Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Events roundup: 23-29 January

This week is going to be a busy one with Welcome Fairs, Environmentally Friendly Careers Week and much more! See a roundup of what’s on this week below.

Are you in your final year? The National Student Survey (NSS) opens today (Monday 23 January). Complete the NSS to have your say about your time at Kent. As a thank you, we’ll give you £10 credit on your KentOne card or a £10 voucher for the Deep End if you complete it by Sunday 5th February. Complete the NSS now.

Monday: The environment and your career, Covid Vaccine Pop-up and Wellbeing Cafe

What’s the environmental situation got to do with your career? Quite a lot actually… come along to this session about the context of environmental and socially sustainable careers to find out more.

NHS vaccination teams will be at the Old Bank, Canterbury campus TODAY 10:30-15:00 (Monday 23 January) to offer Covid-19 vaccinations.

All students are welcome to come along to the Wellbeing Café on Monday afternoons in term time, a space to connect with other students in a relaxed environment with a focus on promoting your wellbeing and mental health through activity.

Tuesday: The Big Fair and Managing Stress When You’re Busy

On Tuesday, make sure to head to Kent Union’s the Big Fair in the Sports Centre to discover sports clubs, societies or volunteering opportunities. It’s not too late to get involved!

Stress is something that affects everyone. This Study Plus online workshop focuses on how to manage stress wen you’re busy or have a heavy workload. Learn more about what stress is as well as practical tools to help manage it.

Wednesday: Medway Welcome Fair, Year In events and Welcome Global Hangout

Head to the Hub on Wednesday to discover your Union at the Medway Welcome Fair and meet sport clubs and societies. Plus, there’ll be plenty of freebies on offer.

All students are invited to welcome our new international students at the Welcome Week Global Hangout! Enjoy a wide range of activities, free food and music. Book your free ticket.

Have you considered adding a ‘Year In’ to your degree? Increase your employability and gain new skills by doing a year in a different subject. Sign up for this online Year In information session on Tuesday afternoon to hear about all the Year In options including a Year in a Language, Management and Journalism. This event will be followed by a series of more in-depth sessions giving greater detail about what is involved in specific Year In programmes. You should attend this overall info session in order to then attend other subject specific sessions you’re interested in.

Thursday: Careers in Sustainable Health Care and Tobogganing (Medway)

As part of Environmentally Friendly Careers Week, join this online event to learn about Careers in Sustainable Health Care. Speakers from a variety of areas of the NHS talk about sustainability and the NHS Green Strategy.

Give Tobogganing a go at a local snow sports centre in Medway! Tickets cost £3.

Postgraduate students are invited to this Welcome Back Coffee and Networking Morning for Postgraduates. Have a coffee and pastry and chat with the Graduate Researcher College (GRC) team and other PG students.

Friday: Holocaust Memorial Day

Friday is Holocaust Memorial Day. On 27 January at 16:00, you are invited remember pause and reflect by placing a battery-operated tea light in your window to honour Holocaust victims and show you stand against prejudice and hatred today. These candles are available free from Mandela Reception from Monday 23 January (open Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00) and from the Helpdesk in Drill Hall Library at Medway.

See more student events.

Opportunities

Your new and improved ‘Progress Profile’ is ready to view. See your attendance and marks in an easy to evaluate format.
Returning student accommodation applications are now open for September 2023. Find out the benefits of campus accommodation including how you can choose to live with your friends.
Become more employable – add a Year In to your degree
Last chance to get a Student Art Pass for a fiver. Gives you free entry to hundreds of museums and galleries across the UK, and 50% off major exhibitions. Only available until 31 January.

Covid-19 vaccination pop-up, 23 January

NHS vaccination teams will be at the Old Bank, Canterbury campus TODAY 10:30-15:00 (Monday 23 January) to offer Covid-19 vaccinations.

Who can get vaccinated?

Under 50s can receive the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Covid vaccine. If you’re clinically vulnerable or live within the household of someone who is clinically vulnerable, you can get the Covid booster.

All over 50s can receive the flu vaccine and the Covid booster.

If you are unsure if you are eligible, please go to the vaccination pop-up where the team will advise you.

Find out more information about Covid-19 vaccination. See student FAQs for Covid-19 vaccination.

The new and improved ‘Progress Profiles’ are ready to view

What are Progress Profiles?

A Progress Profile is a web app that graphically displays a student’s academic progress. Every Kent undergraduate student will have a Progress Profile. They display attendance and marks in an easy to evaluate format to quickly identify strengths, areas for focus and patterns that might otherwise be obscured. The reports now access KentVision data and have been enhanced to show even more detail such as resit and repeat information.

Why are they important?

Students have told us that sometimes it’s hard to know how well their studies are going. We created Progress Profiles to give a clear picture of your performance across every stage of the degree journey. If you are an Academic Adviser or Senior Tutor you will be able to see the reports of all your advisees. We all know how important it is for students to have regular conversations about their studies with an Academic Adviser and Progress Profiles can help focus and augment these conversations.

