Author Archives: Tim Davies

Student bursaries for pilgrim workshop

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to undertake a pilgrimage? More than just a long-distance walk, a pilgrimage typically follows a historic route to a destination of particular significance. In our frenetic world, more and more people are choosing to slow life down by taking only their necessary possessions and embarking on a journey on foot or bicycle. The Camino de Santiago in Spain saw 300,000 such pilgrims walk its five routes in 2018. Motivations for these pilgrims range from a physical challenge to a search for spiritual fulfilment.

15 June, 2019 at Canterbury Cathedral, a full-day pilgrims workshop will explore the pilgrimage routes of Canterbury, including the Via Francigena to Rome. The programme includes a mini-pilgrimage in the Cathedral grounds, talks on engaging with the history and heritage of pilgrimage and a practical session with a panel of experienced pilgrims who can answer all of your questions on how to undertake your own pilgrim

Student bursaries are being offered by the Centre for Heritage and are open to all UKC students. To learn more about the workshop visit: https://www.kent.ac.uk/events/event/38280/pilgrim-workshop .

To apply for a bursary, please send a short statement of interest to organiser Julia Lewis: jep35@kent.ac.uk. Bursaries will be issued on a first come, first served basis.

Learning and Teaching Conference 2019 – How do we design for and facilitate interaction and inclusivity?

There is still time to book a place on this year’s Learning and Teaching Conference taking place on Monday 17 June, 9:00-17:00 in Darwin Conference Suite, Canterbury.

The programme and details on sessions that are running during the day is now available here https://www.kent.ac.uk/cshe/news-events.html?tab=learning-and-teaching-conference-2019

Please complete the online booking form to register https://www.kent.ac.uk/cshe/events/LT_Conference_2019_Event_Booking_Form.html

Cockapoo cuddles during revision

Monty the cockapoo will be returning to the Canterbury campus to offer hugs to students during the busy revision and exam period.

Monty, who is a regular visitor to the School, will be in The Shed in Cornwallis quad on Friday 17 May from 10.00-12.00.

Orla Garratt, Marketing and Communications Manager for the School said, ‘Monty loves the attention that he gets when he visits our students. He is especially popular with students who have pets at their family home and are missing their own animals.’

The University offers other tools are available to help students through the stresses of the exam period which can be found on the student wellbeing website.

KTV celebrated at the NaSTA awards

KTV, Kent Union’s television station, was recently celebrated at the National Student Television Association (NaSTA) awards.

NaSTA comprises over forty affiliated student TV stations from all over the UK. Each year, the organisation runs an awards ceremony in which stations submit examples of their programming for appraisal by judges drawn from the wider broadcast industry. This year there were 465 award entries, and the awards were hosted at the University of Nottingham on 26 April.

KTV won the Jisc Special Recognition Award for their innovative training schemes, and Madeleine Bolton won the Best Dramatic Performance award for the KTV produced film, Sweet Child of Mine.

Sweet Child of Mine was written and directed by student Tyler Hamblin, who is completing his BA (Hons) in Film in the Department of Film. The drama was produced as part of the KTV Film Festival, and was also Highly Commended in Best Drama category, and shortlisted for Best Writing and Best Cinematography.

The station was also shortlisted in the Highly Commended in Light Entertainment category, shortlisted for the Mars El Brogy Multimedia Award (for working with Inquire and CSR), and also won Best Sports Coverage.

To see a segment of Sweet Child of Mine, please see KTV’s YouTube channel here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQAbDwGEiY0

Olly Double on BBC South East Today

Dr Olly Double, Reader in Drama in the School of Arts, appeared on BBC South East Today on Thursday 2 May 201, interviewed along with comedian Alexei Sayle regarding the Alternative Comedy Now Festival,which is currently ongoing at Kent.

‘Alternative comedy completely changed British stand-up comedy,’ explains Olly in the interview. ‘Before that there were a few people doing interesting things on the folk circuit, like Billy Connolly, but most stand-up comedy at that point was taking place in working men’s clubs and was based on unoriginal packaged jokes.’

Olly’s interview is followed in an interview with Alexei Sayle, which was recorded in the Gulbenkian Theatre on campus, prior to a show last week.

Stagecoach changes to bus fares

From Sunday 28 April Stagecoach are changing the price of some of their bus tickets.

Changes to fares that affect the University of Kent are listed in the table below:

Bus ticket	Price on bus (from 28 April)	Price on app (from 28 April)	Previous price on the bus	Public price
University of Kent Canterbury dayrider	£3.30	£3.10	£3.10	£4.50
University of Kent 7 day Canterbury megarider	£11.40	£10.40	£10.90	£15.50
South East dayrider	£7.30	£7.10	£7	£7.30
South East 7 day megarider	£26	£24.50	£23.50	£26

Don’t forget that it is cheaper to purchase bus tickets on the Stagecoach bus app. Load and pay for your tickets and then activate them when you get on the bus.

The Stagecoach bus app also allows you to check live bus times and create favourites for bus stops and buses to make your journey planning easier.

See the full Stagecoach story for all fare changes.

Burger & Business sessions

Burger & Business was a University of Kent-funded initiative coordinated and led by the #DigitalReboot student ambassadors for the 2018-19 academic year. Maisie Galea and Hazel Frost organised the series of events with the intention of creating an opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and come up with possible business ventures. While they were leading the sessions at the Canterbury campus at Mungo’s Bar, Ayomide Alli led the events in the Medway campus at The Deep End.

All students were invited to come to the meet-ups to achieve one of the goals for Burger & Business, whether this was meeting a possible co-founder for a business, sharing and learning about other people’s business ideas, or sharing and listening to business experiences – plus, of course, to enjoy a free burger meal.

Success stories include one group who came to the event in need of a website for a product they were selling. After socialising with another student at the meet-up who had the technical abilities to develop a website for them, they also met a student photographer who was willing to help advertise their product. It was evident that students were both satisfied with their meal as well as the company they were surrounded by at the event, making it another successful addition to the #DigitalReboot program!

Design our Space student competition

Kent Sport is challenging students to ‘Design our Space’ for a chance to boost their creative portfolio and win some fabulous prizes.

What is the space?

One of our squash courts has become a multi-use sports facility for a variety of activities including martial arts and boxing. Kent Sport would like you to creatively enhance the space to provide an inspiring and enjoyable experience for the students who will use it. You have four walls as your blank canvas to unleash your imagination on; show us what you can do!

Who is the competition open to?

The competition is open to all University of Kent students.

Judging and prizes

A panel of judges will review all submissions and select the best design. The winning participant will be able to transform the space and see their design in use and will receive a £300 Amazon voucher and a meal for two at the Pavilion Café Bar. The runner up will receive a £150 Amazon voucher. Five random entries will receive a Kent Sport goody bag including a £10 Amazon voucher.

When does the competition close?

The competition will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 5 June 2019.

How do I get started?

So if you want to kickstart your creative career or just rise to this exciting challenge, visit our website for further details including terms and conditions and start brainstorming your ideas!

www.kent.ac.uk/sports/designourspace

If you have any queries and to submit your artwork, email us on sportsenquiries@kent.ac.uk.

#DesignOurSpace

David Chadwick reaches final of ‘I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here!’

Professor David Chadwick had the opportunity to prove himself as one of the most popular scientists in the UK in I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here!. The Professor of Information Systems Security from the School of Computing reached the final three in his area of the competition after other scientists were voted out.

I’m a Scientist… is an online activity for school students to connect with scientists. It is an X Factor-style competition between scientists, where students are the judges. Students challenge the scientists over fast-paced online text-based live chats. They can ask anything they want, and vote for their favourite scientist to win a prize of £500 to communicate their work with the public.

David said: “I really enjoyed taking part in the competition and would encourage any of my colleagues to do the same. I took part in the relationship zone, which was primarily for psychologists but overlaps with my area of expertise in cyber security, eg, how do you know who you are really talking to over the Internet, via Facebook or other social media? The next event is happening in June and it’s a great way to interact with young people who are curious about the world around them.”

You can review David’s profile and see the questions and his answers at: https://relationshipsm19.imascientist.org.uk/profile/davidchadwick/

Scientists interested in taking part in future events can find out more at: https://imascientist.org.uk/2019/03/whats-been-happening-in-im-a-scientist-the-online-science-engagement-event/

See Through Stories: Windows on the World

In an exciting collaboration between the University of Kent, the Visual Commentary on Scripture project, King’s College, London and Canterbury Cathedral, the Department of Religious Studies has brought together some of the most widely-respected experts and historians on stained glass and theology in a special series of talks entitled ‘See Through Stories: Windows on the World’ about the iconic Miracle windows at Canterbury Cathedral.

Participants will have the opportunity to view the windows prior to each talk, which will explore how these windows were made, the stories they tell, the biblical figures they illustrate and their relevance for today.

This series features six presentations by leading public speakers:

1 May
Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal, Leo Baeck College)
‘Who Do You Think You Are?: The Use of Genealogies in the Construction of Identity from the Bible to the BBC’

8 May
Professor Vincent Lloyd (Villanova University USA)
‘Ambivalence of Charisma: Moses from Hollywood to Canterbury’

15 May
Professor Ben Quash and Dr Michelle Fletcher (King’s College, London)
‘Where Do I Turn? Genesis 19 on When Things Fall Apart’

18 September
Professor Tod Linafelt (Georgetown University, USA)
‘What Does it Mean to be Human?: Adam (and Eve) Inside and Outside the Garden’

25 September
Neil McGregor (Founding Director Humboldt Forum, Berlin; former Director of the British Museum)
‘The Shepherds, the Magi and the Presentation in the Temple’

9 October
Paula Gooder (British theologian, Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral)
‘On Veiling and Unveiling: Church and Synagogue in Stained Glass and the Writings of Paul’

Tickets are £8 per talk or £35 for the series. Entrance is FREE for school students and teachers, and university students. All places, free and paid-for, must be booked online in advance.

Please arrive at 18.30 in the Cathedral, if you wish, for a view of the window(s) relevant to that evening (or at 17.30 for Choral Evensong beforehand). Each talk begins at 19.00 in the Clagett Auditorium, Cathedral Lodge/Study Centre.

Organised by the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kent, and Canterbury Cathedral. The University would like to record its thanks for the support of the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral.