Congratulations to Kerry Barber for being appointed as the Director of Research and Innovation Services.

Kerry will be known to many as the current Director of Operations for the Division of Human and Social Sciences at Kent and will be taking up her new role as Director of RIS in the summer.

“I am delighted at Kerry Barber’s appointment to lead Research and Innovation Services, a high-performing directorate that is supporting the University very effectively to achieve its ambitions for research and innovation.”
Professor Shane Weller | Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Congratulations to Janice Markey for being appointed as the Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 

A published writer and higher-degree graduate, Janice has studied and worked as a Lecturer and Journalist in Germany, Canada and the UK. She has led on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at a wide range of different organizations including Tower Hamlets, Westminster and Brighton and Hove Councils, London Ambulance Service as well as at several universities including the University of Southampton and Manchester Metropolitan. She enabled London Ambulance Service to become one of the Top 100 Employers on the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index in the last five applications she led on and has successfully overseen Athena Swan submissions and Race Equality Charter work as well as attaining the Disability Confident Leader accreditation for the University of Southampton, the first university in the country to be awarded this status.

In her free time Janice enjoys going to the theatre and gym and also doing music reviews.

During Kent Giving Week the staff netball team ‘Kent Unicorns’, took on the Moving Challenge in their own way and pledged to donate £1 per goal scored during their Tuesday match in the Thanet Netball League.  The game was a win to the Unicorns, with the final score being 28-5.

The Unicorns then took on a Netball Challenge during Friday’s livestream event, with team members each taking turns to score as many goals as they could in 1 minute.  Unfortunately, none of their shooters were able to make this event, but they gave a good show, with their team captain, Ali Webster, scoring the highest, with 12 goals.  The Unicorns added these to their total on Tuesday night, making a total donation of £45 for the Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy.

Vice Captain, Emma Marku, who works within International Programmes, said ‘it was once again great to get involved with events on campus, to be part of that community, while doing something that we all enjoy and at the same time, raising money for a worthwhile cause‘.

Kent Giving Week is a week of fundraising activities raising vital funds for the University, with a focus this year on raising £25,000 towards the Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy. The Centre will provide integrated and individualised non-drug therapies to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of those living with Parkinson’s.  For more information about the Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy please click here.

You can still make a donation here.

If anyone is interested in getting involved with Netball, you can go along to ALL Active Social Netball every Monday lunchtime, 12.30-1.30pm in the Sports Centre. Kent Sport membership required. Minimum membership £2 per session with pay to play membership. For more information, please see our website or follow @ALLActiveKent on Facebook, twitter, Instagram or TikTok for updates.

Must-do Training!

If you have not completed the University Data Protection training or refresher in the past two years. Please do so as soon as possible. Data Protection training for people handling personal data is a mandatory Information Commissioners Office requirement as well as a University requirement.

If you have any queries or would think your service may benefit from additional team or service question and answer sessions please contact us on dataprotection@kent.ac.uk

Personal Data Security Incident or Breach

Not every personal data incident security incident is a data breach and not every data breach is reportable to the Information Commissioner. But the University has a statutory duty to investigate, evaluate and record all incidents (whether reportable or not).

When reporting a data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office the first or second question is always “have staff involved completed data protection training”?

The UKGDPR and DPA 2018 gives the Information Commissioner the power to issue penalties and instructions for lack of process. Lack of training will be considered lack of process leaving the University vulnerable to financial penalties, enforcement notices and bad publicity!

If in doubt seek advice and assistance from Information Compliance dataprotection@kent.ac.uk

All incidents are distressing to individuals affected by them so it is important that lessons are learned and  that all incidents are reported to Information Compliance. If incidents are not reported we cannot learn lessons or comply with the law.

First lesson in Data Incident Management if you can get it back – get it back – then contact us!

New Online Reporting Tool

Information Compliance have launched a new online reporting tool. This form provides all the information we need to evaluate any incident or breach. If you cannot access this form for any reason please e-mail Information Compliance on the e-mail above.

