Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

College and Community Life events this term

The College and Community Life Team have a huge range of events and opportunities to support you and provide new ways for you to engage with others in your College.

What’s on this term?

Song writing competition | 17 January – 18 March 2022

Are you a budding musician? Would you like the opportunity to record a song of yours in a professional recording studio? Enter our song writing competition for the chance to shine and show your creativity!

Cooking workshop | 25 & 26 January 2022

This “Veganuary” learn to make chapattis, butternut and onion rice and Keralan curry from scratch with Kent Hospitality. Look out for monthly cooking workshops coming soon on Canterbury campus, with videos and recipes for those who want to cook along at home.

Inter College Games | 2 March 2022

Get your friends together and prepare to play a variety of sports and active games up against other College teams. All are welcome and no experience required!

Regular Events

Monthly Movie nights | Last Thursday of every month from 18.00

Relaxed social evenings screening movies voted in by you each month, with free popcorn included!

Plant a seed | Every Wednesday from 14.00-15.00

Visit the Community Oasis Garden and get your hands in the earth, meet others and learn new gardening skills in a relaxed outdoor setting.

Borrow Puzzles, Games & Baking Equipment

Looking for something to do at home or want to get together friends for a board games evening? Browse our collection and borrow from us!

Visit the College and Community Life Events Calendar for more information, including booking details if applicable.

Discover Kent Opportunities

Discover Kent is a scheme which provides subsidised and free opportunities to help you see the local sights and socialise, with additional Covid safety measures and support in place. These opportunities are here to prevent isolation and loneliness at Kent.

12 February 2022 | Margate & Broadstairs day trip

26 February 2022 | Dover Castle & Folkestone day trip

13 March 2022 | Whitstable & Herne Bay day trip

26 March 2022 | Brighton day trip

If you would like to find out more about joining one of our Discover Kent visits, please email CCLTeam@kent.ac.uk

Get in touch

We’re here to answer your questions, help or redirect you to the best support for you. Email us at CCLTeam@kent.ac.uk

If you live on-campus please download the Home at Halls App, we regularly use this to communicate our events, competitions and more!

Deadline approaching: Apply to be on our NEW International Student Advisory Board

Are you passionate, organised and motivated to represent international students at Kent and make a difference to their student experience?  #YourUniYourSay

We are delighted to launch our new International Student Advisory Board which is in collaboration with Kent Union to ensure that the needs and voices of our international students are heard.

The purpose of this Board will be:

To inform the inclusivity and accessibility of university-wide services and policies at both the University and Kent Union, for the benefit of all international students at the University of Kent
To provide feedback mechanisms to allow international students to actively contribute towards campaigns, awareness raising and submit suggestions for policy change
To support internationally focused activities and events such as, Welcome week, Annual Worldfest and International Education Week.

We are looking for up to 30 individuals to join this newly established Board which will provide a wonderful opportunity for you to represent and make a difference to your student experience while at Kent.

To apply:
– You must be a current international student at the University of Kent
– You must have enthusiasm and commitment to improving the international student experience
– You must be available to attend all the meeting dates advertised

For more info and to apply please see our webpage. Deadline for applications is 18 January .

Resilience in an ever-changing world

The last few years have brought so many changes in the way we study, work and socialise. Find out about workshops designed to help you respond positively to challenges.

Welcome to 2022, another year on and more changing rules in the ever-changing but long-lasting pandemic. If you’re tired of constantly keeping up with changing rules and re-organising your social and study schedules, you are not alone!

Whatever you have resolved to do with your time this year, see if you can make space for one of the upcoming workshops on ‘Resilience in an ever-changing world’ this term.

It’s a 90-minute informal collaborative workshop for students at all stages of their studies with an external facilitator, on resilience and wellbeing, giving you the opportunity to reflect on your experiences learn practical techniques to support your wellbeing. The session aims to inspire and motivate, leaving people feeling more equipped and more positive about the future. Students can also earn 10 employability points for their attendance.

The next session is on Monday 24 January from 19.00-20.30 online via Teams and available to book online now.

There are other opportunities later in the term to come in person or online as you prefer in the forthcoming schedule, check out the Student Support and Wellbeing Calendar for further details and to book your place:

2 February from 14.00-15.30 hybrid: in room KS4 and via Teams
9 February from 14.00-15.30 hybrid: in room KS4 and via Teams
21 February from 19.00-20.30 online only via Teams
1 March from 19.00-20.30 hybrid: in room KS16 and via Teams
20 April from 14.00-15.30 hybrid: in room KS15 and via Teams

If you have any questions about these or other wellbeing workshops, please contact us at wellbeingevents@kent.ac.uk.

