Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Life after University Week, 22-26 March

To support Kent’s students who are due to graduate this summer, the Careers and Employability Service has organised a week of events and workshops dedicated to preparing you for your next steps. There will be a range of virtual sessions on offer, which will allow you to explore your options, develop your job-hunting skills and receive advice from recent graduates and employers.

Finalist online events include:

Finding work in the UK for international students
How to find a graduate job
HSBC Starting your career, managing your finances
10 Ways to Nail Your Virtual Interview
Starting your own business
Postgraduate Study
Managing your student loan after university
Optimising your CV for the algorithms

There is something for all finalists, whether you are undecided about your future career, you need support when applying and getting through the recruitment process or you’d like advice to help you prepare for your first job. Visit our Life after University Week webpage to access our full events programme and to book! You can also view these events and more on the Finalists webpages.

Free access to Pagoda Cultural Fluency Course

Kent students now have free access to the Pagoda Cultural Fluency Course. The course usually costs around £40 so it’s a great opportunity to take the course now.

Cultural fluency is the set of skills that allow people to live, work and interact effectively in a multicultural environment

About the course

The course sets out to develop your cultural fluency and adaptability when working in a multicultural team or society. It will help you become familiar with the concept of intercultural communication and cultural fluency; and will allow you to develop and improve your skills related to this field.

The course will cover the following:

An understanding of what cultural fluency is
A clear idea on the main barriers that come into play during cross-culture scenarios
A self-reflection on your experience of cross-cultural situations and on your own intercultural skills to see where you are currently standing
An understanding of how to apply your knowledge of cross-culture to different workplace scenarios
Tips on how to improve your intercultural communication

93% improved their cultural fluency competency by undertaking the course .

The course takes 8-10 hours to complete and can be paused at any time.

How do I sign up?

You need to register online before 30 April and then complete the course by the end of August 2021. You will receive 25 Employability Points once you complete the course.

What’s on: 15-21 March 2021

This week you can apply for financial support, prepare for Online Module Registration and go to workshops to help you get ready for online exams.

Further financial support

If you haven’t already received funding from the Covid-19 Hardship Fund, you can apply now for a £300 award.

Apply for the Covid-19 financial hardship fund

Events for you to try this week:

Help with planning your revision on Tuesday 16 March, 15.00-15.15
Stress Management Workshop on Wednesday 17 March, 14.00-16.00
Exam techniques on Thursday 18 March, 15.00-15.15
Postgraduate WebChat on Thursday 18 March, 15.00-16.00
Video interview skills on Friday 19 March, 14.00-15.00

Browse all events

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Let us know what you think of these updates by emailing communications@kent.ac.uk

Covid-19 Hardship Fund: phase 2 applications open

The Government has launched a new scheme to support current students who have experienced hardship during the coronavirus pandemic. £70m in additional funding is being provided to English universities of which Kent has been allocated £588,000. The University has also made additional funds available.

The Covid-19 Hardship Fund can be used to support any current students who have incurred unexpected costs due to Covid-19. This could be due to a loss of income, childcare costs, travel or rent.

Phase 2 of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund is now open and current students can apply for a £300 individual award to help their finances. There is a simple application process outlined on the Covid-19 Hardship funding webpage. When applying you’ll be asked a series of questions to make sure you are eligible and asked to include your bank details. If your application is successful, your award will be transferred directly to your bank account.

Applications for the second phase of the fund will close 31 March 2021 or sooner if all the funds are awarded before this date. We encourage you to apply as soon as you can.

Please remember that if you have suffered financial hardship this academic year due to coronavirus, there is lots of support available through our range of Emergency Hardship Funds.

Please contact our Financial Aid team or Kent Union’s Advice Service (Canterbury) or GKSU’s Advice Centre (Medway) for more information on what fund may be suitable for you.

Choose your modules for next year- Online Module Registration

**Deadline for module registration extended to Tuesday 6 April at midnight**

Online Module Registration (OMR) will take place between Monday 22 March – Tuesday 6 April 2021. It is compulsory that you select your module preferences for 2021/22 on your Student Data System (SDS) during this time.

We appreciate these are uncertain times and you may feel unsure about the choices you make for your next year of study. Please be assured there is lots of support available to you. Please see our Student Coronavirus webpages for information and speak with your Student Support Team or Academic Advisor for advice.

Please see Prepare for your Online Module Registration for all the information you need to register your module preferences. Please ensure you review the information carefully.

Important Information

Online Module Registration is not first come first served; however, you must ensure that you submit your selections by Tuesday 6 April to give you the best opportunity to register for your preferred choice of module.
Modules with limited spaces will be allocated fairly and transparently by a random selection process, after the Online Module Registration period closes.
If you are studying abroad or on industrial placement in 2021/22, please ignore this message, as you do not need to choose your module preferences until this time next year.
If you are studying compulsory modules next year, you do not need to take part in OMR.
We will try our best to accommodate your module choices, however, please be aware that because of the ongoing restrictions relating to the Covid pandemic, we cannot guarantee whether all module options will be available, or how they will be delivered.

If you have any questions please contact us:

Canterbury: csao@kent.ac.uk

Medway: msao@kent.ac.uk

New Sustainable Development Goals Trail at the Canterbury Campus

A new walking trail has been installed around the Canterbury campus that follows the 17 Sustainable Goals on a route that takes you from central campus to the Kent Community Oasis Garden (KentCOG) located in Parkwood.

The Sustainable Development Goals (also known as the Global Goals or SDGs) are 17 goals that outline a vision for a sustainable world by 2030. The 17 goals and underlying targets were created and signed by 193 countries at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.

The University of Kent has signed the SDG Education Accord that commits us to embedding all 17 goals into our operations, teaching and research. As part this we would like all staff and students to become familiar with the goals by getting out and about across campus and discovering all 17, whilst visiting some of the greener spaces on campus and discovering the hidden gem of KentCOG.

The trail starts with SDG 1: No Poverty, which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce overall poverty by 50% by 2030. You will find the starting board on central campus between the Senate building and Rutherford Extension.

The trail ends with SDG 17: Partnerships, which you will find at the Kent Community Oasis Garden, our flagship community partnership project at the Canterbury campus where food growing is used as a way of meeting new people, reducing stress, learning new skills and getting some fresh air. This project is run in partnership with Mind in Bexley and East Kent.

The Sustainability Team would like to thank the Interior Services Team and Landscape and Ground Teams from Estates for their support with this project.

Learn more about the SDG Trail or email sustainability@kent.ac.uk for more information.

Employability Points deadline and rewards pack

The deadline to log your Employability Points is only a few days away! You have until 17.00 on the 15 March to log your co-curricular activities on MyFolio and receive Employability Points.

Remember, if you earn enough points, you will have the chance to apply for exclusive EP rewards. Qualifying students will be emailed an application form on the 16 March and you can check out the available rewards in the recently published EP Rewards Pack 2020-21.

If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment with a member of the EP team, you can contact them via employabilitypoints@kent.ac.uk

Study Plus events this week (8-13 March)

Our Study Plus scheme provides a range of free short-term courses and workshops which can enhance your graduate employability skills alongside your main subject specialism. Here are some of the upcoming events you can sign up for:

Study Plus – Having difficult conversations By Kate Gardner Wednesday 10 March 1.30-15.00

By the end of the session, participants will have:

Explored the stages and causes of conflict
Identified strategies to enable difficult conversations
Examined their own conflict handling style
Understood the steps to take when having difficult conversations.

Study Plus – ASPIRE Workshop 12 – Build your pitch Wednesday 10 March 15.00-17.00

Learn which slides you need in your pitch deck to impress potential investors. Create the perfect pitch telling a compelling story.

Study Plus – Time management Be Productive – not Busy By Leanne Davies Thursday 11 March 14.00-16.00

Do you often feel that there are just not enough hours in your day? By attending this course, you will learn how to use your time effectively so that you are productive – not just busy. You will explore tips and time management techniques and take the first steps to achieve your goals – whether it is dealing with your daily “to do” list, meeting dreaded deadlines, managing interruptions or realising a personal dream.

Study Plus – Understanding Stress and Self Care by Sal Pearman Friday 12 March 10.00-12.30

During the webinar we will explore:

The importance of routine and positive daily habits
Emotional Labour: what is it and why does it matter?
Recognising the symptoms of stress
What is resilience and how can we develop this?
Nutrition, hydration and sleep
Working in a busy household
Practical steps to make working in isolation easier.

Study Plus – Resolving Conflict and Managing Difficult situations by Jeffrey Wotherspoon Thursday 12 March 14.00-16.00

By attending this course, you will learn:

The main reasons we avoid having difficult conversations
Principles that will help you get the best out of challenging situations
Understanding the underlying motivations for behaviours we may find challenging to deal with when working with others
How to be assertive.

Study Plus – ASPIRE Bootcamp 3 – Get pitch perfect Saturday 13 March 10.00-16.00

Learn the best tricks and tips for presenting an outstanding pitch to potential investors. Build confidence in public speaking with fun games and exercises.

Study Plus – Emergency First Aid – 4 hours Saturday 13 March 10.00-14.00

An introduction to Emergency first aid.

Learn more about Study Plus.

Silver award for our Hedgehog Friendly Campus

In July 2019 the University launched its participation in the Hedgehog Friendly Campus project, created at the University of Sheffield, to use the unique spaces that university campuses are, to raise awareness of the plight of UK hedgehogs and take action to safeguard their future.

Since then, the University Hedgehog steering group made up of student and staff hedgehog champions has been working to ensure that the campus becomes a haven for hedgehogs. Activities include hedgehog surveys, litter picking, training workshops and adjusting campus management techniques to ensure they are sensitive to hedgehog ecology.

All these activities have led to a Silver award for the University’s actions and the steering group is now planning its next steps to go for Gold!

The hedgehog is in trouble, with populations plummeting 50% since 2000. Increasing habitat loss means hedgehogs are moving out of their rural homes and into built areas. But here they face a whole host of challenges, including road traffic, litter, poisoning and lack of access to food and water.

The Sustainability Team would like to thank all the students and staff who have taken part in this project and thank the Landscape and Grounds Team for all of their support.

If you would like to know more about the project or want to join the hedgehog steering group, you can find out more on the Sustainability website.

What’s on this week: 8-14 March 2021

From this week Templeman and Drill Hall Library will be open for longer, you can take part in a guided online mindfulness session and join the online cultural celebrations as part of WorldFest this month.

On campus? Get tested for Covid-19

If you have returned to campus or using university facilities, help keep you and your friends safe by getting tested twice a week. This is quick and easy to do with testing centres on campus.

Covid-19 safety advice

Read our Covid-19 safety advice for everything you need to do to help you and your friends stay safe.