Love a spot of gardening? Ahead of National Gardening Week (from 27 April – 3 May 2020) and while many of us are at home more, we’ve got just the thing for green-fingered colleagues.

From perfect timings to pest control, here are our ten top tips for how to make the most of your outdoor oasis:

1. Sunflowers and marigolds are just some of the pretty annuals perfect for planting in spring. Easy to grow, these flowers almost guarantee an amazing colour show come summertime.

2. Avoid watering your plants during the hottest part of the day and aim for mornings or dusk instead.

3. Plants in a terracotta pot will dry out quicker than ones in a ceramic or plastic container. So, if you’re using a terracotta pot, line it with plastic or an empty compost bag with holes punched in the bottom before planting, to keep the soil moist for longer.

4. Be careful not to over mow your grass and never cut shorter than two inches, as this can weaken the grass and make it more susceptible to weeds.

5. Edge your flowerbeds with rocks to discourage grass and weeds from taking over.

6. Add a tiny bit of fertiliser to water for new plants to help improve health, growth, and productivity.

7. For planting fruit and veg – save space by sowing two different crops in a single row. Mix a slow growing crop such as parsnips or carrots with something faster like lettuces or radishes.

8. Holes for bulbs should be two to three times as deep as the bulb itself as they need room to grow.

9. Slugs hate caffeine – so spread a line of used coffee grounds around emerging seedlings and new plants to keep the slugs away.

10. Run your fingernails across a bar of soap as this will seal off dirt from accumulating under your nails.

Can you think of any more gardening top tips for us to share? Send your ideas to stories@kent.ac.uk

We are pleased to welcome Jordan Regan to the School of Computing as Student Success Project Officer.

The Student Success Project is a University of Kent initiative that commits to helping every student to achieve the best degree that they can. Jordan will be working as part of the professional services team and with Student Success Lecturer, Jacqui Chetty, to evaluate and improve the retention, attainment and progression of undergraduate students.

Jordan started work the day before the Covid-19 lockdown so has been working from home and meeting colleagues virtually.

Jordan graduated from Kent in 2017 with a BA Sociology degree. Since graduating she has worked in Higher Education at Kent Union, Canterbury Christ Church University, and most recently as the Democracy and Engagement Manager at the University of Essex Students’ Union. She is currently studying a part-time Masters in Business and Management.

Jordan said: “I was not expecting to start a new job in the middle of a global pandemic. Relocating back to Kent a few days before lockdown was an unexpected challenge, as is having to meet the majority of my colleagues online and work from home. However, both the Student Success Project and School of Computing teams have been incredibly welcoming and have really helped me to understand my role. Having studied at Kent, I am fortunately very familiar with the University and look forward to starting to work back on campus. I am excited to meet students and staff from the School of Computing in person, and to begin supporting the delivery of various interventions. “

We look forward to working with Jordan and meeting her in person as soon as we are back on campus.

These sessions are for staff and students at Kent, so if you need any further information or would like to join the Choir, email Susan Wanless. These are strange and stressful times and we must all keep safe, smiling….and singing!

International Partnerships would like to invite you to our virtual event as part of Kent’s International Visiting Academics Network (IVAN) via Zoom.

The meeting will be lead by the Dean for Internationalisation and will address the topic of ‘Adapting to new ways of working’. The network has been established to give you the opportunity to build on your existing connections at and beyond the University.

Date: Wednesday 29 April 2020

Time: 11.00 – 11.35 (BST)

Book your place via the Eventbrite website

The Zoom meeting ID and password will be sent to attendees in advance of the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Nicola Shaughnessy, Professor of Performance in the Department of Drama and Theatre, has been commended by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for her outstanding contribution to the work of the council over the past year.

Nicola was nominated by AHRC staff in recognition for services to the for the AHRC Peer Review College (PRC) in 2019. The AHRC’s Peer Review College has around 1,150 members from higher education institutions and independent research organisations in the United Kingdom and overseas, and from outside academia. Nicola is one of a small number of individuals who are members of multiple colleges and is appointed to four of the PRC groups: Academic, International, Knowledge Transfer and Strategic Review.

