Teaching begins this week – make sure you log your attendance in classes using Presto. 

Welcome Week may be over but there’s still plenty of opportunities to get involved and ways to get settled in: 

Monday 23 September: Library tour, Wellness Walkabout and finding a part-time job 

Get to know Templeman Library with a 30 minute drop-in library tour (11:00-11:30 and 15:00-15:30 each day this week). Find out how to borrow books, explore library study spaces and learn how to use the self-service machines.  

Meet new people and you’re the best places to relax and recharge at the ResLife Wellness Walkabout Canterbury campus tour. 

On Monday evening you can join UV Games at The Hub including UV table tennis, pickle ball, chess and jenga.  

Tuesday 24 September: Ask your questions and live comedy night 

Live in on-campus accommodation? Meet your ResLife Ambassadors and enjoy a social in DG-01 in Templeman Library. Ask questions you have about campus life and settling in, play games and enjoy hot drinks and biscuits.  

If you’re living off campus, join this workshop to meet the Student Welfare and Community Life team who can give you some top tips for living in Canterbury around dealing with landlords, money and staying safe. Plus, there will be snacks and freebies.  

On Tuesday evening you can enjoy a free live comedy night at Woody’s, with headliners Abi Clarke and Dane Buckley 

Wednesday 25 September:  plant pot painting, find out about the careers service and Medway Autumn Social 

Relax and meet new people at this Plant Pot Painting session in DG-01 in Templeman Library.  

Learn all about our Careers and Employability Service at this in-person session in Keynes. Discover tools and services that Kent students have access to so you can make your next steps.  

Based at Medway campus? Head to the Oasis Lounge for the Medway Autumn Social on Wednesday afternoon for some hot drinks and sweet treats to kick off the academic year.  

Thursday 26 September: Free houseplants, introduction to university study and activities to try 

Pick up a free houseplant on the central plaza (while stocks last!) from the Kent Community Oasis Garden. Plus, find out about the house plant hospital, propagation and ask any questions you have about the garden.  

New to university study? You can join one of these online sessions for undergraduates or postgraduates by our Skills for Academic Success team. The sessions will cover what to expect and how you can succeed as you embark on your studies.  

**This event has been postponed to Thursday 3 October** If you love to sing, why not come along to the launch of the new Pop ‘n’ Soul Choir? It’s open to students, staff and the local community with no audition and no need to read music. Come along to Colyer Fergusson on a Thursday evening and enjoy singing pop and soul songs.  

Get creative at the Crafternoon at The Hub. Paint some coasters or your clay crafts from the last week.  

Friday 27 September: Introduction to KentCOG and Employability Points Scheme 

Have you visited the Kent Community Oasis Garden before? On Friday lunchtime you can come along for an introduction to the garden and find out how you can get involved with their activities.  

Our Employability Points Scheme rewards students for their active engagement with co-curricular activities with experiences of work. ‘Employability Points’ can be cashed-in for the chance to apply for exclusive internships, work placements, training and more. Find out all about the Employability Points scheme and sign up at this online session.  

Saturday 28 September: Nature ramble in Blean Woods 

On Saturday you can join the ResLife Ambassadors for a nature ramble in the nearby Blean Wood. Plus, you get to meet ResLife mascots, dogs Beatrice and Tara.

See all student events on the My Kent events page.  

Welcome or welcome back to Kent!  

Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about when your tuition and accommodation fees are due and how to pay them.  

If you are an undergraduate student funded by Student Finance England, they will pay the fees directly to the University. 

Key dates for Autumn term: tuition fees 

I’m an undergraduate student (not funded by Student Finance England) 

50% of your tuition fees are due when you enrol or complete returning registration (by 14 October 2024) and the remaining 50% are due on or before 1 December 2024. 

I’m a postgraduate student (in receipt of Student Finance) 

33% of your tuition fees are due on 23 September 2024. The remaining tuition fees are due on 13 January (33%) and 5 May (33%). 

I’m a postgraduate student (non-funded) 

50% of your tuition fees are due when you enrol or complete returning registration (by 14 October 2024) and the remaining 50% are due on or before 1 December 2024. 

I’m an international student 

If you are an international student whose country limits the movement of cash, we can review your options to pay in smaller amounts, but we do expect your fees to be paid in full within term one. This is particularly important if you have a Student visa as this is a requirement of your visa.  

Failure to pay could result in your student registration being cancelled. If you encounter a delay or problem making payment you must communicate with your Income Office Account Controller, so that they can review your options.  

Key dates for Autumn term: accommodation fees 

Your accommodation contract will state the amount due. See options for paying accommodation fees.  

I’m an undergraduate student (Canterbury) 

Your accommodation fees are due on 23 September 2024. 

