Author Archives: Annabel Chislett

CSHE Research Seminar – Insecurity and Inequality in Academia: The shape of things to come?

Colleagues are invited to attend the CSHE Research Seminar taking place on Thursday 16 November 2017, 13.00-14.00 in the UELT Seminar Room. Professor Carole Leathwood from London Metropolitan University will be presenting the seminar on Insecurity and Inequality in Academia: The shape of things to come?

The academic workforce has become increasingly casualised, with over 50% of all academic staff in the UK on some form of insecure contract. In this paper, Professor Leathwood will draw on both secondary data and primary research with academics (conducted with Barbara Read, University of Glasgow), to explore inequalities in the prevalence and distribution of insecure contracts and the experiences and concerns of academic staff.

Current trends suggest that increasing precarity in academia may be the shape of things to come, with serious implications for academics, research and the future of higher education. Such trends are not, however, inevitable, and Professor Leathwood will conclude by opening up a discussion of ways in which they might be resisted and challenged.

To book a place please email us.

Card access to Library

From 22 November students and staff will need to scan their KentOne card to enter and exit the Templeman Library.

Visitors are still welcome and will be allowed in too.

What this means for you

If you forget your card or do not have one, staff can let you in at the Main Entrance.
You won’t need a card to access the lecture theatre, seminar rooms or digital classrooms in A Block.

Library Road access

If you have mobility issues and forget your card or do not have a card, there will be an intercom at the Library Road Entrance. This entrance is closest to the car park.

Welcome Desk staff will be able to open the gates to let you in and out at Library Road. You can also use the Main Entrance.

If you don’t have a KentOne card

Staff: how to get a KentOne card
Anyone without a card can use the Main Entrance, where staff will let them in.
From next term, if you forget your KentOne card you will be able to get a Day Pass at the Main Entrance.

Visitor access

All visitors are welcome and will be let in by staff at the Main Entrance.
If you are a regular visitor we are looking into ways to offer you a visitor card; more details will be available soon.

Why we are moving to card access

Card access will help us improve services and security. We will be able to analyse what types of students use the Library most, ie undergraduates, postgraduates, and their academic school. This data will be anonymised and used to help us review trends.

We will look at it alongside anonymised data that we already collect about how study spaces and PCs are used, and how books, journals and e-books are used.

We want to improve the experience of using our services and collections. We want to identify trends to gain insight into how usage may affect academic outcomes, so that this can lead to meaningful service improvements.

Alcohol and drugs policy

The University is committed to safeguarding the health, safety and welfare of its students, and accepts its responsibility to promote good health by raising awareness of the risks of alcohol and drug misuse.

We respect the privacy of students, but will be concerned if a student’s behaviour impairs his/her conduct, safety or academic performance and/or adversely affects other students, staff, campus life or the wider community.

The University of Kent policies and penalties associated with drug and alcohol related offences are outlined in the following documents:

1. University Policy Statement Concerning Alcohol

2. University Policy Statement Concerning Drugs

These are a part of the general regulations, which can be found here.

If you or any of your friends have any concerns about these issues, you can access support via Student Support and Wellbeing and the Masters’ Offices.

VC Photo Competition

The University boasts campuses and centres in some of the most beautiful cities in the UK and Europe. The Vice-Chancellor is launching a competition for black and white photos of these cities, centres and campuses which will be displayed in her office.

Who is the competition open to?
The competition is open to University students, staff and alumni and participants are encouraged to submit black and white photos that capture the essence of these locations.

Judging and prizes
A panel of judges will choose the best entries , which will be displayed in the Vice-Chancellor’s office. There will also be a cash prize for the top entry for each location of £50.

When does the competition close?
The competition will close on Monday 4 December 2017.

Please read the competition rules and submit your photo on Flickr.

FREE Study Plus courses – Register now for the Spring Term!

Enhance your CV and improve your employability by taking a Study Plus course in something different from your main area of study. Study Plus courses are non-credit bearing and are FREE to all Kent students.

There is a wide variety of courses, which allow you to explore your creative side as well as learning new skills to help you during your studies and when you graduate.

If you have good attendance on a Study Plus course, you will earn Employability Points and the course will appear on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR).

