The University will be hosting a Violence Against Women and Men Staff Forum on Thursday 20 April 2017, in Keynes Lecture Theatre 1 from 9.45 until 13.00 (a buffet lunch is included) where staff can learn more about the initiatives implemented to date to address issues of sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus.

The Forum will also introduce staff to the Intervention Initiative. Developed by the University of the West of England, this active bystander programme is “an evidence-based educational programme for the prevention of sexual coercion and domestic abuse in university settings, through empowering students to act as prosocial citizens”. The programme was run in March and October 2016 through Study Plus and, following a recent £50,000 grant, from HEFCE (Higher Education Council for England) will be further developed and expanded in 2017.

Attendees will hear from Prof April McMahon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education, Dr Wayne Campbell, Director Student Services and Dr Sinead Ring, Lecturer in Law.

This Forum is part of our commitment to ensure that Kent remains a safe place to live and study.

Please email directorstudentservices@kent.ac.uk by Thursday 13 April 2017 to register your attendance at the Forum, specifying any dietary requirements.

The University regrets to announce the death of former Vice-Chancellor Professor Robin Sibson who died on Sunday 19 March 2017.

Robin was Vice-Chancellor from September 1994 to August 2001 and, through a range of initiatives, established the framework for today’s University. He created the current structure of schools and departments; began an expansion of student numbers and widening participation with links to associate colleges; and developed higher education provision in Medway leading to creation of a new campus.

In addition, he began to steer the University in its performance of the Research Assessment Exercise and was key to the development of Kent as a European university.

A statistician, who was best known for his research on natural neighbour interpolation, Robin was awarded an honorary degree by the University in 2002.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow said: ‘Robin played an invaluable role in the shaping of the University as we know it today, and we are indebted to him for his vision and foresight. Everyone who knew Robin will be deeply saddened by his death. Our sincere condolences go to his wife Heather and all his family.’

The new Sibson Building was named in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the University.

Kent mediation expert Dr Cheryl Dolder has been asked to join an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that is engaging with policy makers and working to promote methods of resolving disputes within the civil justice system that don’t involve going to court.

Now in its second year, the APPG on ADR  is currently collecting evidence to determine the cost-effectiveness of dispute resolution processes (such as mediation and arbitration) within the context of a civil justice reform agenda.

Dr Dolder became involved with the APPG on ADR while researching current initiatives that might inform the objectives of the Appropriate Dispute Resolution module that she convenes at Kent Law School.

Dr Dolder said: ‘The work of the APPG on ADR is crucial to ensure that policy decisions accurately promote the use of processes most appropriate for the interests and needs of parties in dispute, particularly when the proposed implementation of the Online Court is fast approaching. Here, the spotlight is set to fall on mediation as the gatekeeper to justice through the courts; hence, its values need to stand up to close scrutiny of its actual, rather than commonly perceived, effectiveness. This is why the teaching of appropriate dispute resolution is so important in today’s law schools and why the APPG is exploring opportunities to support the Government’s intentions to review the development of ADR in the Legal Services Act.

‘As a nation, we have a long adversarial tradition; if mediation and other forms of ADR are to become the norm, there needs to be a significant sea change in the climate and culture of dispute resolution in the UK. The APPG, with the input of Kent Law School, is actively contributing to that process.’

On Wednesday 15 March, KIE will be hosting a Q+A session about AHRC KTP funding, to allow researchers to learn more about how Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) can support longer-term, collaborative projects with external organisations. This event will include a presentation from Dr Terry Corner, the South East KTP Adviser.

KTPs are a longstanding, publically-supported programme, helping organisations to meet a core strategic need and identify innovative solutions through the transfer of knowledge, technology and skills from a research base. The benefit of AHRC-funded KTPs is that they are more open to projects that produce societal benefit and end-user well-being, over straight income generation. Furthermore KTP funding does not require academics to have been awarded previous research council funding.

Examples of recent AHRC-funded KTP projects include: the development of a drama-based training programme for Durham Police Constabulary to work more sensitively with victims of domestic violence; a collection management system for the National Centre for Children’s Books to attract a more mature audience, and the creation of digital content to support innovative talking therapies for severe personality disorder service users.

