Monthly Archives: March 2023

Ready to be next year’s Residential Life Assistants?

Do you want to be part of creating a memorable student experience for students living on campus at the University of Kent? Join the Residential Life Assistant team, gain invaluable work experience and get a massive 50% discount on your on-campus accommodation for the 2023/24 academic year! Our Residential Life Assistants (RLAs) are part of the College and Community Life team and are at the heart of our College Communities.

You will build relationships both on and off campus, to develop the sense of belonging and community, whilst working together to create exciting events for your peers. This is an great opportunity to get flexible work experience alongside your studies for 8 hours per week, and is open to both postgraduates and undergraduates in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of study.

Claire, who is an RLA this academic year says:

“I have really enjoyed being a Residential Life Assistant during my masters degree. It has encouraged me to take breaks when organising fun events rather than just studying, helping to make my degree experience more balanced. I have got to know so many students throughout the year, and I have particularly enjoyed helping students to have fun and get more involved with our events, as well as other events the at the university”.

To apply for the position, read the full job description and email hccl@kent.ac.uk with a statement of no more than 500 words expressing why you’d like to be considered for an RLA post and how your experience makes you the best candidate for the role. Applications must be received by Monday 3 April and interviews are expected to take place in mid-late April.

We look forward to receiving your application, and hearing about how you would like to contributing to a fantastic student experience for everyone at Kent.

Written by Natalia Crisanti, Student Services, 14.03.23

Free Webinar on ChatGPT

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming webinar Teaching with ChatGPT: Examples of Practice which will take place today (15th March) from 14:00-16:30 GMT. During this webinar, you will hear from academics across the UK and abroad, who have successfully incorporated ChatGPT and other large language models into their teaching practices or plan to in the near future. In addition, we will hear from Zaid Mahmood (Kent Union President) who will give a student’s perspective on the use of ChatGPT in education.

There is no need to register for the webinar, simply click on the joining link below at 14:00 this afternoon.

Click here to join the webinar

JSNCC elections – New Staff Representative for Grade 7

The Chairs of the Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultative Committee, Martin Atkinson and Roger Giner-Sorolla are pleased to announce the election of Paul Cornwall-French as the new staff representative for non-union colleagues in grades 7 and above.

Paul has served as a representative previously for staff in grades 1-6 and brings a significant wealth of experience at the university to the committee.

Both Martin and Roger extend a warm welcome to Paul and are looking forward to working with him over the next three years. The chairs would like to extend their thanks to the other nominees for coming forward and to all staff who took the time to vote.

They would also like to thank Charlotte Ransom, the outgoing representative, for her hard work in representing staff views on the committee and would like to wish her well in her new role.

The vote percentage was 48% for Paul Cornwall-French, 25% for Alastair Bailey, 20% for David Bird and 7% abstain.

Trustee and Governor Opportunities

Have you ever considered fulfilling an Education Trustee and Governance role?

We sponsor the University of Kent Academies Trust (UKAT), which is an established multi-academy trust that has two Secondary Schools in Medway:

Chatham Grammar School (CG) – a selective 11 – 19 girls school with a mixed sixth form
Brompton Academy (BA) – a mixed comprehensive school, with a joint sixth form across the two schools.

The Trust focuses on developing the life experience and opportunities of its students, parents, carers, staff and wider community.

If you would like further details on a UKAT Trustee role, or if you’re interested in finding out what Education Trustee and Governance role opportunities we have at our colleges and schools at Kent, please get in touch with Sam Dorey.

“Being a school governor or trustee is a fantastic opportunity to have a positive impact in our local community, build networks within our region and to develop personal skills and experience. In my time as a trustee, I have found the diverse perspectives from parents, industry leaders and educational professionals to be invaluable in broadening and deepening my understanding of the issues facing young people and our local community. I encourage anyone who is considering this to give it a go!”

Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance

Autism: understanding, embracing and celebrating different ways of thinking

There is a widely reported increase in awareness about autism around the world, probably because there is a long-awaited increase in awareness, identification, diagnosis and capacity to serve the autistic community. At Kent we want to nurture the culture of discourse about different ways of thinking and being, in order to better understand one another and create a supportive atmosphere for everyone to thrive in our diverse university community.

