The University of Kent’s highly successful Summer Schools provide high-quality, postgraduate-level courses in areas ranging from architecture to politics and molecular biology to global business.

Open to current University of Kent students you can enhance your knowledge of your own subject area or choose to study something completely different to complement and gain skills to enhance your current degree. Students will also earn extra – curricular credit and employability points.

You study with academic staff whose passion for their subject is inspiring, with fellow students who share your interests, and have access to state-of-the-art equipment and first-class resources. Alongside subject expertise, you develop transferable skills and intercultural awareness, all of which are attractive to potential employers.

Taking a course, or courses, at Kent’s Summer School is a rewarding experience, and, for those considering postgraduate study at Kent, is a great opportunity to discover more about the University and a subject you are interested in.

There are tiered discounts available if you are taking more than one course and
you receive a discount of £150 if you book and pay in full by 5 May 2017.

We also have out European Summer Schools taking place at our specialist postgraduate centers in Paris and Brussels this year as well as our PHD school ‘Critical Theory’ in Paris.

For further information please visit our website or email us.

Dr Reshmi Dutta-Flanders, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of English Language & Linguistics, will be presenting at the American Crime Fiction symposium in Chicago, organised by the American Literature Association, on 3-4 March 2017.

Reshmi’s talk is titled ‘Narrative technique in Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley’, and will be delivered on Saturday 4 March.

In crime fiction, although the crime precedes the investigation, in the course of narration, such events are not presented in a chronological order due to personal experiences that are embedded in the narrative. Hence, there is a situated focus created as the perpetrator is residing within an ‘inter diegesis’ space constructed for the purpose of illusion, delay or even distortion in the manner the story of crime is influenced by the story of personal circumstance.

Reshmi will use Partricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr Ripley subsequently adapted twice for cinema as the French Plein Soleil (1960) as well as the 1999 American adaption under the original name to analyse the linguistic dysfunctions used to evoke an intermediary space between narrative of the crime and narrative of the story.

For more details about the conference, please see the American Literature Association page here.

Dr Simon Kirchin, Reader in Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, has edited a new book entitled Reading Parfit: On What Matters (Routledge, 2017).

Derek Parfit was one of the world’s leading philosophers. His On What Matters was the most eagerly awaited book in philosophy for many years. Reading Parfit: On What Matters is an essential overview and assessment of volumes 1 and 2 of Parfit’s monumental work by a team of international contributors, and includes responses by Parfit himself. It discusses central features of Parfit’s book, including the structure and nature of reasons; the ideas underlying moral principles; Parfit’s discussions of consequentialism, contractualism and Kantian deontology; and his metaethical ideas and arguments.

Reading Parfit will be central reading for students of ethics and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most important works of philosophy published in the last 50 years.

For full details of the book, please see the publisher’s page here.

On Wednesday 8 March 2017, the Hub for Innovation and Enterprise (the institution’s support for student, staff, and alumni entrepreneurship and self-employment) will be hosting a Marketing in a Digital Age Conference.

The Marketing in a Digital Age Conference is for all students (and staff) who want to understand more about digital marketing for personal branding and start-up businesses.

With presentations from industry leaders on key trending topics, alongside updates on the basics, you will find out about tactics and best practice with examples of content marketing, email, mobile, social media, SEO and more. Find out more.

This event is kindly sponsored by the Kent Student Project Grant Scheme.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/marketing-in-a-digital-age-tickets-31535822494

Date: Wednesday 8 March 2017
Time: 12.00-13.00 arrival, lunch and networking | 13.00-16.00 Guest Speakers and Q&A’s
Location: Jennison Lecture Theatre

University Mental Health Day is an annual event that brings together all of the key players in student mental health.  This year we are focusing on the relationship between mental and physical health.

Come along to find out more about mental health and being active Thursday 2 March, 11.00-15.00 in the Pilkington Atrium, University of Kent, Medway

There will be stalls in Pilkington with the following attending:
Wellbeing team
Rethink, who will also be promoting the support group they run on campus
Let’s Play (with a chance to have a go with some boxing gloves and pads!)
Insight (psychological therapy providers)
Think Action (psychological therapy providers)
Chaplaincy
Medway Park leisure centre
Guided Walks
Sports Therapy Clinic information and 50% vouchers

Help us improve assessment and feedback
A new review team needs your help to make assessment and feedback at Kent the best that it can be.

What is it about?
You have been telling us that assessment and feedback of your work is an area where the University needs to improve, review our current practice and become more innovative. We would like you to come and talk to the review team and share your thoughts and ideas.

The team are holding consultation events on 2/3 March 2017 and would love to hear more about your experience of assessment and feedback at Kent and also ideas from other places you or your friends may have studied.

When are the consultations?
12.15 – 13.15 (including lunch), Thursday 2 March, Darwin Board Room, Canterbury campus
10.00 – 10.45, Friday 3 March, Rochester Boardroom, Medway campus

We would really like to meet you and hear your ideas, but if it isn’t possible to come to any of our sessions, please let us know your thoughts and ideas via the Digital Rep platform from Kent Union, which is available throughout the academic year to give feedback to your elected student rep.

What do we mean by assessment and feedback?
Assessment and feedback includes all aspects surrounding the coursework and examination elements of your studies – from the way you are assessed and when, to the type of feedback you get, how quickly you get it and how useful you find it.

Graduating this summer? Would you like a special way to thank those who supported you during your degree?

In preparation for the July graduation ceremonies, Pre-graduation Photobooths are back!

Come see us at our Canterbury and Medway locations, write a message of thanks and be photographed by University photographers. These photos will be displayed to your nearest and dearest on television screens in the Cathedral on your day of graduation!

We will also share these photos across the University’s Facebook accounts so you can tag yourself and your friends during graduation week. Photobooths will run from 10.30-14.00 on the following days:

Tuesday 28 March – Medway
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/259011591178809/

Wednesday 29 March – Canterbury
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1724402467872368/

Thursday 30 March – Canterbury
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1816358478616664/

Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages for more information and location details nearer the time.

Congratulations on reaching your finals #KentGrads, we look forward to seeing you in March!

Please note that these are optional events and will not impact your graduation if you do not attend.