Author Archives: Alice Allwright

Commercial Services Showcase 2020

You are warmly invited to attend the Commercial Services Showcase 2020 on Friday 6 March. Come meet our fantastic teams, all under one roof, to see what we can do for you.

Book your place via the hospitality website and drop in to Darwin Conference Suite between 12.00 and 18.00 to discover our wide range of services and facilities, including:

Accommodation – not just for students, our campus offers en-suite, B&B and self-catering accommodation for visitors, rated 4* – 5* by VisitEngland
Bespoke Event Management Service – flexible for your needs, this can include delegate registration assistance for your next conference or event
Catering – we’re talking everything foody, from our 11 outlets across campus, catering delivered directly to your meeting, bespoke event menus, formal gala dinners and BBQs in the sunshine
Group facilities – from summer schools, leisure groups and venue hire for smaller events to international conferences
Kent Sport – gym memberships to sports massages, they do it all
Gulbenkian and Colyer-Fergusson – plan your next night at the movies and discover the latest line-up on stage and screen
KentOne – not just a staff ID card, this can be topped up online to become a cashless payment card, which provides a 10% discount in all Kent Hospitality catering outlets.

So, why wait? Book your free place online now to hear all about us and what’s going on around campus during this busy conference year; enter our competitions; whizz around campus on our virtual reality headsets; grab some yummy snacks and more!

Further information on the Showcase is available on the Kent conferences website

Or contact the Conference Office at conferences@kent.ac.uk or ext. 8000 for more information.

Registration closes on Tuesday 3 March 2020.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Funding for project with Portafina Ltd

The University of Kent are celebrating securing funding to work with Rochester based Fintech company, Portafina Investment Management Ltd, on a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership project.

The two year project will enable Portafina, a specialist pension advice firm targeting the “advice gap” mass market, to apply state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to improve workflow and data processing. This will enable Portafina to increase their efficiency, reduce timescales and enable rapid scalability.

The partnership are looking forward to recruiting a recently qualified postgraduate, known as the Associate, to deliver the strategic project. The Associate will be based at Portafina’s offices in Rochester and work under the guidance and support of a team of academics from the University’s School of Computing. The academics will be bringing a wealth of expertise in a number of areas including developing algorithms for machine learning and text mining tasks, and techniques in natural language processing.

Jamie Smith-Thompson, MD of Portafina, said:

”We are very excited to be working with the University of Kent on a number of innovative projects that will have a real impact on our efficiency. Our intention is to make it possible to provide much-needed financial advice to a wider mass-market client base by reducing our back-office costs. We are confident these projects will also enable us to increase service quality at the same time.

We can’t wait to get started.”

Carole Barron, Director of Kent Innovation and Enterprise believes that Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are one of a range of ways in which the University’s academic experts link up with national and local businesses to offer practical advice based on their research. Carole said:

“We are delighted to be entering into this exciting collaboration with Portafina in the area of state-of-the-art machine learning techniques. We look forward to developing a long relationship with Portafina beyond the two year partnership.”

If you are interested in hearing more or to engage with Kent Innovation and Enterprise as your business & innovation gateway into the University please get in touch with the team on 01227 827376 or at enterprise@kent.ac.uk

Tonbridge short courses

Tonbridge Centre have launched their new programme of inspiring non-accredited short courses for the Spring and Summer terms.

The programme mainly focuses on Art History, Creative Writing, History and Literature as well as Classics and Self-development. Read the full programme on the Tonbridge Centre website,

If you’re new to the programme, and would like to be included in email alerts regarding Tonbridge short courses, please email tonbridgeadmin@kent.ac.uk .

Staff may be eligible for a discount: for further details, please contact the Tonbridge Centre by email to tonbridgeadmin@kent.ac.uk or call extension 4990.

Kent alumna Elizabeth Akehurst exhibition

Keynes College is delighted to present their latest exhibition ‘Pleasure in Painting’, by local artist and alumna Elizabeth Akehurst, which is on display on two levels in the Atrium until 8^th April 2020.

Elizabeth is particularly thrilled to be returning to Keynes once more, as she last exhibited back in Keynes in 2004 and will be showcasing her impressive paintings spanning over the past 16 years.

When: Friday 24 January 2020 from 17.00 – 19.00

Where: Keynes Atrium

All are very welcome to the the Private View.

Elizabeth explains: “Painting is not where I began. I came to this University in 1969 to study mathematics and it was here I met my husband Andrew Akehurst (Eliot 1969-1972) who was studying English. Three years later I left with a first class degree and went on to postgraduate studies at Cambridge, part of the first cohort of women admitted to King’s College Cambridge. After I completed an MSc at Newcastle we came back to Kent in 1976 and I went into teaching. However, a strong interest in painters and paintings has always formed an integral part of my life and having children and giving up full time work provided space.

I began to paint in the 1980’s, first in watercolour, then as the opportunity allowed, in oils. By the 1990’s I was exhibiting widely and able to drop many other commitments and declare myself a professional artist. I have been with David and Dawn Lilford in Canterbury at the Liford Gallery since 2000 and they have represented my work at Art Fairs in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. I have exhibited at other galleries across England and Scotland.