Incident Trends

Most information security incidents happen because of human error or lack of thought, this is true of all the incidents reported in the past quarter. Common mistakes include

• e-mails sent to the wrong people
• e-mails sent to a group rather than an individual (or wrong group).

Information Compliance  has reported 1 breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office in the past quarter and held discussions about a further two incidents which were very close to the statutory requirement to report (to the Commissioner’s Office)

Think

Where you are working and who can see your work

Recently I travelled on the Euston to Crewe train I returned to my seat having walked through the corridor. I sat down and informed the man opposite me that he worked for the MoD! the person two seats down was a lecturer… etc! I could read their screens just moving through the carriage! I do not work on the train unless I have a privacy screen fitted (they are easily removeable when not needed and are very light).

For the cost of £30 (approx.) could save the University and Departments £000s’

How do you send information?

Is it secure? Who can see it?  Do you know the privacy settings. Is it appropriate use of acebook or teams for example?

Laptops

University Laptops are encrypted. The reason for this  to prevent inappropriate access if laptops are lost or stolen. Organisations have been fined  tens of £000,000.00s’ for losing unencrypted laptops. Keeping log in details (such as encryption key and passwords) with the laptop negates encryption and leaves the UoK open to financial penalties. Please keep them separate!!

Don’t Keep Encryption Keys and passwords with your computer

Think what you do with other people’s data treat it at least as securely as your own!

• Keep personal data secure
• Don’t share your passwords
• Beware of scams
• Lock your computer even if you leave it for “only a couple of minutes”

Last but not least, congratulations to Laura Pullin, who has now commenced her role as Head of Data Protection!

Kent’s BAME Staff Network was launched in 2019 to support the University’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusivity and provide an active forum in which BAME staff can engage to discuss issues and experiences important to them.

About the Network

Full Terms of Reference for the Network can be seen on the HR webpages:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-equalityanddiversity/networks/bame-network.html

Current Network Co-Chairs are Mita Mondal, Vanisha Jassal, Dr Bridget Ng’andu, Dr Barbara Adewumi and Dr Gurprit Lall; all have been staff members at Kent for several years. One of the Co-Chairs is studying for a PhD research degree at the University. They therefore bring a range of experience and knowledge related to both staff and students. This is critical to forming a comprehensive understanding of BAME experiences at the University. To find out about the people behind the Network, take a look at this blog produced by the Co-Chairs during the University’s virtual ‘Belong and Grow’ week in May 2020.

Following its launch in 2019, a key objective of the Network has been to reach out to all BAME staff members so please do contact the Network at bamestaffnetwork@kent.ac.uk if you would like to talk to the Co-Chairs about membership or any other matters.  Please note that this inbox is only accessible by the five Co-Chairs and all communication will be kept confidential and anonymous.

Staff survey Phase 2 Case Studies

In 2020, all staff at the University of Kent were invited to take part in the BAME Staff Network Survey Phase 1 to help the Network explore and examine staff experiences of working at Kent.  The BAME Staff Network All Staff Survey 2020: A report on the findings, is now available on the BAME Staff Network website – BAME Network – Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity – University of Kent. The Report was positively received and endorsed by Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance.

We are now building on the exclusive insight of Phase 1 of the qualitative research by progressing the research study to Phase 2, which involves rich in-depth Qualitative Interviews with colleagues that expressed interest in participating in the case studies.  To enable us to have a good representation of colleagues from BAME backgrounds, we requested for amendments to the initial Ethics Application of 2020, to include a specific request for BAME staff that did not take part in the Phase 1 research, but would like to participate in the case studies, to now do so. The amendment was approved by SSPSSR Ethics Committee in March/April 2022.

Our research in Phase 1 foregrounds the significance of colleagues wellbeing, progression and sense of belonging and we wish for BAME staff to deeply reflect on their lived experiences whilst working at Kent. This will enable the Network to continue its collaborative work with the University’s Senior Management Team in addressing racial inequalities and create an inclusive culture and environment where all staff are able to thrive, irrespective of their race or ethnicity.

