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 the 19 October from 14:00 – 16:30 (BST), with the theme ‘How Best to Engage our Students in 2022/23’

Agenda:

• 14:00 – 14:05 – Dr Phil Anthony (University of Kent): Introduction
• 14:05 – 14:20 – Sue Beckingham (Sheffield Hallam University): Getting to know your students through storytelling
• 14:20 – 14:35 – Dr Blanka Hilton (University of Kent) & Dr Stephen Hilton (UCL) : Virtual Reality (VR) Remote Education and Training: A Limitless Platform to Engage with Students
• 14:35 – 14:50 – Rob Lindsay (University of Liverpool): Zoom gloom and Teams screams: Engaging students in alternative online spaces
• 14:50 – 15:05 – Susan Cox (University of York): Keeping discussion topics fresh
• 15:05 – 15:15 – Break
• 15:15 – 15:30 – Robert Green OBE (University of Kent): Promoting active engagement – Some ideas
• 15:30 – 15:45 – Dr Alex Borman (University of Lincoln): Learning through play
• 15:45 – 16:00 – Dr Abdullahi Arabo (UWE Bristol): Authenticity and inclusivity as tool for Student Engagement
• 16:00 – 16:15 – Professor Robyn Smith (Wilmington University): How to Engage Your Asynchronous Online Students
• 16:15 – 16:30 – Dr Patrick Gillett (Southern Cross University): Using VoiceThread to achieve student AND instructor engagement

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

Key updates:

Student Recruitment

Simone Davies attended the meeting to provide an encouraging update on the position for student recruitment, with undergraduate recruitment ahead of this year’s target by 23.5, helped by international recruitment. Post Graduate Taught recruitment is under-performing although this is somewhat offset by the recruitment of international PGT students. JSNCC recognised that there had been an incredible effort by colleagues across the university to support student recruitment and they particularly appreciated the work put in by the Marketing, Outreach, Recruitment and Admissions colleagues.

Redundancy Avoidance Agreement

Last year there was a local dispute raised by UCU over the perceived threat of compulsory redundancies and, as part of the joint statement that settled the dispute, the University agreed to develop a redundancy avoidance agreement that would be applied before invoking the organisational change procedure. The intent would be achieving required outcomes (cost saving, for example) with the aim of avoiding the need for compulsory redundancies. Over the summer, a working group of JSNCC members was convened to agree the principles and develop an agreement. This work has now concluded and the agreement is out for signature with all parties.

Voluntary Severance Scheme

The JSNCC discussed the results of the severance scheme that the University offered to staff in Grade 10 or above (later widened to include staff in Grade 9) in the summer, noting that the scheme had generated savings of over £1 million per year and saw 17 colleagues leaving from a number of divisions and departments across the university.

Workload and Wellbeing

This remains an area of great concern to the JSNCC and there was a vigorous discussion about a variety of factors affecting staff across the University. This included process changes, staff turnover, exit interviews, staff morale and burnout. The university will shortly be publishing the results of the workload and wellbeing survey completed earlier this year. As part of this strand, the JSNCC heard about work being undertaken to address the cost of living crisis faced by the country and some of the creative ways that the University could support staff facing difficulties. You can expect to hear more about this in the weeks ahead.

Celebrate the festive season in style with us this year.

We’re excited to announce that Christmas Parties on the Canterbury campus are now open and taking bookings.

We have packages to suit all tastes, from an organised Christmas Party Night on Thursday 15 December in Darwin Suite, with an indulgent 3-course meal and entertainment, or exclusive use of Darwin Suite for your own private festive event with seasonal menus, drinks and entertainment packages.

For something truly different, why not bring some festive wonder to your Christmas party and work with our events team to plan your bespoke event.

Our Conference and Events Team are on hand to take the stress out of the organisation for you.

So, whatever your plans, support Kent this season by keeping your spend on campus and count on us for fun-filled celebrations and a night to remember!

Find out more on the Conference and Events website.

Send your enquiries via this enquiry/contact form.