Author Archives: Angie Valinoti

The Business Start-up Journey – Medway

Do you dream of being your own boss and starting a business? This Study Plus course will guide you through the process, with lots of fun, practical and interactive workshops along the way.

Run in conjunction with Kent Business School ASPIRE, “The Business Start-up Journey” is 15-week programme starting with a launch event on 24 October. You will also be able to get one-to-one advice on your business idea. Even if you are not planning to start a business yourself, you will learn a lot about the process and gain transferable skills to enhance your employability.

The course is free and any Kent Student can sign up.

To find out more and to sign up in the Student Data System, visit the Study Plus website.

First Study Plus courses for 2019-20

Study Plus workshops are FREE and are open to all registered Kent students. Spaces are available on these exciting autumn term courses:

KE004 Dirty History– for fans of “Game of Thrones”, “The Last Kingdom” and other medieval historical dramas
KE195 King Arthur at the Movies– explore Arthuriana as a film genre in Hollywood and British cinema
KE060 Woodland Coppicing – spend an afternoon in the woods learning about the history and practice of coppicing and have a go at coppicing some trees
KE071 Making a Besom (witch’s broom) for Halloween – learn how to make a broom from scratch using woodland materials
KE114 Woodland crafts- origins and making of Christmas wreaths – embrace the Christmas spirit and make your own Christmas wreath while learning about its pagan origins and Christian history
KE087 Screenwriting for non-writers – if you’ve ever dreamed about writing a screenplay, but don’t know where to start, join this one day workshop to develop your creative ideas, work on characters and develop your writing skills
KE104 Student Mentoring at University – learn how to support your peers at university and gain useful skills which you can apply in the workplace
KE122 Digital Photography- bring your own digital SLR camera to learn how to use its settings and take better pictures
KE196 Photography Editing – improve your photography editing skills and learn how to use Adobe Lightroom software
KE145 Introduction to Chinese Taoist Philosophy – learn about the origins of Taoism and try Tai Chi and meditation
KE146 Harry Potter and the Literary Phenomenon – explore the publishing and marketing phenomenon that is ‘Pottermania’ and its literary influences from the medieval to the modern
KE149 Let’s Talk About Art! – if you’d like to know more about art, this course gives you a chance to learn about a selection of art works from the Renaissance to Postmodernism
KE169 Get Ready for Work– sharpen your writing skills and build a powerful CV – make your CV stand out by learning how to write clearly, concisely and effectively
KE194 The Business Start-up Journey- A 15-week programme starting with a launch event on 23 October. Do you dream of being your own boss and starting a business? This course will guide you through the process, with lots of fun, practical and interactive workshops along the way.

Visit the Study Plus website to view the full range of courses, and find out more – including guidance on how to sign up in SDS.

International Student Experience Fair 2019

*Free Entry for all International & European Students*

Come along to the International Student Experience Fair on Wednesday 9th October from 12:00-14:00 in Darwin Conference Suite, and learn how you can enhance both your studies and employability. Enjoy an afternoon of cake and refreshments, and find out more about the support services available to international students.

Perhaps you need help with your studies, want to find out about opportunities available to you, or you’d like to attend workshops to improve your learning experience? Find out more at the fair! They’ll be a prize draw and the chance to win vouchers.

Remember, there is no need to book this event, just turn up on the day. It is definitely an event not to be missed!

For further information, please email internationalevents@kent.ac.uk.

Global Officers Leadership Development (GOLD) Programme

We are delighted to invite Kent students to apply for this year’s Global Officers Leadership Development (GOLD) Programme. The programme is a co-curricular venture, designed to fit around your academic studies. It provides a framework of activities for globally-minded undergraduate students at Kent to develop their leadership skills, global citizenship and cultural awareness.

There are 5 components which can be completed throughout the academic year. Benefits include:

• Employability Points awarded per activity

• Certificate of recognition and personal reference from the Dean for Internationalisation

• Recognition on your Higher Education Achievement Report

• Practical event & project management experience

• A chance for you to record your international skill development in the Kent Global Passport.

For further details please see our website.

Deadline to apply is 30th September 2019.

Copyright card game session

Chris Morrison will be running another Copyright the Card Game session, in the Templeman Library, at 10am on Tuesday 17 September.

The game allows participants to understand the ways in which copyright law impacts on the day to day workings of an educational institution, looking at teaching, research and engagement. It is appropriate for all staff who work with copyright material (so pretty much anyone who uses a computer) and participants will learn about:

the things that copyright protects,
the activities that are restricted by copyright
when licences provide permission to use copyright content
when fair dealing exceptions apply to those activities.

Places can be booked via staff connect.

Turing College Staff decorate planters in Hut 8.

Master of Turing College, Dr Emma Bainbridge and colleagues decorated the underused planters in the Turing Hub.

Emma has been a keen crocheter for several years and has been involved in some of the yarn bombs in and around the School of English. Using her skills, she decided to put together a project involving some of the staff from the school. The project entailed crocheting a generous amount of flowers for the empty planters. Within 4 hours, the team had created vibrant crochet flowers to fill the underused planters in Hut 8.

Emma hopes to continue developing the project and also hopes to put in place more projects for incoming Turing students in the next academic year.

One Hour Degree game

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get a degree in a fraction of the time it normally takes? The One Hour Degree game has been produced specifically for students who are about to join or have recently begun their degree journey at Kent.

It is a narrative based adventure game which simulates all the significant elements of gaining a degree condensed into as little as one hour.

There are five independent ‘quests’ focused on Welcome Week, the first term, the first year, year 2 and year 3. The game introduces key facilities, support networks and social opportunities that are available at Kent as well as displaying stunning imagery of our parkland campus.

Players will earn ‘knowledge’ and ‘wellbeing’ points along the way as well as a badge for each completed quest. Together they will dictate the classification of the ‘degree’ received at the end before you have the opportunity to be part of your very own graduation video. With more than 100 million unique pathways through the game, you can easily choose a different story path each time to see how different decisions result in different outcomes.

The game does not require a login or user account and can be played by anyone who has access to a web browser, on any device.

Play the One Hour Degree game now.

Healthy Ageing and the Industrial Strategy: Kent and Medway

Kent Innovation and Enterprise will be hosting an event focusing on the research, products and services being developed to promote healthy ageing in an ageing society at the University of Kent Canterbury campus on Thursday 17th October, from 9.30am – 3pm. Join us for an insight into the research, products and services that are being developed to promote healthy ageing.

The number of people over 75 in the UK today is one in 12. By 2040, it will rise to one in 7. We’re also living for longer and a third of children born now are expected to live to 100. This presents a challenge to health services, but it is also an opportunity for businesses and researchers who can help people to stay active and productive as they age.

If you are a business or academic working in this field, this event will give you the chance to learn more about the various funding streams available and the opportunity to network with like-minded people, opening up the possibilities of future discussion and collaboration.

With speakers from across Kent and Medway this event will discuss innovations, case studies and opportunities for businesses to engage in this key issue. Particular focus will be on the following 7 themes of Healthy Ageing:

1. Sustaining physical activity

2. Designing for age-friendly homes

3. Maintaining health at work

4. Managing common complaints of ageing

5. Creating healthy and active places

6. Care support for people with cognitive impairment

7. Reducing social isolation

For more information and to register your place, please click here.

Philosophy panel discussion ‘Transhumanism’

Is transhumanism possible? Would it be a good or bad thing for the human race?

The Department of Philosophy is hosting a panel discussion on the nature of transhumanism on Thursday 19 September at 16.00. The event is sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and takes place as part of the wider programme of events organised during Welcome Week. All are welcome to attend.

Many critics argue that transhumanism is an irresponsible pursuit of an impossible utopia, and that it does more to undermine humanist philosophy than develop it. Others, like Aubrey de Grey, point out that the pursuit of longer, healthier lifespans is straightforwardly a good thing since it benefits individuals and the human species; it frames death and ageing as the result of biological flaws that can and will be remedied.

This event will begin with perspectives on transhumanism offered by three specialists from history, philosophy, and biosciences, which will be followed by an audience-led discussion.

Speakers:
Alyx Robinson (Philosophy)
Charlotte Sleigh (History)
Linas Tamošaitis (Biosciences)

Moderator:
Todd Mei (Philosophy)

British Academy fund walking workshop with Lavinia Brydon

Following her participation in the UK-South Africa Knowledge Frontiers Symposium earlier this year, Dr Lavinia Brydon, Lecturer in the Department of Film, has co-organised a walking workshop to take place later this month in Tshwane, South Africa.

Seed funded by the British Academy, Lavinia is working with colleagues from the University of Pretoria and University of the West of England Bristol as well as two community partners to explore how arts-based approaches can creatively re-imagine socio-urban space in the South African city.

The workshop is structured as a walking and writing tour of Tshwane, with participants invited to explore the relationship between stories, storytelling and public space. This includes examining literature and poetry about – and performed within – urban architecture. It will also examine how these artistic practices and outputs sit alongside other community-based artwork.

For further information about the project, please contact Lavinia at l.brydon@kent.ac.uk.