Professor Colin Hills from the University of Greenwich will be taking part in the first Drill Hall Dialogue event of the year.

His talk on ‘Working with CO2 is a gas: mineralising carbon in industrial waste’ takes place on Tuesday 11 February 2020 in the Drill Hall – room DA002.

The University of Greenwich has been researching carbon capture and utilisation through mineralisation technology.

Developing from the treatment of contaminated soil and then hazardous waste, high volume wastes can be useful feedstocks for making carbonated construction products. By producing limestone in the reaction between CO2 gas and alkaline wastes into benign construction materials, the associated risks are managed and the wastes are diverted from landfill and given value. Commercial production of carbonated construction products is in kT range, with new materials under development.

The background to our award-winning carbonation technology, its current status and future direction will be presented and discussed.

Drill Hall Dialogues is a monthly series of talks held at the Drill Hall Library, the learning resource centre for the Universities at Medway collaborative project. A wide variety of topics has been covered including prison libraries, NHS libraries, Dickens and Christmas, Medway regeneration, the Medway Floods of 1953 and Fort Amherst. We have also received talks from academics based on the campus including the Centre for Journalism (UKM) and the Faculty of Education (CCCU).

The talks take place on the first or second Tuesday of the month and usually last no longer than 45 minutes with 15 minutes allotted for any questions and answers. All staff are welcome to attend.

Dr Anne-Maria Brennan, a lecturer at the Centre for Professional Practice, recently took part in the International Summit on Balanced and Inclusive Education which was held in Djibouti City.

The summit is the culmination of an initiative to produce the Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education, which is part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SD4) which seeks to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.

As part of the summit, Dr Brennan gave a presentation entitled Inclusivity re-imagined: celebrating humankind’s medical endeavour.

Commenting on her presentation she said: “The aim was to illustrate how the study of the history of medicine and its areas helps promote an inclusive approach to the STEM curriculum by highlighting its importance to human civilisation and culture.”

During the summit she also formally signed the Universal Declaration on Balanced and Inclusive Education and the Constitutive Charter for the Organisation of Education Cooperation (OEC) in her capacity as Vice President of Science Engagement at the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation.  The newly formed OEC will develop and implement international strategies to achieve SDG4 by the target date of 2030 as set by the United Nations.

The Centre for Professional Practice offers a range of flexible, part-time postgraduate programmes and short course which have been specifically designed to meet the needs of professionals who wish to develop their academic skills whilst maintaining their professional roles. Programmes include a Master’s in Professional Practice, Applied & Specialist Healthcare and the online short course Introduction to Masters-level Study.

For further information, visit the Centre for Professional Practice website, email cppmedway@kent.ac.uk or telephone 01634 888929.

A group of staff, who are currently undertaking a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship as part of their professional development, produced a university-wide Legal and Ethical Guide for Digital Marketers, which could be a valuable source of information for other colleagues within the University.

The digital Guide provides encapsulated information about:

• Intellectual Property
• Copyright
• Data Protection Act
• GDPR & ICO
• Equality Act and Anti-Spamming Laws
• Cookies
• Consumer Protection Rights
• Adverting Standards Authority
• DMA Code of Practice
• Social Media Policies
• Accessible Marketing

Further links and best practice examples are provided in each section for more in depth information.

Apprentices said: “Our aim was to create a revision guide which combined information about laws and best practice from the University, UK government and other governmental bodies. The guidebook includes laws and policies that staff will encounter and need to adhere to when participating in marketing and communication activity at the University.”

Francesca Wyllie, the Digital Marketing tutor from SR Education for the group, commented: “I am delighted to say that all Digital Marketer Apprentices worked really hard on this project to produce this handy Guide. The purpose was to help them learn important issues and to be able to relate them to their own roles and activities. The draft Guide then was checked by the University’s Compliance Officer who came up with some helpful suggestions and edits.”

Before making the Guide available to all at the University, the apprentices are seeking further feedback from relevant academics and professional services staff. If you would like to contribute, please email us for a copy of the digital Guide: cppmarketing@kent.ac.uk

The Guide was created by: Nicola Baldwin, Hannah Brazier, Natalia Crisanti, Tim Hewitt, Loreta Jarvis, Philippa Page, Carly Turnham and Lyle Young.

