Author Archives: Allie Burnett

New student website launching this summer

Over the summer break 2024, you may notice some changes to the student website as we get ready to launch our new student website for 2024-25.

The new student website will be designed for current students making it easier for you to find the information you need while studying at Kent.

Benefits include:

🔎 A search bar that only searches services and information for current Kent students

📚 All your Kent services and systems in one place

🚀Improved design informed by students and user experience experts

🗺Website navigation designed for current students only

These changes are following student feedback that you find it hard to find the information you need on the current Kent website.

This is the start of a journey of continuous improvements to the website experience for Kent students. So once it launches tell us what you like, and don’t like, so we can continue to improve the student website for you.

What do I need to do?

Nothing. When the new student website launches we will let you know and you will be automatically redirected. This change won’t affect Moodle, KentVision, your email, timetable or the Uni Kent Student App.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email communications@kent.ac.uk

Events roundup: 3-9 June

Find out what’s on this week including Pride Canterbury and PG Careers Week, a series of events and workshops specifically aimed at postgraduate students to support you in your next steps.

Monday 3 June: International postgrad careers session

Are you an international postgraduate student? Join this online session about how to navigate the job market as an international postgraduate.

Tuesday 4 June: Joseph Conrad Centenary events

You’re invited to join the guest lecture on the legacy and political consciousness of Joseph Conrad, one of the most celebrated and influential writers of twentieth century literature. Conrad sailed across the world during the height of colonialism before settling in Kent to write novels, novellas and short stories based on his experiences.

British Nigerian activist, poet, and actor, Femi Nylander, brings attention to the forgotten victims of colonial atrocity in African Apocalypse, based on Conrad’s seminal work, ‘Heart of Darkness’. Watch the film at the Gulbenkian, followed by a Q&A with the film’s award-winning director Rob Lemkin.

Wednesday 5 June: Emerging AI in the Weapons Space panel talk, Chill Zone and Campus Pride Funfair

Join Kent Union for a panel talk discussing the emerging use of AI in the weapons space, a discussion which will explore the ethics, research possibilities and impact of this development.

Head to DG – 01/02 in Templeman Library on Wednesday afternoon for Chill Zone. Enjoy time playing Nintendo Switch MarioKart, board games and do some arts and crafts. Plus, there are refreshments and cookies.

Join the LGBTQ+ Network for a fun and accessible Pride event on the plaza with their Campus Pride Funfair. The small, fun-fair style event will include arts and crafts, childhood carnival games, prizes and more. Free wristbands for the Canterbury Pride Parade can also be collected at this event.

Thursday 6 June: Medway Community Breakfast, Pride Parade wristband collection and Yoga and Writing Retreat (PGR)

At Medway on Thursday, you can join for a free community breakfast at The Hub! As a Right to Food University, these breakfast sessions symbolise our ongoing dedication to tackling food insecurity.

Do you want to join the Pride Parade this weekend? To join you must be wearing an official wristband. We have a limited number that we will be distributing, along with flags to wave in the Parade, in the Plaza outside the shop. You can collect your Pride Parade wristband from the plaza from 12:00-14:00, first come first served.

If you’re a PGR student, you’re invited to join the Yoga and Writing Retreat on campus. This workshop consists of guided yoga sessions mixed with opportunities for you to get on with your writing.

Friday 7 June: PG Careers Week events and RE:Imagine End of Year Show

As part of PG careers week, there are sessions around CVs and Cover letters and also specifically academic CVs. You can also join a session around your next steps after your Master’s.

Friday evening marks the opening night of Re:Imagine: End of Year Show for the School of Architecture, Design and Planning. This is a showcase of work by our Architecture, Graphic Design and Spatial Interior Design students.

Saturday 8 June: Pride Canterbury and KentCOG Summer Social

Saturday is Pride Canterbury, a spectacular celebration of LGBTQ+ identity. March with fellow students and staff in the Pride Parade and join the celebrations in Dane John Gardens.

The Kent Community Oasis Garden and ResLife have joined together to host a KentCOG Summer Social Student event in the garden to celebrate the term coming to a close. There will be food, refreshments, games, crafts and more.

Opportunities

Are you interested in the Kent Refugee Action Network? Find out how you can support their project by contributing to transcriptions for the oral histories being recorded.
Complete the Kent Sport Student Activity Survey to let us know how we can shape our services to allow you to be more active, whether you currently use Kent Sport facilities or not. Chance to win a £250 Amazon voucher.

