Monthly Archives: June 2024

New student website launching this summer

Over the summer break 2024, you may notice some changes to the student website as we get ready to launch our new student website for 2024-25.

The new student website will be designed for current students making it easier for you to find the information you need while studying at Kent.

Benefits include:

🔎 A search bar that only searches services and information for current Kent students

📚 All your Kent services and systems in one place

🚀Improved design informed by students and user experience experts

🗺Website navigation designed for current students only

These changes are following student feedback that you find it hard to find the information you need on the current Kent website.

This is the start of a journey of continuous improvements to the website experience for Kent students. So once it launches tell us what you like, and don’t like, so we can continue to improve the student website for you.

What do I need to do?

Nothing. When the new student website launches we will let you know and you will be automatically redirected. This change won’t affect Moodle, KentVision, your email, timetable or the Uni Kent Student App.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email communications@kent.ac.uk

Events roundup: 10-16 June

It’s the final week of summer term and the end of the undergraduate academic year! Find out what’s on this week.

Staying on or near campus over the summer? Check out the Summer at Kent website for events and ways to meet other students.

Monday 10 June: From Wild to Web talk by Conservation Practitioner

Join Louisa, a Conservation Practitioner with over two decades of experience, as she shares her unique career journey evolving from Field Researcher to Academic Dean and Independent Consultant ‘From the Wild to the Web 3.0: An Unusual Journey’, focusing on sustainable conservation practices across Africa. This event is taking place in Kennedy and you are welcome to stay for refreshments and activities afterwards.

Tuesday 11 June: Reflective writing, free breakfast at Medway and help if you are graduating soon #ClassOf2024

Try out this reflective writing workshop that includes a walk to the labyrinth on campus. Reflective writing is a skill that can help you to nurture a sense of progress and development, both personally and professionally.

If you’re based at Medway, on Tuesday morning you can enjoy a free community breakfast at the Hub.

Graduating soon? Find out how the careers service can help you if you are about to graduate, plus there’s also a workshop on how to reflect and identify questions to ask before deciding what to do next.

Wednesday 12 June: Chill zone, therapy dog and trip to Rye and Camber Sands (Medway)

Take a break in the Chill Zone in Templeman Library DG-01/02 (near Nexus) where you can play Nintendo Switch MarioKart, relax with arts and crafts and play some board games. Plus enjoy some refreshments.

Looking for an easy way to de-stress? Enjoy the last Pause for Paws of the summer term featuring Coco the therapy dog.

At Medway, you can join a full day trip to Rye and Camber Sands. Explore and meet new friends.

Thursday 13 June: Free breakfast at Medway

At Medway on Thursday, you can join for a free community breakfast at The Hub. As a Right to Food University, these breakfast sessions symbolise our ongoing dedication to tackling food insecurity.

Friday 14 June: Record your 3 Minute Thesis and Kent Community Oasis Garden

If you’re a postgraduate researcher, you can book a slot to record your 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) which celebrates research and encourages you to explain your research in three minutes in appropriate language to a non-specialist audience.

Get out in nature and volunteer at the Kent Community Oasis Garden. Everyone is welcome at Kent Community Oasis Garden, whether you’re an expert gardener, a complete beginner, or just coming along for a chat.

See more student events.

Opportunities

Make sure you are registered to vote in the General Election. You need to register to vote each time you change address. While you may register at your home address and also your term-time address, you can only vote ONCE.
If you’re a postgraduate student, sign up for the GRC’s Annual Postgraduate Conference on 3 July. This is an excellent opportunity to attend talks, take part in interactive workshops and network.
Do you know an inspirational student or student group? Nominate them for our Kent Stars student success campaign.

Donate Clothes, Contribute to Sanctuary Initiatives

This Thursday 13 June, a new staff group called The Sanctuary Collective will launch – a way for us to do something helpful and productive for asylum seekers and refugees in our work time using a range of skills and interests that might not be part of our current roles.

One of the first initiatives will be a men’s clothing drive – encouraging staff, students, and friends to donate good quality men’s clothes for asylum seekers and refugees in our community.

What clothing can I give and how?

We’re looking for men’s clothes because in July we’re hosting a group of residents from Napier Barracks in Folkestone, many of whom arrived in the UK recently with just the clothes on their backs. As we are providing sporting activities on campus as part of an ‘Exploring Higher Education’ day, it would be great to be able to offer changes of clothes to participants (particularly sporty gear – t shirts, shorts, tracksuits, sweatshirts, trainers, socks).

Bring clean, useable men’s or unisex clothing to the Sanctuary Collective launch in Rutherford Lounge at 2pm on Thursday 13th June, or bring to Rutherford Annexe foyer (low building next to Rutherford College) whenever suits you Monday-Friday between 9-5pm – any questions, message Natalia on n.crisanti@kent.ac.uk

Why should I join the Sanctuary Collective?

Be a part of the University’s civic mission in your paid Kent volunteering hours, and spend some time in your working life doing something that has a real practical impact on a part of our society that’s often overlooked or even stigmatised.

Grow your transferable skills and contacts as you meet people from across the university and work together on projects that give you another perspective, as you share and gain knowledge with colleagues about civic mission, philanthropy, events and communications.

In agreement with your line manager, you can use your staff volunteering hours to do this meaningful socially useful work as part of the 25 hours’ of volunteering time you get per year (pro-rata for part-time staff.) More information on volunteering and how to record your volunteering hours can be found on the People and Culture SharePoint site.

I’m interested – what next?

Join our sympa mailing list via our online form to be invited to meetings and activities, and participate in our first in-person launch meeting in Refugee Week:

The Sanctuary Collective Launch, 2-3pm on Thursday 13 June, in Rutherford Lounge – an informal meeting to see who we are and discuss ideas about what we can do to shape and mobilise the collective. By signing up via the form, you will be invited to this and future events.

