We’re happy to share that a new food vendor will be serving our Medway campus.

Yeti’s Kitchen will serve authentic Nigerian food from 12:00 – 17:00, every Monday.

They will be based down the steps of the Medway Building, by the Cow-Elephant.

Check out their menu.

This month’s Kent Stars are Kent Gospel Choir, who recently won the 11^th annual Gospel Choir of the Year competition! Hear more from Emerald:

“Hi there! My name is Emerald, and I am currently a second-year student studying Computer Science at the University of Kent. When I am not busy with my studies, I enjoy singing soprano as a member of the Kent Gospel Choir, which has been an incredible experience so far. As the Social Media Admin for the Gospel Choir committee, I enjoy using my skills to promote the choir and share our experiences with a wider audience.”

Tell us about winning the University Gospel Choir of the Year competition.

“Winning the University Gospel Choir of the Year competition was an incredible experience for Kent Gospel Choir and myself. It was a moment of pure elation and a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire choir community. From the moment we started preparing for the competition, we knew we had something special, but we never expected this. The feeling of hearing our name announced as the winners is something that will stay with me forever.

When preparing the set for the competition, we had to make sure to stay on theme which was ‘The Latter is Greater than the Former’. With this theme we handpicked and remixed the right songs for what we wanted to perform and the story we wanted to tell. We were able to bring a unique style to the songs and truly showcase the versatility of our choir. Our choir members gave their all and sang together as one, pouring their hearts and souls into each note and harmony. The audience and judges were captivated by our performance, and we could feel the emotion in the room as we sang.

One of the most special moments of the competition for me was singing with the all the other choirs as part of the UGCY Mass Choir. We all rehearsed together for the first time that day but when it came to performing the song (Lord You’re Holy Ballin’ – Sunday Service Choir) the energy on stage was definitely there and we sounded amazing. The entire day everyone had been so friendly and welcoming to each other, so it was really fun to sing together with the choirs, forget about the competition and just enjoy ourselves on stage, definitely the highlight of the day.

Winning the University Gospel Choir of the Year Competition was a truly unforgettable experience. It showed us that hard work, dedication, and a passion for music can take you anywhere you want to go. It was a celebration of the talent and spirit of our choir, and a testament to the power of gospel music to unite and uplift people from all walks of life.”

What advice would you give to other students?

“My advice to other students would be to make the most of your university experience by getting involved in extracurricular activities that interest you. These activities can not only help you develop new skills and meet new people, but they can also provide a much-needed break from academic studies. It’s important to find a balance between academic work and other aspects of your life to ensure that you’re taking care of your overall well-being. Additionally, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try new things – you never know what opportunities and experiences may come your way.”

What are your plans for next year?

“As I will be going on a placement year next year, I will unfortunately be unable to participate in Kent Gospel Choir during that time. This makes me appreciate even more the experiences I have had with the choir this year, such as performing at various events and bonding with the other members. My plan for the next year is to make the most of my placement opportunity and gain valuable experience in the field of computer science. I also hope to continue developing my musical skills on my own time and come back to the choir even stronger in my final year.”

Learn more about the Kent Stars campaign.

Photos by S.AWUKU PHOTOGRAPHY.

From E Learning Team

As you may be aware, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we learn, teach, and assess. As a university, we are committed to exploring and harnessing the potential of new technologies in education.

There are ways in which AI can enhance your revision for your upcoming exams and help you to study effectively. We’d encourage you to visit our ‘Using artificial intelligence in your studies’ web page for further information about this.

However, as the technological landscape changes, we must also ensure that we are upholding academic integrity and ensuring that academic work submitted by students is their own original work. With this in mind, we have updated Annex 10 (Academic Misconduct) of the University Credit Framework. This is with a view to ensuring that our policies remain fair, balanced and evidence-based.

We will continue to review and monitor the use of AI in education and assessment and update our academic misconduct policies and guidance for students accordingly. You can also speak with your module convenors for more information if you wish to.

From Mica Rose | Head of Student Experience

Following Richard’s update last week, we have now had confirmation from UCU that they have secured a further national mandate for industrial action at universities through to the end of the summer term. This is disappointing news after the recent progress in negotiations in a number of areas. However we have plans in place to make sure this doesn’t get in the way of you finishing the year as normal. As always, we will do everything we can to limit the impact this has on your studies.

Ensuring you can progress or finish your studies

No strike days have been confirmed at this stage but UCU have indicated that they will be asking their members to conduct a national marking and assessment boycott. I know this will be of real concern to many – I want to reassure you that we have robust plans in place to ensure you can progress or finish your studies to the same timeline, while maintaining the quality of your degree. Graduation ceremonies will also go ahead as planned.

It is also important to stress that not all lecturers are UCU members and not all UCU members take part in industrial action. While staff do not have to let us know if they are taking industrial action, we know that the impact of any marking and assessment boycott will vary greatly across areas.

It is important to continue submitting all assignments as usual and we will do everything we can to make sure your marks are turned around quickly so that you get the certainty you need.

Continued negotiations

You have faced multiple rounds of industrial action this year due to this ongoing national dispute, for which I can only apologise. We are here to support you, in line with our principles for responding to this that we set out earlier in the year. We also urge UUK and UCU to build on the recent positive negotiations so that they can reach a deal that prevents students being caught in the middle of a dispute that is out of their control.

We will provide a further update when we know more on what this next period of industrial action looks like. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch via industrialaction@kent.ac.uk if you have any questions or concerns you want to raise.

As the Campus Shuttle service only operates during term time and the last day of term (Friday 7 April 2023) is a Bank Holiday there will be a reduced service operating until 19:15.

The start of term is also a bank holiday (Monday 8 May 2023), therefore a reduced service will resume at 7:35. The service will operate to the usual timetable for the rest of the term from the 9 May.

The reduced service will be operating a 52 seater coach on the 7 April (Good Friday) and 8 May (Coronation Bank Holiday). The reduced timetable for both of these dates is displayed below. The Kings Ferry are currently in the process of updating the booking system and online time timetable to reflect this.

Please note you will still be required to book a seat on these services. For any service updates please follow the @CampusShuttle twitter feed.