Author Archives: Alice Allwright

Spend the Summer in India

Fancy spending three weeks in India this summer?

Kent has partnered with Amity University, India to offer up to 20 places for undergraduate students to participate in the UKIERI Study in India Summer School taking place from 15 June – 5 July 2020.

Discover more about India through Academic Sessions, Cultural and Industry visits in this three-week funded summer school.

For further details and to apply online, visit the University’s Go Abroad webpage.

The deadline for applications is 9.00 on Monday 16 March 2020.

Further Information

International Partnerships will be running drop in sessions for anyone who is interested in participating and would like further details or help with their application. These will take place on the following dates:

• Friday 6 March and Friday 13 March at 10.00 – 12.00

• Monday 9 March and Wednesday 11 March at 15.00 – 17.00

Located in the Registry extension, First Floor, Rm 155.

Alternatively, please email Go Abroad for more information.

For more information about other summer school opportunities, please see the Go Abroad webpage

War of the Worlds auditions

The University of Kent Players are holding auditions for staff for their next radio play, War of the Worlds. The production is a reworking of the 1955 radio broadcast and will be held in Mungos at 20.00 on May 15 & 16.

The players perform two theatrical shows at the Gulbenkian and two radio plays each year. The radio plays bring back the hollywood radio plays of the 1940’s and 50s , recorded for broadcast as live in front of a studio audience.

You don’t have to have experience on the stage, just enthusiasm and commitment. As well as cast members, we are looking for a foley team to create sound effects manually, a technical lead, front of house staff and general help and supporters.

If you are interested in participating in this exciting production, auditions are being held on Monday 9 March, 17.30 in Cornwallis East room 329 and on Tuesday 10 March, 12.30 in Eliot Extension Seminar room 1.

For further information contact the Director, Kevin White

Why Student Data System access was disrupted last term

We take the security of your personal data seriously and have strict systems in place to protect it.

Access to SDS and some other University systems was unfortunately restricted for a few weeks during the autumn term to plug a security vulnerability. Due to the actions we took, no personal data was lost or accessed when it shouldn’t have been.

The risk was related to a third-party tool used by many organisations, which enables users to log into online systems securely. A vulnerability in this tool was discovered by a University in Norway, and once informed, the University of Kent responded with appropriate measures.

The vulnerability would have made it possible for a hacker to impersonate you and gain access to your data in SDS. To prevent this we had to disable the ability to log in using a web browser until logging in could be made fully secure again.
Some staff who access SDS using software on their PC were able to support students with the limited access they had.

To re-secure access, we needed to significantly redevelop the login system very quickly. This required robust testing and validation to make sure it was secure; this was verified by a third party and meets the independently recognised security standards we adhere to at Kent. Our Cyber Essentials certification recognises the strict security standards we adhere to.

We know that students and staff rely on systems like SDS to be there at all times and so any access interruptions are taken extremely seriously and avoided as much as possible, especially during term time. Hopefully this article explains why, on this recent occasion, the interruption was necessary, and that we restored access as quickly as we possibly could.

Row Britannia – get involved!

The University of Kent is taking on the Row Britannia challenge of rowing 2020 miles to help raise vital funds for mental health charities as part of Sport Relief.

We’re about to reach a huge milestone in the challenge as we approach a total of one million metres (580 miles) rowed so far! That takes us to almost one third of the huge 3,251,000 metre target. This number has only been possible through your contributions – so thank you to everyone that has taken part so far.

We were visited by Row Britannia on 15 January to officially launch the challenge. University of Kent Honorary Graduate Barry McGuigan MBE and boxers from McGuigan’s Gym gave us a ‘knockout’ start by rowing a mile each, and since then we’ve seen some incredible efforts, with some students and staff rowing 20,000 metres in one session!

On 14 February Kent Sport teams went head-to-head to see how far they could row in just 30 minutes in a team relay row-off. Managing more than 22,000 metres overall, they’re now extending the challenge to you. How far can your team row in 30 minutes? Email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk to take part now!

