Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Let’s make mental health a university-wide priority

Thursday is University Mental Health Day! Find out what we’re doing at Kent and how you can join in.

University Mental Health Day is a national annual occurrence, this year on 3 March 2022, and is run jointly by Student Minds, a UK student mental health charity, and the University Mental Health Advisors Network (UMHAN), who provide support to students experiencing mental health difficulties in Higher Education.

We’re celebrating University Mental Health Day with a range of information and initiatives to help all students, wherever they may be studying, learn more about the wealth of wellbeing opportunities we have available. Look out for #UniKentWellbeing on the socials for more information. Could you use professional help for your mental health? Check out our Mental Health webpages for details of free support available to you.

Free plants!

To follow the theme of ‘Wellbeing and green spaces’, we are giving away free pot plants to any student who wants to come onto one of our campuses and grab one! We’ll be outside Templeman Library in Canterbury from 12.00-14.30 on Thursday 3 March, and outside Drill Hall Library in Medway from 12.00-14.00 on Thursday 10 March. Take a plant to nurture, and a flyer on lots of ways you can nurture yourself and boost your mental health with a variety of outdoor and indoor activities to connect with yourself and others.

Opportunities to Connect, Stay Active, Enhance Your Wellbeing

As well as giving away plants, there will be student volunteers and staff from all different departments ready to chat about all the different things you can get involved with alongside your studies to boost your mental health and general wellbeing. For example, the Kent Community Oasis Garden (KentCOG), is a welcoming green space on the Canterbury campus, where students, staff and community members work together to create a sustainability hub centred around growing food.

Are you looking to meet others who live nearby? The College and Community Life team run a real variety of events from monthly movie nights and cooking workshops, to mindfulness walks and day trips. Would you like to boost your physical health? You don’t need to be a sporting pro to try something new with Kent Sport – there are a range of social sessions including running, badminton, tennis and much more. Love to read? Put down the textbooks and pick up a novel with others! Choose from the Templeman Library’s ‘Love to Read’ or ‘Wellbeing and self-help’ collection to relax and escape or discuss books with others at the Book Club.

If you’re in Medway head to the Drill Hall Library to Pick and Paint a Pot, attend a Wellbeing Drop-In or take the opportunity to have a relaxing massage and de-stress; check out the Drill Hall Library events webpage for all the details.

Kent investing in mental health

Check out this podcast with Lee Fellows, Head of Student Support and Wellbeing, for more on what Kent is doing about student mental health.

Student Support and Wellbeing – professional support at university

Did you know that Kent has a professional support service of over 100 specialist staff? We’re here to support you with mental health, disabilities, and neurodiversity such as specific learning difficulties or autism, through 1:1 support as well as peer support groups and events. Here’s a video of top mental health tips from our mental health team.

Out of hours support

Feel like you really need to talk to someone but the Student Support offices are closed? Check out the Emergency Support page with details on online and telephone support available round the clock, such as our partners Spectrum Life, who you can call in the evenings and at weekends on 0800 0318227 pressing option 1; or Togetherall, the safe anonymous peer to peer online support forum free to Kent students.

Written by Natalia Crisanti, Student Services, on 23.02.22

Events roundup: 28 February – 6 March

Here’s a quick round up of our top events this week:

All week: Inspiring Women week of events in lead up to International Women’s Day

Our Careers and Employability Service invite you to be inspired and motivated by women in all kinds of jobs, to help you succeed in your chosen field. There are events happening every day this week including inspiring women from tech, female founders and how to beat imposter syndrome. Check out the Inspiring Women week of events.

Monday: Last day for final year undergrads to get a FREE HOT DRINK for completing the NSS

The National Student Survey is the largest UK wide annual survey aimed at final year undergraduate students. This is your chance to share your experience at Kent – both what you like and how things could be improved.

Today (28 Feb), is the last day you can get a free hot drink for completing the NSS. Find out more on our NSS webpage.

Tuesday: Pancake day

Tuesday is pancake day! Find out where you can get some tasty pancakes on campus. Or head to Woody’s to see people compete in the Woody’s Pancake Challenge.

*update* Wednesday: Join the thousands of students getting vaccinated. We have a Covid-19 Vaccination pop-up vaccination clinic at our Canterbury campus on Wednesday 13.00-16.00 in the old Santander Bank. Find out more.

Wednesday: Interested in learning a language?

On Wednesday you can take a free language taster session (in person or online) in the following languages; Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese or Spanish/Italian.

On Wednesday evening, you can recognise and develop your own multicultural skills at our ‘Tapping into your qualities as a global citizen’ online talk, with Intercultural Trainer Welrong Li.

Thursday: University Mental Health Day

Outside Templeman Library our Student Support and Wellbeing Team will be giving out free plants and opening up discussions around mental health. Come along between 12.00-15.00 to choose a free plant and ask any questions around mental health support.

Based in Medway? Get your free plants next Thursday from outside Drill Hall Library. You can also Pick and Paint a Pot, attend a Wellbeing Drop-In or take the opportunity to have a relaxing massage and de-stress; check out the Drill Hall Library events webpage for all the details.

More about University Mental Health Day support and events.

More events

Want to browse all our student events? See all student events.

Pancake Day – where to eat on campus, 1 March

The most indulgent day of the year is almost here again. Nothing is more irresistible than a stack of pancakes, drizzled in maple syrup, slathered in Nutella, or spritzed and sprinkled with traditional lemon and sugar.

Shrove Tuesday falls a little later this year, which means we’ve all had plenty of time to practice our pancake flipping skills (in theory). But if you would rather leave the hard work (and washing up) to the experts, here’s where you can get your pancake fix…

Gulbenkian Café (Gulbenkian Arts Centre)

10.00 – 16.30 (whilst stock lasts)

American style pancake stack topped with:
– Bacon and maple flavour syrup £4.50
– Chocolate and banana (V) £4.50
– Apple, cinnamon, golden syrup, strawberry coulis, and soya yoghurt (Ve) £4.50

Mungo’s (Eliot College)

9.00 – 21.00 (whilst stocks last)

*HALF PRICE PANCAKES ALL DAY*

American style pancake stack topped with:
– Blueberry and maple flavour syrup (V) £2.25
– Bacon and maple flavour syrup £2.25
– Banana and honey (V) £2.25
– Nutella (V) £2.25
– Nutella and banana (V) £2.25

Vegan pancakes also available – just let a member of staff know.

V – Vegetarian | Ve – Vegan

Woody’s – Pancake Challenge

You can also head to Woody’s for their special pancake day menu. And join Woody’s later in the evening to see 12 people complete in the Woody’s Pancake Challenge and be in the chance of winning £100.

Inspiring Women – events to open up career pathways for your future

In the run up to International Women’s Day, our Careers and Employability Service invite you to be inspired and motivated by women in all kinds of jobs, to help you succeed in your chosen field.

International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March this year, and strives to bring people together to end bias, stereotypes and discrimination, working towards a world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The theme for 2022 is to #BreakTheBias.

We want to be part of the international mission ‘to forge inclusive work cultures where women’s careers thrive and their achievements are celebrated’, and so our Careers and Employability Service have put together a fantastic programme of in person and online events called ‘Inspiring Women Week’, open to all students at all stages, from 28 February to 4 March – see below for details and to book your place.

What’s on at Kent? Inspiring Women Week events:

BOOK NOW: Women breaking into tech: In conversation with Sparta Global on Monday 28 February 13.00-14.00 (online).

Technology needs more diversity, women are still severely under-represented in the digital sector. Join Sparta Global, an award-wining tech company focussed on diversity, for an informal conversation on how to land your dream digital role and become the next female role model.

BOOK NOW: ASPIRE: Female Founders on Tuesday 1 March 13.00-14.00 (online).

Three inspirational women share their experiences of starting and running their own business, giving their tips for getting started, and keeping going.

BOOK NOW: #IamRemarkable on Tuesday 1 March 14.00-15.30 (online).

#IamRemarkable is a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond, thereby breaking modesty norms and glass ceilings. In this interactive session, you will participate in group discussions and exercises to develop the confidence and skills to promote yourself effectively.

BOOK NOW: #BreaktheBias: Leading Change on Wednesday 2 March 13.00-14.00 (online).

Swale Borough Council is celebrating Leading Change this International Women’s Day with your opportunity to find out more about roles in conservation, climate change and local government’s role in tackling this monumental challenge, with many inspiring women discussing their experiences in both the public and private sector.

BOOK NOW: In conversation with Professor Christina Hughes: Building your network on Wednesday 2 March 16.30-17.30

Join Lara Cavill (Employer Engagement & Events Officer) in conversation with Christina Hughes, Honorary Professor and former Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) at the University of Kent and Founder and CEO of Women-Space, as they discuss overcoming the nervousness of networking to build a community of mutual support and opportunity; LinkedIn etiquette and how to “quietly network” in your organisation.

BOOK NOW: Overcoming shyness & imposter syndrome on Thursday 3 March 13.00-14.00.

Join Sam Fairbrother as she shares her career cringes, little wins, fails and triumphs. She will take you on her journey from studying, to interning, to finding a job, and now starting her own business.

BOOK NOW: The Female Entrepreneur: Victoria Rowley, Puddle Ducks on Friday 4 March 12.00-13.00 (online).

Victoria Rowley, owner of Puddle Ducks East Kent, North Kent & SE London will share her career journey from swimming instructor to owner of a successful franchise business. She will talk about what she has learnt as youngest franchisee across the Puddle Ducks network, top tips on running a business and how she kept her business afloat during the pandemic.

BOOK NOW: Shy Girl to Leading Woman – How Imperfection Can be Our Strongest Ally on Friday 4 March 14.00-15.00.

It is time to turn imposter syndrome on its head and discover how your own imperfections can be your strongest ally. Join Kent alum, Kinga, a 25-year-old international marketing agency founder, in a light-hearted discussion about her journey from being a timid shy girl, to doing all things possible at university to prove she’s good enough, to working for travel expenses alongside companies like Microsoft and NASA, to finding her business and working with billionaires and global entrepreneurs.

For the full programme and additional resources visit the Inspiring Women Week page.

More for International Women’s Day:

To see more online events taking place around the globe which you can join, take a look at the International Women’s Day Events online.

More to help your employability journey at Kent:

For more information on developing your employability skills, planning your career, improving your CV and practice interviews, check out the Careers and Employability Service website, where you can book 1:1 appointments with careers advisers and useful workshops. To stay up to date with the latest from the Careers Service, follow @UniKentEmploy.

Written by Natalia Crisanti, Student Services, 23.02.22

Industrial Action Update

From Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience

Thank you for your patience throughout both last week’s campus closure due to Storm Eunice and the recent strike days at Kent. This is due to continue with a further three days of strike action planned next week. While we do not always know in advance what the impact of this will be, wherever possible we will let you know about class cancellations that might affect you.

Marking and Assessment Boycott

Alongside this, our local UCU branch has also announced its intention to begin an additional period of industrial action alongside the strike days, with a marking and assessment boycott beginning on Thursday 3 March. If this does take place, it would mean that some UCU members at Kent may not share the results of any assessments that are scheduled during the boycott.

We greatly regret this, and are doing all we can to come to an agreement with the local UCU to avoid this additional action taking place.

What this means for you

It is one of our guiding principles that no student will be disadvantaged by industrial action. Although it is difficult at the moment to predict the effects that this local action might have, we will put in place mitigation where we can to allow your studies to continue as smoothly as possible.

We will also provide a further update and detailed Q+A ahead of the local action starting, with more on the background to the dispute and what we are doing about it. This will include detail on the support available to you, with more information on the student industrial action webpages.

