Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Bright lights of Seoul

Would you like to study in Seoul, South Korea, this summer?

Information session to study in Dongguk University, Seoul

Representatives from Dongguk University in Seoul will be visiting our Canterbury Campus to promote their amazing Summer school program for 2024.

Dongguk University is situated in the heart of Seoul giving you the chance to live, study and explore this amazing city in Summer 2024. The university offer some amazing unique classes, including Korean Film, K-Pop, Korean Language, Leadership Skills and many more!

Please come along on Monday 5 February, 12:00-13:00 in Keynes Lecture Theatre 2 to meet the Dongguk University team who will be giving an in-person information session about their Summer School opportunity. Find out more and register for the event.

Funding through Go Abroad Bitesize

This opportunity is being offered to Kent students as part of the ‘Go Abroad Bitesize’ initiative. Please see our website for information and the funding available.

Inclusive Pride Flag

Introducing LGBT+ History Month 2024

What is LGBT+ History Month? 

LGBT+ History Month takes place every February in the UK and is a month-long celebration of LGBTQIA+ identity and observance of the injustices and discrimination faced by the community in the past, and faced by many still to this day. LGBTQIA+ people have the right to live their lives as their true, authentic selves free of fear, discrimination or harassment and one of the goals of LGBT+ History Month is to move us as a culture towards a society that is kinder and fairer to LGBTQIA+ people. 

The 2024 theme is Medicine – #UnderTheScope and it celebrates LGBTQIA+ peoples’ contribution to the field of Medicine and Healthcare both historically and today. 

This year, LGBT+ History Month wants to showcase the amazing work of LGBT+ staff across the NHS and in other healthcare settings, in providing healthcare, especially during the pandemic. The Month also aims to shine a light on the history of the LGBTQIA+ community’s experience of receiving healthcare, which has been extremely complicated and leaves LGBTQIA+ people still facing health inequalities even today.  

What’s on at Kent 

At Kent, LGBT+ History Month is organised by the University of Kent, Kent Union and the Students’ Unions at Medway. Events are open for staff and students and the vast majority are free. See all LGBT+ History Month events. 

Key events include: 

The LGBTQ+ In Lockdown Exhibition, available to view in the KMMS Pears Building showcasing the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students during the Covid pandemic, the LGBTQ+ In Lockdown exhibition is a powerful reflection on identity, isolation and time experienced by so many LGBTQIA+ people during the pandemic. 

There is an LGBTQIA+ Careers Fair at Medway where you can meet employers from 20+ Stalls from Stonewall accredited organisations to showcase their work, their EDI commitment and any placements or roles they have currently. 

There are loads of Give it A Go and crafting activities taking place at both the Canterbury and Medway sites; from friendship bracelet making to flag making and pronoun badge making. Check the website for dates and times. 

Loughborough academic Dr Jo Harper will be giving a talk about her research into the impact of testosterone in sports and the culture, attitudes and barriers for transgender athletes. 

There are film screenings at the Gulbenkian Cinema for Femme and All Of Us Strangers and loads of fun craft activities that celebrate LGBTQIA+ identity. 

What support is available to me? 

  • We have a large number of resources available to support LGBTQIA+ students at Kent and can signpost to external resources. 
  • Kent Union run the LGBTQIA+ Network to act as a voice for LGBTQIA+ students. 
  • The University has the LGBTQ+ Staff Network, open to any staff member who identifies as LGBTQIA+. The Network hold regular social activities for members and Allies. 
  • The University runs a Gender Affirmation Fund for students who identify as trans, non-binary or gender queer. 
  • The University has an Inclusive Language Guide to help support staff and students in developing their Inclusive Language skills. Keep a look out for a future blog post in LGBT+ History Month with more information. 
  • The Canterbury Trans Network runs a bi-monthly social on campus 
  • The Kent Union LGBT+ History Month webpages feature a Curiosity Hub, designed to display dozens of films, books, podcasts, celebrities and more  – all handpicked by staff and students at Kent, with each recommendation relating to LGBT+ History Month and Pride. There are even hand-out resources as well as links to the various schemes that are available to support LGBTQIA+ students at Kent. 

What do I do if I have experienced prejudice or discrimination? 

We are committed to ensuring that all students and staff are supported at Kent and can study and work to their fullest potential. We also take discrimination, harassment and bullying extremely seriously. If you feel that you have been subjected to any form of bullying or discrimination due to your LGBTQIA+ identity, please do report it via the Report and Support tool. This will trigger an investigation and support for you, although you can do report anonymously if you prefer.  

Look out for more blog posts and information over the course of the month, and we hope you enjoy LGBT+ History Month. 

What do I do if I want more information? 

If you have any comments or feedback about this month’s activity, or any other History Month or equality, diversity or inclusion related activity, please do email EqualityandDiversity@kent.ac.uk.  

 

Badges representing different LGBTQ+ identities

Kent Union’s LGBTQIA+ Student Voices Project

The LGBTQIA+ Student Voices Project is an important research piece which is part of Kent Union’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. The project leans into understanding students within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual plus community, in the hopes to understand their barriers to education & engagement and overall areas to improve their student experience. This project will have an important focus on the Transgender student experience, as we know they are one of the most marginalised in society.

This Inclusive Project mirrors our Black Student Voices Project, which will be led by three Student Researchers that will create events and gather data in a published report. We are still devising questions to answer within the research, and aim to embark on outreach activities to engage the students within the community. This research will produce recommendations for the Union and University to be held accountable and to better the lives of LGBTQIA+ Students at Kent.

Events to be announced soon – add your email to stay up to date.

Students sat together chatting

Events roundup: 29 January – 4 February

Find out what’s on this week. Plus, LGBT+ History Month kicks off later this week! Look out for the Pride flags on campus as well as lots of events throughout the month.

Following Holocaust Memorial Day at the weekend, there is an exhibition in the Library Cafe, running until Sunday 4 February. The exhibition is organised by the Union of Jewish Students to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in a meaningful way. 

Monday 29 January: Free covid and flu vaccines and CV help

Do you need some help with your CV? Attend this CV drop-in session to get some support from our Careers and Employability Service as you continue to work on your document.

If you’re thinking about getting a part-time job, come along to this session in Pilkington, Medway, to discuss options for part-time work and where you can look for opportunities.

Have you had your vaccines? There’s a free walk-in clinic in Senate, Canterbury campus, for free covid and/or flu vaccines.

Tuesday 30 January: Student Survival Guide and Employability Points Scheme

Open to all university students, A Student Survival Guide includes opportunities to learn about cooking on a budget, building positive relationships and partying safely, featuring ‘Commando Chef’ and Robbie White.

Find out more about applying for Rewards through the Employability Points scheme. This online session will explain the application process for applying for Rewards on the Employability Points scheme, including the timeline for advertisement of rewards, making applications, shortlisting and interviews.

Wednesday 31 January: Year In information sessions and PGR Yoga Writing Retreat

Are you interested in taking a ‘Year In’ a different subject? The Year In programme can be taken between stage 2 and stage 3 or after stage 3 of an undergraduate programme, and will appear on your degree transcript and in the title of the degree awarded, letting employers know about the additional skills and knowledge you have gained. On Wednesday there are Year In information sessions in Keynes, Canterbury, and online. There’s a Year In introduction event followed by subject specific sessions, so you can find out which Year In programme might be right for you.

If you’re a postgrad researcher, consider joining this Yoga and Writing Retreat in Cornwallis East, Canterbury. It’s a mix of guided yoga sessions with opportunities for you to get on with your writing in a relaxed setting.

Thursday 1 February: Trip to Huckleberry Farm, Pottery Session and LGBTBQ+ art exhibition

Do you live in on-campus accommodation and love cute animals? Join the ResLife Team on a trip to Huckleberry Farm where you can meet micro-pigs, miniature donkeys, teddy sheep, pygmy goats and alpacas! Book through the Home At Halls app.

Give pottery a go with Kent Union. They’ll provide the clay and tools so you can make a decorative object of your choice.

LGBT+ History Month begins on Thursday so why not head over to the KMMS Pear’s Building and take a look at the LGBTQ+ In Lockdown exhibition which showcases the experiences of LGTBQ+ students during the Covid- pandemic. The exhibition is a powerful reflection on identity, isolation and time experienced by so many LGBTQIA people during the pandemic.

Friday 2 February: Tai Chi (Medway) and Kent Community Oasis Garden volunteering

Give Tai Chi a go at The Hub and immerse yourself in the graceful and flowing movements of this ancient Chinese martial art, designed to promote harmony between mind, body, and spirit. Discover free Medway Move activities.

Consider volunteering at the Kent Community Oasis Garden (Kent COG), located near the end of Park Wood. Kent COG is a collection of students, staff and community members working to create a sustainability hub centred around growing food. Open sessions are Wednesdays and Fridays (10:00-14:00).

See more student events.

Opportunities

  • If you’re a student looking to make strides in your academic and career goals, sign up for the Career Mentoring Scheme, which partners students with alumni who work in their chosen industry or sector.
  • Enter the Kent CyberAnything competition for your chance to win cash prizes. Tell a story through a photo, short video, essay, poem (or other media form) about living, learning and connecting in the cyber or cyber-physical world in the past, at present, and/or in the future.
  • Apply for i-teams – an innovative programme that allows Kent students to work in interdisciplinary teams, solving real-world problems and gaining valuable experience in a variety of fields. Apply by 23:59 on Monday 29 January.

