To mark World Mental Health Day on Monday 10 October 2022, all members of the University of Kent community are invited to gather together and find out more about support available.

To recognise the importance of community and belonging in maintaining good mental health, we are hosting World Mental Health activities in both Canterbury and Medway for students and staff. Come on your own or bring your colleagues and find out lots of ways you can boost your mental health and wellbeing at Kent.

See the full details of what’s on at each location.

Canterbury wellbeing highlights

Staff and students on the Canterbury campus are invited to come and get a free hot drink and biscuit from the Templeman Library Terrace from 11.00-14.00 on Monday 10 October. Bring your own reusable cup if you can to help the health of the planet, and the first 180 people to come along can also take a free new Kent mug! You can also get creative with some colouring activities to do, and find out more about wellbeing initiatives coming up such as the Climate Cafe and Wellbeing Cafe.

Medway wellbeing highlights

Fancy winning some Amazon vouchers? The World Mental Health Day photo challenge is a free photography competition open to all Medway campus students and staff – share an image or moment that made you smile.

On campus on Monday? Come along to Pilkington building to meet with different support teams from the Universities at Medway as well as local mental health charities, who will be giving out some freebies and explaining what support is on offer. Head to the Drill Hall Library for Pets as Therapy (cute dogs) and some books on wellbeing. Medway World Mental Health Day events.

See what mental health and wellbeing support is available to you

Written by Joshua Stevens and Natalia Crisanti, Student Services

Kent Sport has refreshed their personal training service, offering tailored, one-to-one, individual training sessions or, if you prefer to work out with friends, group training for up to 3 people. Sessions are bookable online and open to students, staff and members of the public.

Individual training sessions

If you are looking to lose weight, improve muscle strength or would like some guidance on fitness and working out in the gym, check out their individual training sessions, which are tailored to you. These sessions aim to teach you how to exercise effectively and equip you with the knowledge and confidence to exercise alone and maintain your goals.

Prices for individual training sessions depend on the type of Kent Sport membership you hold. Don’t worry though, if you aren’t yet a member it’s easy to sign up! Kent Sport offers various membership packages, from Pay and Play to Premium membership, check out the membership page for more information!

Group training

Have fun working out with your friends, with Kent Sport’s group training sessions. Each session is tailored to your group’s aims and can include a range of different training styles, from circuit training, training for a specific sport or personalised fitness routines.

Group sessions last 60 minutes and are bookable online. Prices for these sessions are based on the highest tier membership type in the group.

Don’t delay!

Why not book a personal training session with Kent Sport’s qualified Personal Training team, to get started on your workout goals and commit to getting fit!

CTA – Get Fit

This is a final reminder that SharePoint 2013 will be set to ‘read only’ and cannot be edited after 7 October. Please ensure all content that you need is moved from SharePoint 2013 by this date.  

You will still be able to access SharePoint 2013 sites and download the content but will not be able to make changes to documents, permissions or other content. 

SharePoint 2013 will be permanently retired after 31 December 2022. 

What does this include? 

• All SharePoint 2013 sites, which includes anything beginning with a URL sharepoint.kent.ac.uk. 

• SharePoint 2013 ‘mysites’, which begin with the URL mysite.sharepoint.kent.ac.uk/ and can be accessed by clicking ‘OneDrive’ in the top right corner of SharePoint 2013. 

For further help: 

There is lots of useful advice on the KentNet Support site. 

If you are not aware of the process to move content or where content should be moved to please send your enquiry to Izzy Linthwaite, Digital Collaborative Services Lead, Information Services. 

At Gulbenkian we are committed to offering a diverse programme year-round, working with companies and artists who represent all parts of our community.

In October we have a number of events that celebrate the talents and creativity of Black artists listed below. For further details and how to book visit the Gulbenkian website.

On Stage:

Homeward: Soul Food by Lyrici Arts – Mon 10 Oct, 19.30

Medway based Lyrici Arts at the table for a soulful storytelling feast that will draw you into a journey that is both intimate and epic in scope. Four compelling tales from four remarkable Black heritage artists, take audiences around the world and across time on a passage of self-discovery. This is a Creative Estuary co-commission and supported by Gulbenkian Arts Centre.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Tue 18 Oct, 20.00

They shot to global stardom after featuring on Paul Simon’s Graceland album and have been touring the world ever since, winning five GRAMMY Awards on the way. Nelson Mandela called them “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors”, and they tour now to celebrate Black History Month.

On Screen:

Queen of Glory – Thu 13 Oct, 19.00

Queen of Glory is the story of Sarah Obeng, the brilliant child of Ghanaian immigrants, who is quitting her Ivy League PhD program to follow her married lover to Ohio.

New for this year, Gulbenkian have introduced a Kent Staff Membership.

For only £10 you get:

• 4 free cinema tickets
• 20% off all films for 12 months
• plus 40% of selected theatre for 12 months
• and 10% off in the Gulbenkian Café………for 12 months
• AND your discount can be applied for up to 6 tickets per event!

This month just for example, you can save on seeing Florence Pugh and Harry Styles on the big screen in Don’t Worry Darling, or save on tickets to see theatre legend Shôn Dale-Jones (literally) in the flesh on our stage in Still Floating.

Visit the Gulbenkian site to buy you £10 membership.

Monday 10 October is World Mental Health Day! It’s an opportunity to reflect upon your mental health and find new ways to support your wellbeing. Find out what’s planned at our Medway campus:

Pets as Therapy, 10 October

Do you love dogs? The Pets as Therapy dogs will be in the Drill Hall Library between 12.00-14.00.  Take a break from work and go and have a cuddle!

Wellbeing Fair, 10 October

Come along to Pilkington building 11.00-15.00 to meet with different support teams from the Universities at Medway as well as local mental health charities. Pick up some freebies and find out what support is on offer.

Create a wellbeing collage, 11 October

Join Medway Chaplain Lynne and other staff to create a wellbeing collage on Tuesday 11 October 10.00-14.00 in the Drill Hall Library.

Wellbeing book display

You can also check out the wellbeing book display in the Drill Hall Library. Have a browse and see if there are some books which might help you find some calm.

Wellbeing photo competition – what makes you smile?

To celebrate the World Mental Health Day, this photo challenge is an opportunity for you to share an image or moment that made you smile. Enter this free photography competition to win great prizes including Amazon vouchers. Open to all Medway campus students and staff.

NHS vaccination teams will be on site at the Medway campus on 10 and 11 October,10.00-15.00, on in the Deep End (Student Hub) to offer Covid-19 vaccinations.

Who can get vaccinated?

• Students and staff who have not have received their full UK course of vaccinations (for most people, this will be a first and second dose and one booster dose);
• Students and staff who are eligible to receive a seasonal booster dose in autumn 2022. This includes anyone over 50 and those in certain vulnerable groups;
• International students can get vaccinated in the UK if they fall into any of these categories.

Find out more information about Covid-19 vaccination. See student FAQs for Covid-19 vaccination.