Author Archives: Allie Burnett

Hire a bike this week for the summer term

Hire a bike for the term from the Cycle Hub Wednesday 9 May and Friday 11 May, 9.00-16.00.

Each bike has been security tagged and is registered to the University of Kent. They all come equipped with lights, a bell and a lock and have received a full service – they are as good as new and are ready to ride!

The cost to hire one of the recycled bikes is £30 for the term. You need to leave a security deposit of £50-£100 depending on the value of the bike you hire. This will be refunded when you return the bike in good condition. To help, we ask that you pop into the Cycle Hub and see Dr Bike at least once each term for a service.

For more information on the hiring a bike visit www.kent.ac.uk/transport/cycling/hire

Athena SWAN and Professional Services Progressing Together

The Athena SWAN Project Team wants to invite you to a ‘Progressing Together’ day where we can start the conversation; we need your input to make sure we focus on the right things that will make a difference.

Spaces are limited, so please hurry if you wish to secure a seat! We particularly want to encourage male staff members to attend, as we currently have significantly less male attendees registered for the afternoon.

Athena SWAN now has a wider reach and includes Professional Services staff in creating a better work environment for everyone.

Monday 14 May (Grimond Lecture Theatre)

Agenda:

12:00 – 12:30 Lunch

12:30 – 12:45 Welcome from our VC Karen Cox

12:45 – 1:00 Intro: Athena SWAN and PS Staff

1:00 – 2:00 External Speaker: “Creating Opportunities- a legacy in the making” Deborah Bailey-Leek, DBL Leadership Associates LTD

2:00 – 2:15 Break

2:15 – 3:15 Panel Discussion – Featuring a selection of our own PS staff

3:15 – 4:00 Wrap Up and Close

The central Athena SWAN team is keen to learn from the PS staff about what we are doing well but also what needs to be improved!

Medway College Life events for staff this summer

College Life is a sense of community that is encouraging Medway Staff to engage in social, physical, recreational and cultural activities for the purposes of creating a sense of community and belonging to Medway College.

You can choose to attend as many of the following events as you wish during the Summer Term 2018. Please email your interest and attendance beforehand to MedwayMastersOffice@kent.ac.uk

Event	When	Where
Lunch with the College Master – book in advance to enjoy a lunch and catch up with the College Master.	Tuesday 24 April 13:00 – 14:00	R2-04
Star Wars Day – Start revising your Star Wars knowledge for our Star Wars quiz.	Friday 4 May 13:00-14:00	R2-04
Afternoon tea – Enjoy an afternoon full of cream tea.	Thursday 10May 15:30-16:30	R2-04
Unconscious bias – Join the campus Chaplain in a discussion on what is unconscious bias.	Thursday 17 May 12:00-13:00	R2-04
Tea/Coffee morning – enjoy a late breakfast with a pastry and coffee.	Thursday 24 May 10:00-11:00	R2-04
Bring your own lunch – bring a sandwich and we’ll supply the rest. Cake and fruit included.	Tuesday 29 May 12:00-13:00	R2-04
Strawberries and cream – Book in advance to enjoy some strawberries and cream.	Friday 8 June 15:00-16:00	R2-04

Kent wins 3rd place for Postgraduate WhatUni Award

The results are in for the Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs) 2018, and we are delighted that the University of Kent has been awarded 3rd place for the Postgraduate Award. The University of Kent climbed nine places in the postgraduate category, going from 12th place in 2017 to 3rd place in 2018. In addition to ranking in the top three for postgraduate, the University of Kent ranked 5th for the International Award (climbing from 8th place in 2017).

The WUSCAs celebrate the best in higher education, and universities are selected based on 36,000+ reviews submitted via Whatuni.com by university students across the UK. The 2018 awards ceremony took place at The Brewery in London on 19 April, and the event was hosted by comedian, Katherine Ryan. The Graduate School team was delighted to be in attendance to represent the University of Kent for the Postgraduate Award nomination, and members of the International and Enrolment teams attended to represent the University for the International Award nomination.

Congratulations to the University of Kent for ranking so high in two categories of the 2018 WhatUni Awards. The Graduate School would like to particularly thank all of the members of academic and administrative staff who work to support our postgraduate and international students at Kent.

See the top three in each of the fifteen WhatUni Awards 2018 categories here and view all of the rankings and categories here.

Big Ideas Competition Winner to compete in global competition

Masters student Sybil Mayard, from the School of Computing, has won this year’s University of Kent Big Ideas Competition with her business idea “Codable”. Each year the University selects a student, or team of students, to compete in the Global Entrepreneur Challenge, which takes place at Virginia Tech University in the US.

