Following the success of last year’s virtual event, we are excited to announce that preparations are well underway for this year’s Staff Conference. We have received some wonderful contributions, so thank you to everyone who has submitted their ideas.

The Conference will take place on campus from 15-16 September 2022 with the theme ‘Building our University Community’. On the Friday afternoon, the event will close with an all-staff barbecue, and we hope it will top off two days spent celebrating our learning and enhancing our connections with one another.

Over the two days, we are planning numerous activities, both informative and informal. These might include:

• Seminars about projects, initiatives and activities across the University
• Talks on what it is like to work at Kent
• Discussions and workshops on important topics such as wellbeing and support
• Informal events which you can take part in, either individually or as a team
• Demonstrations or tours of facilities

The Conference allows us to mark the start of the academic year together, providing opportunities to learn about each other’s work and giving us a chance to reflect on how we all – whether academic, professional services, technical staff, or otherwise – contribute to achieving the University’s ambitions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

From Brenda Brunsdon |Occupational Health and Wellbeing Team Manager

We are going through a sustained period of very hot weather and the Met Office issued its first ever red warning for extreme heat last month. Such high temperatures present a challenge to our health and wellbeing. In addition to sun care awareness, it’s important to know the signs of when the heat or sun exposure can affect someone to the extent that they can become ill and be aware of what one can do to prevent becoming overheated in the first place.

OH issues advice on sun exposure every year. We refer people to the advice given by the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) and the NHS. BAD offers advice based on an easy to remember SOS theme: Save Our Skin:

• Slip On a Shirt
• Seek Out Shade
• Slap On Sunscreen

Accessing their website below provides additional information on sunscreen, skin advice for skin of colour, sun protection advice for children and babies, a Vitamin D factsheet and sun awareness leaflets.

The NHS also offers comprehensive advice on how to keep yourself safe in the sun; the link to their website is also below.

What can you do you do to stay safe in the heat? The UK Health Security Agency have the following advice:

• stay cool indoors by closing curtains on rooms that face the sun – and remember that it may be cooler outdoors than indoors
• drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol
• never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially infants, young children or animals
• check that fridges, freezers and fans are working properly
• try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm, when the UV rays are strongest
• walk in the shade, apply sunscreen and wear a wide-brimmed hat, if you have to go out in the heat
• avoid physical exertion in the hottest parts of the day
• make sure you take water with you if you are travelling

When a person does get too hot, it can lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is the lower level condition which can progress to heat stroke. Both can occur when a person’s body overheats to the extent that its natural temperature control mechanisms fail to cope. When this happens, the affected person feels unwell, lacking in energy, and is usually dizzy and nauseous. They could develop cramp in their limbs or in their stomach. Signs you can observe for heat/sun stroke are a person having clammy, very sweaty, pale skin, and they often have a faster pulse than normal, sometimes exceeding 100 beats per minute.

Some sectors of the community are more susceptible to developing heat exhaustion/stroke: babies and toddlers; the elderly; people who are physically active through work or exercise; people with chronic, debilitating illnesses.

The NHS advice on immediate treatment for helping someone with heat exhaustion is:

1. Move them to a cool place.
2. Get them to lie down and raise their feet slightly.
3. Get them to drink plenty of water. Sports or rehydration drinks are OK.
4. Cool their skin – spray or sponge them with cool water and fan them. Cold packs around the armpits or neck are good, too
5. Stay with them until they’re better.

They should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes.

They also give advice on when you should consider reaching out for assistance by ringing 999, either because the situation is the same after 30 minutes or because the person’s symptoms are so debilitating that you suspect heat stroke; follow the NHS link below to read more.

For those of us who are able and where it fits in with the demands of our role, the University has said we currently have the flexibility to work from home if this provides us with a cooler work environment. However, not all members of the University workforce are able to do that. Cleaners and maintenance and grounds staff have to work as usual. They and their managers need to be more aware of the possibility of heat/sun stroke.

‘Heatwave: National emergency declared after UK’s first red extreme heat warning’ on bbc.co.uk

British Association of Dermatologists’ Sun Awareness website

‘How to Stay Safe in the Sun’ on the British Skin Foundation website

‘Staying Safe in Extreme Heat’ by Agostinho Moreira Sousa on ukhsa.blog.gov.uk

Heat Exhaustion and Sun Stroke on NHS website

‘Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke’ by Dr Sarah Jarvis MBE on the patient.info website

‘Signs of Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke’ by CBS Los Angeles on YouTube

‘How to Identify and Treat Heat Stroke’ by BBC Earth Lab on YouTube (very good demonstration of simple First Aid treatments for heat exhaustion)

‘How to Treat Heat Stroke – Signs and Symptom’s by St John’s Ambulance on YouTube

Congratulations to Mita Mondal for her AUA Member of the Year award!

The Association of University Administrators (AUA) is the professional association for higher education administrators and managers. It is committed to connecting every professional within its network and supporting members throughout their career in HE.

Mita, who is Quality Assurance and Accreditations Manager for our Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, has been an AUA member since 2014. The awards ceremony took place during the AUA’s 2022 Annual Conference & Exhibition, Manchester and was announced on 7 July as part of their Gala Dinner.