See more student opportunities.

Colourful laptop screen closing

Kent CyberAnything competition (cash prizes available!)

Together with KMCC (Kent & Medway Cyber Cluster) and KMCS3 (Kent & Medway Cyber Security Student Society), iCSS, is co-organising a CyberAnything Competition.

We increasingly rely upon digital, networked and smart technologies such as mobile devices and the internet to live our lives. Or we can say that we are living in the Internet of Everything (IoE), a cyber-physical world where so many hardware devices, software systems, physical things, systems and people are now interconnected. However, the cyber elements of our lives and how security, privacy and safety of such elements affect our lives are not always visible or overlooked, and sometimes intentionally concealed. They are often so entrenched in our way of being that we overlook our reliance upon them until they stop functioning, e.g., when a power cut, server downtime or an empty battery hits us.

How to enter

This competition welcomes anything that is cyber-related in our daily lives. You can use your camera or other image-capturing device to capture a moment as a photo or a short video, or create a drawing, or prepare an infographic such as a flyer or a PowerPoint slide, or write an essay or even a poem, or make a 3-D printed object or a hand-crafted artefact, etc., which can tell a story about living, learning and connecting in the cyber or cyber-physical world in the past, at present, and/or in the future. You are also welcome to try generative AI for creating your submission, but in this case please describe which generative AI tool(s) were used and how you used it/them, e.g., prompt(s) you used to create the submission. Download competition flyer.

The deadline for submission is Friday 1 March 2024 23:59. We plan to announce the prize winners in late March 2024.

Who can enter

Submitted artefacts will be judged anonymously by a judging panel for the following prizes in the following four categories:

  • Current staff of the University of Kent
  • Current students of the University of Kent
  • Alumni of the University of Kent, and
  • Other UK residents who have never been affiliated with the University of Kent.

Cash prizes

  • 4 Best Overall Prizes (one per category, £80 Amazon e-voucher per prize),
  • 4 Most Creative Prizes (one per category, £80 Amazon e-voucher per prize), and
  • 8 Runner-Up Prizes (two per category; £20 Amazon e-voucher per prize).

Find out more and submit your entry.

Students high-fiving at welcome fair

Events roundup: 22-28 January

Find out what’s on this week:

Monday 22 January: Career and application support

Thinking about finding a part-time job? Come along to this online session to find out what steps you can take to secure a part time role.

Making applications to graduate schemes, job roles, postgraduate study? Come to this session in Pilkington Building, Medway, to discover how to create and submit engaging and targeted applications.

Tuesday 23 January: The Big Fair and Income Office drop-in (Medway)

Discover sports, societies and volunteering opportunities at Kent Union’s Big Fair on Tuesday in the Main Hall, Sports Centre. You can also find out more about off-campus accommodation for next year and part-time jobs at Kent Union.

Are you having trouble paying your fees? On Tuesday there is a drop-in session for Medway students to meet with the Income Office on Medway campus and discuss any issue with payment of fees.

Wednesday 24 January: Medway Welcome Fair and January Global Hangout

Explore a diverse array of student societies, local services and campus resources at the Medway Welcome Fair on Wednesday. There will also be interactive booths and giveaways.

Join us for our January Global Hangout in Eliot Dining Hall (*location changed*) on Wednesday afternoon. Meet new friends from across the University and enjoy fun activities and free refreshments in a relaxed atmosphere.

Thursday 25 January: Multicultural Fashion Show (Medway)

Celebrating diversity, creativity, and the beauty of cultural expression, the Multicultural Fashion Show at the Hub showcases the rich tapestry of fashion from around the globe. Students are invited to take part by walking down the runway or being a spectator.

Friday 26 January: Welcome Back Chill Out Zone and Coping with Nerves and Anxiety for Presentations and Interviews

Join us in the Welcome Back Chill Out Zone in Darwin Conference Suite for some pizza, games and crafts to welcome back students from across Divisions. Open to all students.

Do you find presentations and interviews anxiety inducing? In this supportive and practical session, you will learn techniques based on mindfulness tools to conquer nerves and anxiety before and during presentations and interviews.

Saturday 27 January: Carbon Literacy Certification Training (Medway)

Develop your knowledge of climate change and addressing the worldwide climate crisis by taking accredited Carbon Literacy Training at Medway campus. The training is open and free to all students and on successful completion of the course you will receive official carbon literate certification from the carbon literacy Project.

See more student events.

Reminders:

 

 

Laptop loan service

Laptop loans service expanded and enhanced

12 hour laptop loans now available to use on campus.

