Over 90 academic colleagues are celebrating their promotion to professor, reader, senior lecturer or senior research fellow in the 2021-22 academic year!

Our new professors are:

Division of Arts and Humanities

Prof Helen Brooks, Prof Lubomira Radoilska, Prof John Wills

Professor Helen Brooks

Division of Human and Social Sciences

Prof Albena Azmanova, Prof Aleksandra Cichocka, Prof Tim Hopthrow, Prof Zaki Wahhaj

Professor Albena Azmanova

Kent Business School

Prof Kathy Kotiadis, Prof Catherine Robinson

Professor Kathy Kotiadis

Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice

Prof Caroline Chatwin, Prof Ian Reeves, Prof Ann-Marie Towers, Prof John Wightman

Professor Ann-Marie Towers,

Division of Natural Sciences

Prof Alessia Buscaino, Prof Ben Goult, Prof Jennifer Hiscock, Prof Gurprit Lall, Prof Nigel Temperton, Prof Tobias von der Haar

Professor Gurprit Lall

Martin Atkinson, Director of HR and Organisational Development, said: ‘We are pleased and proud to recognise the excellent work of members of our academic community who have been promoted this year. The career development, personal growth and excellence of our academic staff are vital to the continuing success of the University. Congratulations to all those promoted and, on behalf of them and us all, thank you to everyone who has contributed to their success through collaboration and support.’

This week (13-19 November) is Transgender Awareness Week, which aims to:

• raise awareness of the experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming people
• share stories of transgender people in our society
• advance advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community.

The big impact of small actions

At Kent we hope to further our inclusive community, eradicate prejudice, and support one another. Lynne Regan, a senior member of the Student Support and Wellbeing team on the Medway campus and who has completed her Doctorate on the experience of trans students at the University, explains how small actions can have a big impact:

‘Rainbow lanyards are available for staff and students from most college and library receptions at Canterbury and Medway. Wearing the lanyards shows students that they can ‘bring their whole selves’ to you without fear of judgement or an unsupportive reaction. Another thing you can do is to use inclusive language, put pronouns in your email signature and respect pronouns. If someone has told you the pronouns that they use, then respect this.’

Support for staff at Kent

• There is a support group in Canterbury that meets twice a month. It is open to trans, intersex and non-binary people at Kent. The group is run by trans/non-binary people for trans/non-binary people. Family and partners are welcome.
• There are gender-neutral toilet facilities across our Canterbury and Medway campuses.
• Check out our directory of LGBTQ+ self-help resources including details of free, confidential, specialist helplines and support group networks, such as Metro, The Be You Project, and Gendered Intelligence.
• Our LGBTQ+ Staff Network encourages people from all backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities to get involved and welcomes any ideas, feedback and advice you have.

Help us create a university community that belongs to all staff and students, and where everyone feels they belong by sharing this information on transgender awareness. #InclusiveKent

What is Disability History Month?

Disability History Month is a yearly nationwide celebration from 18 November to 18 December, which was started to shine a spotlight on historical and current achievements and issues to do with disability. UKDHM is the national organisation which strives to celebrate the lives of disabled people; challenge disablism or stigma around disability; and achieve equality.

UKDHM ascribes to the social model of disability, an idea first proposed by Kent alumnus and professor Mike Oliver, in the 1980s. This is the now widely accepted idea that much of the difficulty of being disabled is due to societal failure to adapt for disabled people. At Kent we actively work to seek to acknowledge and remove those barriers to create a more inclusive and accessible environment for everyone.

DHM at Kent

The University of Kent and Kent Union are proud to collaborate to amplify the voices of disabled people within our community to educate everyone on the issues people with visible and invisible disabilities continue to face, so we can further de-stigmatise and work together for a more inclusive and equal society.

The full programme is available on the Disability History Month webpage and all events are open to students and staff, and free to attend.

Some key highlights include: a discussion with a debut novelist, Kent Alumnus and disability activist Chloe Timms; a creative workshop where you can try Finger Casting and foil embossing, the inspirational speaker and paralympic skier Millie Knight, Disability Workshop at Medway which discusses and explains the campus provisions, and a fun interactive workshop to look at Accessibility and Ideas for Inclusion to improve your work and study.

