Author Archives: Annabel Chislett

Learn British Sign Language

CEWL offers a fully accredited 20 week course in British Sign Language (BSL) open to anyone who wants to learn BSL. The course is run by Palm Deaf BSL Training Ltd and upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Level 1 Award in British Sign Language.

A BSL qualification is a great way of making your CV stand out from the crowd providing you with the opportunity to develop communication skills, interpersonal skills whilst demonstrating your initiative and commitment to equality and diversity.

For more information on dates, times and fees, please visit our website.

Support at Kent

Now the Welcome Week madness is over, it’s probably a good time to start exploring Kent and the support services we have to offer. Watch our support, health and wellbeing video.

You can also read our short pdf guide to support at Medway.

Support with your studies

Studying for a degree is very different to studying at school. You have a lot more control over your learning and greater independence.You will also be asked to do things you’ve never had to do before (eg referencing in a certain way, dissertations, vivas…) this is where the Student Learning and Advisory Service (SLAS for short) steps in. SLAS can help you with everything from perfecting your essay writing to learning how to reference properly. You can learn in your own time using our online guides or attend one of SLAS’ many workshops.Don’t forget your school is also there to help you with your studies and offer a range of study support.

Have you registered with Student Support and Wellbeing?

If you have a disability you should contact Student Support. They can provide not only academic support but can help with applications for funding.If you’re going through a difficult time or just don’t feel happy – staff in our Wellbeing Team are always available to listen.

Advice Centre

From money worries to getting on with your housemates, Greenwich and Kent Students’ Unions Together’s Advice Centre are available to help. All advice is free – so make the most of it!

Medical advice

You are advised to register with a practice near to your accommodation.

If you are living in Liberty Quays or within 6 miles of the University, you can register with the Sunlight Centre Surgery.

You can also get a list of local GPs from Student Services in the Gillingham Building.

Master’s Office

When you arrived at Kent you automatically joined a college. Your Master’s Office is there to give advice and can be used as a first port of call for any questions you may have.

Chaplaincy

University Chaplains run a wide range of religious and social events (including a very festive carol service in St George’s Centre on campus). They are also a good contact for advice and support.

Returning to Kent?

Welcome back! If you’re returning to Kent after the summer break, here’s a helpful summary for settling back in.

Timetables will be on the Student Guide before term starts on 24 September. Continue to go back and check your timetable regularly for updates including other events. Read our Timetabling FAQs.
You will need to register on SDS from Tuesday 18 September so we know you’re definitely coming back. To ensure swift payment of your student loan, you are advised to re-register by Wednesday 19 September. It takes 3-5 working days from the point of registration for funds to be released to your account. Read more.
Term starts on Monday 24 September. Welcome Week is the week before (17-21 September). View term dates.
If you’ve got a new phone, tablet or laptop, get it Kent WiFi-ready before you come back to campus by running our WiFi setup tool.
Living off campus is very different from living in University accommodation. Read our community webpages for information on bills, bins, neighbours and much more!
Canterbury campus developments are taking place in Park Wood developing a new SU shop, expanding Woody’s with 60 extra seats, a balcony, garden, and creating a Study Hub with rooftop and studio spaces. CEWL has also moved to the Chipperfield building with more dedicated teaching and social space for staff and students and the School of Economics expansion is still taking place.
Find out what’s changed in the Templeman Library and in campus study space from Information Services.

Have a great 2018-2019 at Kent!

Law School’s links with Canadian alumni lead to articling placement in Toronto

The strength of Kent Law School’s ongoing links with its alumni in Canada led to a summer of work experience and an articling placement for Mark Lauriola who is now employed at the offices of Law School alumna Sarita Samaroo-Tsaktsiris in Toronto.

Both Mark and Sarita studied the Law School’s two-year Senior Status LLB; Mark graduated from Kent in 2016 and Sarita graduated in 2005. Sarita is now Principal of her own real estate law firm, SST Law Professional Corporation, and Mark is her first articling student.

