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Photo- “So much reading”- Julie Freiburghaus, overall winner.
The Colleges and Community Life Team along with the Resident Life Assistants are delighted to announce the winners of the College Life Photo competition, that invited students to be inspired and get creative by taking part in a themed, photo a day-style competition, based on first experiences of University Life and being away from home, especially for the first time, for many.
The team was blown away by the wonderful snapshots of exploration, creativity and sense of community & hopefulness, in a time where we all need it the most, among these extraordinary times. In total, 100 photos were submitted and so it was a very tough decision to decide the overall winners.
However, in First place, many congratulations to Julie Freiburghaus (Park Wood College), a second year Erasmus student.
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They especially loved Julie’s photos in the categories of: Let’s be Social, So much Reading, and Your College. Julie wins £80 cash prize and a chance to exhibit within the Colleges, come Spring Term 2021.
In Second place, came Jireh Mwebaze Akandwanaho (Keynes College), a second year Kent Law School student. Congratulations!
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The judges particularly loved Jireh’s photos in the categories of: Monochrome, Makes You Smile, and The Changing Seasons. Jireh wins £50 cash prize and a chance to exhibit within the Colleges, come Spring Term 2021.
And finally, in third place, well done to Reece Welsh (Park Wood College), a 1st year student studying English Language and Linguistics.
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The judges were really drawn to Reece’s photos in the categories of: Mindful Moment, Take in the View and Favourite Building.
Reece wins £30 cash prize and also a chance to exhibit his photographs within the Colleges, come Spring 2021.
Huge congratulations to the three overall winners; it was a real pleasure and delight receiving them.
Finally, to every student who entered, we hope the competition helped familiarise yourselves with your new College environment, while getting to know your spaces, meeting new faces and having some fun along the way of course! The judges were so impressed by the standard that all photographs entered will be part of the exhibition in Spring term 2021, where College prizes will also be announced, so watch this space.
For more information about the friendly Colleges and Community Life Team, what we offer and how we support students living on and off-campus, please check out our College website and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and the College Facebook pages (Darwin College, Eliot College, Keynes College, Rutherford College, Turing College, Park Wood College, Woolf College and Medway College) where you can meet and get in touch with the Team.
Join us for bitesize online training sessions that will help you hone your search skills and give you hints and tips on using some of the Digital Library resources
Make the most of Your Digital Library by joining our wonderful librarians to discover how to use some of the key library resources and brush up your search skills. Details of the sessions and the links to join them are below:
Your Digital Library: Search Skills 101
Boost your search results with these search strategy top tips and hacks.
Date: Monday 23 November 14.00.
Duration: 20 minutes
Link to session: Click here to join the session
Your Digital Library: Database Speed Dating Nexis
Learn how to use Nexis to search the collection of national and international newspapers.
Date: Tuesday 24 November 10.00
Duration: 15 mins
Link to session: Click here to join the session
Your Digital Library: Database Speed Dating BoB
Learn how to use Box of Broadcasts (BoB) which is the University’s streaming service. Find documentaries, television and radio news for your research.
Date: Wednesday 25 November 10.00.
Duration: 15 minutes
Link to session: Click here to join the session
Your Digital Library: Medical Resources for all
This short session introduces a range of resources such as e-books, journals or databases available for all Kent students and staff who are interested in medicine.
Date: Thursday 26 November 14.00.
Duration: 20 min
Link to session: Click here to join the session
As we begin the second week of lockdown, we hope you are keeping safe and well. This week we are focussing on career preparation, for those who are undecided about their next steps. Below you’ll find advice about how to explore careers and further study, identify your skills and update your CV!
When considering your future career, it can feel quite overwhelming. Luckily there are things you can do to narrow down your career choice:
Access careers resources.
Are you thinking about further study? There are many reasons why you may consider postgraduate study, and we can support you throughout the process. A few things to do when looking into further study are:
When exploring careers, it’s important to know what your strengths are, as this will help you to know the type of role which you would be suited to. To do this, you can:
It’s really important to keep your CV up to date, and relevant to the role and industry you are looking to work in. To do this, you can:
Keep updated on our social media pages:
Facebook; @UKCES
Instagram: @unikentces
Twitter: @unikentemploy
You can now see how busy the Templeman Library is at any time.
If you’re planning to come to the Library take a look at our new Library occupancy checker. You can also view this on our digital screens when you enter the Library building.
The Templeman Library is open 08.00 to 22.00 every day until the end of term. We can only allow a limited number of people into the Library and you may have to queue to enter when the building is very busy. The Library is generally quieter early morning, later in the day and at weekends – but you’ll be able to check that for yourselves now.
If the Library is busy and you don’t want to queue there are a number of alternative study spaces across campus for you to use. You can also access a huge range of high-quality digital resources online.
Join us for the next student WebChat about travel and vacation arrangements, Friday 20 November 11.30-12.30.
