Celebrations were had in SMSAS at the beginning of March when Rachel McCrea was awarded the 2020 Guy Bronze Medal by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS). President of the Royal Statistical Society said: “Dr McCrea has made a profound contribution to statistical ecology. […] The Guy Medal in Bronze has been awarded for her innovative and novel work in statistical ecology, with particular reference to the development of goodness-of-fit tests and model selection strategies for complex ecological data”.

We are absolutely delighted by the fact that the festivities have continued into May owing to the well-deserved promotion of Rachel to professor.

Rachel is SMSAS’s Deputy Director of Research, and Director of Studies for our new sandwich programme, Year in Data Analytics. Rachel is also the Director of the National Centre for Statistical Ecology and part of the University’s respected Statistical Ecology research group.

Rachel completed a Natural Environment Research Council-funded research fellowship in 2016 and was also awarded an EPSRC New Investigator Research Award in 2018 for a project Modelling removal and re-introduction data for improved conservation.  This project will develop new statistical approaches to make the most of the information available from removal and re-introduction data.

Further information on Rachel’s impactful research can be found on the Statistical Ecology at Kent blog.

Congratulations Professor McCrea!

Dr Todd Mei, Head of the Department of Philosophy, has recently been interviewed by the journalist Dana Lewis, alongside BBC political commentator Jo Phillips, on a podcast episode of ‘Back Story’.

Todd uses the words of Aristotle to extol the virtues of courage and justice in times of a global pandemic.

He says: “In these kinds of situations, as a result of the pandemic and as a result of our lifestyle changing, it does require resilience, solidarity and community.”

“Day to day, people who we encounter in shops and communities are taking on significant importance in our daily lives. I would hope that this would go on to create a greater appreciation for low paid workers. Hopefully, it will create a renewed respect and appreciation for community workers and encourage businesses to get involved with meaningful work, which does not just equate to monetary value, but also makes the workers feel like they are doing something that contributes to society.”

You can listen to the full episode online (Todd’s segment is at around 16:00)

While film and TV production is in lockdown, the University of Kent has original research documentaries for you to discover.

Starting the week commencing 18 May, Researchers and field experts will host interactive talks featuring topical discussions as the University launches the “Think Kent Discovers series”, a series of nine cutting edge research documentaries produced by the University of Kent in association with KMTV.

Each event will start with the screening of a research documentary followed by a live panel discussion on the topic.

The series will be live streamed via Research Services ‘YouTube channel and the university’s facebook page.

All events are FREE to watch and to book your place,  please visit EventBrite. 

Series schedule to include:

Tuesday 19 May at 19.00: “Restoring the Palace of Westminster”
Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt from the Kent School of Architecture and Planning analyses the Houses of Parliament’s historic ventilation system and how it shaped the overall design of the building.

Panel members:
– Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture at the University of Kent
– Professor Dean Hawkes, Emeritus Professor of Architectural Design at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University and an Emeritus Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge
– Richard Ware, Former Director of the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme

Thursday 28 May at 19.00: “Mary Rose – A Chemical Conundrum”
The documentary explores how a team from the School of Physical Sciences helped to preserve, and put on display, the pride of the Tudor fleet.

Panel members:
– Professor Alan Chadwick, Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Kent
– Professor Eleanor Schofield, Head of Conservation & Collections Care at the Mary Rose Trust
– Fred Mosselmans, Principal Beamline Scientist responsible for I20 at Diamond Light Source

Week commencing 1 June: “Peru – A Living Memory” (details to be confirmed)
Researcher Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, from School of European Culture and Languages, wants to teach citizens about all aspects of  Peru’s history in order to create a fully realised national identity for future generations of Peruvians.

For more details on each event, visit the Research Services webpage.

Did you know that National Vegetarian Week has arrived? During this annual event (11 May – 17 May 2020), we’re encouraged to try and go meat-free for a week, with vibrant and exciting dishes.

So, whether you’re a fully-fledged vegetarian, or just want to introduce one or two meat-free options to your diet, these 10 tasty vegetarian recipes are sure to be loved by all!

1. Roasted vegetable lasagne

Putting a spin on this Italian-style dish, BBC Good Food serves us up with a delicious alternative.

2. Mixed bean falafel and sweet potato hummus

Perfect for your evening meal or a lunchtime treat, this Good Housekeeping recipe is a great mix of delicious ingredients!

3. Black bean burgers

Packed with protein, Jamie Oliver’s veggie burger recipe can be whipped up in under an hour!

4. Tomato tarte tatin

From Olive magazine, this show-stopping savoury recipe is a great take on the classic French tart.

5. Acorn squash with wild rice stuffing

With squash and wild rice providing the perfect combination, this recipe from Cooking Light is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

6. Sweet potato, chickpea and feta salad

Bursting with colour and flavour, this scrumptious salad from Delicious magazine is perfect for a warm summer evening…

7. Garden-fresh grilled veggie pizza

Providing us with a pizza loaded with fresh, flavoursome toppings, this recipe from Taste of Home is a slice of  deliciousness!

