Join our Staff Tennis Club each Tuesday between 12pm to 1.30pm with our LTA level 5 coach and Tennis Development Manager Nick Skelton. Drop in during your lunch break for an informal game of tennis with Nick and other members of staff.

You can arrive late or leave early to fit in with your lunch break and Nick will organise all the players on the day into games with others of a similar level. So come along whether you’re new to tennis, haven’t played for a long time, would like to find new players to play with, or just want to get some exercise and let off some steam!

To book on any Kent Sport All Active session please visit kent.ac.uk/sports/all-active

All Active sessions are free for Kent Sport Premium Plus members. Premium, Plus, and Pay to Play members pay £2 per session.

The University’s Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries have announced Jim Ang as its new Deputy Director.

Jim is currently Senior Lecturer in the University of Kent School of Computing, where his main research expertise lies in digital health, specifically in co-designing, deploying and evaluating immersive and sensing technologies in healthcare settings. His team has developed prototypes including virtual reality systems for people with dementia, anxiety and eating disorders, as well as skin-like flexible sensors for monitoring and therapies, some of which are in use in real-world settings.

Jim says: “I hope to help shape the future direction of ICCI, exploring the intersection between my current work, and cultural and creative industries to make an impact.”

iCCi Director Catherine Richardson says “We are delighted to welcome Jim to our team. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise as we develop a Digital Strategy for research, teaching and civic engagement, and will bring colleagues from across the university more closely into iCCi as the Institute continues its work with cutting-edge projects – including the Docking Station, a new cultural hub for immersive technologies in Medway”.

Find out more about the work of iCCi.

You are invited to submit new or updated declarations for incorporation in the 2022/2023 Register.

What is this?

The University Council holds a Register of Interests for all staff and members of Council, in line with the Higher Education Code of Governance and the Office for Students Audit requirements. This register is where individuals declare any interests they have. Some examples are:

• Any financial or personal interest you may have between the University and an external body, such as another organisation.
• Consultancy, employment, directorship or other activity within a commercial concern
• Shareholding or membership of statutory and public authorities
• Other education establishments and companies where the University has an actual or potential business relationship
• Any interest a family member might have that could give the appearance of a conflict, even where no actual conflict exists.

When should I make a declaration?

It is up to you what, if any, interests you declare. However, making a declaration provides protection for both you and the University against any possible allegations of misconduct, corruption, or impropriety.

It ensures transparency so it is clear you did not exploit your position for personal gain in some way or used your position within the University for your personal advantage. The rule of thumb is if in doubt, declare it to cover yourself.

Documents, including the Policy and a Declaration Form can be accessed on the Governance website Policies and Procedures – Governance – University of Kent and on SharePoint. You can also find the University’s Policy on Personal Benefit  on our Governance pages.

Colleagues are welcome to contact Council Secretariat for confidential advice if needed.

Completed forms should be returned by the end of November 2022.

The Estate Customer Services and Print Centre would love to get your feedback on their services and invite you take part in their annual short satisfaction survey.

The Estates Customer Services Centre acts as the key contact point for all enquiries regarding services provided by the Commercial Services & Estates Department. They work in line with their Customer Services Policy, which is available to view on the department’s website.

The Print Centre provides high quality, cost effective print solutions, they will take care of the whole process of getting an item produced from the design to sourcing the best quality and value products.

The short survey should take no more than five minutes for you to complete and is open for two weeks, closing at midnight on 2 November.

Your views are very valuable as they will be vital in helping make improvements to their service.

We increasingly rely upon networked technologies and the internet infrastructures upon which these rely; the myriad miles of fibreoptic cables, the banks of servers, the lofty data centres and the ever-encircling satellites. However, these integral systems are often unseen, overlooked, and sometimes intentionally concealed. Additionally, the software and hardware that we see in our everyday environments – laptops, desktops, smartphones, smart devices and so forth – are often so entrenched in our way of being that we overlook our reliance upon them until they stop functioning; a power cut, server downtime, an empty battery.

This competition welcomes photograph submissions that engage with the human experiencing of cyberspace and its interconnected hardware and software. Use your camera or other image-capturing device – whether SLR, polaroid, smartphone camera, webcam, Game Boy® pocket camera – to capture a moment that tells a story about living, learning and connecting in cyberspace.

Submitted photographs will be judged for up to 26 prizes in 3 categories (Kent staff, Kent students and non-Kent participants):

• 3 Best Overall Photo Prizes (one per category, £100 Amazon voucher per prize),
• 3 Most Creative Photo Prizes (one per category, £100 Amazon voucher per prize), and
• 20 runner-up prizes (5 for Kent staff, 5 for Kent student, and 10 for non-Kent participants; £20 Amazon voucher per prize).

Submit your photograph by 31 October

The cost of living and rising energy prices are of increasing concern for many of us. Staff from across the University are meeting regularly to see what we can put in place ahead of the winter months.

The Heating and Energy Efficiency Team met recently to identify energy-saving measures this winter. Whereas previously, measures have been driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions, this year, reducing costs is also a key priority. The measures identified are generally no cost, or low cost measures that we can put in place quickly.

John Kingsland said:

“We are estimating to reduce gas consumption in the range of 4-8% this winter and will reduce electricity consumption/costs to a lesser extent. Our current main actions are as follows:

• The Boiler House started operation on Wednesday 14 September with a start up temperature of 90C, which is lower than previous years and will result in less heat loss from the 3km district heating mains. This is being checked to ensure heating and hot water in buildings are reaching the required temperatures. As the weather gets colder the temperature will have to be increased to maintain the heating, but this can be reduced again as the weather turns milder in the spring.
• There are 4 boilers in the Boiler House. On the coldest days 2 boilers can meet the full heating requirements on all but the very coldest of days. Based on this, one boiler will be isolated for the heating season reducing standard losses from the boilers.
• Currently, each building has its own individual outside air temperature sensor. These are connected to the Building Management System (BMS) and when the heating exceeds 16C outside, the BMS switches off the heating systems inside the buildings as it is not required. Some of these controls have been adjusted and there is further scope to have outside air temparature sensors grouped into zones and have the calibration checked.
• Time schedules, boiler set points, heating set points and more are in the process of being reviewed and adjusted to improve control of heating, hot water and associated plant. Additional control systems added to the Honeywell software can reduce energy consumption further.

The above is a starting point and will be reviewed and adjusted going forwards. Any new updates or changes will continute to be communicated as soon as possible.