Progress Profiles can be accessed directly from the top banner of the Student Guide.

For any queries relating to access to, or content of, Progress Profiles, please contact the Information Services Helpdesk: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

For further information or to provide feedback on Progress Profiles please contact the Student Success Team studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk.

Your new and improved ‘Progress Profile’ is ready to view

What are Progress Profiles?

A Progress Profile is a web app that graphically displays your academic progress. Every Kent undergraduate student will have a Progress Profile. They display your attendance and marks in an easy to evaluate format to quickly identify strengths, areas for focus and patterns that might otherwise be obscured. They’ve now been enhanced to show even more detail than before.

Why are they important?

Academic Advisers can also see the reports of all their advisees. We all know how important it is for students to have regular conversations about their studies with an Academic Adviser and Progress Profiles can help focus and augment these conversations.

Progress Profiles can be accessed directly from the top banner of the Student Guide.

For any queries relating to access to, or content of, Progress Profiles, please contact the Information Services Helpdesk: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

For further information or to provide feedback on Progress Profiles please contact the Student Success Team studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk.

Returning student accommodation applications now open!

Getting organised for next year? You’ll be pleased to know you (and your friends) can now apply for Kent’s accommodation for September 2023!

If you’re still in a post-Christmas haze, don’t fret, we’re here to take the hassle out of house hunting and worrying about deposits or bill payments. Opt to stay on campus next year and take advantage of the great benefits of living on campus.

Campus accommodation benefits:

All utilities are included (gas, electric, heating, water, personal contents insurance and Wi-Fi)
Zero deposit with nothing to pay until September 2023 (Canterbury campus) or an advanced rent payment for Pier Quays
Free sports membership at Kent Sport or Medway Park
Excellent location, just a stone’s throw away from study areas and social facilities
Shorter contracts lengths that match your term dates
24-hr campus security
Dedicated college reception and maintenance teams

We’ve set aside a limited number of rooms across the Canterbury campus and Pier Quays exclusively for returning students, so whether you are in your second, third or fourth year you can apply online!

Extra perks:

Live with your friends. Just tell us in your application whom you’d like to be roomies with and if you meet our requirements, we’ll house you together! (Check out our FAQs for more info).
Guaranteed offer for the first 1,000 undergraduate Canterbury returning student applications and all Medway applications.
Clarity and certainty. Early applicants get their confirmation as early as the end of January, with room allocation information following from late March/April.

Check your emails from the Accommodation Team or visit our returning student accommodation page for more information including our handy FAQs.

So, remove the worry of finding a new place to live, and instead apply online now and relax knowing you can live with friends and have the great facilities available on campus to return to next year.

Industrial action update – Strike action 1 February

We’ve now been notified that UCU members will be on strike on Wednesday 1 February – this is part of a coordinated day of action by lots of other trade unions to protest changes to strike laws in the UK.

Not all lecturers are UCU members and not all members take strike action. We’ll be in touch ahead of the 1st with more information about what we’re doing to minimise the impact of any disruption at Kent and in the meantime urge all sides to keep talking in the interests of settling the current national dispute.

We are here to support you throughout industrial action and will provide regular updates.

Read more on the background to the strikes and what we are doing at Kent on the industrial action website.

Events roundup: 16-22 January

Welcome back to start of the Spring Term! Here’s a roundup of what’s on this week:

Monday: Find a part-time job, board games, Crafternoon

Would you like a part-time job but not sure where to start? This part-time jobs session will cover the types of jobs available, how to search and tools you need to start applying.

Want to play some games and make some new friends? Come along to the Venue to play some board games and retro games consoles.

Or if you’re at Medway campus, head to The Hub for a Crafternoon to try out a range of different crafts and meet new people.

Wednesday: Gardening, Sustainability and Internationalisation

Fancy getting outside more in the New Year? Consider joining an open gardening session at Kent Community Oasis Garden. Between 14:00-15:00 at the garden, you can also learn how to make art from leaf printing at this wellbeing in nature session.

Learn about Internationalisation and Sustainability within the curriculum at this Study Plus workshop. Share your experiences and help influence change at the University.

Thursday: CVs and cover letters and Dancing Queen

Join this online interactive session covering the essentials of writing an effective CV and cover letter.

K-Bar’s LGBTQ-friendly DJ night ‘Dancing Queen’ is ready to celebrate the new year with a bang!

Friday: Notetaking and Medway ACS DJ Night

If you need a boost to get you back into your studies after the Winter Break, try this online sessions on notetaking and getting the most from your lectures and seminars.

On Friday night, Medway’s Afro Caribbean Society presents ‘Wild ‘n’ out: reload it’ DJ night. A host of DJs will welcome you back to campus. Tickets cost £6.

See more student events.

Opportunities

New £3 meal deals at Medway campus
£3 meal deal returns to Rutherford Dining Hall (Canterbury)
Apply to be on our new International Student Advisory Board. Deadline 18 January.
Become more employable – add a Year In
Job opportunity: Join the IT and Library Support Team
Last chance to get a Student Art Pass for a fiver. Gives you free entry to hundreds of museums and galleries across the UK, and 50% off major exhibitions.