My paintings are in the collections of the University of Kent, Canterbury and Medway Council and in private collections both in England and abroad. I was presented with a Kalaimaiyam International Art Award in 2019.

I had a solo show here in Keynes in 2004 so it is real pleasure to have another. This has given me the chance to show work from the last sixteen years.” – Elizabeth Akehurst

Boats in the Early Morning

All artworks are available to be purchased by emailing keynesmastersoffice@kent.ac.uk or by contacting the artist directly on akehurst@btinternet.com. A price list is available from Keynes Reception.

New Year New You massage offer

Want to start 2020 feeling refreshed and relaxed? Here’s your chance with this fabulous offer from the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic. From 20 January to 28 February you can enjoy 20% off a 30-minute massage to help you get rid of those nagging aches and pains.

Massage has a number of physical and psychological benefits, these include:

Lifting your mood
Relaxing tense muscles
Reducing stress
Relaxing the mind
Improving circulation
Increase the overall feeling of well-being

Here at Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic, we treat people from all walks of life, from all occupations, of all ages, and across every scale of physical activity – even those who answer “nothing!” to that last part! We treat athletes and weightlifters, footballers and lacrosse players, but one of our most frequent patients is the office employee due to the role often requiring them to sit for long periods of time and the impact of being sedentary.

So whether you are a University of Kent student or staff or a member of the public, you can book an appointment by calling the clinic staff on 01227 824375, visiting reception at the Sports Centre, or email physio@kent.ac.uk.

Dr. Cecilia Sayad’s article in Esquire

Dr Cecilia Sayad, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Film, was interviewed for an article in Esquire magazine at the end of last month, on the horror film genre.

Esquire is a men’s lifestyle magazine, which is published in over 20 countries.

The article, entitled ‘The 2010s Were The Decade When Horror Got Smart’ by Thom Nicholson, explores the spate of cerebral horror films from the last ten years, including The Babadook (2014, dir. Jennifer Kent), The Witch (2016, dir. Rober Eggers), Get Out (2017, dir. Jordan Peele) and Midsommar (2019, dir. Ari Aster). Such films were presented as the work of ‘auteur’ directors, giving the them a respectability usually reserved for literary works.

‘We like to think about works of art as somebody talking to us or somebody telling us a story,’ explains Cecilia in the article, ‘I think it’s very appealing to think that there is like a human mind behind this, no matter how many other professionals help or contribute to that.’

To read the full article, please click onto the Esquire’s webpage

Lunchtime Concert: Award-winning folk group

What better way to kick off the new term than with a bit of music at lunchtime?!

The Music Department’s Lunchtime Concert series sees in the new term on Weds 22 January with the award-winning ‘Trials of Cato,’ a blend of guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and vocals that won Best Album in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2019.

Admission is free, suggested donation £3.

To find more details please visit the Music at Kent website

Tonbridge short courses

Tonbridge Centre have launched their new programme of inspiring non-accredited short courses for the Spring and Summer terms.

The programme mainly focuses on Art History, Creative Writing, History and Literature as well as Classics and Self-development. Read the full programme on the Tonbridge Centre website,

If you’re new to the programme, and would like to be included in email alerts regarding Tonbridge short courses, please email tonbridgeadmin@kent.ac.uk .

PhD student Kostas Gravanis wins research fellowship funding

Kostas Gravanis, who is undertaking a PhD in History and Philosophy of Art in the School of Arts, has won a Samuel H. Kress Research Fellowship in Renaissance Art History from the Renaissance Society of America.

Kostas’ PhD project is provisionally entitled ‘Sources, Functions and Meaning of Imagery in the Vatican’s Raphael Rooms’. His PhD supervisors are Professor Tom Henry and Dr Ben Thomas.

The funding will support research for the last chapter of his thesis, based upon the Sala di Costantino – one of the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Palace.

To read more about the grants and awards from the Renaissance Society of America, please see their website

Walking netball is back!

The University of Kent will be hosting a monthly walking netball session at the Canterbury Campus Sports Centre.

When: All sessions will take place on a Wednesday, from 10.00 – 11.00

The dates are:

Wed 22 January 2020

Wed 5 and 19 February 2020

Wed 4 and 18 March 2020

Wed 1 and 15 April 2020

Where: All sessions are indoors at: University of Kent Sports Centre, Canterbury Campus,

Who: The sessions are aimed at 55+. No experience is necessary. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear for indoor activity and don’t forget your water bottle!

How: A minimum of Kent Sport Community ‘Pay to Play’ Membership is required, with £4.50 per session (plus annual £5 membership fee. See website for all membership options.

Pay and display parking is available at the back of the Sports Centre (£2 parking fee can be refunded at reception).

No need to book, just come along. The sessions are an ideal opportunity to be active in a fun, enjoyable and social environment.

You can see what is involved by watching this Youtube video

Please join us for some well-earned refreshments in the Sports Centre Café after the session.

For further information call 01227 816391 or email: sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk