Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Inter Faith Week, 14-21 November 2021

For people of all faiths and none, the University of Kent aims to be a place of dialogue, discovery and celebration.

The University of Kent is somewhere that cultural, religious and non-religious or similar philosophical beliefs of all are respected. We have lots of communities of faith and belief which are active on our campuses, which can be great ways to meet new people, explore the area together and dialogue about ideas. 14 – 21 November is Inter Faith week, and is an opportunity to build and strengthen connections between people of different faiths and beliefs, and as we adjust to the world in a time where COVID-19 has changed some of our habits, finding new ways to make connections is vital. The nationally celebrated in the UK. The aims of this are to:

Strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels
Increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, in particular celebrating and building on the contribution which their members make to their neighbourhoods and to wider society
Increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs

Get involved in Inter Faith Week: Listen to the ‘Kent Voices: Faith and Belief at University’ podcast hosted by journalism student Charlie, who spoke to University Chaplain, Reverend Stephen Laird, and Mantra, director of The Big Drum about what faith means to them, how they lived it as students, and what they offer to Kent students now. How does faith affect our views on different topics? On Wednesday 17 November at 18.30 in Grimond join a free discussion and dinner on ‘Faith and Health’, with perspectives from different faith leaders and students at Kent, and the opportunity to share your views and a free buffet afterwards if you wish. Check out #InterFaithWeek on social media, and follow @UniKentCCL on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter for the latest events and meetings of worship that you can join. University Chaplain Stephen says: “Some people are not religious at all; others are too busy following their own faith to spend time hearing about what others do and believe. Inter Faith Week is a reminder that – whoever we are and whatever our heritage or beliefs – we share our planet, and our lives, with people with different and diverse perspectives and we owe it to one another to air and share and celebrate the things that are important to us.”

University Challenge Trials

Do you fancy yourself a brainbox? Try out for Kent’s University Challenge team and prove it in front of the nation!

Students of all ages, genders and backgrounds are encouraged to attend either of the two trials being held via Teams in the coming weeks. Come along on Friday 5 November or Tuesday 9 November at 15.00 for the first round of trials, where the very best quizzers will be chosen to go on to the second buzzer-quiz round.

If you’re interested, join one of the Facebook events: https://fb.me/e/1WHROobED or here: https://fb.me/e/1RXR0mxKM

All are welcome, whether undergraduate or postgraduate, and whether at Medway, Canterbury, Brussels, Paris, or any other campus. Come by!

Careers in Accounting, Banking, Finance and Fintech Week, 1-5 November

Join us for the Careers and Employability Service’s Careers in Accounting, Banking, Finance and Fintech Week, 1-5 November 2021.

Starting on 1 November, the Careers and Employability Service will be hosting its first online Careers in Accounting, Banking, Finance and Fintech Week. This week-long programme is open to all students interested in finding out more about working in these sectors.

Throughout the week, we will be joined by a range of Kent alumni and employers, including Santander, Investment20/20, and Moore Kingston Smith. Events will include: workshops on networking and selection tests; insight talks from employers; presentations on how to succeed in landing graduate roles and internships; and an alumni panel discussion of equality and diversity within these industries.

All events will be virtual and hosted on either MS Teams or Zoom.

You can also earn 10 Employability Points by attending each event, which can be redeemed later in the year for exclusive rewards.

To see the full schedule of events, please visit our website. You can book your place for each event now on TARGETconnect.

Join our Global Hangout celebrations this term!

Global Hangouts are fun, informal events that are open to all Kent students. They are a great way to meet other students from across our community. Please feel welcome to come along and to share this information with fellow students.

We will be hosting a number of Global WebHangouts this term to celebrate various UK and international festivals. This term this includes Halloween, Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations.

Later in the year we will also hold Hangouts to celebrate New Year, Spring Festival, Holi, Easter and Eid. If you would like to get involved in running a WebHangout to celebrate a festival or cultural event from your culture, that isn’t mentioned in this email, please fill in the form.

Global WebHangouts this term

Autumn Term Global Hangout (Face-to-face)
Join us for tea and cake at the Colyer Fergusson Foyer (next to the Gulbenkian Cafe) on Tuesday 23 November from 13.00-14.30 for the Autumn Term Global Hangout.

Meet new people at Kent and enjoy good conversation from Dr Anthony Manning, Dean for Internationalisation, staff and fellow students. Our Kent Global Student Ambassadors will also be there and we can help with any questions you may have too.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Student Prize for Sustainability (up to £500 to support your idea!)

Do you have a great idea for a project or initiative that could help us achieve our sustainability goals? Maybe you have a plan for how to save energy in halls through an engaging social media campaign or to reduce food waste by teaching students to cook using leftover food.

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

Come along to our co-create your campus event in the Gulbenkian Cafe on Thursday 28 October from 12.00-14.00 and talk to staff and students about the sustainability challenges we face and find out more about how to enter.

The prize

The prize fund of £500* will be awarded to the winning proposals to support the implementation of the projects as well as reward the individuals or groups. There may by up to 5 prize winners depending on the number and feasibility of the proposals. Where multiple proposals are selected, the proportional distribution of the prize fund will be at the discretion of the award panel.

* A minimum of 50% of the fund will be ring-fenced as cash prizes with up to 50% remaining for the implementation of the winning proposals.

Find out more about the 2021 University of Kent Student Prize for Sustainability and upcoming Climate Action Week (25-29 October).

Christmas shoebox appeal wrapping and filling session

Would you like to get involved in our Christmas shoebox appeal to help vulnerable communities across Eastern Europe?

Our Careers and Employability Services (CES) will be hosting a wrapping and filling session Monday 15 November 13.00-15.00. Get involved!

