The University Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral is on Tuesday 13 December at 20.00.

Free tickets for students will be given out in the foyer of the Grimond Building on Monday 5 December at 12.45 and at Woolf Lecture Theatre, on Tuesday 6 December at 19.00.

In order to stand the best chance of getting a ticket on either occasion you will need to arrive earlier than the distribution time and join a queue. Strictly one ticket issued per student presenting themselves in person, with ID, at the ticket distributions.

Get in the Christmas spirit and join in the Santa Run on Wednesday 7 December.

The 3.5km charity fun run, hosted by Kent Sport, starts and finishes at The Pavilion, Parkwood, on Canterbury campus. You can join in the fun from 12.00-14.00, with the run starting at 13.00. Cost is £2 and tickets can be bought in advance at The Pavilion or Sports Centre reception or on the day.

There will be a free hot chocolate and mince pie waiting for every runner at the finish line as well as Santa’s lucky dip. All runners will receive an official chip time with the top three males and females receiving a medal.

Facebook event: http://ow.ly/iEwa306pNnM

On Thursday 24 November, Let’s Play will be hosting another UV Sports Night at the Medway Park.

For just £1.00 you can attend any of the UV sports sessions (please see the full list of events below.)  Spaces are limited, so make sure you book on to the sessions you want to attend today!

We look forward to seeing you there and remember, wear your neon or white!
UV Sports Night Facebook event: http://ow.ly/iCmt306jhZ6

UV SPORTS
Zumba: 6-7pm
Table Tennis: 6-6.45pm
Football: 6-6.45pm
Badminton: 7-7.45pm
Netball: 7-7.45pm
Basketball: 8-9pm

STOP PRESS! 

A big thank you to everyone who donated to this cause. We raised over £105 at the Medway campus!

……………

Friday 23 September 2016  is Jeans for Genes Day.

The University of Kent  is taking part and in return for a donation of £2 (or more!) everyone can come to work in their jeans. If you normally wear jeans, you can still make a donation or do something a bit different (eg double denim).

1 in 25 children has a genetic disorder that makes their life very difficult. By wearing our jeans and donating, you will change the lives of these children.

There will be a donations bucket in the Medway Building Reception.

If you’d like to find out more about Jeans for Genes Day and how your support will help, please visit their website: www.jeansforgenesday.org

Thank you,
Micky
Jeans for Genes Day Co-ordinator

The 2016 Wain Medal Lecture will be given by Professor Nicola Stanley-Wall, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee on Wednesday 28 September at 17.00 in Woolf Lecture Theatre, University of Kent. Free and open to all.

Bacteria are microscopic organisms that inhabit and thrive in a vast array of environments including the icy Antarctic and on your teeth! Despite their size, the impact they have on our bodies, and our surrounding environment, is extraordinary. Bacteria use many mechanisms to shape and control their habitat. One of which has been the focus of my research group and is the formation of stable, sessile communities called biofilms. In these microbial cities, bacteria envelop themselves in a sticky glue called the biofilm matrix. The biofilm matrix includes extracellular DNA and both large sugar and protein molecules which, in combination, help to protect the cells resident in the community. The protection exerted by the biofilm matrix can include resistance towards many commonly used antimicrobial agents, including bleach and antibiotics, or may come in the form of shielding the community from detection by our immune system. It is these features of biofilms that allow them to be so successful, and from the point of view of humans the success is accompanied by either problems or benefits. For example they are the cause of the majority of chronic infections but are also responsible for sewage processing.

This lecture will introduce you to the hidden and visible world of microbial biofilms; it will cover where biofilms are put to work and where they cause problems. It will discuss our multidisciplinary work directed at understanding how the biofilm matrix is assembled and will highlight why we are interested in this area of research.

Sent in by: Professor Martin Warren

The Graduate School aims to ensure that your academic and social interests are appropriately provided for within the University wherever you are based.

Professor Diane Houston (Dean of the Graduate School) and her team work in partnership with academic schools, faculties, central service departments and the Students’ Union to enhance the quality of the postgraduate student experience across all campuses and European centres to create a vibrant postgraduate community.