Please come along to ask Terry, or a member of the KIE KTP Team, any questions about the scope of AHRC KTP funding, partner eligibility and to explore potential project ideas.

The session will take place from 12.15 to 13.15 and hot and cold soft drinks will be provided but feel free to bring along your lunch.

The seventh annual Enterprise and Impact Training event will take place on Wednesday 26 April, 09:30 to 16:30, in the Darwin Boardroom, Canterbury Campus.

The training, run by Kent Innovation & Enterprise, is recommended for academics and researchers, at any stage of their career, who would like to develop skills for enterprise activity and optimise their interactions with external organisations. It is also suitable for members of support staff that work at the interface between academia and external partners.

This programme will give you the knowledge, confidence and practical tools necessary to engage successfully in enterprise activities such as consultancy and collaborative funding streams.

You will increase your potential to apply your expertise within industry, public sector and third sector organisations, and will learn about how enterprise and knowledge exchange activities can benefit your career.

There are only 20 places available, so please be sure to reserve your place using the Learning and Development booking form:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-learninganddevelopment/bookings/courses/index.html

A light lunch is included.

If you have any questions about the training please contact Janine Coomber or Kimm Sutter by emailing enterprise@kent.ac.uk

There’s only one week left to nominate a talented student for this year’s Kent Student Awards.

Students, staff and members of the public can nominate a student to win a Kent Student Award up until 26 February.

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

Kent Student Award winners will receive £400 and it’s something impressive to add to the CV. Runners-up will also receive £100.

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

Kent Union Fundraising will have a stall on the Plaza outside Essentials on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 December from 11am until 2pm. Kent Union is raising money for the Christmas Fund, which is used to hold events for students who stay behind at Kent over Christmas such as a joint Christmas dinner or a trip to Winter Wonderland in London.

They are selling:

Miniature Christmas trees for £3
Santa hats for £1
Raffle tickets, £1 per ticket or five tickets for £3, with incredible prizes:
– Four tickets for Disney Frozen on Ice at the o2
– Meal for two at Kaspas
– Ten meal vouchers for Happy Samurai
– Free Canterbury Historic River Tour
– Four tickets to Canterbury Tales
– Family ticket and guided tour to Canterbury Cathedral
– Two Gulbenkian cinema tickets
– Marlowe friends membership

All the money raised will go directly to the Christmas Fund. Deck your office out and help ensure all Kent students enjoy the Christmas holidays!

Kent alumnus and human rights lawyer Jonathan Cooper OBE of Doughty Street Chambers will give a guest lecture on Brexit tomorrow, Wednesday 7 December.

Entitled ‘Has Brexit Broken Britain – Is it time for a Written Constitution?’, the lecture is open to all staff and students and will take place in Woolf Lecture Theatre from 11am to 12pm.

The guest lecture is being delivered as part of the Public Law 1 module co-convened by Dr Suhraiya Jivraj.

Jonathan Cooper read History at Kent and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University in July 2013 for his contribution to human rights law. Before training for the bar in 1991, he was the HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator for the Haemophilia Society in London, working also in Montreal for the World Federation of Hemophilia. He became an Associate Tenant at Doughty Street Chambers while working as Legal Director at Liberty and Deputy Director of JUSTICE. He became a full-time member of Chambers in 2002.

Jonathan Cooper’s legal career has been principally in the field of public law and international human rights law. He has been involved in some of the most important human rights cases of the last two decades at the European Court of Human Rights and domestically. He has also conducted training sessions for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence, as well as in Turkey, Syria, Georgia, Central Asia, the Caribbean region and West Africa.

In addition to being the editor of the European Human Rights Law Review, he is currently Chief Executive of the Human Dignity Trust and a Trustee of the Sigrid Rausing Trust. Until 2012, he was Chair of the Executive Committee of the Human Rights Lawyers Association and in 2007, he was awarded an OBE for his work in human rights.