Kent Union is also running a series of student consultations about this action to make sure they can represent students’ views throughout – these start on Monday 28 February, with more information about them on the Kent Union website.

With all good wishes,

Richard

Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience

South Asian Heritage Week: Seeking your family stories

Did your family come to Britain from South Asia in the 30s, 40s, 50s or later? Are you proud of both your British and South Asian heritage? Do you have a family history and story that you would love to share?

South Asian Heritage Week is being celebrated for the first time at Kent from the 28 March to the 1 April.

Alongside an exciting programme of events and activities taking place, we are looking to create an oral history exhibition exploring the culture and heritage of our British South Asian students and staff and are looking for students and staff participants.

We are looking for stories and photographs showcasing family life, both in South Asian and in Britain, from the first day at school to the last day at work, from going on holiday to a family celebration.

We are particularly interested in the migration stories of your grandparents or great-grandparents, told either with their words or the words of other family members about their journey to Britain.

Key questions to explore could be:

How did you come to Britain?
Why did you choose to come to Britain?
What were your expectations versus reality?

We will be turning your family heritage into a display in Keynes Atrium to run throughout the duration of the week. You can submit your stories either as a word document or as an oral recording.

The featured image in this story is a family photo from our Student EDI Officer Becky Lamyman, showing her grandmother, mother and uncles. We’d love to see your family photos too.

We are very interested in photos, including those of family life both in South Asian and in Britain right up to modern day. These can be submitted independently of a story if preferred. Please submit these in a digital format with a relevant caption.

If anyone is interested in writing a blog post about their memories, identity, family traditions or any other topic then these would also be most welcome.

Please do ensure that you have permission from the relevant family members to share the stories and pictures.

If you are interested in taking part, or if you want more information, please contact Becky Lamyman, Student EDI Officer on rsl7@kent.ac.uk for a participation form.

The deadline for all entries is Wednesday 9 March 2022.

Volunteering opportunity: help make education fairer!

CoachBright are looking for Kent students to work with school pupils from low-income backgrounds to help them improve their grades, confidence and access to university.

As we navigate life in a post-covid world, it’s more important than ever that our most disadvantaged pupils are getting the support they need. Join us to help make education fairer!

It’s just one session a week for a total of 15 hours of tutoring. You’ll get full training in how to coach and will be paired with pupils and work together in an academic subject of your choice.

By volunteering with us, you will…

Gain transferable skills in leadership, communication and relationship building.
Gain experience in education and working with young people
Get a formal student leadership accreditation to show for it
Points towards university student awards
Choose to work with Primary school, GCSE or A level students.
Gain references and help with your future steps!

Apply online today.

Any questions? Please get in touch! Email team@coachbright.org

Wellbeing Wednesday: Postgraduate Support

We have lots of support on offer to postgraduate students to help you improve your wellbeing and make the most of your time at Kent.

Mental health support

Our team of mental health experts includes mental health advisers, counsellors and mentors, who can help you with issues such as stress, anxiety, depression and relationship difficulties.

We have a free and confidential counselling service where you can talk about whatever is troubling you or causing you emotional distress, even if it’s nothing to do with university.

Spectrum Life is available on weekdays from 20.00-8.00, weekends and bank holidays. They can work with you in getting initial support and help during your crisis and the University Student Support and Wellbeing teams will contact you on the next working day.

Kent students can access free, 24/7 online support for issues around mental health and wellbeing via Togetherall. They also have some great online workshops on topics such as assertiveness training, managing post traumatic stress disorder and managing OCD.

Postgraduate community

We have a strong postgraduate community at Kent. You can join the Postgraduate Network as a way to meet other postgrad students.

The Postgraduate Network also act as a voice for postgraduate students, working with the University and Kent Union to make positive change for students doing postgrad study.

Events for postgraduate students

We have lots wellbeing events which are open to all Kent students. Check out the Student Support and Wellbeing event calendar to browse events such as Student Mindfulness, University Community Choir and Wellbeing Café.