The Graduate School also supports a wide range of activities enabling postgraduates to promote their research interests and studies as well as opportunities to meet and socialise.

In addition to the initiatives highlighted below please keep an eye on the Graduate School’s events calendar for further information.

The Graduate School is located on the third floor of the Cornwallis East building on the Canterbury campus, with offices for its staff and a postgraduate training room. There is also an adjacent networking space which postgraduates can used for socialising and study.

Postgraduate inductions

University-level postgraduate inductions are taking place on the following dates:

Wednesday 21 September – Canterbury taught Master’s students
13.00 – 14.30  Social Sciences (Woolf College Lecture Theatre)
14.45 – 16.15  Humanities and Sciences (Woolf College Lecture Theatre)

Thursday 22 September – Medway postgraduate students
11.00 – 11.20 Taught Master’s students (Rochester Building RC-09)
11.30 – 12.30 Postgraduate Researchers (Rochester Building (RC-09)

Friday 23 September – Canterbury Postgraduate Researchers
9.30 – 10.45    Social Sciences (Cornwallis South East Lecture Theatre 2)
10.30 – 11.45  Sciences (Cornwallis South East Lecture Theatre 3)
11.30 – 12.45  Humanities (Cornwallis South East Lecture Theatre 2)

The GradPost newsletter

The quarterly postgraduate newsletter (The GradPost) is supported and coordinated by the Graduate School. Postgraduate students can join the GradPost editorial team and/or contribute articles for publication in the newsletter. Further information about the GradPost can be found online. Please email GradPost if you would like to become involved with the newsletter.

Postgraduate Experience Awards

Postgraduate students have the opportunity to bid for funding up to £1,500 via the Postgraduate Experience Awards to coordinate their own events and projects aimed at enhancing the postgraduate experience at Kent. Proposals for funding are required to have an interdisciplinary and/or external focus.

Projects funded previously have included a cross-disciplinary Latin American Society and Research Network, an interdisciplinary conference on Social Movement, and a short story reading group.

Postgraduate students will be notified when the awards are open for applications during the course of the academic year.

Postgraduate Festival

The annual Postgraduate Festival in the summer term provides our students with the opportunity to present their work to a wider audience, network with their peers from across the University and attend academic talks.

Global Skills Award

The Global Skills Award programme for postgraduate taught Master’s students which comprises of a range of lectures on global issues and a series of workshops, has been specifically designed to improve your employability in a competitive job market. The programme is free and those who successfully complete the programme will receive an award certificate.

Researcher Development Programme

The Researcher Development Programme for postgraduate researchers is coordinated by the Graduate School.

The programme provides a range of workshops and online training opportunities designed to enhance your skills as a researcher and prepare you for a variety of careers.

The coverage of the programme has been developed in line with Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework and it reflects the UK Research Councils’ aims to develop exceptionally skilled researchers for the 21st century.

PhD students will be notified in September about booking a place on one of our ‘Kick-start your PhD’ Workshops.

Postgraduate Research Café

The Postgraduate Research Café takes place monthly and provides an opportunity for postgraduate researchers to showcase their research in an informal setting and network with researchers from a variety of disciplines.

Postgraduate Handbooks

All new postgraduate students will receive a copy of the 2016-17 Postgraduate Handbook at the induction. You can also download a copy online or pick one up from the Graduate School.

The handbooks contain useful information about postgraduate study and research at Kent, details of academic and regulatory processes as well as local information for students who are new to Kent.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kent – come and meet the Graduate School staff in Cornwallis East or contact us via:

• email: graduateschool@kent.ac.uk.
• Facebook
• Twitter

The ESRC has announced five new members have been appointed to join their advisory committees for two years from 1 September 2016. Joining the Research Committee is Sarah Vickerstaff, Professor of Work and Employment in SSPSSR.

The ESRC is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. The ESRC supports independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and civil society. At any one time over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes are in receipt of ESRC support.

A non-departmental public body (NDPB) established by Royal Charter in 1965, the ESRC receives most of its funding through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Professor Vickerstaff is joined on the Research Committee by Professor Richard Breen, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford.

Sent in by: Harriet Armstrong Viner