Please remember, if you have any questions about the Phase 2 Case Study research, to email the Principal Researcher, Dr Bridget Ng’andu on B.Ng’andu@kent.ac.uk.

For expressions of interest to participate in the study, please contact Dr Daisy Emoekabu on d.a.emoekabu@kent.ac.uk

Thank you, Bridget, Mita, Gurprit, Barbara and Vanisha, Co-Chairs of the BAME Staff Network

We are delighted to announce that on 26 and 27 May 2022 an event will take place to celebrate our colleague Professor Adrian Podoleanu’s distinguished career.

About Professor Podoleanu

Professor Podoleanu is a pioneering researcher who helped advance greatly the field of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The University of Kent has benefited for many years from Adrian’s dedication and enthusiasm and the world-leading quality of his research and its application.

The conference will include speakers from across the Division of Natural Sciences including academic staff and current research students. There will be the opportunity to view our current laboratory spaces and to network with a swathe of high-calibre researchers.

Since 2005 Professor Podoleanu has led the Applied Optics Group in the University of Kent (and continues to do so), developing OCT both as a methodology and with applications across a wide range of fields from clinical practice to forensic sciences. He has supervised (and continues to do so) of more than 50 postgraduate and visiting researchers during his career at Kent, many of whom have gone on to lead in their fields.

As members of the Applied Optics Group, we look forward to welcoming in May a number of world leading researchers and also giving Adrian an opportunity to be reunited with many of his alumni who benefited not only from his undoubted research excellence but also from his leadership and training to go on and be high achievers in the field of Optical Coherence Tomography and Photonics in general.

Find out more about Professor Podoleanu and his career

Registration

Registration is open until Monday 23^rd May

To register please navigate to

https://kenthospitality.kent.ac.uk/Register/CC22Conference

To register as a current member of staff or PG student (in possession of a KentOne card) and benefit from the discounted £25 conference fee, please ensure you check the appropriate option and fill in the 6-digit staff number on the back of your card when asked to do so. There is no need to input a discount code.

Former Kent staff can get a discount code by emailing George Dobre – this will enable you to progress through the registration screens.

From Lee Fellows | Deputy Director  of Student Services and Head of Student Support & Wellbeing

In September 2021, the University signed up to the Student Mental Health Charter. The Charter Programme brings together universities committed to university mental health to share practice and create cultural change. As part of this programme, the Charter Award, which we intend to apply for in 2023, recognises the promotion of good mental health and practice across all areas of the University.

The award is not just about the wellbeing support we offer students in Divisions and across Student Services but looks at how the university as a whole institution works to improve mental wellbeing across 5 key domains; Learn, Support, Work, Live and Enabling Themes. Each framework area has several themes within it, and as an institution, we will be assessed against each theme for the award.

Within the Learn domain we are beginning to review what wellbeing in the curriculum looks like for the University of Kent. We know that already there will be a variety of interesting and different approaches that Divisions, PSDs and individuals will use and this where we need your help.

To assist us with collating what we already do we would be grateful if you would complete this form letting us know what you do (or would like to do!) within lectures, seminars and outside the classroom environment that promotes wellbeing in the curriculum. We are also asking you to complete this form if you have any ideas on potential University-wide initiatives that we could take on board to incorporate wellbeing into the curriculum. No activity, initiative or idea is too big, small or wrong.

More information on the Mental Health Charter can be found here.  You may also find the AdvanceHE Education for Mental Health Toolkit to be a helpful resource.

You are warmly invited to the REF2021 results presentation which will be delivered by Professor Shane Weller, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, followed by refreshments in the Wolf Foyer. As well as a great opportunity to celebrate achievements, it will be a chance to catch up with colleagues.

Date: 12 May 2022

Time: 11am-1pm

Location: Wolf Lecture Theatre

We would be very grateful if you could confirm your attendance by signing up through the link below:

https://ref2021resultspresentation.eventbrite.co.uk

If you would prefer to join virtually, please email researchexcellence@kent.ac.uk and a Teams link will be sent to you.