What does it mean to be autistic?

Autism is not an illness or disease. It means your brain works in a different way. If you’re autistic, you’re autistic your whole life: it’s something you’re born with and is often first noticed when you’re very young, although many people don’t know they are autistic until they’re older. Autism can affect the way a person communicates and how they experience the world around them. It is considered a spectrum condition, meaning the way one person experiences their autism can differ a lot to another person with the same diagnosis. Some well known people from all walks of life are autistic, for example, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, actor Anthony Hopkins, writer and outspoken poverty issues campaigner Jack Monroe and film maker Tim Burton.

Every experience of autism is unique, and no one person will identify with every negative or positive feature of autism. Some autistic people need little or no support, while others may benefit from help from people who know lots about the condition.

Some difficulties often experienced by autistic people are:

Feeling overwhelmed by social interaction
High levels of anxiety
Specific sensory needs (noise/ light/ physical sensation)
Struggling with changes to routine
Difficulty processing lots of information

Some positive features of autism*:

Attention to detail (thoroughness, accuracy)
Deep focus (concentration, freedom from distraction)
Observational skills (listen, look, learn approach; fact finding)
Absorb and retain facts (excellent long term memory; excellent recall)
Visual skills (visual learning and recall; detail-focused)
Expertise (in-depth knowledge; high level of skills)
Methodical approach (analytical; Spotting patterns, repetition)
Novel approaches (unique thought processes; innovative solutions)
Creativity (distinctive imagination; expression of ideas)
Tenacity and resilience (determination; challenge opinions)
Integrity (honesty; loyalty; commitment)
Accepting of difference (less likely to judge others; may question norms)

Support for autistic students at Kent

Whether you are autistic or think you might be, looking at strategies to help you, or peers to explore this journey with might be really helpful. SYA? is an 8 week support programme to help students who have an autism diagnosis, or who are seeking one, to explore what being autistic means for them. If you would like to participate, please email AutismSupport@kent.ac.uk.

Student Support and Wellbeing

Student Support and Wellbeing provide assistance to autistic students with transition into university life, peer support and 1:1 guidance on managing academic work, accommodation & socialising. Find out more about autism support at Kent, including how to be supported getting a diagnosis if you think you’re autistic.

Autism social clubs at Kent

As well as support from Advisers and Mentors, autistic students at Kent can take part in various peer support groups. These are facilitated by Student Support and Wellbeing staff, and range from groups specifically for autistic students to explore what it means to be autistic, to social groups which are designed to be accessible to autistic students.

Have a look at the Student Support and Wellbeing events calendar to see what’s on this term, including the autism social club, modelling club and board games club, or attend the university-wide neurodiversity cafe on Monday 13 March from 12:00 – 14:00.

If you have an suggestion for a new group or have feedback on an existing group, please email WellbeingEvents@kent.ac.uk.

Get tailored employability support:

Finding disability confident employers: Online workshop for Kent students on Tuesday 14 March 12:00-13:00 – book online to receive details of how to join.
How to manage the uncomfortable when looking for employment or navigating challenges at work: Online workshop for Kent students on Thursday 16 March 11:00 – 12:30 – book online to receive details of how to join.

Written by Natalia Crisanti and Siobhan Mcghee, Sudent Services, 01.03.23

* taken from University of Leeds Infographic

Complete our Right to Food Staff Survey

The University of Kent wants to become a Right to Food University.

What does this mean?

it commits itself to promote food justice, to tackle food poverty, and transform our food system so that it operates to advance human health and an environmentally sustainable society.

The University has four missions to achieve this:

1) Putting the Right to Food on the World Stage, including inspiring and supporting other universities to establish the right to food.

2) Transforming food systems through teaching and research

3) Tackling food insecurity, while promoting a healthy and sustainable food community for staff and students.

4) Addressing food inequality throughout Kent and the Medway

Complete our Right to Food Staff Survey

This Right to Food Staff survey aims to look at the factors involved in food insecurity, including availability and accessibility of healthy food, cost and marketing; whether staff are currently utilising existing cost-of-living support from the University and elsewhere; and the impact food insecurity is having on staff wellbeing, including on physical and mental health.

