Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Students lead tree planting event on campus

Students from the Environmental Conservation Sustainability Society (ESC Soc) brought together students and staff from across the University to plant 50 new native trees on campus.

The UK Committee for Climate Change has called for dramatic increases in woodland creation as part of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The Woodland Trust are calling on all areas of society to participate as part of their ‘Big Climate Fightback’ campaign and ESC Soc thought what better place to plant trees than on our wonderful green campus.

Supported by the University’s Landscape and Grounds team from the Estates Department, ESC Society secured 50 free trees from The Conservation Volunteers ‘I Dig Trees’ fund, and a piece of land that borders Bluebell wood on the Canterbury campus for the trees to be situated.

On Wednesday 4 December volunteers came together to plant the trees on a beautiful winter’s afternoon. The new trees, once established, will be an extension of Bluebell wood providing more cover for the numerous bird species that feed and nest in that area, such as Great Tits, Wrens, Nut Hatches and Tree Creepers.

Christmas movie night- Elf, 7 Dec

To get you into the festive spirit, the College Life Team would like to invite you to a special Christmas screening of the movie ‘Elf’.

Date: Saturday 7 December
Time: 15.30
Location: Rutherford Lecture Theatre 1

Join us and follow everyone’s favourite elf, a fully-grown human man named Buddy (played by the wonderful Will Ferrell), on his adventures to find his real dad after spending his whole life living in the North Pole.

There will be free pizza at the event too, so make sure you’re not late and grab a slice before we begin. All attendees will also be entered into a free raffle for the chance to win one of several prizes, including:

1st prize: £40 Amazon Voucher
2nd prize: Google Dot
3rd prize: £20 Just Eat voucher
PLUS 4x £5 vouchers at Cafe Nero to be won!

Look out for your College Life Team representatives advertising the event later on in the week around campus.

Postgraduate Information Evening, 5 December

You are invited to our Postgraduate Information Event on Thursday 5 December 2019, 17.00-19.00.

This informal event is a great way to find out more about Kent’s wide range of programmes for personal or career development, £12m Postgraduate Scholarship fund, including discounts for Kent graduates, and welcoming and supportive postgraduate community.

You could be eligible for either £1000 Graduate School Scholarship or the 10% loyalty discount. Find out more about postgraduate scholarships.

The event will cover programmes at all our locations in the UK and Europe. The Dean of the Graduate School, Professor Paul Allain, and the Scholarships team will be giving talks

Book your place now

Financial support available

Kent Financial Support Package

The Kent Financial Support Package (KFSP) 2019/20 is a financial support package of £4,500 for eligible undergraduate students across three stages of full-time study. Eligible students studying a full time four year undergraduate programme with a sandwich year or an integrated Masters year will receive a further cash bursary of £1,500.

All new full-time students should now have been automatically assessed for the KFSP. Students who have not received a letter confirming eligibility for the KFSP should contact the Financial Aid Office. Some students may need to make a separate application.

New part-time students starting in the academic year 2019/20 may be eligible for a pro rata cash bursary in each year of study as part of the KFSP. Part-time students will need to make an application.

Further information on KFSP

Access to Learning Fund

The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) provides financial assistance to UK students so they can access and remain in higher education, particularly those students who need financial help to meet extra costs that cannot be met from other sources of support.

The amount will depend on your circumstances and how many applications the fund receives.

Further information on ALF

Kent Emergency Student Loan

The University can lend students who are in financial difficulty up to £240 to help with their immediate essential living costs, such as food and essential travel.

Kent Emergency Student Loans (KESL) are available to all undergraduate and postgraduate, Home, EU or International, full-time or part-time students, who find themselves in temporary financial difficulties. Any loan would need to be repaid within 3 months.

Further information on KESL

Learn more about the other financial support packages available. If you need more help on your funding and financial support options, email financialaid@kent.ac.uk or call 01227 823851/824876/823488.

THE Award win for Kent’s Outstanding Library Team

The University has won the Outstanding Library Team category of the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2019.

This award ‘recognises outstanding work in library and information-services departments, in particular with regards to collaboration with other administrative and academic departments to enhance the team’s delivery, and the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors’.

The Library Team is part of part of Information Services and its collaboration with colleagues from a range of Schools and departments on the University’s accessibility project OPERA and its Student Success Project contributed significantly towards its success. Its Collection Engagement Strategy, through which it connects with local communities, alumni and other libraries, and the Kent Book Club – created alongside Kent Union for students who want to discover new books and resources outside of their academic studies – also played an important part.

The judges remarked on the team’s ‘inventive collaboration’ and its ‘particularly noteworthy’ innovation in fostering co-created reading lists. They said the work was an example of ‘collaborative working in the digital and physical environment’ that sought to ‘transform’ the student experience by building inclusivity and diversity into learning and research.

Kent’s Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Karen Cox said: ‘On behalf of all our students and staffI would like to congratulate the team on winning this award. The work of Library colleagues is inspiring and the team should be rightly proud of this tremendous achievement.’

John Sotillo, Director of Information Services, added: ‘I am absolutely delighted that the professionalism, dedication and enthusiasm of our staff has been recognised with this prestigious award. I would like to thank everyone who has helped make our Library services one of the best in the UK. Many congratulations to all.’

Information Services was also a recent finalist at the Society of College, National and University Libraries – Library Design Awards for its work to create the outstanding Templeman Library.

Kent has previously won THE awards in the category Outstanding Support for Students; once for the Student Success Project and once for OPERA.

Free TV production course over winter break

If you are staying in Canterbury or Medway during the winter break, why not have a go at TV Production (KE200) which runs from 16-19 December?

You can still sign up for KE194 Business Start-Up Journey, which is series of standalone workshops continuing in the spring term and which allows you to choose the sessions that interest you the most.

Next term you can choose from KE122 Digital Photography or KE197 Advanced Photography, KE155 Introduction to Sustainability, KE178 IELTS English Exam Preparation, KE198 Career Toolkit and more.

For further details, see the Study Plus website and search for Study Plus workshops in SDS.

Have you registered to vote yet? A general election is coming! Don’t miss the chance to register and have your say in the future of our country.

For Canterbury students, Canterbury city council have provided a letter to students about registering to vote, but no matter what campus you are on, the instructions below will provide some information about your opportunity to register to vote.

When do I need to register by?

Midnight Tuesday 26 November.

Am I eligible to vote?

You can register to vote in the General Election if you will be aged 18 or over on the day of the election, and you are a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen.

How do I register to vote?

You can register online to vote. It only takes a few minutes.

As part of the registration process, you will be asked to provide your National Insurance number. If you do not have one, you can select ‘I can’t provide a National Insurance number’ and enter ‘student’ for the reason.

Can I register to vote at my term-time and home address?

You may be able to register to vote at both your term-time and home address, however you can only vote once. It is illegal to vote more than once in a general election.

When is the General Election?

Thursday 12 December 2019. Term ends the following day, Friday 13 December 2019.

What should I do if I will not be around on the day of the General Election?

If you will not be around to vote on Thursday 12 December, you can apply for a postal vote.

Who can I contact for more information?

You can contact your local Electoral Registration Office to find out if you’re already registered to vote, or for more information.

Queen’s Anniversary Prize for the work of the DICE

The University has been awarded a highly prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the work of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE). The official announcement took place at St James’s Palace on Thursday 21 November 2019.

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are awarded, within the honours system, for exceptional contributions by institutions in the higher and further education sectors and will be presented by The Queen at Buckingham Palace on 20 February 2020.

Since its foundation, DICE has been a leader in its field, and instrumental in supporting applied research and capacity building in this area. It is the largest UK higher education institute to undertake this work, offering interdisciplinary undergraduate and postgraduate courses in wildlife conservation. To date, over 1000 conservationists from over a 100 countries have trained with DICE.

Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University, said: ‘I am absolutely delighted that DICE should receive such an accolade. It is a much-deserved tribute to the exceptional work of its students, staff and alumni and the outstanding contribution they make to global conservation.’

Professor Bob Smith, Director of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, said: ‘We are very honoured to receive such a prestigious award. The Prize acknowledges the hard work that has taken place over the last 30 years, and will support our future endeavours as we seek to grow our impact across the globe.’

DICE leads projects in over 50 countries, including research on human wellbeing and nature, human-elephant conflict, oil palm deforestation, online illegal trade in protected species, national park planning and ecotourism projects and the mapping of biodiversity through eDNA. This work is supported by funding from a range of sources including NERC, Natural England, the government’s Darwin Initiative and the Global Challenges Research Fund, part of the UK’s official development assistance.

This award is the third Queen’s Anniversary Prize to be presented to the University, with previous awards recognising the work of the Kent Law Clinic and the Tizard Centre.

International Men’s Day event – 19 November

It is a common feature of gender equality events that most of the attendees are women so we often miss out on the male voice when discussing issues that affect us all such as work-life balance, wellbeing and workplace culture.

Last year the Athena SWAN team addressed this by surveying* our male colleagues on their experience of gender equality in the workplace.

This year we are using the occasion of International Men’s Day to hold a panel and audience discussion, on the key themes arising from the survey:

Does it feel that gender equality initiatives are targeted only at women?
Is there a macho culture that prevents an inclusive one?
What is it like being a Dad at the University?

The event is being held in Grimond Lecture Theatre 3, Tuesday 19 November. Teas, coffees and afternoon treats from 14.30 and discussion 15.00-16.00.

Everyone is welcome! Book your place and pass on the details to any colleagues you think may be interested.

*You can read more about the responses to our gender equality surveys on our Equality Matters blog.

Disability History Month exhibition: Mike Oliver

UK Disability History Month celebrations at Kent

As part of UK Disability History Month 2019, we are hosting an exhibition in Keynes College about Mike Oliver, Kent alumnus and former lecturer, who was a key figure in the movement to secure equal rights for disabled people. The exhibition launch event will take place on Tuesday 26 November at 18.00 and is free to attend – book online via Eventbrite. It will showcase extracts of his work and personal affects kindly lent by Oliver’s widow, Joy Oliver, as well as the ways in which the University and Kent Union are trying to improve accessibility now.

The theme for this year’s Disability History Month is Disability: Leadership, Resistance and Culture. We will be asking our Kent community to engage with the exhibition and reflect on what our current culture and barriers might be, and what we can do individually and collectively to address these.

Who was Professor Mike Oliver?

Oliver studied for an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from 1972 to 1975, at a time when the campus was widely inaccessible for a wheelchair-user. Mike Oliver completed his PhD in Sociology at Kent in 1979, and immediately moved to a position as Course Director at Kent for a new Masters programme aimed at Social Work professionals working with disabled people, which is believed to be the first postgraduate course in what later became known as Disability Studies.

Professor Oliver’s work examined the assumptions that disability was a medical problem, and shifted the focus away from illness and impairment and toward the allocation of resources. The medicalised model had created a label for disabled people as tragic victims, but Oliver’s assertion was that personal difficulties could be addressed as public issues, an insight that led him to develop the Social Model of Disability. The problem of gaining entry to a classroom is not because someone uses a wheelchair, but when that classroom is upstairs…a problem exists. Remove the stairs, and you remove the problem; this is the essence of the Social Model.

The Social Model of Disability has been widely adopted as the best practice model for public institutions, and is the best known theory of disability practice. As a disability activist he campaigned for the outlawing of discrimination against disabled people (Disability Discrimination Act 1995).

In 2018, Kent approached Mike Oliver to create an autobiographical film of his life, and his association with the University of Kent, ‘Kicking Down the Doors: From Borstal Boy to University Professor’, which premiered at Darwin Conference Suite during UK Disability History Month in November 2018. The film continues to receive very positive feedback and has been viewed over 3,800 times.

New Kent Student Award

The Kent Student Awards, which seek to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contribution students make to the Kent student experience, will launch a new award for 2020: The Mike Oliver Award for Improving Accessibility. We hope that the next generation of staff and students at Kent can pick up the mantle so inspiringly worn by Mike Oliver.