You can now borrow all Templeman Library laptops for up to 12 hours; and laptops from the self-service cabinet in the Library Café can be borrowed and used across the Canterbury campus. Chargers are available to borrow from the Welcome Desk, along with laptop bags if you’re using it outside the Library.

We’ve extended the loan period and expanded the places where the laptops can be used in response to student feedback, enhancing this popular service to better support your study needs #YourUniYourSay

Campus laptops: for use across campus

  • Laptops from the self-service cabinet in the Library Café can be borrowed and used across the Canterbury campus.

Library laptops: for Library use only

  • Laptops from the self-service cabinet on Floor 2, Block C, are restricted for use in the Templeman Library only.

Loan chargers and laptop bags

  • Chargers are available for loan from the Welcome Desk, along with laptop bags if you’re using it outside the Library.

How loan laptops work

  1. Borrow loan laptops:
    • For campus use: from laptop cabinet in the Café area (Ground floor, Block B)
    • For Library use only: from laptop cabinet on Floor 2, Block C.
  2. Use it: for up to 12 hours – the laptop works with wired and Bluetooth headphones.
    • Need a charger or laptop bag? Pick one up from the Welcome Desk.
  3. Save your files: to your University OneDrive so you can easily access them.
  4. Return it: take it back to the cabinet and plug it in. If you have borrowed a charger and / or laptop bag as well, please return them to the Welcome Desk.

Any problems? Please take the laptop to IT & Library Support in Nexus, Ground Floor, Block D, so we can sort it out.

What’s included

  • All Office 365 tools
  • Internet access and webcam
  • Accessibility apps
  • Citation tools

What’s not provided

  • Course-specific software
  • Laptop accessories (eg mouse)
  • Speakers (they’re disabled)

The small print

  • Laptops loaned from the Café self-service cabinet can be used across the Canterbury campus.
  • Laptops loaned from the cabinet on Floor 2 are still restricted for use in the Templeman Library only.
  • If you don’t return the laptop at the end of the 12 hour loan period, there won’t be a fine – but you won’t be able to borrow any other items until you do!
  • If you lose the laptop, we will charge you for the replacement costs.

Please follow our laptop loans conditions of use and Library and IT regulations when using them.

Find out more

See our Laptop loans guide.

Two students talking sat at bench

How can universities support your mental health? Tell us today and win a Smart Watch!

We want to ask you a few questions about your time at university, your experience with student services and/or your experiences at work. In this study, we will explore sensitive topics such as loneliness and mental health challenges you may be experiencing.

The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of student mental health and inform university student services and graduate employers on how they can support you. Share your thoughts today and help us enhance the student experience for you and your peers.

Start the survey now!

Students sitting round table chatting

Events roundup: 15-20 January

Welcome to the start of the Spring Term! And a warm welcome to all our new students who have joined us in January.

Campus Shuttle update: From 15 January, a new provider, Zeelo, is running our Campus Shuttle service between the Canterbury and Medway campuses. The timetable isn’t changing but it will take some time to set up the new booking system. So for now, you just need to show your KentOne card to the driver to use the Campus Shuttle. There is no need to book.

Find out what’s on this week:

Monday 15 January: CV and cover letter help (Medway)

Find out the essentials for CVs and cover letters, including trends, hints and tips.

Tuesday 16 January: Speed Friending (Medway) and learn more about volunteering

Ready to expand your social circle? The students’ unions at Medway are running a Speed Friending event where you engage in quick, fun conversations, share stories and discover common interests.

Want to start volunteering in 2024? Come along to this online session by the Careers and Employability Service who explore where you can find volunteering opportunities.

Thursday 17 January: Managing your time effectively and opportunities to get creative

Do you want to improve your time management this year? Join this online Study Plus session to find out all about how to manage your time efficiently, including common barriers to good time management and building a practical plan specific to your needs.

If you’re feeling creative, join the ResLife Ambassadors in Keynes for a relaxing mindfulness colouring and painting session. Tea and coffee will also be provided.

Or if you’re at Medway, you can go to a Crafternoon at The Hub and create dreamcatchers, personalised coasters and more.

Friday 18 January: Live music at Woody’s and UV Games (Medway)

Grab your racquet or paddle and step into a world of UV-lit fun at The Hub, with UV games including table tennis and badminton.

On Friday evening, head to Woody’s for their live music night, hosted by the Live Music Society, showcasing some of the best student and local bands.

Saturday 19 January: Wildwood trip

On Saturday you can join ResLife Ambassadors Ben and Rebecca for a trip to Wildwood Kent, where you can come nose-to-nose with more than 200 British animals in natural enclosures, set in 40 acres of ancient woodland.

Student opportunities

Woman looking at painting in gallery

20% off Student Art Pass

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