The issues uncovered will form part of an action plan to improve the University’s food environment. This falls under our Mission 3 of the Right to Food project, which is: Tackling food insecurity, while promoting a healthy and sustainable food community for staff and students. The University’s aim to “provide a healthy, happy and purposeful environment that promotes the physical and mental wellbeing of all our staff”.

Following this survey, we will share the results and work with you on the actions we need to take to make improvements with some open sessions – Medway Session 19 June 10.00-12.00 and Canterbury Session 20 June 13.00-15.00 – More details to follow.

The survey is anonymous and is open from the 6 to 31 March, paper copies are also available if needed. Complete the Right to Food Staff Survey form.

Got a question email Claire Chapman, HR Manager- Strategic Delivery.

Upcoming strike days: Weds 15 – Weds 22 March

From Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education & Student Experience

At the time of writing there has been no major update from the national negotiations on industrial action currently taking place. While talks are continuing, this means that unfortunately we expect strike days to return this week for six consecutive days starting on Wednesday:

Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 March
Monday 20 – Wednesday 22 March

I can only apologise for this continued disruption which I know has had a real impact on you this term. As always, the nature of strikes can be very different in different areas so do check in with your lecturers or Division directly and they will advise where they can on what it might mean for you.

What else is on this week

While I know it doesn’t make up for missing classes, lots of university activity will carry on as usual across the strike days. Do look at our events roundup to see what is happening, which includes a number of free exam prep sessions. Kent Union has lots of activities running this week too, while our Student Support and Wellbeing team host regular events to get people together throughout the year.

You can read more on how to prepare for a strike day and how to claim back any expenses directly caused by strikes on our industrial action webpages.

Ensuring you can progress this year

I know that many of you also have concerns around the rest of this year with UCU balloting for potential further action. I want to reassure you that we have plans in place to make sure you can progress as normal whatever happens over the coming months. We’ve put together some FAQs with more on the background to this.

I know upcoming exams are also a worry – our general approach is that you shouldn’t have to answer anything in an exam that hasn’t been covered in one of your classes. Your teachers will bear this in mind when they are preparing your exam papers – some modules will also have multiple exam questions to choose from, meaning that in these cases you can avoid questions that you don’t think have been covered in a lecture or seminar if you prefer.

Getting advice and support

Talks are continuing at national level regarding the strikes so it remains my sincere hope that an agreement is reached that avoids further disruption. I will update you again if we hear more; in the meantime, if you are worried about the effect this is having then do contact us for further advice or support.

Walking to victory: VC Cup Walking Netball highlights

As we enter the 5th event of the VC’s Cup series, teams were primed to play walking netball, a game designed for anyone, regardless of their level of fitness or age.

Initially, it was mayhem on the court! Players were running, jumping, and going offside left, right and centre, which kept the umpires on their toes. Even experienced netball players and Kent’s very own Unicorns struggled to grasp the pace of the game, launching themselves across court and throwing themselves into each game as they would any other. However, as the games progressed, teams and players grasped the rules and became more comfortable and strategic.

Read our blog to find out which teams came out on top! You’ll also find an entertaining and creative rap, written in collaboration with some of the competing teams.

Want to find out more about the Vice Chancellor’s Cup, head over to the VC Cup webpage, where you can see which events are coming up, past event summaries and current leader board positions.

Specific Learning Differences: the positive aspects

Many of us have heard of the difficulties or ‘deficits’ associated with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs), like dyslexia, dyspraxia, and ADHD. But are we aware of the positive aspects that can make dyslexic individuals so successful?

Difficulties with attention and concentration? Time management and planning issues? Short term memory concerns? Persistent difficulties with reading and spelling? Word retrieval problems? Many notable individuals – such as businessman Lord (Alan) Sugar, poet Benjamin Zephaniah and Nobel prize-winning microbiologist Carol Greider – have not just overcome but have harnessed the power of their Specific Learning Difficulties in their lives and careers.

The ‘dyslexic advantages’

Dyslexic minds can be predisposed to specific strengths because of the unique ways they process information. The book, The Dyslexic Advantage, suggests that these strengths arise from the same variations in processing that cause dyslexic difficulties with literacy, language and learning.