See more student opportunities.

Say goodbye to library fines!

We will no longer charge fines on overdue loan items. This improvement to the library service is one of many to support you during the cost-of-living crisis.

This change will come into effect from 3 February at the Templeman and Drill Hall libraries.

Already have fines for overdue items on your account? Good news – return any overdue items as soon as possible and any related fines will be removed.

Please remember that some other charges may remain on your library account until you clear them.

Support at Canterbury in the Spring Term

Welcome or welcome back to Kent! It can be hard to get going with dark days and cold weather, so check out our Tips to boost your winter wellbeing.

As we move into Spring Term, remind yourself of all the support on offer at our Canterbury campus and online.

Nexus – your campus help point

Not sure where to go to ask a question? Head to Nexus in Templeman Library. Enter the library through the main entrance, go through the turnstiles and take the first right.

As well as a social and study area, Nexus is your campus help point. The staff at Nexus can help with any query and point you in the right direction.

You can also access Nexus online.

Financial support including £3 meal deal

With the cost of living rising, you are probably thinking more about your finances. Our cost-of-living support webpage includes information about Campus Pantry, our £3 meal deal in Rutherford Dining Hall and our range of emergency financial support options.

Our financial help and advice webpage also includes tips on budgeting, getting a part-time job and who to contact for further support. Plus, we offer a range of emergency financial support options.

You can also speak to Kent Union’s Advice Service about any extra support or advice you might need.

Might you benefit from contact with Student Support and Wellbeing?

If you have a disability, chronic condition, mental health condition, specific learning difficulty or autism, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing to see how they can help you make the most of your university journey – you can access services at any time during your studies.

We have a team of expert staff who can help you face the challenges of studying, socialising and living independently, whatever else you might be going through, whether it’s something you’re experiencing for the first time at university or something you have dealt with for a while.

There is also a free confidential counselling service which offers you a safe space to address issues concerning you and can help get thoughts, feelings, behaviour and perspective on life back in balance again.

Support with your studies

Our Student Learning and Advisory Service (SLAS) can help you to develop your studying skills – everything from perfecting your essay writing to learning how to reference properly.

Don’t forget your School and Division is also there to help you with your studies and offer a range of study support.

College and Community Life

The friendly Colleges and Community Life Team can help you connect with other students in your College community through activities and initiatives, working with your College Committee and Residential Life Assistants. They can offer advice and refer you to other specialist services.

Kent Union

Kent Union is your Students’ Union. From money worries to housing issues, academic problems to visa support, Kent Union’s Student Advice Service is available to help through their free, impartial and confidential advice service.

You can also get in touch with your Kent Union full-time officers who are each responsible for specific areas within the Union.

Health services

Kent has its own NHS general practice on campus called the University Medical Centre, with an independent pharmacy next to it.

Our University Nursing Service provide advice for minor illnesses/injuries and contraception, and is staffed 24 hours a day during term time by registered nurses. Check out this Visual Guide: Finding Health Support and Emergency Services at University

Job opportunity: Join the IT and Library Support Team

We’re looking for part-time staff to join our team at the IT & Library Support Desk in the Templeman Library.

Location: Templeman Library, Canterbury Campus
Salary: £12.06 per hour

The role

Information Services is looking for people to join our team as Support Assistants, working flexible hours part-time to staff the IT & Library Support Desk in the Templeman Library. These vacancies will begin in January 2023 and continue until at least the end of the 2022/23 academic year. Training will be provided.

Responsibilities include:

assisting students, staff and visitors in finding and using library resources and public IT facilities
supporting students connecting their own devices to the University networks and services
supporting circulation functions within the Library and at partner institutions.

In an average week we aim to offer at least 6 hours of work, though this is not guaranteed. The Support Desk is open 7 days a week, up to 12 hours a day, with most shifts between 09:00-21:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00-18:00 Saturday and Sunday.

Initial pay will be at least £12.06 per hour. Upon gaining sufficient experience there is an opportunity to progress to a higher rate.

The person

The successful candidates will have a keen desire to help others and excellent communications skills, coupled with a good understanding of the library and IT facilities provided by the University of Kent.

They will be confident, friendly and willing to approach others to offer assistance and enforce regulations.
Advanced knowledge of both IT and library resources is desirable but not essential for this position.

We expect all Support Assistants to be available to work during Welcome Week (September), as this is our busiest time of year.

For full details of the role and the selection criteria please refer to the job description linked below.

The department

The IT and Library Support team is part of User Experience within the Information Services department at the University of Kent.

More information

Closing date for applications: 14 March 2023

If you’re a Kent student and need advice on job applications and interviews, contact the Careers and Employability Service.

Due to the volume of applications expected for these posts there may be a delay between the closing date and receiving a response from us. Please do not contact us for updates on the status of your application; we will contact every applicant with the outcome of their submission in due course.

Interviews are scheduled to be held in early January, however we will continue to accept applications until 14 March from people who are available to work later in the year.