A number of staff across the University have been approached to attend – at seemingly small or no cost – various conferences and events. Sometimes these look too good to be true – and they frequently are.

Please check and be absolutely certain before you commit to attending anything that may seem suspicious to you. It’s a profitable, ruthless and large industry that’s exploiting our sector and there are now more for-profit providers than scholarly organisations offering these events.

The University has recently reported one particular supplier of these events to the Information Commissioners Office for breaching the legislation and our express instructions around how to handle our data, and we will continue to take an assertive approach to reducing our exposure to these events.

There are a number of characteristics to look out for, including:

• Confusing or similarly named events for well-known industry leaders
• Free or low cost attendance which you might expect to come at a cost if legitimate
• Unusual attendee lists, a lack of familiar or expected speakers, or use of names and images stating attendance of people when this may not happen or seems very unlikely. You may even find your own name there!
• Confusing small print which is difficult to find or non-existent
• Pressurised sales techniques such as frequent calls or emails
• Offers to register you on your behalf
• Lack of appropriate peer review for papers you may submit (ie fast tracked review)
• Invitations that appear to have no relevance to your specialism and expertise or mass, multidisciplinary unfocused agendas.

You can easily block the providers in Outlook using the ‘Junk’ option in any email you may be sent which can block the sender.

Beware also of instances where you may be unwittingly agreeing to a number of ‘client meetings’. Your presence is effectively bait being sold as sales opportunities to companies. If you sign up for one of these, the companies may seek to charge us enormous cancellation fees of up to several thousand pounds.

Kent’s Procurement Team maintains a list of suppliers who we should be wary of using. If you are invited to attend any event that you think may seem suspicious or otherwise not quite legitimate, please do not make any commitments and contact procurement@kent.ac.uk if you require any guidance.

Dr James Newton, Lecturer in the Department of Media Studies, has just released a new entry in his podcast series, Newton Talks.

In the series, James discusses topics (mostly) related to cinema, television, and culture. His guests will be from the world of academia, as well as filmmakers and other artists, and each podcast will take the form of an unscripted discussion.

In this episode James talk to filmmakers Sam Mason Bell and Jackson Batchelor, the creative directors of Trash Arts in Portsmouth. Trash Arts have collectively produced numerous features, shorts, and web series, including Lonely Hearts (2018), Conspiracy X (2018), Trash Arts Killers Vol. 1 (2018) and Vol. 2 (2019), and the forthcoming Millennial Killer, along with many others. James and his guests discuss their filmmaking ethos, how to make feature films with no budget, and how to promote and distribute your movie in the marketplace.

To listen to this instalment, please see the page here.

The safety app that already offers many colleagues round-the-clock reassurance via their mobile phones is being installed on staff desktops too.

SafeZone is a simple-to-use app that’s free to download. It’s designed to help staff and students summon security or safety assistance via either their PC or mobile phone.

From 13 November, Information Services has been installing the SafeZone app software onto staff managed desktops across our campuses. Once installed, it will appear as a desktop icon and advice on using it will be available on our SafeZone webpages.

The app will be available via mobile phones and staff managed PCs only at this stage – if you have an unmanaged PC, you should refer to the SafeZone webpages for advice on how to install it.

The SafeZone app was first made available to Kent staff and students via their mobile phones two years ago and a significant number of staff and current students have already downloaded it.

The University’s Chief Operating Officer Denise Everitt said: ‘We strongly support this extension of the SafeZone app as it will enhance the safety and security of our staff.’

Head of Security Mark Arnold added: ‘We’re hoping that by making the app available on desktop computers as well as mobile phones will encourage many others to sign-up. It’s a quick and easy way of ensuring that whatever time you’re working in any University building, you can get help if you need it.’

The app works within designated zones covering the Canterbury and Medway campuses (including Historic Dockyard, Chatham and Liberty Quays student accommodation), as well as our centres in Tonbridge, Brussels and Paris.

