellbeing.

See the schedule for more details

Check out the daily programmes for the Staff Conference 2022.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life at The Gulbenkian on 10 September at 14:00, in loving memory of Professor Clive Hilborne Church.

Clive joined Kent from the Lancaster University in 1981 as Senior Lecturer in European Studies, affiliated with the then European Studies unit in the School of European Culture and Languages. He was promoted to a professorship in 1992 and became a member of the Department (now School) of Politics and International Relations in 1996. Upon his retirement in 2003, he was appointed Emeritus Professor. Continue reading Clive’s obituary.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to joannabennett78@virginmedia.com.

As we emerge from the pandemic, how do we bring people together again through events that are sustainable? Join Kent Sustainability Champions for the launch of their Sustainable Events Guide, which will give you top tips to help you deliver a more successful and sustainable event.

Images from left: Emma Marku, Kelda McCabe, Emily Collins

Between them, Emma Marku (Internationalisation Officer), Kelda McCabe (Business Information Officer) and Emily Collins (External Relations and Events Co-ordinator) have a wealth of experience of organising events at the University of Kent. They know that sustainability isn’t always at the top of the agenda or easy to achieve, so have created a short guide to help you navigate the pitfalls of event management and provide the necessary information to help you make more sustainable choices along the way.

At the launch of the guide on Thursday 15 September, hosted as part of the Kent Staff Conference, the team will give you the opportunity to plan and discuss your next event with sustainability in mind. They’ll give you the tools you need to justify your sustainable choices to colleagues and signpost more eco-friendly alternatives when it comes to marketing, catering and delivering your event.

Whether you’re well-versed in event planning, it’s new to your role or you have an interest in influencing sustainability as an attendee, this event will offer something for you.

How to deliver great and sustainable events will take place at 13:50-14:30 on 15 September in the Templeman Seminar Room 1. You do not need to register for the event but we recommend you add the event to your Outlook Calendar using this link.