We look forward to seeing you.

Michael Crick, University Council Member, volunteered his time to help at the March graduation celebrations and enjoyed it so much he has done so again this month.

In this message he encourages his fellow Kent staff to join the celebrations for our 2021 graduates in Rochester Cathedral on 11 May, and Canterbury Cathedral from 16 – 20 May. You can sign up online here or email congregations@kent.ac.uk.

I became a lay member of the council of the university last autumn, but during my first few months on the council it was difficult to get a proper feel for the university because of Covid restrictions.

Then I saw an appeal in the email news bulletin for volunteers to help out on graduation days.  “Why not?” I thought.  I’ll do one day in each of the four sessions in 2022, and it will be great way to meet recent students, their families, and members of staff, and to immerse myself in what the university is all about.

I did two ceremonies one day in Canterbury a couple of weeks ago.  I loved it.  I was kitted out in a blue and gold gown (strictly it should only have been blue only.)  I helped with laying the programmes on the seats and in guiding people to their places, but then I was asked to hand out the graduation certificates.

I was in my element.  As each new graduate walked past I gave them a big smile to catch their eye, and then handed over the certificate whispering a few words, trying to vary what I said each time, or making a joke of it, say, when someone got an especially loud cheer from their friends.  I was meeting people for only for 2-3 seconds, but it felt like making friends for life – almost 400 in one day!

There was also plenty of time both before and after the formal ceremony to speak to people about what they thought of the university and the course they’d studied.  I’m actually quite a shy person, but as a TV reporter I’ve learnt how to seize the moment and go up to strangers, introduce myself and chat to them (and the blue and gold gown helped on this occasion).  One trick outside on the lawn was to approach a group taking photos of themselves, and offer to take a photo of all of them altogether.  They almost always accepted – it broke the ice and the conversation flowed.

My abiding memory is the sheer joy of the occasion.  This was one of the exciting, memorable days of these new graduates’ lives, taking part in a great historic setting, the culmination of several years hard work.  Now for one day free of work and pressure, they were joined by their proud parents, families and friends.  It was great to take part in that, to share their happiness and sense of achievement, to watch young men and women setting off on their careers and new lives.

I can’t wait to do it again, and I strongly recommend to all university staff and also my fellow council members, that they volunteer for a ceremony or two.

From Catherine Morris | Sustainability Manager

Happy Earth Day 2022!

This year’s Earth Day theme is “Invest in Our Planet”. This day looks to engage everyone, from individuals to businesses and governments to recognise our collective responsibility and help accelerate the transition to an equitable, prosperous, sustainable economy for all. The campaign is focussed on reframing the conversation, accelerating action, and bringing us together to understand that this is within our reach if we work together.

For the University of Kent, this year’s Earth Day also marks 6 months since the launch of our Strategy for Climate Action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),so I have been reflecting on what we have achieved since the launch event last year.

Often when you are engrossed working on something, it isn’t until you take a step back and assess that you can see how far you have come. This webpage talks more about some of the major achievements of the last 6 months but I would also like to take some time to celebrate the little actions.

For every exciting news-worthy project we are taking hundreds of small, incremental actions and nudges that collectively have a huge impact. Whether that’s replacing a high carbon footprint dish with a lower one on a food outlet menu, turning down an office’s heating by 1°C, installing a new recycling bin, or recruiting another staff sustainability champion, we are taking action every single day.

Wherever in the University you live, work or study, these little visible and invisible changes will be contributing to reducing our impacts and helping you to do the same. Collective responsibility and working together is at the heart of our sustainability agenda and I have been so encouraged over the last 6 months to see how staff, students and the local community are coming together to take action and build a new sustainable future.

We have some fantastic projects, events and initiatives planned for the next 6 months which we will be sharing as we go, so please watch this space.

If you would like any more information or would like to get in touch than please visit www.kent.ac.uk/sustainability or email sustainability@kent.ac.uk