The Member of the Year award recognises the contribution of an individual member. The judges looked for a high level of commitment and dedication to the AUA and Higher Education. Mita said ‘I am truly humbled and excited about winning this award. I am pleased that I can make this contribution as I strongly believe in collaboration and sharing professional knowledge and practice with others. I hope to carry on championing a professional culture in HE and hope to make a difference via my work at Kent and with AUA’.

Mita joined Kent in 2007, working in various roles in student administration, HR and finance, becoming Centre Administration Manager in 2014 and then, more recently, School Administration Manager for the School of Engineering and Digital Arts. She completed the AURORA leadership programme in 2018.

AUA membership

The University of Kent has been active participant in the AUA for many years and more than 50 professional services colleagues are currently members. Membership is open to anyone working in university administration and benefits include:

• professional recognition
• networking opportunities & mentoring
• professional development, including a PG Cert Programme
• events and conferences
• access to resources and publications.

If you work in professional services and would like to know more about or get involved in the AUA, you can email Mita. More information is also available by visiting the AUA website

From Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

As we updated earlier in the year, we recently ran a short-life Voluntary Severance scheme for specific cohorts of staff across the University intended to explore any potential savings we could make before the end of the financial year. This is part of helping us get ahead of any future financial constraints where we can, bearing in mind the additional pressures we are all facing due to the cost of living crisis. 

We had a good response to this scheme so I’d like to thank all those eligible for their careful consideration of it and extend my good wishes to those who applied and will be leaving the University. Now that we have a clearer picture of the funds available this year to support this scheme, we will also shortly be opening it up to a further cohort of Grade 9+ staff in case there is more we can do to find savings while minimising the impact on overall staffing levels. All staff who will have the opportunity to apply will be contacted directly this week. 

While I know any mention of redundancies can be worrying, creating voluntary opportunities for people to leave the University that will make savings and suit all parties is one of the ways we can ensure we remain sustainable. The University also has a number of existing options available to staff across the organisation who are looking to move on at a time that is right for both them and their division/directorate, including efficiency retirement, flexible/phased retirement and ill health retirement. 

As we approach the end of our Financial Year, we will also be sharing a wider update shortly looking ahead to next year’s budget and updating on some upcoming measures to help staff at a time when so many are feeling the squeeze due to high inflation and rising household costs. In the meantime, do contact either your manager or local HR team if you would like to discuss any of the above. 

A number of the University’s webpages were audited by the Cabinet Office’s Central and Digital Data Office (CDDO) in April and, following some remedial fixes, we have now been informed that they have endorsed our efforts and no further action will be taken. Kent was chosen at random to be audited, alongside a number of other universities, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Checks were expected from 2020 but were inevitably delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The areas raised by the audit were minor and were swiftly rectified by the Web Development and Accessible Information teams in plenty of time for the 12-week deadline.

Digital and information accessibility continues to be a high priority for the University in order to highlight our commitment for equality and inclusivity, and to ensure that all students and staff are able to work and learn in ways that work for them, as well as remaining complaint to relevant regulations. Further work is continuing around this area, particularly around accessibility statements. If you are the business owner of a digital platform, app or service, you may need to create or update an accessibility statement. Please contact the Accessible Information team to find out more.

This positive result is thanks to the many people around the University who have worked hard to ensure that Kent remains a sector leader in digital accessibility, and continue to champion equality, diversity and inclusivity in their work and teams.

Staff and students from across the university are invited to join colleagues from across the sector for our third conference to share good practice in the fields of Internationalisation at home and Internationalisation of the Curriculum.  Building on the success of last year’s 2021 conference where colleagues engaged from more than 27 countries, and its digital content received over 1,600 views, this year’s conference is already looking to surpass this.

This year’s theme is ‘The Power of Co-creation’.  We have received 20 pre-recorded video presentations from colleagues around the world sharing their experiences and insights in this area of work.  Topics range from working with students as partners, developing intercultural competences and skills, building a community, to examples of COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) Initiatives. Colleagues are able to watch these in advance of the live conference which take place on Friday 15 July, 2022 from 14:00 – 17:30 BST.

The full schedule of events for 15 July live conference can be found below:

14:00: Welcome

14:10: Opening Plenary

The Potential of Virtual Exchange/COIL as co-creative experience

Speaker: Eva Haug, Educational Advisor for Internationalisation of the Curriculum and COIL, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

14:40: Live Q&A Session with presenters (Round 1)

15:15: Panel Discussion

Our panel discussion will explore whether internationalisation at home (IaH) activities meaningfully contribute to inclusivity on campus.  We are delighted to bring student’s views on this topic in addition to our plenary speakers.