Are you getting involved with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Teach-In? Interested in finding out more about the SDGs or how Kent is planning to meet Sustainability challenges? Join us for our Sustainable Development Goals Lunch to talk to operational and academic staff from across the University and beyond about sustainability over a fantastic bespoke Sustainable lunch.

When: Tuesday 25 February, 12.00 – 14.00

Where: Keynes Teaching Foyer

We’re planning a fantastic buffet including a delicious Butternut Squash and Sweet potato curry with all the trimmings and places are limited so please email sustainability@kent.ac.uk to let us know you will be coming.

As well as to raise awareness of Sustainability at Kent, this event has been planned to celebrate those who take part in the SDG Teach-In during the preceding week (17 – 21 February).

The Teach-In is an NUS-coordinated campaign where universities across the UK aim to make links to the SDGs within their taught courses during the week of the 17 – 21 February 2020. For more information about the SDG teach-In please visit our Sustainability Education web pages

Estates Customer Services are holding a pop-up event on Wednesday 5 February, from 11.00 until 13.00 in the Welcome Desk area of the Templeman Library.

Members from the team will be there to answer any Estates-related questions you have, and be able to outline all of the services the Estates Department offers. There is also a comments and suggestions box, where you can supply your feedback.

This event will also be featuring an insight into the Design & Print Centre and the services available. Visitors to the stand will be able to pick up their own 10% discount card for printing services and have the opportunity of ordering a personalised teddy bear, just in time for Valentine’s Day, (or any other special occasion) for the special price of £6.99.

Your feedback is extremely important to us and we aim to continuously review and improve our services. Please come along and see us, as it would be great to hear any suggestions you have.

The Learning and Teaching Network are running it’s annual Board of Examiners training in March.

The training is suitable for staff who are involved with organising, attending or recording Board of Examiner meetings. Staff new to Boards of Examiners are strongly encouraged to attend.

For details of dates please visit the Learning and Teaching Network website

The University of Kent’s Community Cup staff team are looking forward to their first fixture against Canterbury Christ Church University on Sunday 9 February at 10.30. The match will be at the University of Kent’s grass pitches at The Pavilion.

‘The Kent FA Community Cup is a great opportunity for staff members from across the University to play 11 a-side football in a competitive but enjoyable format and to put into practise the hours spent playing at our casual small sided staff football sessions throughout the week.’ – Billy Radford, Sports Development Officer for Kent Sport.

The Kent FA Community Cup is a tournament hosted by Kent FA, open to organisations and businesses across the county and providing opportunities for players to compete in a competitive but enjoyable atmosphere. The University of Kent players are from departments all across campus with wide ranging roles. Other local Kent FA Community Cup participants include South East Water and KCC Highways.

So why not show your support by joining them next Sunday 9 February for the 10.30 kick-off and enjoy this exciting match.

The Pavilion Café Bar will be open for refreshments.

On the January 29 2020, the Hub for Innovation & Enterprise, part of Kent Innovation and Enterprise launched its first i-Teams session. i-Teams is supported by the business and innovation gateway team at the University of Kent and delivery partners the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce .  A programme funded by the  Enabling Innovation, Research to Application project (EIRA).

 ‘i-Teams is a great opportunity to blend the line between academia and the corporate world’  James Valentino, Head of Innovation, Digital & Marketing at Lucas

 The challenge sponsors:

Lucas: A Kent based Construction Company originally specialising in spray painting.

TMLEP: Improving Patient Safety and Healthcare Standards: A Medical Logistics Enterprise Practice.

Southeastern: Southeastern have been running a rail service between London, Kent and parts of East Sussex since 2006.

 ‘We are really excited to be working with the University of Kent. We are looking forward to hearing about the inspiring ideas that could help improve the customer experience across our services.’ Graham Mollison, Southeastern

The Challenges:

Southeastern Rail:  ‘How can you enhance the passenger experience?’

TMLEP: ‘How can you generate profit from TMLEP’s portal?’

Lucas: ‘Investigate how we can exploit existing and emerging technologies to build upon existing relationships and communicate more effectively with customers to drive a better customer experience.’

 ‘Having been involved with the Employability Points Scheme for a number of years, when asked to join i-Teams as a challenge provider, we were more than happy to help.’  Alexander Acaster, UK Clinical Services Manager at TMLEP

Read the full article on the Hub for Innovation Blog:

If you want to know more about i-teams or even attend the grand finale, please contact the Hub team at: unikenthub@kent.ac.uk or on 01227 827376