Mark first applied for a summer of work experience at Sarita’s firm during his studies at Kent thanks to the support of the Law School’s dedicated Employability and Career Development Officer Jayne Instone. Jayne’s weekly bulletins detail placement and networking opportunities at home and abroad for the diverse international student body at Kent.

Mark said: ‘In the second half of my first year at Kent I began to become familiar with how Canadian firms did their hiring and tried to build a network through the research. In the meantime, Jayne was constantly sending emails to facilitate networking to former Kent students. This made it easier to meet Canadian lawyers who previously attended Kent Law School.’

Mark is keen to encourage other Canadian students who are studying their law degrees in the UK and hoping to practice law in Canada: ‘In all honesty, there will be hurdles but it is possible to overcome those and you can do it. Try hard to get your first opportunity wherever in Canada and go from there. Any experience is good experience. With some luck you’ll be fine. I’m always happy to help Canadian Kent Students, especially in Ontario if they have any further questions on this.’

Join us for the Inspire Challenge Excel Conference

On the 26 September Kent Innovation & Enterprise are hosting the inaugural Inspire Challenge Excel Conference at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. Marking the first anniversary of the Inspire Challenge Excel Programme (ICE-P) this will be a day of inspiring talks and workshops from a range of speakers and facilitators.

Among the speakers are Kent Honorary Graduate Dr Amanda Cottrell OBE, delivering her talk ‘Suffrage to Ceilings (glass or otherwise)’ which takes a light-hearted but profound look at the journey of women through a century of change and the University’s very own Professor Amalia Arvaniti from the SECL presenting on language and gender. Workshops will be delivered by representatives from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, who have made it onto The Times list of the Top 50 Employers for Women for the last two years, as well as the Business of Brand.

The conference is open to everyone and will be a unique opportunity to learn, develop and network with likeminded individuals.

The programme was launched in September 2017, with a lecture from the inspiring Dr Sue Black. It aims to bridge the gap between the university and business communities and create opportunities to support women in all stages of their lives and careers.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided and you can book your place here: https://bit.ly/2BsuBlX

Kent Gives Back at bOing festival – Thank you!

Thank you to our inspirational alumni and student volunteers who stewarded at the bOing! festival last Saturday as part of the Kent Gives Back project.

You all did a fantastic job! We hope you enjoyed the performances and exhibitions as well!

If you are Kent alumni and are interested in getting involved in future Kent Gives Back volunteering events please contact N.Fleet@kent.ac.uk. Thank you!

Fresher’s guide to Kent 2018

For all you newbies, here’s a helpful introduction to Kent and some of the fantastic services available to you.

Your school – is a helpful point of contact for all your studying needs. Whether you need guidance on how to reference or employability advice, your school can help, and if they can’t, they will know who can. Find your school and academic adviser.
Studying at Kent.There is a wide range of study support available across the University. You can not only go to your school for study advice, but you can also talk to one of our learning advisers from the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS).
Employability support. In an increasingly competitive job market, we want to make sure you have the skills and experience to stand out. From work experience opportunities to support showcasing your skills, we offer a range of services to help you bag that dream job.
Our Student Finance Team is here to help, whether your student loan is late or you just need help managing your money.
Kent is a great place to live and study. Here is some useful information to help you while you’re living in Kent over the next few years.
As a student you have access to a wide range of support and wellbeing services, including help with a disability, child care and a counselling service.
Greenwich and Kent Students’ Unions Together is your students’ union and are there to represent the student voice. They also look after a range of student activities including social events and societies at Kent.
The Student Hub at Medway is GK Unions’ newly refurbished home. It hosts a range of student events, serves a good choice of food including home-made pizzas and is a great place to relax. Read more about the Student Hub.
As well as a fully-equipped library, most our library resources are online, so you can get the information you need 24-hours a day. Visit Drill Hall Library’s website.
When you join Kent you automatically become part of a college. Joining a college community gives you a support network and your Masters’ Office is somewhere you can go for help and advice.

Fresher’s guide to Kent 2018

For all you newbies, here’s a helpful introduction to Kent and some of the fantastic services available to you.

Your school – is a helpful point of contact for all your studying needs. Whether you need guidance on how to reference or employability advice, your school can help, and if they can’t, they will know who can. Find your school and academic adviser.

Studying at Kent. There is a wide range of study support available across the University. You can not only go to your school for study advice, but you can also talk to one of our learning advisers from the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS).

Employability support. In an increasingly competitive job market, we want to make sure you have the skills and experience to stand out. From work experience opportunities to support showcasing your skills, we offer a range of services to help you bag that dream job.

Our Student Finance Team is here to help, whether your student loan is late or you just need help managing your money.

Kent is a great place to live and study. Here is some useful information to help you while you’re living in Kent over the next few years.

As a student you have access to a wide range of support and wellbeing services, including help with a disability, child care and a counselling service.

Kent Union is your students’ union and is there to represent the student voice. They also look after a range of student activities including the Summer Ball and societies at Kent.

Find out all you need to know about the Templeman Library and IT services on Canterbury Campus. Welcome sessions run all Welcome Week in the Templeman Library. Check your timetable to see if there is a session for your subject booked. If not, or if you miss it, join any session during the week. Visit Hello IT and Library! for more information.

Both Canterbury and Medway have good transport links, so you don’t necessarily need a car to get around. You can also benefit from a range of discounts on local transport. Discover some of your options for getting around.

When you join Kent you automatically become part of a college. Joining a college community gives you a support network and your Masters’ Office is somewhere you can go for help and advice.

Changes to Giles Lane car park

Over the summer there will be changes to the Giles Lane car parks. This includes essential maintenance for health and safety reasons.

The Giles Lane car park will be closed from Monday 9 July 2018 with the aim of reopening by September 2018. This work has been scheduled over the summer vacation to cause minimal disruption.

When the car park reopens it will become a pink zone car park which means that blue zone permit holders will no longer be able to park in this car park.

Blue zone parking will still be available in the Sports Centre blue zone, Park Wood Courts, Pavilion and Oaks car parks. View map of car parks on campus.

Since the last review of blue and pink permit parking zones, there has been an increase in the number of staff and this change is necessary to meet the resulting demand. From checks carried out by the Transport Team, around 75% of the blue zone Giles Lane car park is being used by staff permit holders, less than 15% being used by student permit holders and 10% by people without a permit.

Do you need to travel by car?

If it is an option for you why not consider changing up your travel to campus by walking, cycling or taking the bus? The University encourages sustainable travel wherever possible through the University’s Travel Plans. The student summer Unirider bus ticket is only £75 and is valid until 15 September. The equivalent public price ticket would cost £267. Check out our travel discounts and planning your journey webpages.

How do I find out more information?

The Transport Team will be providing regular updates throughout the summer vacation period via their newsletter which will feed into the following Giles Lane changes webpage.

Please contact Estates Customer Services for enquiries relating to the project construction. For travel, traffic management and parking enquiries contact the Transport Team.

SummerZone 2018

The school holidays are just around the corner, and that can only mean one thing… “I’m bored!” Kent Sport has the perfect way to keep your children entertained this summer, with up to two weeks of professional sports coaching, led by qualified and DBS checked coaches and supported by sports supervisors. If your children are aged five to 14 and would enjoy taking part in a variety of sporting activities on a daily basis, including football, kwik cricket, tag rugby, hockey and tennis, then book them on SummerZone 2018!

SummerZone will run from 9am to 3pm daily from Monday 6 to Friday 10 August (week one), and Monday 13 to Friday 17 August (week two). Late pick-ups are available from 3pm to 5pm and will include staff-led fun games and creative activities.

“Just to say that EasterZone has been fantastic once again! Jack has been so happy, has made new friends, gained in confidence and has slept so well!! Can’t wait for SummerZone!”

You can book places for SummerZone now through the online store or by filling out an application form, available online or at reception. Booking is available for one week, two weeks or individual days. For full details visit our webpages. Booking closes on Friday 20 July.

To stay up to date with Kent Sport news, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter UniKentSports and if you have any questions you can email sportsenquiries@kent.ac.uk.