You can sign up for a course via Workshops in the Student Data System.

Visit the Study Plus website to view the full range of courses, and find out more.

Bookings Now Open for NEW 10 week Language Courses

The Centre for English and World Language are now taking bookings for the 10 week Language Express courses starting in January 2018. The courses are available in a choice of 4 languages:

French
Japanese
Mandarin
Spanish

Language Express is open to students, staff and members of the public.
Classes take place in the evening from 18.00 -20.00.

People who take the language courses say it not only increased their knowledge of the language of a country, but also its culture, and encouraged them to continue learning the language.

For more information on classes, fees and how to book your place, visit the Language Express webpages.

Kent academic organises anti-corruption training in Nigeria

A Kent international commercial law expert Dr Gbenga Oduntan has organised a series of training conferences in Nigeria on tracing funds transferred as a result of corrupt practices.

The first two-day conference takes place in Lagos on 20/21 November with a second two-day conference following in Abuja on 23/24 November. Each event is targeted at anti-corruption activists, media practitioners, compliance officers, anti-corruption agencies, opinion leaders, bloggers, lawyers and legal advisers.

With the first day entitled Tracking Noxious Funds: Strategies and techniques for whistle blowing and tracing property purchased and the second day entitled Investments from Proceeds of Bribery and Corruption Transferred to the West and Tax Havens, the training offers a practical, doctrinal and procedural introduction to researching company and property ownership using public sources of information. Conference attendees will also learn how to find shell companies and their property and how to identify online resources and sources of information. The training includes practical sessions that will enable participants to conduct their own searches under the supervision of expert facilitators from Europe, the US and Nigeria.

Dr Oduntan was awarded a grant of $50,000 for the training project by the MacArthur Foundation and the Institute of International Education after running a successful one-day conference at Kent Law School in July.

Dr Oduntan said: It has become clear over the last few decades last that the phenomenon of bribery, corruption and stolen funds is one of the principal causes of underdevelopment in the global south. The stolen wealth of Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries has not only found safe haven in the banks and financial institutions of the UK and other western countries but has become a major source of the funds for the purchase of UK properties contributing to housing shortages in London

Music for Remembrance: Friday 10 November

To commemorate the weekend of Remembrance Day, the University Cecilian Choir and Pops Orchestra come together for a short sequence of music, conducted by Deputy Director of Music, Dan Harding on Friday 10 November at 13.00

Music
The Last Post (Simon Morgan, trumpet)
Theme from Schindler’s List (Lydia Cheng, Molly Richetta solo strings)
Hymn to the Fallen – John Williams

The event in the Colyer-Fergusson Music Building will last approximately ten minutes. Admission is FREE.

Academic and research staff promotions and additional salary awards

Members of the academic and research staff are invited to apply for promotion, or an additional salary award*, by means of the procedures which are now available on the Human Resources website.

All applications must be made by 12 noon on Thursday 14 December 2017.

Briefings for staff who may be interested in applying for promotion have been arranged at Canterbury and Medway; for details of dates, times and venues please see the timetable which is published on the Human Resources website (link as above). There is no need to book – just turn up.

Prospective candidates for promotion may also find it useful to view the web feature on staff promoted in the 2016/17 round, which is published here and the case studies based on real candidates who have been successful in promotion in recent years which are published here.

* Professors and probationary staff should not apply for additional salary awards using these procedures as there are separate procedures in place.

EQUIP – enhancing assessment and feedback, 15 November 2017

Colleagues are invited to attend the next session of the Learning and Teaching Network taking place on Wednesday 15 November, 13.15-14.30 in CNWsr6.

Presented by Dr Alison Dean, Associate Dean (Education), Faculty of Social Sciences & Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, Kent Business School and Dr Zita Stone, Senior Lecturer in Management, Kent Business School.

The Evidence-Informed Quality Improvement Programme (EQUIP) was a change project supported by the Higher Education Academy to help higher education providers take an evidence-informed approach to quality enhancement. The Faculty of Social Sciences has used this to develop resources to improve assessment and feedback and in this session,
Faculty staff will introduce the project and showcase the use of these resources, which have been recommended for adoption by other Faculties as part of the Assessment and Feedback Audit (2017).

To book a place please email us.