16:00: The IC Global Café Networking Session

In this session we will dive into the conference theme and if, and how, Internationalisation at Home can benefit inclusivity.  During the Cafe, there will be an opportunity to meet colleagues in small, informal breakout rooms, where you can virtually share your hot or cold drinks as well as your experiences of inclusivity and Internationalisation at Home

16:30: Live Q&A Session with presenters (Round 2)

17:00: Closing Plenary

Innovations in IaH Towards an impact practice: a critical reflection

Speaker: Eveke de Louw, International Policy Advisor for the Curriculum and Co-curriculum, The Hague University of Applied Sciences

17:30: Closing Remarks and Conference Close

Registration for this free conference is now open.  Please sign up here.  For more information, please contact us at iihconference@kent.ac.uk

We hope to see you there!

Find out about the latest release of new features for the KentVision Project in our KentVision: Latest Tools story. 

Since the launch of KentVision last year, we have been engaging with diverse stakeholder groups across the University to determine the schedule for its immediate and future functionality development and release. The KentVision Board has established six Functional Area Working Groups to enable and assess feedback from a variety of individuals and teams across the University. This will enable us to best prioritise future improvements to the system. 

Functional Group members represent a mixture of colleagues from Divisions, professional services and central teams and are split across the following operational areas: 

• Statutory and Core student record 
• Admissions, Clearing and Recruitment 
• Assessment 
• Finance 
• PGR 
• Student Activity and Experience 

The proposed order of delivery has been assessed against the academic calendar and our statutory requirements. Further work will be undertaken following the completion of deliverables committed for August 2022 to strengthen and refine the delivery estimating and create a schedule for delivery into 2023. 

What will be delivered by August 2022? 

We have committed to introduce improved processes and functionality by August 2022. This will improve the experience for both staff and students. Some examples of this include: 

• New automated communications for student immigration compliance will help us stay in touch with the relevant students and ensure we comply with government regulations. 
• We are improving enrolment and re-registration processes to ensure accurate collection for Data Futures – improving data compliance and the student experience. 
• Improved usability of the right to study screen in enrolment ensuring that students are able to progress through enrolment and re-registration in a timely manner, helping us comply with Home Office rules. 
• We will continue to improve the results release process and result letters ensuring they are clear and meet the needs of our students for the re-sit period.  
• Enhanced functionality including changes to improve progression/award rules and exam board reporting particularly for the re-sit period. Post-exam board functionality will allow chairs actions to be recorded and CSAO will be automatically notified – removing administration burden and preventing unnecessary communications. 
• Full support for the clearing processes, ensuring permissions are allocated known issues are resolved, and underlying processes for the new telephone offers initiatives are enabled.  
• Development of the integration between KentVision and the new CRM. 
• A new process to roll forward scholarship fund reference data to the next academic year.  
• Improvements to the student financial registration processes – ensuring facilitation of student engagement and timely addition of payment information. 

Next Steps? 

• Technology and process improvements for statutory data compliance and PGR student management areas are to continue with deployments scheduled through July and August. Along with planning for the autumn – the new academic year and admissions cycle. 
• A timeline for delivery from September 2022 of the far-ranging and numerous improvements will be shared at the end of August. 
• Detailed business readiness activities, including transition plans and training and communication. 
• Continuous updates on how our improvements, plans and communications are informed by feedback from our students and staff. 

The legal reversal of the Roe v Wade decision in the USA has been sending shockwaves across the world.

If you have questions about this or feel emotionally affected by what has happened or its potential ramifications, please do contact the Staff Employee Assistance Programme. You can get in touch with them by phone or via their website any time of the day or night. You can be transferred to a counsellor if you wish to discuss an emotional concern. If you want advice of a more informative nature, there are Information Specialists available for you to talk with. In connection with Roe v Wade, this could be related to issues such as human rights, abortion or infertility. You simply call the usual number (0808 168 2143), ask to speak to one of the Information specialists and you will be put through. It is worth noting that the Information Specialists are available Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 20:00.

Increasing levels of COVID are leading to an increase in the number of queries about what people with symptoms or who test positive should do. Here is the Government public health guidance summarised in a University context:

• Stay home if you are unwell. If you have symptoms of a respiratory illness and either a high temperature or do not feel well enough to be at work/study, you should stay at home. You can return to on-campus work/study once your fever has gone or you feel better, even if a cough persists.
• If you have taken a private COVID-19 test and the result is positive you should self-isolate for 5 days from the date of the test whether you have symptoms or not. If you are symptom-free, work/study from home if you can. You can return to on-campus work/study after the 5 days. If you have symptoms and they last for more than 5 days, you can return to on-campus work/study once you feel better, even if a cough persists.
• If you live with or stayed overnight with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you can continue to work and study, but you should try to limit your close contact with others, consider wearing a face covering when around other people, and wash your hands more frequently than normal.

Action Mesothelioma Day takes place on Friday 1 July this year and is designed to commemorate those who have succumbed to asbestos related diseases, and to highlight the continuing issues that exist concerning asbestos. This year, the theme is Go Blue for Meso and buildings are being lit up in blue around the UK to help raise awareness. Around 2,500 people in the UK die each year from mesothelioma, and a further similar number are believed to die from other diseases related to asbestos exposure.

To commemorate this day, the lawns and buildings around the Registry will be lit up in blue at 21:15, courtesy of the team at the Gulbenkian.

Find out more about #GoBlueforMeso and come along this Friday at 21:15 to help put a spotlight on Mesothelioma.