Follow @UniKentSSW for advice and resources to support you, and the latest news on events and workshops available on enhancing your wellbeing.

Written by Natalia Crisanti, Student Services staff, on 11.01.22

Calling all LGBTQ+ painters, photographers, writers and artists!

** Submissions have now closed.**

Are you a hobby artist? Do you love to paint and draw? Are you a photographer or a digital artist?

Be part of our LGBTQ+: Politics in Art exhibition

As part of LGBT History Month (February 2022), we are looking to commission seven pieces of art by LGBTQ+ student and staff artists about their experiences in lockdown; the emotions, the feelings, the positives and the negatives. These can be any format, for example a painting, photograph, digital image, collage, poem or piece of writing.

All pieces will form part of the LGBTQ+: Politics in Art exhibition, which will be displayed in the Keynes College Atrium throughout February 2022.

Student Services will be offering £300 for each piece, plus £50 towards the cost of materials.

Submission requirements

Each piece must be able to be wall hung (unfortunately we cannot support video or sound projection submissions).
Each piece must reflect either your personal, or the LGBTQ+ community experience of being in lockdown – be that positive or negative.
Each piece must be completed by the end of January 2022 and with us, ready for installation on the 31 January 2022.
The artists should identify within the LGBTQ+ community.

If you have an existing work of art that you feel meets the brief then you are able to submit that.

The seven available spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Get in touch

If you are interested in submitting a piece for the exhibition, please contact Becky Lamyman, Student EDI Officer on rsl7@kent.ac.uk ASAP or by 21 January 2022.

For more information, or if you have any queries, please get in contact with Becky.

Covid-19 update: Coming back to campus

From Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Education and Student Experience

I hope you all enjoyed the winter break, and were able to get some rest and time away from your studies. My thanks also to all of you for the efforts that went into testing at the end of the last term, particularly those of you who were self-isolating over the holidays – I know this was not easy, but your continued support with keeping our community safe is hugely appreciated.

Ahead of the start of term, I wanted to send you a quick update of what we have in place to keep our campuses safe in light of recent Government Covid announcements. I would also like your help with completing an anonymous vaccination survey we have been asked to run to support national efforts to target resources in the right areas.

Face-to-face teaching – what to expect

As you will have seen from your timetables, the vast majority of your teaching this term will be face-to-face, including lectures. For those that need it, remote studying will also remain an option for the rest of the year, subject to approval.

Unless you have a medical exemption, all students should wear face coverings in teaching spaces and communal areas where social distancing cannot be maintained, including when entering and leaving the room or walking through corridors – this can really help to stop the virus spreading.

Depending on the room set-up, your tutors may also wear a face covering throughout your lessons too.

We have undertaken risk assessments of all teaching rooms to ensure each area is compliant with public health regulations, and have reduced lecture capacity where needed to ensure appropriate ventilation.

Vaccinations survey

Vaccinations remain key to minimising the impact of Coronavirus, and we strongly encourage those that haven’t, and who are able to, to get a free booster jab as soon as you can.

Alongside this, please complete the following anonymous survey about take-up of the vaccine among students – we will not be recording any personal information of this individually and your responses will just be used for statistical purposes.

Pick up a kit and do your bit!

Testing remains a really important part of keeping each other safe. Please do continue to test at least twice a week if you are coming onto campus, with free take-home lateral flow test kits available shortly from places across campus including college receptions and the Templeman Library. Medway students can also collect tests from the Old Sports Hall. Remember to register your results with the NHS – we’ve also updated our information on what to do if you have Covid-19 symptoms or test positive.

Travel to campus from another country

If you are returning to campus from overseas, make sure you check Government guidance on travelling to England.

Thank you once again for your continued support with this and I look forward to seeing more of you on campus in the weeks and months ahead.

With all good wishes,

Richard

Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Education and Student Experience

Kent Voices – podcasts by and for our Kent community

Did you know Student Services has a new podcast?

Hi! I’m Charlie Gurr, I’m a student intern working as part of the Student Services Communications team. In October 2021, we started the Kent Voices podcast as a way of connecting with the University of Kent community through audio. From healthy relationships to disability history month, there have been lots of interesting discussions with staff and students.