The University of Kent represents the UK in this prestigious competition which sees students from 15 universities from around the world pitch their business ideas for the chance to win $25,000 and the title of ‘Global Entrepreneurship Champion’.

Sybil’s winning entry, Codable, is a platform for students and employers in the IT industry to share examples of code in an online portfolio. In addition to her all expenses paid trip, Sybil has been awarded full access to the Hub’s Start Up Support Programme & Space (worth £2k) kindly sponsored by Santander Universities.

Thank you to all of the students who entered the Big Ideas Competition this year. The calibre of entries was very high and every one of the participants should be proud of their achievements.

If you have an innovative business idea that you would like to take forward, then now is your chance to act on it. Bring your ideas to the team at the University’s Hub for Innovation and Enterprise on 01227 824 641 or at unikenthub@kent.ac.uk.

Postgrad Writing Retreat

SLAS will be holding its annual postgrad writing retreat on 14 and 15 June at Brenley Farm Bunk Barn.

This is a residential event open to all postgrad students at Kent. It provides a structured and supportive environment for students to work on their dissertation or thesis.

Places on the retreat cost £20.00. This includes all food and accommodation. Register online. For further information please contact ljf@kent.ac.uk

Postgrad student Raising Awareness for Crohn’s

Bio Chemistry PhD Postgraduate, Rosemarie Gough, has studied at Kent for over five years and is reaching the completion of her PhD.

Alongside this, Rosie is going out of her way to help others by raising money for the charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK after her boyfriend was taken ill by the disease and required multiple surgeries as a result.

Rosie will be taking part in the Kent half marathon this April as part of a fundraising campaign in aid of the charity via her JustGiving page and is looking for donations from other students to help smash her fundraising goals.

Crohn’s disease is a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (not the same as IBS) and is still fairly unheard of amongst many of the public. Lack of research and publicity means many people stay undiagnosed and suffer in silence and fear due to embarrassment of their symptoms. Crohn’s and Colitis UK is a national charity in the battle against Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, who are fighting to achieve a better quality of life for the 300,000 people in the UK suffering physically and emotionally from Crohn’s.

Postgraduate Heritage Walks Series – registration is now open!

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Postgraduate Heritage Walks Series, a postgraduate-run event funded by the Postgraduate Experience Awards.

Wandering and Wellbeing: revitalise mind and body and increase productivity through heritage walks in the Kentish Countryside

This exciting programme of walks will be led by postgraduate students throughout May and June 2018 and will focus on the connection between engagement with heritage and wellbeing. The walks will include visits to some of Kent’s remarkable historic villages and monuments, archaeological sites and places of natural beauty.

Registration is open to all postgraduate students, and a limited number of bursaries are offered to cover the cost of transportation and admission fees. For more information and to see the full programme, visit the webpage.

Are you a postgraduate student who has a great idea for a postgraduate event? Applications for the second round of Postgraduate Experience Awards are being accepted until Friday 27 April! Apply today.

Graduate School Prizes – nominations now open!

The Graduate School is delighted to be introducing a series of prizes to recognise the excellence of its postgraduate researchers and the outstanding work carried out by our academic and administrative staff members in support of postgraduate research and education.

The Graduate School Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

Research Degree Supervisor (one per Faculty)
School Director of Graduate Studies
Administrator working in support of postgraduate education and/or research
Postgraduate Research Prize (one per Faculty)

Each prize will be in the sum of £500 and will take the form of a transfer to the winner’s school, centre or departmental budget for the 2018/19 financial year. The funds can be used for:

Travel and subsistence in relation to research including conference fees, books, consumables, survey costs or any other cost that can be shown to relate to their research
Staff development courses and related travel and subsistence costs

The prizes will be announced and presented at the Postgraduate Research Festival Launch Event on 18 June 2018 followed by a celebratory dinner, and the deadline for applications is 30 April 2018.

Please visit the webpage for full criteria and application information, and do not hesitate to contact the Graduate School with any queries: graduateschool@kent.ac.uk.

Do you know an inspirational Kent student? Nominate them for a Kent Student Award!

Students, staff and members of the public have until 6 April to nominate a student or group of students to win a Kent Student Award.

Nominate someone now

The Kent Student Awards recognise and celebrate student achievement in extracurricular areas of university life. View the award categories.

Kent Student Award winners will receive a personalised brick on the Kent ‘Footsteps Path’ and it’s something impressive to add to the CV.

Please share this with colleagues, students and local businesses to encourage nominations.