The University of Kent Players is holding auditions on Thursday 7 March for their next radio play, The Maltese Falcon, taking place in early May. The audition will be held in GS4, in Grimond, from 17.30-19.30.

In this noir classic, detective Sam Spade gets more than he bargained for when he takes a case brought to him by a beautiful but secretive woman. As soon as Miss Wonderly shows up, trouble follows… Entangled in a dangerous web of crime and intrigue, Sam realizes he must find the one thing they all seem to want: the bejewelled Maltese falcon.

There are a number of acting and non-acting roles available – we need everyone from cast to tech to front of house.

The Players are a friendly group with diverse levels of experience so everyone is welcome!

Please email players@kent.ac.uk for more information.

In the latest Executive Group blog, Sir David Warren, Chair of the University Council, shares his impressions of the challenges facing the sector and the University, as discussed at a recent Council Strategy Day.

The EG blog is available to read on the OVC webpages.

University of Kent staff and students can purchase discounted bus tickets for the following single journeys:

Show your staff or student KentOne card to the driver to receive the discounted prices. You can pay for your ticket with cash or contactless card.

For more information about bus routes, timetables and all of the Arriva bus discounts available, please see our Medway bus webpage

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to Darren Griffin, Professor of Genetics and Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Reproduction at the University of Kent.

Darren is a world leader in the study of chromosomes, human sperm, IVF and the human genome as well as, more recently, the genomic structure of dinosaurs. Chris and Darren talk about Darren’s extensive media work, growing up in the same village as Alan Bennett, glam rock, his penchant for song lyrics, God, plagiarism, PhDs, his obsession with dinosaurs, what inspired him to enter academia, the need for research to have social relevance, transferring his IVF work to pig embryos, and how the results can feed back into the human IVF world, why the best science can sometimes be undertaken in the bar at conferences, fulfilling the dreams he had from high school, and whether Darren would consider himself to be a looking back or a looking forward type of person.

Chris Deacy also co-hosts a film podcast, the most recent episode of which (an Oscar special) can be found here.

The School of English and the School of European Culture and Languages worked together to organise ‘Writing for a living’, an event for students across the Faculty of Humanities taking place as part of the University’s ‘Humanities for Hire’ festival on Wednesday 27 February.

Dr Jeremy Scott, Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics and a published author, chaired an expert panel of professional writers – including SECL graduate Emily Cook – who discussed the trials and tribulations of making a living from the written word. The panel of writers, drawn from a range of careers including novelists, lecturers, journalists, freelance writers and poets, shared their insights into breaking into this competitive, frustrating and rewarding profession.

Following the event, Heidi Colthup, panellist and Lecturer in English Language & Linguistics, commented: ‘It was great to have a packed room for the panel, and to speak to so many students afterwards who wanted to know more about how to get a career in writing started. The event was a very good opportunity to hear a wide variety of experiences about writing for a living and how surprisingly accessible it can be’

Have you considered cycling to the University? Cycling is a great way to improve your physical and mental health. See our numbered cycle shelter map to find where your nearest cycle shelter is located.

How to gain access to Canterbury lockable cycle shelters

• For access to the Library cycle shelter email TransportTeam@kent.ac.uk with your name, staff or student number, number on back of your Kent One card, type and colour of bike and any identifying features of your bicycle.
• For other lockable cycle shelters come to the Security and Transport Centre with your Kent One card to gain access.

How to gain access to Medway lockable cycle shelters

• For access to the lockable cycle shelter at Medway, email MedwayCardAccess@kent.ac.uk with your name, staff or student number and number on the back of your Kent One card.

From today, 6 March, all staff vacancies will be advertised on a new system and a new look website.

The previous platform, i-Grasp has been replaced with a new system, Stonefish. If you wish to continue to receive job alerts, you must register and create a new account at jobs.kent.ac.uk.

To view and apply for internal only vacancies, you will need to use the Staff Login button which uses your University login details. Internal only vacancies will no longer be visible to external candidates.

This change is the final development in the second phase of Staff Connect, which aims to streamline our HR processes. Since October 2018, this has seen the introduction of training, appraisals (RPD), annual leave and absence management into one system. Although this is part of the Staff Connect project, a separate software solution called Stonefish has been selected as it is more tailored to the HE sector and presents a slicker, more intuitive, user interface which is in line with the Kent brand.

There are a number of benefits to the system:

• Candidates will find the registration and application process easier than i-Grasp.
• Hiring managers will no longer need to complete manual forms. Stonefish will be the single source of information about recruitment and duplication of data entry will be eliminated. An improved shortlisting process will be conducted online along with the ability to have anonymous shortlisting where appropriate (the latter will support the University’s Diversity & Inclusion and Athena SWAN commitments).
• Centrally, having a more uniform automated process will help drive efficiency and consistency and enable the resourcing team to handle high volume recruitment without damaging candidate perceptions or adding to management workloads. It will also provide better and more accessible management information.

Support sessions for all hiring managers are running throughout March and April. There will also be user guides available on the resourcing web pages. Your resourcing contacts will also be available to coach and take you through how to use the system.

If you have any questions, please contact the Resourcing Team at stonefish@kent.ac.uk

Learning and Organisational Development are running an Attendance Management training session at the Canterbury Campus on Thursday 14 March, from 09.30-12.30.

For further information, and to book a place, please visit your Staff Connect Dashboard.

Please book your place by Monday 11 March,12 noon.

There will be a traditional church service for the beginning of Lent, with Communion and ‘Ashing’, in Eliot College Chapel at 12.30pm on Wednesday 6 March.

The 35-minute service will be led by Revd Dr Stephen Laird, Anglican Chaplain. Christian students and staff of all traditions are welcome to attend. [Note: Catholic students can take part and receive the imposition of ashes even if they feel that they are not in a position receive the Sacrament].