Vice-Chancellor Karen Cox, Director of Sport Mel Clewlow, and members of Executive Group (Financial Improvement Officer Peter Pentecost, PA to Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Nicholle Mackenzie and Head of School – School of Sport and Exercise Sciences Dr Claire Peppiatt-Wildman), contributed a combined 20,000 metres when they visited on the 28 February, bringing us to nearly one million metres overall. A fantastic effort and much appreciated mileage!

You’ve still got time to clock your distance and donate to Row Britannia, visit our Just Giving page to donate online or use the collection bucket at the Sports Centre reception. Don’t forget, Sport Relief is on Friday 13 March.

Prestigious NIHR award for CHSS Director

Professor of Health Policy Stephen Peckham, Director of CHSS has been appointed NIHR Senior Investigator (SI). The award is given by the National Institute for Health Research to outstanding national research leaders.

Stephen, who is Founding Director of the new NIHR Applied Research Colloboration, Kent Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS) said ‘This represents only the second ever Senior Investigator award given in our region, so I’m really delighted to be recognised in this way’.

Senior Investigators are among the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR. Collectively, they constitute the NIHR College of Senior Investigators. As senior leaders demonstrating research excellence, they act as NIHR ambassadors, helping to attract, retain and develop a highly skilled health research workforce.

Stephen is currently the only NIHR Senior Investigator based in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

You can find out more on the NIHR website.

Book award nominations for Tamar Jeffers McDonald

Congratulations to Dr Tamar Jeffers McDonald, Reader in Film and Head of the School of Arts, for having recently having two of her books nominated for awards.

Tamar’s edited collection with Lies Lanckman, Star Attractions: Twentieth-Century Movie Magazines and Global Fandom (University of Iowa Press, 2019) has recently been nominated for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Best Edited Collection Award.

And Tamar’s collection edited with Dr Frances Kamm, Lecturer in Film, Gothic Heroines on Screen (Routledge, 2019) has been nominated for the 2020 Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards in the Moving Image award category.

Our congratulations to Tamar and all the contributors to these collection.

Peter and the Wolf comes to Colyer-Fergusson

University musicians and alumni will be presenting a performance of the ever-popular Peter and the Wolf in the Colyer-Fergusson Hall on Sunday 8 March at 15.00, an hour-long orchestral fairy tale for all the family, however young or old.

The concert will be conducted by Director of Music, Susan Wanless and features William Wollen as the narrator (pictured).

William’s background in physical theatre saw him working with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in the 2005 film of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and his creature work features in the 2016 release of major motion picture The Legend of Tarzan (Warner Bros.). As an actor, and actor-musician playing sax and tin whistle, he has performed all over the country at all scales of theatre, and sang the role of the eponymous villain in Cherub Company’s 2001 production of Hans Krasa’s operatic fable Brundibár (written 2 years after Prokofiev’s musical tale).

He is Senior Lecturer in Drama at University of Kent, where he leads on the acting modules. William’s wealth of theatrical and musical expertise will come to the fore as he brings alive the story of Peter and his friends the bird, duck and cat, the grumpy grandfather and the big bad scary wolf!

Tickets (Full £8 / Students & Children £5) are available from the Gulbenkian Tickets & Information, T: 01227 769075. To book online visit the Gulbenkian website.

Get moving with this year’s FitnessFest 2020

As part of the University of Kent’s Worldfest celebrations next month, FitnessFest 2020 will offer seven different classes to get you moving. In our annual fitness class shakeup, Kent Sport invites you to sample a unique evening at the tenth annual FitnessFest medley on Monday 9 March.

FitnessFest 2020 kicks off with a free Bollywood Workshop and free Indian Dance workshop at 3pm and 4pm, respectively. Open to all staff and students, join dance company Beeja for something unique! These events are hosted privately, so please book on the Eventbrite website.