This event is part of Volunteering Week (15-19 November). See the shoebox appeal poster to learn about what items we’re looking for and how you can help.

If you would like to get involved but cannot make the volunteering session, please contact careehelp@kent.ac.uk to register your interest and let us know how many boxes you will be making. Please then bring these to the CES reception no later than Friday 19 November.

Thinking of studying a Master’s or PhD in 2022? PG Open Event, 17 November

Step up, stand out and specialise, discover our career-focused postgraduate programmes at Kent. We’ll be holding our Open Event on Wednesday 17 November 2021. The event offers both face-to-face and virtual options, providing an opportunity to meet our staff and current students, across our UK and European campuses.

Join a community that’s already shaping tomorrow’s world and discover where it could take you.

Book Now

Attend virtually from wherever you are – from 12.00-14.00 UK Time.

Book the virtual event

Attend in person at our Canterbury Campus – from 17.00- 19.00 UK Time.

Book the on-campus event

Here’s 5 reasons to attend our Open Event:

Find out more about postgraduate study at Kent and our range of Master’s, PhD and Research programmes.
Discover our multimillion-pound scholarship fund, research partnerships and other funding opportunities.
Learn more about our career focused programmes, particularly our January start courses in Business, Law, Politics, Architecture and Healthcare.
Meet and chat to our incredible academic and support staff as well as our current students.
Virtually view our campuses in Kent, Canterbury and Medway, and our postgraduate centres in Europe, Brussels and Paris. Or we welcome you to visit our Canterbury campus in person.

Book a place at our open event

Sharpen your focus and step up in your career this 2022. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Making a difference to student experience – meet Manfred the KMMS Librarian

On Wednesday 15 September the inaugural KMMS Prize-Giving event took place. For the first time, KMMS celebrated the academic success of many of its students and the hard work and excellence of its staff.

Many of the generous benefactors who donated prizes joined the event in the Lecture Theatre of KMMS’s new Pears building at the University of Kent. Prizes were awarded in three different categories: student prizes, achievement awards and five awards given by MedSoc, the medical student society.

The MedSoc prize for “Making a Difference to Student Experience” went to the KMMS Librarian Manfred Gschwandtner.

The Vice-President of MedSoc introduced the prize:

“The first prize is for making a difference to student experience. This prize was awarded to the member of staff that students feel made the biggest positive difference to their experience at KMMS this year.

There were 8 nominees for this year, but one, in particular, shone through. This person was always on hand to problem solve and does so with willingness and passion. He does a lot of work behind the scenes and in the teaching sessions he has delivered, his passion shines through. Not only this, but he also secured revision resource ‘Osmosis’ for students which they say has made a huge difference to their learning.”

Manfred explains:

“This prize is a collaborative achievement for my library colleagues at University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and the Drill Hall Library, Medway campus who have worked tirelessly to provide excellent support to KMMS students. It comes after an intensive two-year set up period for the KMMS library and the first year of providing library services across different campuses.

We made sure that our first year students had access to the library resources they needed for their studies including textbooks, journals and innovative new learning resources such as RX Bricks, Osmosis and Complete Anatomy, an up-to-date anatomy app as part of our ‘digital first’ strategy which aimed to provide all core resources in a digital format. Joined up reading lists and a dedicated KMMS LibrarySearch catalogue were developed that allow students to search for library resources easily across the two universities’ libraries.

KMMS academics helped students to develop the necessary skills to best utilise the library resources by embedding information and digital literacy teaching in the curriculum. There has also been extensive support from the institutions’ front line services, ensuring a streamlined student experience including the introduction of a courier service between universities so students can return their books at either library”.

Caption: Manfred Gschwandtner is presented his award by Mimoza Osmani, Vice-President and Mary McDonald, President, MedSoc.

New Report and Support online tool for students

We are pleased to announce a new online reporting tool for reporting student incidents of sexual misconduct and assault, harassment (non-sexual), assault, bullying, discrimination and hate incidents. This replaces the previous inform Kent (inK) system and helps Kent students to get the support they need promptly.

The Report and Support online tool allows both anonymous and named reports. If a student chooses to provide identifiable information, we will be able to offer support or discuss ways that they can (if they wish) report the incident formally. Reporting anonymously will provide information that will help us to make our university the safest environment it can be. Anonymous information will be reviewed at regular intervals throughout the year, to ensure that we are monitoring incidents reported and putting new strategies in place where needed.

Take a look at Report and Support online for about how to report, and well as several support articles relating to these incidents. It may be worth familiarising yourself with the tool in case you need to advise a student to make a report in future. You can also find information on positive safety campaigns and ways in which you can get involved in promoting a culture of respect at Kent.

Visit Report and Support now.

Adopting the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

Following an extensive consultation with staff, students, members of the Jewish community at Kent, Ethics committee and Council, the University has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

Signing up to a definition of antisemitism is an important statement of our solidarity with the Jewish community in recognition of the hurt many are feeling due to rising discrimination. The IHRA definition seeks to build an international consensus around a non-legally binding definition of what antisemitism means to help tackle the rise in anti-Jewish hate.

There was a strong feeling during consultation that Kent should have a commitment in this area. Alongside this, following some concerns throughout consultation over some aspects of the IHRA definition being open to misinterpretation, the Jerusalem Declaration of Antisemitism (JDA) has been also approved to support with interpretation after feedback from staff, students, Senate and wider legal advice.

As a University we are committed to academic freedom and free speech, and to building a diverse, inclusive environment to enable people to reach their potential free from prejudice. The adoption of the IHRA is an important step in ensuring our Jewish community feel safe on campus and we will be sharing more information on implementation as part of our continued work to tackle discrimination and racism.