Our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services and provide useful advice and support.

Here’s the schedule for two weeks:

Week commencing 10 October 2022

Monday 10 October – ‘Mental health awareness – In association with World mental health day’– Awareness and information on Mental health, how to recognise and support
those experiencing mental illness and changes to their mental health.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Wednesday 12 October – ‘How Care first can support you’– A webinar for awareness and how to access the EAP service provided by Care first.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Friday 14 October – ‘Your counselling‘ call to Care first’ – This webinar provides an overview of what you can expect when making a call to the counselling help line.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Week commencing 17 October 2022

Monday 17 October – ‘Menopause awareness’ – This session looks at the impact of Menopause on a woman’s mental and physical health. Offering ideas for ways that may help you cope when
going through this stage of your life, Supported by a menopause specialist.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Wednesday 19 October – ‘How Care first can support you’ – A webinar for awareness and how to access the EAP service provided by Care first.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

Friday 21 October – ‘Practical information and advice through Care first’ – The webinar provides detail about our Information Specialists and their role as part of your EAP service.
Time: 12.00-12.30 – click on this link to sign up

The Kent and Medway Business Summit returns on Friday 13 January 2023 in the award-winning Sibson building on the Canterbury campus of the University of Kent.

Annually, Kent Business School hosts the Kent and Medway Business Summit, which brings together some 300 businesses and policy makers to debate key themes.

KBS is committed to transferring its intellectual wealth, skills and knowledge into the work environment. Building relationships and collaborating with private, public, and third sector organisations helps to stimulate new areas of research and enterprise.

“The Kent and Medway Business Summit is a unique platform, not only to discuss challenges and opportunities of our region, but especially to forge new partnerships between businesses and academics that can make a difference in finding innovative solutions to these challenges,” said Professor of Management Science Paola Scaparra.

All UoK staff are welcome to join ‘The Kent & Medway Business Summit’ to exchange knowledge and take steps towards collaborative working with the outside world.

Bringing together businesses, key policymakers and leading academics, The Kent and Medway Business Summit features the latest news from key projects, expert keynote speakers and collaborative panel discussions.

To attend, book your Early Bird Tickets Released for 2023 Kent & Medway Business Summit – . To get involved with presentations or workshops email KBSBusiness@kent.ac.uk

Article from Dr Thomas Parkinson

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, asylum seekers crossing the Channel daily in unsafe and hostile conditions, and almost 90 million displaced people worldwide in 2021, forced migration has become a defining challenge of our times. As a university at the heart of a border county, and with a strong tradition of civic and community engagement, we believe the University of Kent has a key role to play in leading debate, research, and advocacy.

Our Migration and Movement Signature Research Theme builds on this institutional commitment. Since its launch in September 2021, our SRT has grown an active network of researchers from across the University’s Divisions, promoting an inclusive and interdisciplinary research culture and raising the University’s profile as a leading hub of expertise in this area. We’ve also built and strengthened partnerships with charities, NGOs, and businesses nationally and internationally.

Migration and Movement is proud to be leading Kent’s application to become a University of Sanctuary, part of a national movement that looks to build welcoming communities for displaced and vulnerable people seeking sanctuary from persecution.

As an institution, we are already doing a great deal to develop our campuses as places of welcome, safety and inclusion. Our Article 26 scholarships provide places and funding for refugees and asylum seekers to study at Kent each year. We support CARA (Council for At Risk Academics) and its work to provide urgent assistance to academics in danger or forced into exile. We are supporting Kherson State University in the Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine through the national twinning initiative, and participating in local activities through Canterbury for Ukraine to welcome Ukrainians settling in our area. Our pioneering Kent Law Clinic has for many years provided much-needed legal services to support asylum seekers in their quest for settled status.

But the University of Sanctuary process calls on us to do more – to examine our weaknesses as well as our strengths, to develop further support for those seeking sanctuary, and to bring a ‘whole university’ approach to bear on ensuring our institution is truly a welcoming place for all.