Look forward to seeing you there!

GRC Annual Postgraduate Conference, 3 July

This summer, the Annual Postgraduate Conference returns and will exhibit exceptional work carried out by our research community at the University of Kent.

Join us on Wednesday 3 July in Sibson and Kennedy at the Annual Postgraduate Conference to celebrate postgraduate research and our community at Kent.

This year, the Graduate and Researcher College (GRC) will be collaborating with the Division of Arts and Humanities, Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Kent Business School, Division for the study of Law, Society and Social Justice, and Division of Natural Sciences to celebrate our postgraduate researcher community.

The Annual Postgraduate Conference is an excellent opportunity for all postgraduate students to attend talks, take part in interactive workshops, learn from colleagues, a chance to view research posters – there are even GRC prizes to be won too!

There will be an awards ceremony and buffet lunch provided – an excellent opportunity to network.

Find out more and book your place.

Returning your library books

As we move closer to the end of the academic year, we’d like to encourage you to return your library books to the Templeman Library.

Please take any opportunity when you’re visiting campus to return books you no longer need, especially if you’re a final year student and are leaving Kent this year, or are going to be away from campus over the summer. Books you have borrowed can still be reserved by other people during the vacation.

Your options for returning books

If you’re on the Canterbury campus, use the book returns drop off point in the Welcome Hall or the external book drop on Library Road.
If you live in the Medway area, you can return Templeman Library books to the Drill Hall Library at the Universities of Medway campus.
Posting books: depending on weight and volume, you could consider breaking up a large parcel into smaller ones. Courier services might be cheaper than Royal Mail and pick up the parcel from you. Whatever method you use, please make sure you get a receipt.

Our postal address is:

Book Returns,
Templeman Library,
University of Kent,
Canterbury, Kent,
CT2 7NU

If you’re unable to return your books by any of these methods, please get in touch with the Library and we’ll work out a solution with you.

Contact the Library Team

Please contact us if you need any help or advice around returning books or any other library or IT query. Our staff are here to help you:

Events roundup: 3-9 June

Find out what’s on this week including Pride Canterbury and PG Careers Week, a series of events and workshops specifically aimed at postgraduate students to support you in your next steps.

Monday 3 June: International postgrad careers session

Are you an international postgraduate student? Join this online session about how to navigate the job market as an international postgraduate.

Tuesday 4 June: Joseph Conrad Centenary events

You’re invited to join the guest lecture on the legacy and political consciousness of Joseph Conrad, one of the most celebrated and influential writers of twentieth century literature. Conrad sailed across the world during the height of colonialism before settling in Kent to write novels, novellas and short stories based on his experiences.

British Nigerian activist, poet, and actor, Femi Nylander, brings attention to the forgotten victims of colonial atrocity in African Apocalypse, based on Conrad’s seminal work, ‘Heart of Darkness’. Watch the film at the Gulbenkian, followed by a Q&A with the film’s award-winning director Rob Lemkin.

Wednesday 5 June: Emerging AI in the Weapons Space panel talk, Chill Zone and Campus Pride Funfair

Join Kent Union for a panel talk discussing the emerging use of AI in the weapons space, a discussion which will explore the ethics, research possibilities and impact of this development.

Head to DG – 01/02 in Templeman Library on Wednesday afternoon for Chill Zone. Enjoy time playing Nintendo Switch MarioKart, board games and do some arts and crafts. Plus, there are refreshments and cookies.

Join the LGBTQ+ Network for a fun and accessible Pride event on the plaza with their Campus Pride Funfair. The small, fun-fair style event will include arts and crafts, childhood carnival games, prizes and more. Free wristbands for the Canterbury Pride Parade can also be collected at this event.

Thursday 6 June: Medway Community Breakfast, Pride Parade wristband collection and Yoga and Writing Retreat (PGR)

At Medway on Thursday, you can join for a free community breakfast at The Hub! As a Right to Food University, these breakfast sessions symbolise our ongoing dedication to tackling food insecurity.

Do you want to join the Pride Parade this weekend? To join you must be wearing an official wristband. We have a limited number that we will be distributing, along with flags to wave in the Parade, in the Plaza outside the shop. You can collect your Pride Parade wristband from the plaza from 12:00-14:00, first come first served.

If you’re a PGR student, you’re invited to join the Yoga and Writing Retreat on campus. This workshop consists of guided yoga sessions mixed with opportunities for you to get on with your writing.

Friday 7 June: PG Careers Week events and RE:Imagine End of Year Show

As part of PG careers week, there are sessions around CVs and Cover letters and also specifically academic CVs. You can also join a session around your next steps after your Master’s.

Friday evening marks the opening night of Re:Imagine: End of Year Show for the School of Architecture, Design and Planning. This is a showcase of work by our Architecture, Graphic Design and Spatial Interior Design students.

Saturday 8 June: Pride Canterbury and KentCOG Summer Social

Saturday is Pride Canterbury, a spectacular celebration of LGBTQ+ identity. March with fellow students and staff in the Pride Parade and join the celebrations in Dane John Gardens.

The Kent Community Oasis Garden and ResLife have joined together to host a KentCOG Summer Social Student event in the garden to celebrate the term coming to a close. There will be food, refreshments, games, crafts and more.

Opportunities

Are you interested in the Kent Refugee Action Network? Find out how you can support their project by contributing to transcriptions for the oral histories being recorded.
Complete the Kent Sport Student Activity Survey to let us know how we can shape our services to allow you to be more active, whether you currently use Kent Sport facilities or not. Chance to win a £250 Amazon voucher.