Dyslexic advantages include:

Strengths in spatial visualization,
Perception of relationships,
Narrative reasoning, and

Abilities to perceive and use patterns in changing data sets.

So, the flexibility in visual thinking that can cause persistent problems with letter or number reversals when writing (eg b/d/p/q, 6/9 confusion), can also generate a flexibility in spatial visualization that is highly advantageous to a dyslexic working in 3D. This strength in spatial visualization facilitates success in fields such as architecture, engineering and science – see the iconic design of London’s O2 Arena, by dyslexic architect, Richard Rogers, for example.

Beyond dyslexia

And it is not just dyslexia: dyspraxia too is often associated with strengths in big picture thinking, being able to identify patterns, and problem-solving skills. Likewise, positive attributes of ADHD are recognized to include strengths in energy, divergent thinking, and adventurousness. Indeed, some individuals with ADHD describe how their divergent ‘outside the box’ thinking inundates them with ideas, providing a great source of creativity. Some also describe an abundance of physical energy that they can harness productively, and that makes them feel younger than their peers!

Recognizing these positive strengths for individuals with SpLDs is important for building confidence and encouraging success.

Written by Cathy Myers, Specific Learning Difficulties Adviser in Student Support and Wellbeing, 24.02.23.

Are you a Kent student who might benefit from support?

Student Support and Wellbeing have expert staff who are here to offer you support during your studies. If you have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), or feel that you experience difficulties, register with Student Support and Wellbeing and make an appointment with an SpLD Adviser. Want to know more? Please view this visual guide on How to get Specific Learning Difficulty Support.

Get tailored employability support:

Finding disability confident employers: Online workshop for Kent students on Tuesday 14^th March 12pm-1pm – book online to receive details of how to join.
How to manage the uncomfortable when looking for employment or navigating challenges at work: Online workshop for Kent students on Thursday 16^th March 11:00 – 12:30 – book online to receive details of how to join.

Find peers:

Attend the neurodiversity cafe on Monday 13 March from 12:00 – 14:00.

What do you think?

Would you like to contribute your experience and perspective to conversations, podcasts or articles on this or other topics covered by Student Services (employability, support services, student wellbeing, faith and belonging, inclusion, student healthcare)? Please email StudentServicesWeb@kent.ac.uk – we welcome student and staff contributions.

Diamond Anniversary Orchard planting, 15 March

This academic year we have launched the Diamond Anniversary Orchard project and planned the planting of an orchard of over 300 fruit and nut trees. This project was designed to celebrate that most undergraduates starting this year will graduate in 2025 which is the University’s 60th birthday and it is hoped that our students can watch the orchard grow and be part of its transformation from grassland to a complete and flourishing space.

Help us plant more trees

We managed to plant some trees last week in the snow (!) but need your help to plant more. Our next planting session is Wednesday 15 March between 10:00-13:00. You can come for as long or as little as you like. There will be a full briefing at the beginning of the session and newcomers throughout will be paired up with someone that has been trained.

Why an orchard?

The Southern Slopes provides an ideal setting for a semi-natural orchard and meadow that will not only be a beautiful space for students, staff and community members to enjoy, but also provides a complex habitat that will boost biodiversity in the area.

Step one is planting the fruiting trees, which once mature, will provide future students with fruit and nuts that they can harvest and enjoy. Later this year we will be seeding wildflower seeds to create an understory meadow that we will cut swathes through proving a peaceful space to walk through and enjoy.

Because this orchard will be a mosaic of trees, grasses, shrubs, wildflowers, and a pond, it will support a wide range of wildlife. As fruit trees age quickly, they create the perfect habitats for invertebrates and birds, such as the lesser spotted woodpecker and the rare noble chafer beetle.

This unique habitat will also feature key elements for our human community bring people and nature together. Accessible pathing so everyone can enjoy the space; seating with a view for meditation, rest or socialising; an outdoor teaching area; and a bird hide to spot nature from a quiet vantage point.

All the elements will be tied together with a central point that marks the six academic divisions that make up our learning community, celebrating all the students that will be our class of 2025 and beyond.