If you are lone working or working late at night at any of these places, you can sign-in and contact the Campus Security team in the event of any safety concerns.

To find out more or sign-up for the mobile app, see our SafeZone webpages.

On Tuesday 19 November, the Athena SWAN team ran an event to mark International Men’s Day 2019. The event, open to all staff, comprised an informal networking reception with refreshments, followed by a discussion panel made up of four male University staff members:

-George Baker (Department Administration Supervisor, Estates Department)
-Jake Bicknell (Lecturer in Conservation Biology, School of Anthropology and Conservation)
-James Kloda (Technical Support Officer, School of Anthropology and Conservation)
-Martin Michaelis (Professor of Molecular Medicine, School of Biosciences)

The panel was chaired by Farzin Deravi, Head of the School of Engineering and Digital Arts, who led an insightful and thought-provoking discussion on three key themes arising from the results of the male staff survey hosted by the Athena SWAN team to mark International Men’s Day 2018:

-Does it feel that gender equality initiatives are targeted only at women?
-Is there a macho culture that prevents an inclusive one?
-What is it like being a Dad at the University?

Event attendees also contributed to the discussion and shared their personal experiences, highlighting challenges commonly faced by male staff at Kent and identifying opportunities for developing a more inclusive working environment.

Thank you to our panel members and chair, and to everyone who attended the event. Watch this space for how we plan to follow up on some of the ideas generated during the discussion.

Our next Postgraduate Information Event takes place on Thursday 5 December 2019, from 17.00-19.00.

This informal event is a great way to find out more about Kent’s wide range of programmes for personal or career development. Talks will be given by Dean of the Graduate School, Professor Paul Allain, and members of our Scholarships team.

Staff who apply to study at Kent may be eligible for a discount – details are available on our Staff Finance webpage.

Book your place now for the information evening on our Open Days webpage.

Kent was proud to host the annual meetings of the SGroup European Universities Network (SGroup) from 6-8 November 2019.

This event saw representatives from the SGroup’s 32 member institutions from 17 European countries attend as well as one of the network’s associate partners from Colombia.

The Network, which was established in 1989, is based on four core areas of co-operation – internationalisation strategy, academic collaboration, academic mobility, and transfer of knowledge.

Kent joined the SGroup in April 2011 and has used its membership of the network to strengthen both its European and international partnerships, giving rise to a range of mobility opportunities for students and staff.

Our Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Karen Cox gave the formal welcome to network representatives and stressed Kent’s commitment to continued European and international collaboration in the context of its civic mission.

The meeting of the SGroup concluded with a workshop on collaboration in the context of Brexit and included the perspectives of Professor Philippe de Wilde as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Professor Jeremy Carrette, Dean for Europe.

Find out more about the SGroup on International Partnerships website, or email Primrose Paskins

The University and College Union (UCU) has announced its intention to launch industrial action in the form of a strike and action short of a strike (ASOS) as a part of its dispute relating to the national pay award.

The strike action is scheduled to begin on 25 November and last eight days, ending on 4 December. The ASOS is to begin on the same day and continue until April.

The Executive Group (EG) recognises the strength of feeling surrounding the dispute and is aware that this is unsettling for many staff and students. Although this is a national dispute, and cannot be resolved at a local level, work is already underway at the University to address many of the issues raised as part of the pay claim.

To ensure all staff have the information they need, the University has launched dedicated industrial action web pages for staff, including links to the industrial action pay policy, FAQs, information about the background to the dispute and what Kent is doing. Web pages for students are also now available to help answer students’ questions and ensure they have the support and information they need. Both websites will be updated routinely in coming days and weeks.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and Universities UK (UUK) have issued a joint open letter to staff affected by the disputes confirming that UCU have been formally invited to discuss what the employers’ association can do at sector-level to support individual institutions on issues around workloads, equality and casualisation.

In the meantime, EG will continue to do all it can at a local and national level to find a way forward.

The University is also doing everything it can to minimise disruption and to mitigate against the impact on students whose experience remains the utmost priority during this time.