General Election 2024

With a parliamentary election taking place on 4 July 2024, please take note of the following:

We know many of you will have left your term-time address until the start of the next academic year, and so you are reminded to make sure that you register to vote each time you change address.
While you may register at your home address and also your term-time address, you can only vote ONCE. It is a criminal offence to vote more than once in this election.
The deadline to register to vote is 23:59 on 18 June and you can register online Register to Vote. You can check whether you are registered at your local council electoral registration office.
If you remain registered to vote at your term-time address you can still choose to use your one vote there instead of at your home address.
Don’t forget that as well as registering, you will need valid voter ID on the day. The NUS has produced some helpful guidance for students covering both topics. NUS guidance – voter registration and voter ID FAQs.

Applications for the Santander Universities Research Awards 2024 are now open

About the Santander Universities Research Awards

As part of Santander Universities’ commitment to supporting higher education, they’ve launched this initiative exclusively for postgraduate students and academic staff providing them with the funds they need to support or develop their research.

Santander Universities are giving away 50 awards of £1,000. The funding can be used on resources, equipment, travel, workshop or conference attendance and any other research-based expenses.

Who’s eligible to apply?
This opportunity is open to any postgraduate student (masters, postgrad taught or research, PhD) and academic staff conducting research at any UK-based university. You can be conducting research in any field, but you must be conducting the research in the 2023/2024 or the 2024/2025 academic year.

How to apply
To apply, visit the Santander Open Academy platform, where you’ll need to register for an account (if you don’t already have one). After registering, you’ll get a confirmation email. Once you verify your account you can then apply for the Santander Universities Research Awards initiative.

The application process is quick and easy. You’ll need to:

provide a valid university student or staff ID number,
confirm which university you attend or work at, and
complete a brief personal profile which includes your education/employment details and your area of research.

Applications close on 11 July 2024.

Learn more about the Santander Universities Research Awards and apply now here.

Dive into summer with a new iPad tablet

Summer is just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean that learning has to take a backseat. In fact, with the right tools you can make this summer your most productive yet and fully prepare for the new academic year.

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce Santander’s iPad Prize Draw. They’re giving away 25 tablets to enhance your study experience.

How do I enter?
To enter, visit the Santander Open Academy platform where you’ll need to register for an account (if you haven’t already got one). After registering, you’ll get a confirmation email. Click on the link in the email to verify your account and then you can log on and apply for the prize draw. Once entries close on 27 June, Santander will pick 25 students at random.

Who can enter?
All university students can enter including undergraduates, postgraduates, part-time and full-time students.

You also don’t need to bank with Santander to get involved. So be sure to share with your friends, coursemates and anyone else who could benefit from this opportunity.

Key dates:
Entries to the prize draw close at 11pm on the 27 June 2024. So don’t hesitate and get your entries in pronto!

Giving you the tools you need to build a brighter future
This is just the latest in a series of initiatives that Santander are running throughout the year to help students.

On the Santander Open Academy platform, you can browse free on-demand learning content to help with your studies. You can also apply for free learning programmes ran in partnership with world-leading educational institutes.

Santander is committed to connecting anyone, anywhere with whatever they need to make their better happen.

By offering cutting-edge tools and unique learning opportunities, they’re paving the way for a future generation full of thinkers, creators, and leaders.

Enter the prize draw now and let’s make your academic journey extraordinary together!

Enter now

Changes to academic year from September 2025

If you will still be studying at Kent for the academic year 2025-26 (so the year after next), we are making some exciting changes to our term dates to improve flexibility and help you juggle your studies alongside other responsibilities.

The start and end of term dates will be broadly the same but the makeup of the term dates will be different. For undergraduates, instead of having two twelve week terms followed by a six week term, from 2025 we will have three ten week terms. So the number of teaching weeks will be the same, the difference is that they will be balanced throughout the academic year.

What’s changing from September 2025?

We’re introducing a three-term system for undergraduate study and a four-term system for postgraduate study, with simpler module choices and assessment spread throughout the year.

Taught Programme Term Dates 2025-2026

Welcome Week	29 September 2025 – 3 October 2025
Autumn Term	6 October 2025 – 12 December 2025
Spring Term	12 January 2026 – 20 March 2026
Summer Term	13 April 2026 – 19 June 2026
Late Summer Term (Postgraduates only)	6 July 2026 – 11 September 2026

Benefits of these changes

This curricular revision, rolling out from September 2025, is the University’s response to years of student feedback. It offers:

Timetables communicated well before the start of term, so you can balance your studies with work and other commitments 
Teaching spread over three teaching terms, typically with only two modules per term, so you can explore topics in depth
Assessments within each term, not bunched at the end of the year 
Learning about real world connections and career-relevant knowledge and skills  
Meaningful assessments which help you to demonstrate and develop skills and knowledge that you will need in your future career 
Frequent, ongoing feedback to help you learn  
Stronger connections with other students on your course

Want to know more?