A Steering Group was set up earlier this summer to formally launch our Sanctuary journey. This academic year, we are commissioning a consultation with students, staff, and members of the local community with lived experience of seeking sanctuary to inform the University’s commitments and objectives. Working through the Migration and Movement theme, the University will engage in a wide range of Sanctuary-related activities in 2022/23, including policy and advocacy work and hosting series of cross-disciplinary open lectures on migration.

I’m delighted to be presenting on these activities, and on our application to become a University of Sanctuary, at this week’s staff conference.  I’ll outline what the application process means for the University, and how you can become involved. Come along and find out more on Thursday afternoon (3.30 – 4.15) in the Templeman Lecture Theatre (and on Teams).

For further information on the staff conference programme, visit our webpage.

The Director and Dean of Global and Lifelong Learning, Dr Anthony Manning, has gone missing. His last known whereabouts was somewhere within the labyrinthine corridors of Rutherford College, but official efforts to locate him have proven futile. Can you help us find our missing Dean or will you leave him to an otherwise underwhelming fate?

Come and join the teams from Global and Lifelong Learning (GLL) for an exciting Escape Room experience and help them locate Dr Manning. By solving puzzles, deciphering cryptic emails, and finding hidden clues, you can get to know our team and unlock the wide and diverse opportunities we offer.

Taking part in this session will help colleagues from across the University to jointly discover the diversity of our learning opportunities and services through work-based learning and internationally focused courses and experiences.

As you journey through the tasks, in this thrilling fusion of ‘Where’s Wally?’ and ‘Prison Break’, you will unlock connections and collaborative potential that will help you to access and benefit from GLL’s wide-ranging provision.

Through the tasks provided you will also gain further understanding and awareness of many different student community groups at Kent, ways of developing tools to help our student community and mechanisms to provide transformative global and lifelong learning experiences for all.

The event will take place 11:15 on Friday 16 September in Templeman Seminar Room 2.

Following the message of condolence from the Vice-Chancellor, we have books of condolence available so that staff and students can leave their memories, tributes and reflections on Britain’s longest-serving monarch. These are located in our main two libraries as well as online and will remain open for staff to sign in Rutherford reception until Friday 23 September, along with the online version.

Canterbury  

In the Welcome Hall of the Templeman Library, to the left as you come through the main entrance.

Medway 

In the Drill Hall Library reception, shared with Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Greenwich.

Online 

A digital book of condolence is also available for those at our other locations who may not be able to sign in person.

Support and guidance 

Many of us will be feeling sad about the news of Her Majesty’s passing, while hearing about bereavement, loss and significant national change can be difficult. Recent events may also bring up feelings of loss about other people in your life.

Even if you are not experiencing direct feelings of grief, a significant change like this can be unsettling – please do speak to your line manager if you are finding things difficult and remember that free, anonymous support is available at all times via our Employee Assistance Programme.

The School of biosciences warmly invites you to our public lecture “How your food choices will help you age better and change the planet!” with Dr Cassandra Coburn.

Dr Coburn is the author of Enough: How your food choices will save the planet, which is an excellent read on how we can age better and save the planet by taking charge and making simple dietary choices. Blackwells book store on campus will be stocking the book at a discounted price for £9.99.

Dr Coburn is also the editor in chief of ‘the Lancet Healthy Longevity’.

This lecture is part of a scientific conference, “Nutrition and the Biology of Ageing,” running at the University of Kent between 12-14^th September 2022. The event is organised by Dr Jenny Tullet and Dr Marina Ezcurra.

The lecture will take place in Sibson Lecture Theatre on Monday 12 September from 17.00 – 18.00. Please use this link to register your interest.

Article from the HR Department

Over the last 14 months, colleagues in HR and Finance have partnered to embark on an exciting project to improve the University’s staff establishment controls. The project was initiated in November 2021 with the aim to implement a budgeted HR establishment system to effectively manage our people resources and provide improved correlation between HR and Finance data with a more accessible view of the budgeted staffing establishment. This will be delivered as enhanced reporting within the Staff Connect system.

The system will enable managers across the organisation to gain a better insight into which posts are occupied, vacant or being actively recruited to at a single source, as well as showing how these fit within the total staffing budget allocated to the Division / Department, giving greater financial management and structure control to devolved Finance and HR teams. This will enable approval of new posts or changes to be devolved out to the local management teams, with the aim of simplifying the recruitment approvals process.