8. Broccoli and cheddar crêpes

Shake up your normal cooking routine with this hearty recipe from Good Housekeeping.

9. Summer squash and basil pasta

If you’ve not tried it already, why not add sautéed squash to your favourite pasta, and create this colourful dish from Bon appetit?

10. Roasted aubergine and tomato curry

Simple yet tasty, this vibrant dish from BBC Good Food is the ideal recipe for a quick mid-week dinner.

If you have any more vegetarian dishes you’d like to share, please send them to stories@kent.ac.uk

We only have one more week until ‘Belong and Grow – it’s your BAG’ week 2020 and although our plans for BAG week 2020 have changed in line with the current situation and the need to stay safe, we still have lots on offer. Although we are not able to have face to face sessions during the week, we want to encourage you to take time during w/c 18th of May for your personal development and wellbeing, so we have redesigned ‘BAG’ week to feature remote sessions.

All of this year’s virtual events will be held by Zoom, Teams, or webinar. Please view the details of each event and book the events you would like to attend through Staff Connect. Search ‘BAG’ in Staff Connect. You will then receive a link to the event a couple of days before the scheduled date.

We also have webinars and Blogs that you can view at your leisure throughout the week.

All of the events are featured in our rolling blog, which will be updated regularly.

This event has been organised by Learning & Organisational Development, in conjunction with external providers, members of staff and students.

If you have any questions, please email LDev@kent.ac.uk

Download the Wellbeing Zone Hub. 

Follow the week on Social media and share your thoughts, using #BagWeek

Professor Shujun Li has been working with the Association of British Chinese Professors (ABCP) to raise funds to support the NHS in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The money raised has been used to buy personal protection equipment (PPE) for ten UK hospitals.

As well as being a Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Kent, Shujun is also the Vice President for Internal Communication and Public Relations of ABCP.  With the joint effort of its members and associated members across the UK, the following has been achieved so far:

1000 FFP2 face masks, donated to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London

1000 FFP2 face masks, donated to UCL Hospital London

400 FFP2 face masks, donated to St Mary Hospital, Imperial College London

3500 safety goggles and 7000 full face visors donated to seven hospitals in London, Cambridge, Birmingham and Coventry.

Shujun commented: ‘I have been lucky to be able to play my part in such a great project organised by the ABCP. I have been deeply moved by many British Chinese who have kindly provided their help in many different ways, e.g., donating money, providing information about potential PPE vendors in China, liaising with NHS hospitals and other organisations in need of PPE, liaising with Chinese donors to arrange purchase, validation and transportation of PPE, and helping forwarding information and PPE to NHS staff and other essential workers.’

He added, ‘Together with a number of other Chinese academics working at the University of Kent, we also helped receive hundreds of PPE items from China and re-distributed them to local people in need, some working at NHS hospitals or medical clinics.’

For more information and to find out how to help, please go to the Association of British Chinese Professors website. 

Kent Hospitality were proud to win the ‘HHH Green Award’ at The Triple H Awards 2020 (Hotel Housekeeping Honours) held at the Hilton Metropole NEC Birmingham on 12 March.

Seeing off competition from Royal Holloway University of London, who were Highly Commended in the category, the Kent Hospitality Housekeeping team were thrilled to win the HHH Green Award. The Green Award is presented to the institution best demonstrating ecological and environmental initiatives and innovation.

Gary Sayles, Executive Housekeeping Manager, collected the award on behalf of his team and said ‘I am exceptionally proud of all my team and that our efforts to provide a high quality and environmentally friendly service to our students has been rewarded. We will continue to build on our services and always seek the latest innovations, but this is a sure sign we are moving in the right direction’.

The award recognised the Kent Hospitality Housekeeping team’s significant shift away from their previous methodologies and cleaning products to be more eco-friendly. The department now predominantly utilises Aqueous Ozone, Thermostar steam cleaning, and InnuScience biological products, all of which serve as environmentally friendly alternatives for their staff to use across the University. Additionally, as well as being eco-label certified and cruelty free, one noted advantage of InnuScience’s products is that they are not classified as hazardous, or as an irritant, meaning the cleaning products can be freely included in all campus student accommodation kitchens.

This was not the only success for Kent Hospitality at the 2020 awards as Durga Rai was shortlisted for the ‘Cleaning Technician of the Year Award’ following Hayley Dyer’s Highly Commended acknowledgement in the same category at the 2019 awards.

See the HHH Awards 2020 website for further information.

The Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC), is the main forum for consultation between the University of Kent and its staff, on all matters of mutual interest.

The next meeting for the JSNCC is due to take place online (via Microsoft Teams) on Tuesday 12 May. The agenda and papers are now available for you to view on the JSNCC webpages.

The JSNCC pages provides details of the full membership of the JSNCC, meeting dates, its terms of reference, documentation for submission to the JSNCC and minutes of previous meetings. You’ll also find details on Staff and Trades Union Representatives on the there too.