We will provide more updates about the changes to the academic year next year, so don’t worry if you don’t feel like you fully understand the changes yet.

See our Education Modernisation webpages and FAQs. If those pages don’t answer your questions you can get in touch by emailing Kent2030Student@kent.ac.uk

Time is running out to have your say

Time is running out for final year undergraduates to complete the National Student Survey (NSS) and have your say on what you liked or didn’t like about studying at Kent.

Fill in the NSS now

The NSS: what you need to know
Kent Union President Zaid shares why you should fill in the NSS and why we want your feedback. Watch the video now.

🎓 NSS is mainly open to final year undergraduates.

📣The University and Kent Union value your feedback and the NSS is one of the most powerful ways to have your say.

🔒The survey is completely anonymous and confidential. It is run by Ipsos, an independent research agency.

📧Ipsos will continue to email, text and call you until you complete it.

🕕The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. However, please take the time to consider your answers and reflect on your whole experience at Kent.

Are you a Masters student? Have your say

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is an opportunity for Postgraduate Taught (PGT) students to provide feedback on their academic experiences at Kent.

What is it?

PTES is a national survey coordinated by Advance HE, the national body for improving teaching and learning in universities.

It is an opportunity for Masters students to let us know about their experiences so far. PTES is the only national survey of Masters-level students, so it helps build an understanding of experiences across the country too.

When is it?

PTES 2024 will open from Monday 4 March 2024, and you will have until Tuesday 30 April 2024 to complete the survey.

Please check your University of Kent email for your own survey link.

The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. However, we do recommend you take the time to consider your answers and reflect on your whole experience at Kent.

Why should I take part?

This is your chance to tell us your thoughts about your course and experience. The results from the PTES will help us make changes that will improve what we do in the future and to keep doing the things that are important to taught students. It will also help us compare how we are doing against other institutions and what themes are trending nationally.

Top tips to help you complete your survey

Check your Kent email for your own survey link
Allow yourself plenty of time to complete the survey
You can save your survey and return to it at a later time. Make sure you complete the survey before 23:59 on Tuesday 30 April
If you are unsure about the meaning of a specific question, save your questionnaire and seek help
If a question does not apply to you, then please leave blank or mark as ‘Not applicable’
Where the term “course” or “programme” is used in the questionnaire, this refers to your whole programme of study at Kent
All answers are anonymous, therefore please do not identify yourself or other individuals (including staff)

More information about the PTES is available on the Advance HE website.

Springtime savings: win £1,000 in this new student prize draw

We’re delighted to announce that our partner, Santander Universities has launched their latest student prize draw. Open to all UK uni students, you have a chance to win 1 of 10 lots of £1,000.

We’ve now promoted many prize draws and grants delivered in collaboration with Santander Universities. Many of our students have benefitted greatly from these. Here’s one story from Kent student and Santander Scholar Abi.

You can enter in minutes by following these 3 easy steps:
1) Register for Santander Open Academy – a free online learning platform (if you haven’t already)
2) Tap on the verification link in your confirmation email
3) Log on and choose ‘Get Started’ to complete your entry into the Santander Universities £10k Cash Prize Draw.

Entries close at 23:00 on 25 April 2024.

All UK university students can enter, including undergraduates, postgraduates, part-time and full-time students. You also don’t need to bank with Santander to get involved. So be sure to share with your friends, coursemates and anyone else who could benefit from this opportunity.

Enter by 23:00 on 25 April 2024 for your chance to win!

Enter Now

New for 2024/25: an easier way to log your attendance

If you are currently using Moodle to log your attendance at class, from September 2024 you’ll be moving across to the new and improved attendance system – Presto Student.

What is Presto Student?

✨ Presto Student is the new system you will use to log your attendance at class from September 2024.

📱 Presto Student makes it easier for you to self-register attendance or absence on any device using single sign on (SSO).

📅 Like Moodle, it uses a 6-digit or QR code and provides an easy-to-navigate timetable and dashboard to view your attendance for the term.

👉🏽 It’s all about providing the right support and intervention to students who need it, ensuring that everyone has a chance to succeed.

📣 Throughout the 2024/ 25 academic year, more functionality will be added to make sure Kent students have the best possible experience.

❔ If you have any questions or feedback on Presto Student, you can email attendance@kent.ac.uk