Our Stories: Tuesday 6 December

• 17.00- 18.00: Exhibition viewing in Marlowe Building Foyer, refreshments available
• 18.00 18.30: Film shorts screening in Marlowe Lecture Theatre 1

As part of Disability History Month 2022, we’ve been in the Templeman Library archives researching the history and progress of disability provision and communication from the first cohort of students and staff at the University of Kent in 1965, to the present day. Check out the timeline online, or head over to the Marlowe foyer from 24 November to see it hanging as a physical display.

We’ve also created a collection of short films featuring students, staff and alumni on their experiences of disability, all captioned and signed in British Sign Language, which will be screened at 6pm on Tuesday 6 December in Marlowe Lecture Theatre 1. Book your free place on Eventbrite to join current and former students and staff for free refreshments to view the exhibition from 5pm, and stay for the film screening.

#InclusiveKent

We hope you enjoy the programme and that you use it as a starting point for deeper thought and conversations with your friends and colleagues. Follow #DHMKent22 and #InclusiveKent on social media for the latest updates and check out further articles on Disability and Inclusion.

This November we will be hosting our graduates from 2022. We have two days of ceremonies with Rochester on the 23 November and Canterbury on the 25 November. Be part of this amazing experience and sign up to get involved.

Celebrating July 2022 Graduates

Watch some of the highlights from the July 2022 Graduation Ceremonies at Canterbury Cathedral.

What roles can you help with?

• Ushering: As an usher, you will be responsible for making sure the guests are seated promptly and safely in the Cathedral prior to, during and post ceremony

Why should you get involved?

• Spend time working in the wonderful locations of Canterbury or Rochester Cathedral.
• Experience the joy of graduation ceremonies
• Get Free refreshments including one or more meals if you work for two or more consecutive ceremonies.
• You can claim TOIL (time off in lieu) or overtime pay for hours worked outside of your normal working pattern if you’re on Grades 1-6.

Here is what a previous staff member has said about being involved in graduation ceremonies:

‘it was such a pleasure to volunteer, and it was so lovely to see all the proud students and supporters! I’m looking forward to more graduation joy at the next graduation ceremonies’.

Be present in a student’s most memorable day sign up to get involved

The second talk in the Universities at Medway Open Lecture Series is taking place on Wednesday 23 November 2022, with Professor Gurprit Lall discussing Sleep and the Biological Clock.

We have entered a time where medical advances have strengthened our healthcare provisions and improved life longevity. This has resulted in an ever-growing ageing population. Understanding how the human body ages is a step closer to developing preventative therapies for improving the quality of life across an individual’s lifespan. In this Talk Professor Lall will discuss how ageing effects the brain’s circadian clock and its impact on our day-to-day routines. We will look at how the clock synchronises our bodily functions, from hormonal fluctuations through to sleeping patterns and why disruption of such rhythms can have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing.

Professor Gurprit Lall is a neuroscientist based at the University of Kent, Medway School of Pharmacy specialising in mammalian circadian rhythms. His research interests focus on how the circadian clock in our brain regulates and synchronises our behavioural and physiological rhythms with our environmental day-night cycle. He has published research on how daylight is able to manipulate the clock and, most recently, how ageing impacts this process.

Tickets can be booked through Eventbrite.

In 2020 the University of Kent, Université de Lille, KU Leuven and Ghent University established the Interregional Internationalisation Initiative, the 3i University Network. The main goal of the network is to bring together universities, regional governments and the private sector/civil society to work on challenges common to Flanders, Kent and the Hauts-de-France. By virtue of their proximity, the three regions share challenges in a number of areas, including, but not limited to

• Marine and maritime questions (blue energy, preservation of the coastal environment…)
• Climate and energy (net zero, sustainability, energy security etc)
• Nutrition and health  (sustainable, healthy alternative food sources,  …)
• Communities and well-being (migration and refugee studies, vulnerability and inclusion of ageing populations and people with disabilities,…).

In order to enhance cooperation between the 3i-partners, the members of the 3i University Network have decided to put out a call for proposals for collaborative projects. This call aims to support academic staff of the four partners who want to set up or increase their cross-border collaborations with the specific goal of submitting joint project applications for larger grants.

Maximum funding available per project: €10.000 for one project per thematic cluster of the 3i University Network.
Total budget available for this call is 40.000€.

Find out more about this call here:

Joint call for projects

Application file