The WebChat is open to all Kent students and is a chance to get further clarification about how you can travel home for the winter vacation, or what to expect if you are staying on campus.
Staff from across the University and Kent Union will update you on the most recent UK government regulations, in particular sharing information about travelling home and vacation arrangements.
In addition, we will be sharing information relevant to all students and locations regarding resources available to you, to help you make the most of your study and free time, over the next few weeks.
We will email you the link before the event and remind you on the day. If you have any questions or queries please email: directorstudentservices@kent.ac.uk
From Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience
As outlined in my previous email on 13 November 2020, the Department for Education has set out guidance regarding a ‘Student Travel Window’ between 3-9 December 2020. This has been designed to enable you to travel home in time for Christmas, should you choose to do so, whilst enabling you and your loved ones to be as safe as possible.
We are holding a student WebChat about travel and vacation arrangements on 20 November 11.30-12.30 so do please join us if you have any questions.
The University will be stopping all face-to-face teaching by 4 December 2020 and will continue to provide teaching online until the end of the Autumn term (18 December 2020).
Your School will be able to provide further information concerning when your face-to-face teaching will stop. This information will also be available on your timetable on SDS.
Where possible, please do try to travel home in your recommended departure window. This will make it easier for you to depart campus or the city centre, and should make your onward journey run more smoothly. Moreover, you are likely to find travel more straightforward if you are able to avoid the weekend (5-6 December) We do appreciate however that some of you may already have made other plans or may be intending to remain with us for longer, which you are of course very welcome to do so.
Please bear in mind that transport routes and travel providers may be very busy during this time. Some may also be running a reduced service. Please plan your journey in plenty of time and ensure you pre-book tickets should you need them.
We are working with travel providers and transport companies to find out their planned services. We will provide you with information on this as soon as available.
Please do refer to our Christmas travel and vacation arrangements FAQs for the latest information.
With my best wishes,
Richard
Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience
All students are welcome to join this fun and informal, Diwali themed, Web Hangout.
This Web Hangout will take place on Monday 16 November, from 12.00-13.00.
We will be joined by Professor Nitin Arora, Happiness Proctor at Amnity University who will be giving a talk during our event.
Meet new students, take part in fun activities and share stories and experiences.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Being kind to yourself and others is something we should all practise and a message that’s even more important during the current pandemic and lockdown.
World Kindness Day is celebrated annually on 13 November and is marked by good deeds and pledging acts of kindness to make the world a better place. In the UK, Kindness Day UK was launched in 2010 and is organised by Kindness UK, a not-for-profit organisation.
Here are some suggestions on how you can show kindness during lockdown (and remember being kind is not just for the day, but always):
1.Organise a virtual get-together for someone who’s going through a rough time.
2.Follow some positive accounts on social media, for example @kindness.news, @wholesome_planet and @the_happy_broadcast on Instagram. If a post brightens your day, share it with others.
3.Drop a note to an elderly neighbour to ask them if they need anything. Help someone feel less isolated.
4.Allow yourself breaks from study and work. A screen break can also be beneficial.
5.Take time to check in with a friend you haven’t spoken to for a while.
6,Clear out your old clothes ready to take to a charity shop. If you don’t need it, give it!
7.Invite your friends list to ‘like’ the page of a local business to help it grow.
8.Offer to make your housemate a cup of tea or a meal.
9.Always say thank you. You could take the time to thank a teacher or lecturer who has helped you.
10.Take some time for yourself! Be sure to set some time aside in the week to do something you enjoy.
If you are looking to gain some work experience, don’t let lockdown deter you! We have put together a few ways in which you can gain experience and develop your employability skills, many of which can be done remotely.
Volunteering is a rewarding way to gain experience and develop your employability skills. There are numerous charities and organisations looking for help, including remotely. A few of these include:
You can also log your volunteering hours with the Kent Volunteering Scheme!
Virtual internships are flexible, online opportunities, where you can undertake remote experience. Many virtual internships exist in areas such as tech, marketing and social media roles. Some employers will give you project work to complete over a period of time, and you may have regular catch-ups with the employer.
Others are more flexible, allowing you to complete them in your own time, such as The Forage, which offers free open-access virtual internships. Great for building your commercial awareness! Opportunities include those in Law, Design, Tech, Investment Management, Banking and more!
There are lots of online courses you can explore, many of which are free. Whether that be something to complement your degree, or you want to learn something completely new, such as coding, a language or digital marketing. Find these on sites such as Coursera, The Open University and Future Learn.
We also offer free courses through Study Plus. We have a variety of online workshops, bookable online, covering a range of topics including: meditation, resilience, project management and photography!
You are not only learning something new, but having this on your CV will show your professional development outside of your degree.
View more resources for gaining experience, on our How to develop your skills at home guide.
You can also access the guide, plus all of our other resources and slides on our Moodle page: DP4450.