Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Free wellbeing activities at Canterbury

To help you prepare for the exam period, we have brought lots of ideas for you together in one place so you can be thinking about incorporating some activities that make you feel good during stressful times.

Are you ready to #TrySomethingNewForFree? We will have a huge variety of inspiration at #EnhanceYourWellbeing2020 – come and discover some fun and practical ways to improve your wellbeing and get some balance in your life.

Drop in activities in Keynes Atrium

Come along to Keynes Atrium on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 February 12.00-14.00 for information stalls, craft activities, games, dog therapy, free massages, free haircuts and a lot more! Free healthy snacks will be available so come and grab some fuel as you go through Keynes #LoveYourMindLoveYourBody.

Many societies like Mindsoc, UKC Krishna Consciousness Society, BEAT and Coppafeel will be talking about what they do and how you can get involved. You can talk to Kent Sport about the initiatives they run to help people try new activities, or you can get stuck in and start rowing, and then have a taster massage to relax.

There will be a variety of craft and artistic activity that you can sit down and have a go at for as long or as little as you like, as well as games and information on accessing support whenever you need it during your studies.

Find out about various types of staff and student led groups, from neurodiversity, to the Wellbeing Café, which is every Monday from 15.30-16.45 in Turing Hut 8 – a place to have a free hot drink and chat, and get involved in activities linked to nature and wellbeing.

Free workshops by our University chefs

There are some free workshops by our own University chefs taking place throughout February and March. These workshops include breadmaking, mince beef/quorn mince three ways and making decadent deserts.

If you fancy learning some new skills in the kitchen, make sure you book one of the limited places online for cooking workshops.

City centre wellbeing activities

Do you also know that there are lots of opportunities to enhance your wellbeing for free in the city centre?

Take a study break and go down to the Beaney Institute of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury’s city library which is free for all to access and includes both a large selection in the lending library, and 3 floors of art galleries. On Monday 2 March there will be an exclusive mindfulness tour of the Beaney for University of Kent students from 16.00-17.00, limited spaces can be booked online for the Beaney tour.

Waterstones in Rose Lane, Canterbury, is also hosting two wonderful wellbeing events, An evening of storytelling and dance on Thursday 27 February from 18.30-20.30 and Universities’ Mental Health & Wellbeing Evening on Thursday 5 March 18.00-21.00 where students can get 20% off any books. The café will be open, there will be free snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, with live music and taster sessions of guided meditation practice on the top floor.

See the full programme of events. For the latest information and booking links, or to tell us your thoughts and ideas on Wellbeing activity, please follow @UniKentSSW on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Postgraduate Open Day, 22 Feb

Did you know that Kent undergrads moving on to postgrad study are eligible for special scholarships and discounts?

Book now for the Postgraduate Open Event to find out more about Kent’s career-focused Master’s and PhD programmes, £12m scholarship fund and to meet the Dean of the Graduate School for tea and cake.

The Postgraduate Open Day is Saturday 22 February, 10.00-14.00 in Darwin College.

Book your place now

Industrial action update

Following the October 2019 ballot of its members on pay and conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced another period of national strike action. At Kent, this is due to begin on 24 February 2020 and will last 14 days, concluding on 17 March 2020. The planned strike days are:

Week 1: Monday 24 February to Wednesday 26 February (3 days)
Week 2: Monday 2 March to Thursday 5 March (4 days)
Week 3: Monday 9 March to Friday 13 March (5 days)
Week 4: Monday 16 March to Tuesday 17 March (2 days)

We have updated our student website containing information about the industrial action that is taking place this academic year, a list of FAQs and the support available to you. Hopefully this will answer some of your questions and we will be regularly adding more information over the next few weeks.

Please be assured that your education is our utmost priority at this time. We are continuing to do all we can to minimise disruption and the impact of the industrial action on those of you that are affected.

We will continue to keep you informed of further developments via the Student Guide, @unikent on Twitter and email when necessary. You can also speak with the staff in your academic school who will be able to provide information specific to your course.

Please continue to attend all your scheduled teaching during this time.

Sustainable Development Goals – fortnight of activities

As part of international activity on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), members from the University Sustainability team, Kent Union and colleagues from across the University are hosting a fortnight of activities beginning on Friday 14 February.

There is something for everyone from open lectures, outdoor activities, community events and student led actions that focus on climate and ecological sustainability. See the full timetable.

This week, University of Kent students join other university and school students from the city for Youth Strike 4 Climate on Friday 14 February demanding climate action. The following day, University of Kent students will facilitate Mini-Citizens’ Assemblies for all-age participants as part of the Culture Declares Emergency family day at the Gulbenkian.

These events are aimed to help the community discuss the tough choices that are necessary to effectively move away from fossil-fuelled to sustainable society and lifestyles and parallels the national Climate Assembly UK that is currently underway.

Next week’s activity will be focused around the Sustainable Development Goals Teach-In, an NUS-coordinated campaign where universities across the UK aim to make links to the SDGs within their taught courses during the week of the 17- 21 February 2020.

For more information about the SDG teach-In please visit our Sustainability Education web pages.

Anyone who takes part in the SDG Teach-In or is just interested in finding out more about the SDGs is welcome to join us for our Sustainable Development Goals Lunch to talk to operational and academic staff from across the University and beyond about sustainability over a fantastic bespoke Sustainable lunch. The lunch takes place Tuesday 25 February, 12.00 – 14.00 in Keynes Teaching Foyer.