The PRC is central to ensuring the robustness of the decision-making mechanisms of the AHRC. It is vital that it operates effectively and efficiently and that it holds the confidence of the academic community. College members play a critical role, not only in providing high quality reviews, but in informing and influencing the current work of the AHRC and its future direction.

Our congratulations to Nicola for this excellent achievement, undertaken alongside her many other duties with the university.

Kent has a wide range of subjects, most of which are available full or part-time and some by distance and blended learning. Programmes, many with professional accreditation, are informed by the latest research from world-leading academics so you can develop career-focused skills and knowledge relevant to today’s issues.

What to expect from the event: 

• Learn about the multimillion-pound postgraduate scholarship fund
• Hear from specialist academics
• Attend live Q&A sessions with staff and current students
• Discover Kent’s inspirational locations: Canterbury, Medway, Paris and Brussels
• Take a look at Kent’s wonderful campuses and postgraduate centres
• Hear a welcome from Prof Paul Allain, Dean of the Graduate School

To find out more please visit the courses website.

Dr Wissia Fiorucci, Director of Education and Languages Co-ordinator in the Department of Modern Languages, has appeared on BBC Radio Kent as part of a discussion on whether, during the lockdown, it is easy to learn a new language online.

In the programme, Wissia discusses what it could be about British people in particular that makes it hard to learn a new language.

‘There is unfortunately a resistance towards learning different languages,” Wissia says, “Not from individuals, but obviously this is a country where the native language is spoken throughout the world. Therefore, motivation is somewhat lost.’

then goes on to discuss the benefits of broadening your horizon and careers prospects by picking up a language, and also comments on whether learning a language something you should start when you’re younger or if it can be picked up just as easily at any age.

‘At Kent, we have different pathways for students who have studied the language before and students want to start from scratch.” Wissia explains, “students who start as beginners often tend to actually become better because they have the passion and commitment that you can’t really have when you’re a child. I think that any age is fine to start learning a language as long as you’re motivated.’

You can listen to the full interview on the BBC website (timecode 1:13:00)

With all of us suddenly shifting to online teaching, this is the perfect time to hear from innovators who were engaging their students online before the COVID-19 crisis. This symposium is being convened by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education.  As the symposium will be conducted virtually, participants will also be able to experience different methods of online teaching first hand from a learner perspective.

The event kicks off with a live session on virtual lecturing at 13.00 on 7 May. That session will also be recorded for access for those who cannot participate in the live event.

To ensure maximum flexibility for academics juggling multiple commitments during this difficult time, the other symposium papers will be available online either as short papers or short videos, with facilitated discussion boards from 7 May to 16 May.

Log on anytime during that period to see how colleagues are making the most of Moodle and engaging students in discussions online.  Use the discussion boards associated with each session to ask questions or share your own experiences. Feel free to connect with paper presenters individually for more in-depth discussion.

You can self-enrol on Moodle at  where you will also find links to the live events on 7 May.

If you have any questions or difficulties enrolling, please contact heprogsadmin@kent.ac.uk.

Dragan Todorovic, author and Lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of English, was interviewed by Steve Ladner on BBC Radio Kent’s Mid Morning programme earlier this month.

In the interview, Dragan discusses self-isolation due to COVID-19, creative writing and increased discipline and time to write. Dragan draws comparisons with works written during historical times of isolation, and the importance of these documents for future generations:

‘Some of the hugely important books in the history of creative writing have been written in times of isolation of some sort, from Bocaccio’s Decameron to Apollinaire’s Calligrammes and many other books’, Dragan explains. ‘It’s not only about the stories, but it’s also a vital document of how people lived at the time. Everything written at this moment is a document of the time, and we owe it to future generations to write it and leave it for them’.

Dragan also provides advice as to where new writers can start:

‘You have to write about yourself. There is no good creative writing unless you know how to write about the self. Writing a memoir is a fantastic beginning for most people, but it’s also very rewarding’.

The full interview can be heard on the Soundcloud website, with the segment featuring Dragan  starting at 3:11:20.