Here’s a rundown of just some of the things that have featured on the Kent Voices podcast so far, which you can listen again to via KentPlayer:

Halloween and Bonfire Night: Hear all about staying safe on Bonfire Night, as well as having fun at Halloween!

Sex and Healthy Relationships: Marking United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, this episode covered some important topics such as consent, and first times, as well as some funny bedroom anecdotes!

Faith and Belief at University: Celebrating interfaith week, this podcast looked at the impact of faith on campus, from the perspective of two faith leaders. They spoke about what faith meant to them, and how students can get involved.

Living, Working, and Studying with Hidden Impairments: With a panel of University of Kent staff and alumni, the guests discussed how hidden impairments have affected them throughout their lives, how people’s perceptions can have an impact, and what support could, and should, be available.

Keep a look out in 2022 for what’s coming up on the Kent Voices podcast… we cover so many themes from disability and mental health, to faith groups and communities, sustainability, citizenship, volunteering, employability opportunities, getting involved in our local areas and campus events. If you’ve got an idea for a future podcast episode, get in touch via email at: StudentServicesWeb@kent.ac.uk

I hope you have a great time over the holidays, and I look forward to bringing you more Kent Voices podcast episodes in the New Year!

Written by Charlie Gurr, 2nd year student, on 20.12.21

IGHI’s Health Innovation Prize – win £10,000

Do you have a unique idea for a new product or research project in global health? Apply for the Institute of Global Health Innovation’s Health Innovation Prize (formerly known as the Student Challenges Competition) for the chance to turn that idea into a reality.

This exciting competition offers you the opportunity to showcase your idea and win £10,000 to fund it. Winners will be decided in a Dragon’s Den-style virtual event featuring a panel of experts in health innovation.

The competition is open to all UK university students. Projects can cover any aspect of global health innovation; see examples of last year’s finalists.

Entries open here on 10 January and will close on 6 February, 23.59. The final will take place in March (exact date TBC). Be sure to not miss out on this opportunity that could kick-start your journey in healthcare innovation, and help improve the lives of people across the world.

Submit your entry online. Contact ighi@imperial.ac.uk if you have any questions, and follow IGHI on Twitter for updates!

Notification feature on the Uni Kent Student App

We’ve introduced notifications on the Uni Kent Student App so we can notify you when there is a key news update.

When will you send out notifications?

Don’t worry, we’ll use these sparingly! We will send a notification to the app for:

News that is for most or all students at Kent
Reminders of key deadlines
Significant changes or disruption to key services
Student support information that would benefit all/most Kent students
Emergency or urgent communications. These types of communication would also be emailed to all students.

How do I change my notification settings?

Within the app, press the three lines icon in the top left-hand corner, go to ‘Settings’ and ensure ‘Receive notifications for new stories’ is ticked to receive notifications. You may also need to check your phone notification settings for the app.

What is the Uni Kent Student App?

The Uni Kent Student App is designed to:

Give you quick access to Moodle, your emails, KentVision are other key links
Help you stay up to date with what’s on and what’s new at Kent
Provide easy access to support webpages and contact details.

Can I give feedback about the Uni Kent Student App?

If you have any feedback about the Uni Kent Student App, both good or bad, please let us know by emailing communications@kent.ac.uk.

Your Spring Timetable

From Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education & Student Experience

Ahead of the Christmas break, I am pleased to confirm that your Spring Term timetable is now available on KentVision. This should also have pulled through to your iCal feed.

We will be updating some of the rooms and finalising group allocations over the Christmas vacation, so do check back in before the start of term for your confirmed class schedule. In the meantime, thank you all again for your fantastic efforts over the last term and I wish you and your families the very best for the Winter break.

Financial support (Christmas deadline)

This year has come with many difficulties. If you find yourself struggling financially, you are welcome to apply for financial support from the University. Please note the deadlines and university office closure dates below.

Kent Emergency Short Term Loan

You will need to have your application for the Kent Emergency Short Term Loan completed by 16.00 on Tuesday 14 December to receive any money by Christmas.

If you are eligible to apply you will need to log onto your KentVision Portal and select My Fees & Finance, Apply for funding, to apply for a KESL.

Other financial hardship packages

The other financial hardship packages are still available for students to apply but please be aware that any application may not be processed or finalised before Christmas. Students should therefore not rely on receiving any funds granted before the New Year for these packages.

Office closures

The Financial Aid Office will be closed from 16.00 on Tuesday 21 December 2021 and will re-open on Tuesday 4 January 2022.