The Kent Student Awards recognise outstanding extracurricular student activity at Kent.

Kent Student Award winners receive cash prizes, official recognition from the University and unique opportunities to gain new experiences as students and alumni. Runners-up will also receive a prize and all nominees will receive a certificate to recognise their contribution.

This year we are telling you early so you can start building your experience to make sure you’ve got the best shot at being nominated and winning a Kent Student Award.

There are three new categories this year which recognise student fundraisers, students who have overcome significant challenges, and this year, one student will receive the prestigious Chancellor’s Prize.

View last year’s winners and find out more.

Tweet or Instagram a picture of you with your Christmas wishes in your native language and you could be featured in picture gallery on The Canterbury Times’ website.

All you’ve got to do is tweet a picture of yourself with a sign saying ‘Happy Christmas, Canterbury’ in your native language and include ‘#ChristmasLingo’ before 20 December. You can also post your picture to Instagram with the same hashtag ‘#ChristmasLingo’. Please include your first name, country of origin and age.

You can also email your photos to yafit.lazar@krnmedia.co.uk.

Win a meal for two at Nando’s in Canterbury

All entries will be added into a prize draw to win a meal for two at Nando’s in Canterbury.

Send us your photos of Kent at Christmas!

We want to see images that capture the festive spirit of the season on Canterbury and Medway campuses or in the Kent region.

Post your photos to our Staying in Kent Over Christmas facebook page or tweet photos to @UniKentIntLive with the hashtag #kentatchristmas.

The winning entrant will receive a £30 Amazon voucher.

Closing date 16 January 2015.

Each year many students choose to spend the holidays here, and this proves a great chance to explore the local area and take part in the many activities that Kent has to offer. Visit our winter break webpages for information about:

• the services available on the Canterbury and Medway campuses
• a guide to events taking place on campus and in the region
• useful contacts for help and support over the period
• subscribing to our vacation mailing list
• top tips from past students

You can also stay in touch by liking our ‘Staying in Kent over Christmas’ Facebook page and following us on Twitter @UniKentIntLive.

Gail Commanduer is presenting a talk on Wednesday 3 December at 18.00 in KLT5 about her experiences volunteering in the Red Light District in Hong Kong during her year abroad.

This talk is a great opportunity for any student who is interested in volunteering work abroad and those who would like to learn more about human trafficking.

Join the event on Facebook.

Image credits

Author: roberthuffstutter
Licence: CC BY 2.0
Link: https://flic.kr/p/ccfkBS
Source: Flickr

Lucy Tobin, author of bestselling freshers’ book A Guide to Uni Life, wants to know what you wish you’d known when you started university.

This could be:

• using social media to help studies, social life, etc…
• solving personal/financial problems
• using technology to boost grades, social life, etc…
• getting the most from the careers service
• dealing with large tuition fees
• the emotional side of relationships
• looking after your mental health
• eating well
• juggling finances
• righting wrongs – eg wrong course/wrong halls of residence – how they fixed the problem
• any other unusual/funny/interesting tips for new students – undergraduate and postgraduate.

Email your tips to lucytobin@gmail.com with your name and age (can be anonymous).

The deadline is mid-January.

In response to student feedback we are pleased to provide 24/7 opening of the Templeman Library from Monday 24 November until the end of this term.

24/7 opening will then start again on 18 January right through until the end of the summer term. That means the Library won’t close at all for over 5 months!

See the full opening hours.

You’ll need your card!
Between 9pm and 8am you can access the Library only by scanning or showing your KentOne card. So make sure you take it with you if you pop out.

To put it simply: no card, no access from 9pm-8am.

What service you can expect
Between 9pm and 9am the Library will be self-service.

If you need assistance with any services, do ask the staff on duty. They’ll help you as far as they can, but may have to refer some queries to day time staff.

The main role of the duty staff is to monitor the study environment. Let them know if there are any issues by emailing library-report@kent.ac.uk.

Look after yourself
Just because we’re open 24 hours doesn’t mean you should always work through the night. Make sure you take regular breaks and don’t burn the candle at both ends!

Getting home
If you live on campus, staff from Campus Watch can walk you home. Phone 01227 82 3300 to book.

If you live in Canterbury, the ‘nite’ Unibus runs until the early hours, Monday-Saturday during term time. Download the timetable.