If you’re a PhD student, consider signing up for the Reflect, Recover and Empower workshop on Tuesday 1 March. This workshop allows you to reflect on your pandemic experiences with an expert trainer who can offer practical tools for recovery and enhancing your wellbeing in the future.

Kent Compassion meditation group is run by postgraduate students. They meet every Thursday at Canterbury campus at 17.00 for a guided meditation followed by refreshments. An online meditation also takes place at 19.00 and is available to all. Email Stephen at sgm34@kent.ac.uk for more information. The Kent Compassion sessions are supported by the Postgraduate Community Experience Awards.

The Graduate and Researcher College (GRC) and Postgraduate Network run regular postgraduate coffee mornings to help you connect with other postgrad students, meet the GRC team and your PG Network representatives.

Places to study

Having a good working environment can aid your wellbeing. At our Canterbury campus we have the Postgraduate Study Hub in Senate building which is open 24/7 for postgrad students. As well as study spaces and PCs, it offers day lockers, a lounge area and a kitchen with fridge and microwave.

You can also book a free study carrel in the Templeman Library for the day, or if you require one longer time you can rent one out on a monthly or quarterly basis. Find out more about postgraduate study areas.

Postgraduate Open Events

Interested in postgraduate study at Kent? Book onto our Postgraduate Open Events:

Wednesday 23 February (online and in person)
Saturday 2 April (online and in person)

Covid-19 Update: Changes to Covid restrictions

From Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience

Last night the Prime Minister outlined the Government’s ‘living with Covid’ plan, including an announcement that all legal Covid restrictions in England will end this Thursday. Further changes to testing will also follow from 1 April.

We are currently working through what this will mean for us at Kent, with keeping students, staff and visitors safe still our key priority. In the meantime, all of our current recommendations remain in place – including testing regularly, isolating if you have Covid symptoms, and wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces.

My thanks to all of you for your continued support in our response to Covid, which has been a big part of keeping infections as low as possible throughout. I will be in touch with a further update shortly once we are clear on any changes we need to make in the weeks and months ahead.

With all good wishes,

Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience

Prizes for Sustainability

We launched our first ever student prize for Sustainability during Climate Action Week in October 2021.

Students (individuals or groups) were able to compete for up to £500 by suggesting ways we can overcome our sustainability challenges and be supported by University staff to implement their proposal on our campuses.

The Sustainability Team were delighted to receive entries from students across the University with project proposals spanning Biodiversity, food waste, energy, heating and wellbeing. All of the entries were blind judged by a panel of staff from the Environmental Management team who were impressed by the standard of entries. In the end, three projects will be taken forward for implementation, with a further 4 receiving a highly commended award and a £10 Kent One Card top up.

Two projects were selected as runners up and will receive a £50 prize as well as a further £125 to implement the projects.

Plant-based loyalty card – Felicity Bennet (on behalf of the SAC Sustainability Working Group) To develop a loyalty card scheme to encourage students to chose plant-based meals in campus outlets. Felicity will be working with the Sustainability team and catering outlet staff to implement her project over the coming months.

Climate cafés – A group of students; Isabella Sabin-Dawson, Hannah-Maria Hunig, Katie Hargrave-Smith, Georgia Davidson and Lois Mitchell – on behalf of the Sustainability Working Group (SWG) Wellbeing Subgroup have proposed running a series of climate cafes to allow students to get together and talk about their fears about the climate crisis. The group will be working with the Sustainability Team and taking advice from student support and wellbeing to develop this idea.

Our overall winner was Faye Whiley on behalf of the Conservation Society for their project aimed at measuring and improving biodiversity on campus. Faye will be working closely with the Sustainability and the Landscape & Grounds teams to carry out surveys, plant trees and install wildlife boxes. Faye will receive a £100 prize and £250 to implement her project across campus.

To find out more about sustainability projects across campus contact the sustainability team at sustainability@kent.ac.uk or visit our webpages www.kent.ac.uk/sustainability