I’m a postgraduate student (Canterbury) 

Your accommodation fees are due on 16 September 2024.  

I’m a student living in Pier Quays accommodation (Medway)

Pier Quays accommodation is provided by Unite Students for the University, so your contract is with Unite Students. All accommodation payments should be made to Pier Quays directly and not the University. Unite will tell you how you need to pay. You can go to the reception in Pier Quays to ask any queries about your accommodation fees. 

How do I pay my tuition or accommodation fees? 

Please see our making a payment webpage for more information. 

Need help? 

Please see our student finance FAQs which includes lots of questions around fees. You can also view the Income Office’s information sheet (pdf). 

If your question is not answered, please get in touch with the Income Office. 

Over the summer we’ve made a few changes behind the scenes to how our Academic Schools come together and will be moving to a 10 school structure. These changes won’t come into place until January 2025, so for the Autumn term continue to contact your Divisional support teams as you would’ve last academic year. If you’re unsure who to contact, ask Nexus to be linked up with the right service or team.

We will be in touch ahead of January 2025 with the details of the new academic management structure and what it means for you. If you have any questions or feedback in the meantime, please email kent2030student@kent.ac.uk

What’s an Academic Management Structure?

Our academic management structure sets out how different roles within Schools come together to support with teaching and administration. This includes how our services (IT, finance, student support) are organised so that we can best teach and support you while you’re at Kent.

Over the summer we have moved all University of Kent services at Medway to the Medway Building.

Here is where you will now find the following services at Medway:

• Student Support and Wellbeing – first floor of the Medway Building
• Careers and Employability Service – second floor of the Medway Building M2-01
• Skills for Academic Success (S.A.S) – second floor of the Medway Building M2-31
• Oasis Lounge – first floor of the Medway Building, just next to reception
• Medway Engagement Support Team – third floor of the Medway Building M3-13.

You can still use Drill Hall Library and The Hub at Medway as usual. Toni is your Lead Medway Officer from Kent Students’ Union if you have any feedback or need support.

Your timetable will have where your teaching sessions will take place at Medway.

As we get ready for the new academic year, here’s a reminder of all the support on offer at Kent and how to find it.

Fraser Cook, a PhD student studying Biodiversity Management at the University’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), has secured funding for an expedition to assess the sustainability of the ornamental plant trade in Kapuas Hulu, Indonesia.

The Scientific Exploration Society (SES) awarded Fraser its Judith Heath Explorer Award 2024 for Botany & Research, and he will officially receive his award at a formal ceremony in October.

SES’ Explorer Award grants fund scientific expeditions focused on discovery, research, and conservation. Fraser applied for the award to embark on this research expedition. This aims to conduct the first comprehensive mapping of ornamental plant sites, habitats, and nurseries in Kapuas Hulu. Kapuas Hulu, in West Kalimantan, is one of the most remote and inaccessible Borneo regions, and a hotspot for endemic flora.

Winning this award means that Fraser can collaborate with local plant hunters to enhance plant conservation and foster a sustainable horticultural trade in the region.

Fraser said: ‘I am delighted to have won the award to pursue this expedition. Kapuas Hulu in West Kalimantan Borneo, known for its dense forest and swamps is a hotspot for unique plants, many unknown to science, yet less than 40% of it is protected. Overharvesting native species poses a significant threat to biodiversity and resellers along the supply chain stand to make more profit than local communities. Both the local people and the forest are losing out.

‘As a care experienced person, I never thought these amazing conservation opportunities would be reachable for me. My personal and professional experience drives my research to be solution focused with the community. This deeper understanding to place local indigenous knowledge at the centre of the expedition, with a rigorous systemic assessment of species distribution in forests and semi-wild nurseries, enabled this pioneering and different approach.

‘Local plant hunters want to celebrate their unique flora as a cultural asset, which perfectly aligns with the goals of ecosystem stewardship to combat overharvesting and habitat loss. I really hope that my expedition working closely with the local community, my DICE colleagues and my local Indonesian counterparts at IPB University and Bogor Botanical Garden can help inform the conservation strategies and horticultural practices required to make a big difference.’

The expedition will see Fraser experiencing physical, adventurous and trailblazing challenges. The adventure itself is arduous, requiring 12 hours of non-stop driving to reach the area. Once there, his team will navigate through dense forests, swamps, and lakes, often submerged by water for half the year. It will require five days of traveling on foot or by boat. Fraser and his team will encounter peaks reaching up to 800 meters, an equatorial climate with high sunlight intensity, humidity above 80%, and temperatures in the low 30s Celsius. The expedition is set to start in April 2025 and run until July 2025 and is part of Fraser’s wider comparative study across Indonesia.