Stuck in your room and need to get out, but nobody is around to go for a walk? We can put you in touch with a walking buddy. This is a great opportunity to get out, meet another student and energise your mind! Find a reason to leave your accommodation, get outside and enjoy the fresh air with someone else.

Or you might like to have a virtual coffee or tea (or other beverage!) break with someone else but find that your usual network isn’t available. We’ll randomly match you with another student who’s looking for a coffee break buddy and email you their contact details so you can get in touch to arrange when to virtually meet.

If you’d like to take part and find a buddy, simply email wellbeingevents@kent.ac.uk from your Kent email address giving your mobile number and saying that you’d like to be matched for a Walking Buddy or Just Coffee and stating which campus (Canterbury or Medway) by midday on Friday, and we’ll randomly match you with another student to meet the following week.

For more information and to sign up, check out the  Student Support and Wellbeing Events Calendar.

Please note: From 5 January 2021, England has entered a third national lockdown. You are able to meet with one other person from another household in a public place for exercise. Make you maintain social distancing (stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household.)

Canterbury campus facilities

From 11 January 2021, due to current national restrictions, all catering outlets, except for Rutherford Dining Hall, are closed until further notice.

For those students with Flex credits and those living in Keynes College and Becket Court with a Bed & Bistro catering package, all meals will be served in Rutherford Dining Hall until further notice.

You can find the opening hours for Rutherford here.

The Library Café is closed until further notice.

All sport and fitness facilities (with the exception of our Physiotherapy Clinic) will be temporarily closed until further notice.

The main Kent Union Plaza Co-op will stay closed until further notice, with the Park Wood Co-op remaining open to serve those still on site. You can see the availability of all the Kent Union services on their website.

Templeman Library opening hours

From Monday 11 January, Templeman Library’s new opening hours will be:

Mon – Fri 10.00 – 16.00
Sat -Sun closed

Please note that you now don’t need to renew or return any books, including document deliveries, till Friday 26 February inclusive.

See library and IT services COVID-19 updates.

Medway campus facilities 

Drill Hall library will be open at the following hours:

Monday to Friday – 9:00 to 19:00
Saturday and Sunday – 9:00 to 17:00

The sports facilities are closed until further notice.

Pilkington is open between 8:00 to 16:00 for food and drink.

We have put together some tips that help you to study effectively remotely.

Check out support available

Make sure you check out our online study support including the Online Learning at Kent: A Guide to Successful Study Online and you can speak to an adviser from the Student Learning Advisory Service. 

Get into a routine and stick to it

Work out when you are most productive – are you a morning bird, afternoon person or are you a night owl?

Find your perfect spot

As draconian as it sounds, we are much more productive when sitting at a desk, so try and study there. If you are fortunate to have access to a quiet lounge or kitchen space then make use of that.

Get rid of all your distractions and that means your phone

The phone is by far the biggest time killer. I would advise that you turn off all your settings so you are not disturbed. If you find your phone too much of a temptation then just either switch it off or leave it in another room.

Create a study schedule

Set specific times for studying and for breaks. Start out doing periods of 30 minutes to study and five minutes for a break. When you know you have a break coming up, you will find it easier to focus on your studying. As you get used to this schedule, increase the study times to 45 and then 60 minutes. You could also try the Pomodoro technique. 25 minute intervals of work followed by a break.

Meditation

Recent studies show that meditating before you study can improve your reading comprehension, memory, concentration, stress and anxiety. There are some great apps that help you to meditate such as Headspace.

Noisy housemates

If you are lucky to have noise cancelling headphones, these can work like a dream. Or another idea is to work out when your house is the most noisy and quiet and organise your working hours around those times. If neither of these work then you might have to call a house meeting.

Tomorrow we are hosting a Thanksgiving celebration web hangout event at 15:00. It will be a chance to meet new students, take part in fun activities and share stories and experiences. There will be a quiz, Thanksgiving message board and a presentation.

All students are welcome to join this fun and informal event.

The link to sign up is here.

You will be emailed a Zoom link prior to the event.

The Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries membership are offering Kent students FREE membership to the Creative Industries Federation (CIF).

The Creative Industries Federation is the membership body which represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries. Through their unique network of creative organisations, influential policy and advocacy work and extensive, UK-wide events programme they support and celebrate the work of their members.

Membership to the CIF will give you the following benefits:

• Exclusive access to their carefully curated selection of launch resources that provide
 insight into the industry
• Practical guidance and tips to help advance your career
• Access to all the best platforms you can use to connect to the industry and to your peers
• 
Extensive details of the creative opportunities and job boards out there to fulfil your creative potential
• Exclusive access to parts of their busy events schedule, including recorded content from the landmark November 2020 Creative Coalition festival.

You can register on the online student membership portal, using your university email address.