We’re planning a fantastic buffet including a delicious Butternut Squash and Sweet potato curry with all the trimmings and places are limited so please email sustainabilty@kent.ac.uk to let us know you will be coming.

LGBTQ+ History month events

February marks LGBTQ+ History Month, with the aim to promote equality and diversity. At Kent, the University and Union are running lots of events throughout the month.

Events include:

-LGBT Love Letters Exhibitions
-LGBT History Month reading lists
-How to be an effective ally: staff workshop
-LGBTQ+ Student Network open house
-Show debate: “The Commercialisation of Pride”
-1920s cabaret night at Woody’s

See the full programme of events (pdf).

Join the community

We have staff and student LGBTQ+ groups that you are welcome to join if you work or study at Kent. These include the Kent Union LGBTQ+ Student Network and LGBT+ Society for students and also the LGBT+ Staff Network.

Volunteering Opportunities Fair 2020, 4 Feb

Volunteering is a great way to gain skills and experience to add to your CV whilst giving back to the community.

Come along to the Volunteering Opportunities Fair 2020 Tuesday 4 February 12.00-15.00 in Keynes Atrium.

This is a chance to meet with the following organisations offering local opportunities to get involved:

-Alzheimers Society
-British Red Cross
-Canterbury and District Early Years project
-Canterbury Homeless Outreach
-Demelza
-East Kent Mencap
-KAB
-Kent Marrow
-Kent Uni Blood Team
-KSSCRC
-League of Friends
-Porchlight
-Rethink Canterbury
-Strode Park Foundation
-Time to Give KCC

Find out more information about the event or learn more about our new volunteer scheme and how you can log your hours.

Free careers events- careers fairs, workshops and advice

The Careers and Employability Services (CES) are holding a huge number of events on a range of topics such as:

-Succeeding in applications
-Interview and Assessment Centres Q&A
-Speed Interviewing events
-Recruitment Agencies & Jobs Boards Fair
-LinkedIn Profiles
-How to talk to employers
-Professionalism and Work Etiquette
-The Kent Volunteer Scheme at Medway
-Finding inclusive employers (Disability/LGBTQ+ friendly)
-Talking about your disability to employers
-Competency and strength based interviews
-Race, Sexuality & Disability in Business
-Career Management
-Career Management for mature students and career changers
-The Hidden Job Market
-Tips on finding summer internships and work experience
-How to network
-Developing resilience in the recruitment process
-Meet the employer events
-Volunteering Opportunities Fair

To take advantage of these free events, see the Careers events calendar, or if you are in your final year of an undergraduate programme, you can see the Finalists events calendar and filter by ‘Careers’ to see targeted career events to prepare you for life after University.

Brexit updates and events

The 31 January will see the UK leaving the European Union. This is a historically significant moment and it will change the political relationship between the UK and our European partners. It will shape a future new relationship with Europe.

The University recognises this moment and its impact on colleagues and students. We understand this day will create many different emotions and will mean different things for each individual.

As a university community, we will continue to strive for international co-operation in Europe and around the globe for the enhancement of knowledge and the enrichment of the student experience. We are proud of our European links and our internationally diverse student and staff community from Europe and around the world.

Events on the day

In recognition of this moment, there are two events on Friday 31 January on the Canterbury campus that are open to both students and staff:

10.00-11.00 European solidarity march
Join Kent Union starting at University Plaza (next to campus shops). The march will finish at Woolf College. More details about the march are on Facebook.
11.00-12.00 University Brexit Information event, Woolf Lecture Theatre 1
Hosted by the Dean for Europe, this event will include information on our post-Brexit strategy, practical information on Brexit-related issues including settlement status and Erasmus, a Q&A session and an opportunity to come together and share thoughts as a University community. The event will be live-streamed to Medway and our European centres in Brussels, Paris and Rome. If you wish to come to join the Canterbury event or the Medway live-stream, please book ahead via Eventbrite.
- Book now for Canterbury
- Book now for Medway

Further information and support

For updates, information and advice on what support and assistance is available, see our Brexit information pages for students and staff.

Examination and assessment SDS check now open

The Examination and Assessment Check for 2020 exams is now open.

Please check your details are correct for the 2020 exam period and ensure you are:

Registered for the correct modules
Assessed as expected (ie coursework and/or exam)

To do this log on to SDS, and select Registration.

Then select Examination and Assessment Check and check through your details.

You will then need to confirm if your modules are correct.

If there is a problem you will be taken to a new screen, please let us know what the issues are by submitting your changes. (Note: assessed refers to coursework and examined refers to exams).

Closing: Wednesday 26 February, 16.00.

If you have any questions please contact us exams@kent.ac.uk

www.kent.ac.uk/exams

New volunteering scheme launched for students

The Kent Volunteering Scheme has now launched through the Careers and Employability Service (CES). It has been designed to recognise and support the hard-work University of Kent students do when volunteering, and to help them to understand and articulate their skills development from their volunteering activity.

The Scheme runs this year from 1 May 2019 to 15 May 2020, so students can log hours previously volunteered. Hours are kept track of so students have the opportunity to progress through the different levels of the Scheme, starting at just 10 hours and increasing to 1,000+ hours.

After 50 hours are logged, students will receive support in benchmarking the skills they have acquired, ensuring their experience is positively reflected to potential future employers. To utilise the Kent Volunteering Scheme, simply go online and fill out the short form. CES will keep track of your progress and contact you at the relevant stages of the scheme. If you have any queries, please email studentvolunteering@kent.ac.uk.