If you are staying on campus over the Spring break, most of the University’s services are still on hand to help. Here’s a list of services and opening times:

• See Templeman Library opening times 
• See Drill Hall Library at Medway opening times 
• See Kent Union services and outlets opening times 
• The Careers and Employability Service is still open over the Spring break (apart from the bank holidays) and offering online and face to face appointments, including quick advice, practice interviews and careers guidance appointments.
• Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW) are available throughout the Spring break (apart from the bank holidays). For out of office support, see our emergency support page and visit Spectrum Life who provide text and telephone support from qualified counsellors and therapists! 0800 0318227 and press option 1. Text ‘hi’ to: 00353 87 369 0010. And don’t forget to check out SSW events during the break, including Exam Calm support – all on the SSW webpages.
• The Student Learning Advisory Service is also open as normal over the break (apart from the bank holidays). They have online bitesize workshops on revision/exam prep and assignment writing, as well as face-to-face and online appointments on all areas of study support.
• See catering outlets opening times

And of course, Campus Security staff are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Just over 2 years on from the start of the pandemic, Aisha Dosanjh, Kent Union President, celebrates and reflects with the ‘Class of 2020’ at their celebration ceremonies in Canterbury Cathedral this week.

Watch Aisha’s full speech

Read Aisha’s speech

‘I am so honoured to be able to address all of you here today, 2 years and 6 days after we parted ways and the world went quiet. I am so pleased to be able to sit amongst you in this beautiful cathedral and share this once in a lifetime event with you. Of course, not everyone has been able to make this journey with us and we have lost family and friends along the way. I’d like us to take a moment to pause and remember them.

‘We could have never predicted what we’ve been through. When the pandemic began, I held my breath. I couldn’t make sense of the world, though I tried and tried to make sense of it, and grief hit me like a wave. Grief for the connections I had lost, grief for the routine I had gotten used to, grief for the things I had taken for granted. I forgot how to put one foot in front of the other.

‘I spent my days thinking about how close I came to finishing before the world turned upside down, how close I was to spending a day in July in this very cathedral. I had booked the day off work. I had looked at dresses. I felt very sorry for myself, actually. I don’t think I was able to properly process how I felt until recently. But upon reflection and having been able to digest at least a small fraction of the emotions I’ve been feeling these last two years, and after having found my feet a little after the wind had swept them up, I started to think about what my time here at Kent has taught me.

‘Education is not a commodity to be bought and owned, it is to be shared among our community. University isn’t just about lectures and classes and assignments and exams (although it starts to feel like that after about the 5^th time you drag yourself up the hill for your Thursday 9am). Education is about giving us the opportunity to learn with each other, to share with each other, to challenge each other. Education is about opening ourselves up to transformation and emboldening one another. It is about using our newfound knowledge to grasp at the roots of injustice and being inspired to be a visionary. It is about expanding each other’s learning and committing to each other’s liberation.

‘Older members of the audience will know that many generations have fallen into the trap of exceptionalism, the idea that we are somehow vastly different to the generations before us. In some ways we are: access to higher education has never been easier and many of us who wouldn’t normally have been able to have the privilege to go to University have now been able to; cultures and identities have never been mixed and shared like they are now; compassion for those who are different from us has never been so bold. But change shouldn’t feel like a weight on our shoulders. It is gradual, something we create when we see a barrier and decide to move forward. Every time we stand up for justice, every time we insist on speaking the truth, and every time we refuse to compromise on our values.

‘I hope that you do not leave today feeling proud only of the certificate you hold in your hand but I hope you are proud also of your experiences. The energy you have invested into relationships, training with your society or sports club, fundraising for meaningful causes, representing your peers… helping others, and letting them help you. I hope you are proud of the change you have made to the world around us, and of the person you have become. When the pandemic began, I held my breath. But now I feel like I can breathe.

‘I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you something special that we created together, a  crowd-sourced poem written by us, for us, brought together by Kent alumnus and former Canterbury Laureate, Dan Simpson.’

Class of 2020 crowd sourced poem by Dan Simpson

Do you know what a student hub is? Are you wanting more social space? Do you want more options to access student support services? What do you want the student experience to be like at Kent?

These are some of the questions that we want to ask you!