Following a lot of hard work building, validating, and completing initial testing of the system, we are now pleased to announce the soft launch of the enhanced reporting capability within Staff Connect. This comes with a host of new features, benefits, improved processes, and ways of working.

Soft launch commences from beginning of September and will last for a few months, during which appropriate training and support will be given to relevant managers and staff on how to use the system. The aim is to roll out the system across all areas of the University during this soft launch period, so please do not worry if you don’t hear from the central teams straight away.

Follow-up communications will be circulated imminently to the relevant teams that manage staff budgets and establishments, including user guides for the new system. Staff from the Management Accounts team will be in touch to arrange training sessions.

Our Staff Conference this year (15-16 September) covers a lot of exciting topics and lying at the heart of the programme is health and wellbeing. Throughout the conference and in the days building up to it, there are a wide range of activities that will be good for your mind and soul as well as your body.

For all of our wellbeing activities and events take look at our daily sessions, but for now here’s a sneak peek of what we have in store…

Free classes at Kent Sport

From Monday 12 – Thursday 15 September, Kent Sport is offering a range of classes including Pilates and Express Spinning for you to enjoy. While some of the sessions have proven to be very popular, there are still classes with availability so book your spot via this booking form.

Health checks and monitoring

As well as taking you on a tour of the facilities of The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences (SSES), on the Monday (12) and Wednesday (14) you’ll be able to book a slot to receive some basic health tests i.e., blood pressure and BMI checks. To book your slot please email Lucy Hale.

On Tuesday 15 September and at our Medway campus book an appointment with our Occupational Health Department to get a blood pressure check.

See the schedule for more details

Wellbeing activities at Medway

It’s Wellbeing Wednesday on the 14 September as our Medway campus runs several activities including sitting back and relaxing in an acupuncture chair massage. For details read our story Staff Conference: At Medway.

Dance fitness session

Start your Friday (16 September) by being active and join Lizzie Holland for a fun dance class. Whether you’re a beginner or more experienced, this 45-minute session will get you moving as you learn a low-impact dance routine.

See the schedule for more details

How our Employee Assistance Programme can help you

This online session on the Friday, is a great opportunity for you to hear from the experts at CareFirst (EAP) on what they can do to support you no matter what your need is. Whether you need information or have questions regarding issues such as stress, or nutrition, Care first online wellbeing can provide the answer.

See the schedule for more details

Financial wellbeing

On the Friday qualified and experienced Certified Money Coaches will be leading an online session that can help us to understand our relationship with money and advise on strategies and tactics to improve our habits and ultimately improve our financial wellbeing.

See the schedule for more details

Check out the daily programmes for the Staff Conference 2022.

As we emerge from the pandemic, how do we bring people together again through events that are sustainable? Join Kent Sustainability Champions for the launch of their Sustainable Events Guide, which will give you top tips to help you deliver a more successful and sustainable event.

Images from left: Emma Marku, Kelda McCabe, Emily Collins

Between them, Emma Marku (Internationalisation Officer), Kelda McCabe (Business Information Officer) and Emily Collins (External Relations and Events Co-ordinator) have a wealth of experience of organising events at the University of Kent. They know that sustainability isn’t always at the top of the agenda or easy to achieve, so have created a short guide to help you navigate the pitfalls of event management and provide the necessary information to help you make more sustainable choices along the way.

At the launch of the guide on Thursday 15 September, hosted as part of the Kent Staff Conference, the team will give you the opportunity to plan and discuss your next event with sustainability in mind. They’ll give you the tools you need to justify your sustainable choices to colleagues and signpost more eco-friendly alternatives when it comes to marketing, catering and delivering your event.

Whether you’re well-versed in event planning, it’s new to your role or you have an interest in influencing sustainability as an attendee, this event will offer something for you.

How to deliver great and sustainable events will take place at 13:50-14:30 on 15 September in the Templeman Seminar Room 1. You do not need to register for the event but we recommend you add the event to your Outlook Calendar using this link.