At 17.30 we mix things up with FitSteps – an energetic, upbeat dance fitness class featuring all of your favourite strictly dances.

Join us for Cultural Circuits at 18.10 with the effervescent Del. Come dressed up as your favourite country to get into the spirit of Worldfest.

Feel the beat with our next class – Drums Alive® with Jeni at 18.30. Drums Alive® is a program that fosters a healthy balance physically, mentally, emotionally and socially!

Following on at 19.30 John spins us around the globe in an inspiring Spinning class.

To close the evening, epic duo Jeni and Kealy bring you Zumba at 20.30. If you love to move, then this is the perfect class to let loose.

Click ‘Going’ on our Facebook event and tell all your friends about this epic night of fun!

All FitnessFest classes are free for Premium Plus and Premium Members. Plus and Pay to Play pay £2 per class. Booking online is available up to seven days in advance.

If you’re not a member it’s easy to join, ask at the Sports Centre or The Pavilion reception or visit the Kent Sports website.

For Kent Sport news, events and special offers, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Latest issue of Kent magazine now available

The latest issue of the University magazine is out now, available in print on the Canterbury and Medway campuses, and online on Issuu.

This issue includes:

Cover story: An alumni feature by Kami Asamani who writes about her time at Kent and her career path to date.

An introduction to the University’s advancement campaign from the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox and the three themes of the campaign – with a case study for each theme below.

A World of Opportunity – “It’s time for action, not excuses, on inclusive theatre” by Alumni Postgraduate Research Scholar, Kasia Senyszyn.

A World of Discovery – A Balancing Act: The Science of Vestibular Stimulation, outlining this pioneering research by Professor David Wilkinson.

A World of Community – Memories of the Gulbenkian, following on from the celebration of their 50th anniversary last year, and information about their name-a-seat appeal.

Staff profile: Sam Ranger, Street Kitchen Chef.

Student profile: Eloise Jack, Music Performance Scholar and BSc Biochemistry student.

Some of the articles have been optimised for mobile devices – on Issuu select ‘Read issue here’ and pick one of the articles listed under ‘What’s inside’.

If you’d prefer a hard copy, you can pick one up from:

Canterbury: Gulbenkian cafe, the Sports Centre, Templeman Library cafe, Keynes foyer.

Medway: The Deep End foyer (magazine stand just inside the door), Gillingham Building and Medway Building receptions, and the Rochester Building foyer.

Kent staff: Alternatively, if you’d like to be sent a copy in the internal mail, please email your name and location to Chris Wenham via alumni@kent.ac.uk

Work has already started on the next issues of the magazine, but if you’ve got ideas, please contact the Editorial Board. alumni@kent.ac.uk

Kent launches Mechanical Engineering including a Foundation Year

The School of Engineering and Digital Arts at Kent is pleased to announce the launch of a new undergraduate course, Mechanical Engineering including a Foundation Year.

If you don’t have the right grades to enrol directly on to our BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering degree, you could opt to start your studies with our Foundation year. The extra year is intended to give you the best possible preparation for success on the degree pathway.

On successful completion of your Foundation Year, you can go to the Mechanical Engineering degree or the Mechanical Engineering with a Year in Industry degree.

Mechanical Engineering is a fundamental discipline that is responsible for the design and the development of mechanical systems and it is vital in many tech industries. At the University of Kent, we focus in the modern applications of Mechanical Engineering, e.g. robotics, assistive technology, smart materials and autonomous vehicles.

Our research led degrees mean our graduates can work at the forefront of the major areas of mechanical engineering, combining theory with practical and project work, turning ideas into real systems.

We have strong links with the Royal Academy of Engineering and with institutions that provide accreditation to university degrees (Institution of Engineering and Technology and Institution of Mechanical Engineers). Our engineering students’ work has won international prizes and our visiting industrial professors contribute to a strong industrial relevance of our courses. For further details, visit the undergraduate courses webpage.