The University is looking to improve the online student guide and to create a new space on campus for students.

Take the survey by 1 April and have your say 

We will also be on campus in the coming weeks so look out for us and have your say!

From John Sotillo | Director of Information Services 

Following the disruption to our IT services at Canterbury last week, I’m pleased to confirm that the majority of our systems are now back online across the University. The outage was the result of a detected cyber-security incident and the necessary steps we took as a precaution to manage this. For some students and staff, the recovery from the original incident will take some time and we are working closely with affected Divisions to manage this process.

What happened   

Earlier in the week our security systems detected a security breach in a specific area of the Kent network. As a result, Information Services (IS) and Divisional staff took prompt action to contain the initial situation and to prevent the attack from spreading more widely across Kent services and systems. We then progressed to more significant protective actions in order to counter the threat we had identified.

What we have done  

As part of measures taken, we isolated the School of Engineering domain from the rest of the University network and reset some 1,000 affected users’ passwords. A consequence of taking these necessary measures was the loss of authentication for Wi-Fi, wired network connections in student accommodation and student PCs on campus. IS worked swiftly to restore the authentication system, with most services back online within 24 hours.

We are pleased to report that services are now restored across campus, with the exception of the Jennison building, which hosts the School of Engineering domain IT infrastructure. Work to mitigate the impact on Jennison continues and will take some time.

What you can do 

We have strong security procedures and protocols at Kent but we all need to remain vigilant so that we can continue to work safely and securely online. There has been a rise in cyber-attacks on UK public sector / education sector organisations in recent weeks and these attacks have been intense, persistent and disruptive.

With your help, we can reduce our risk of further attacks. Please read our latest advice and guidance about staying safe online and use our online resources to stay educated and stay alert.

We are continuing our work to ensure that University services and systems remain secure. If you experience any problems or have any issues, please contact IT & Library Support.

Thank you for your patience during this time.

We are deeply saddened and concerned by the invasion of Ukraine and our thoughts are with any of our students and staff who have been affected by the escalating conflict. 

Over the past week we have identified several staff and students from Ukraine and Russia and have taken immediate steps to support these individuals. Additionally, we have been supporting students based in both countries to ensure we can get them to a safe place as quickly as possible. Teams are also tracing any further staff or students who have travelled to the regions to make sure they can get the help they need.

We understand this is a worrying time and we are here to help. Here are a range of support services available for both staff and students, including:

• How to submit an extenuating circumstances request if you are worried your grades might suffer
• Weekly drop-in support sessions with Student Support and Wellbeing starting from 7 March
• Kent Student Support and Wellbeing
• Student LGBTQ+ Support Pages
• The LGBTQ+ Staff Network
• BAME Staff Network
• BAME Student Network
• Student Support and Wellbeing’s blog about being mindful of your mental health during world events.

We will provide further updates once we are clear on any developments that impact our students, staff, or university.

** The Online Module Registration deadline has been extended to 10.00 in Monday 28 March**

From Monday 14 to Monday 28 March 2022, Online Module Registration (OMR) is open for you to choose the undergraduate modules that you wish to study in the next academic year (2022/2023).

You will receive an email when OMR is open. Prior to this, you should read your Subject Requirements and view the OMR guidance to make sure that you are fully prepared. The guidance also details the step by step process of how to complete OMR.

OMR is not first come, first served for students entering Stages 2, 3 and 4. In order to give you the best opportunity to register for your preferred choice of module, please ensure that you have submitted your selections by Monday 28 March 2022.

Please note: Some students do not have to complete OMR. This includes those who are going abroad or to a year in industry next year, or if your course has entirely compulsory modules.

If you have any questions please contact the Student Administration team for your campus.

As a valued member of our international student community, we’d like to invite you to complete a short survey on behalf of a UK organisation who would like to learn more about your decision to study in the UK.

Start the survey >

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete, and as a thank you for your time you will have the opportunity to enter a prize draw for the chance to win a first prize of £200 or a runner-up prize of £50 – £100.

Your responses will contribute to understanding about international students’ priorities when thinking about where to study, helping the UK to deliver the best experience for students like you now and in the future. Your responses are anonymous.

The deadline for completing this survey is Thursday 31 March.