Most of us will make a New Year’s resolution – maybe to lose weight, quit
smoking or drink less. One of the top resolutions is to get fit but how do
you go about getting in shape for 2019?

Here are some tips to help you:

• Walking – Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose
  weight and become healthier. Think of ways to include walking into your daily routine,
  such as walking part or all of your journey to college, using the stairs instead of the lift,
  or leaving the car behind for short journeys.
• Cycling – Cycling is a low-impact type of exercise, so it’s not as hard on your joints as
  running or other high-impact aerobic activities, but it still helps you get into shape.
  You’ll burn lots of calories and get leaner, more powerful legs.
• Running – Running is free, you can do it anywhere, and it burns more calories than any
  other mainstream exercise. If you enjoy regular walks, consider ramping them up a bit
  into jogging. Start slow and increase your pace and distance gradually.
• Dancing – Whether you like to jump, jive, tap, tango or shake your hips, dancing is one
  of the most enjoyable ways to get moving. There are lots of dance styles you can try
  including street dance, Ceroc, salsa, tap, ballroom, Zumba, Bollywood, jazz, flamenco,
  and cheerleading.
• Fitness classes – If you have trouble keeping to a routine, or you just want to get
  active under the guidance of an instructor, sign up for a regular exercise class that’ll
  get you moving in a structured environment. You could try aerobics, Zumba, yoga or
  pilates.
• Team sports – If you’re more competitive, think about playing a physical game as part
  of a team. You don’t have to be an expert to play informally at the park with friends, or
  why not join a regular sport session of your choice. If you like traditional and team
  sports, consider basketball, netball, football, badminton or tennis.

The University of Kent Wellbeing Zone is a free tool to help you learn more about all aspects of wellbeing and you can use it to better manage your own health and wellbeing.

Logon today at www.kent.wellbeingzone.co.uk
Or create an account by clicking ‘Register’ and using the following organisation Code : KENT1

The Centre for English and World Languages is offering Kent staff the chance to do a ten-week Language Express Spanish course for £81 –half the normal fees.

The course starts on Thursday 24 January from 18.00-20.00 on the Canterbury campus.

Hurry, as you will need to book your place by 17.00 on Monday 21 January!

Find out more about the course on the CEWL webpages.

For more information, and to book your place at the discounted rate, please email languageexpress@kent.ac.uk

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Dr Mike Walkey, Director of DICE from 1991 and a colleague, friend and mentor to many of us.

Mike came to the University of Kent from Queen Mary College, London and played an incredibly important role in establishing DICE, helping it grow from its early beginnings and leading on the creation of the conservation undergraduate programme. He also led a number of important research projects focusing on freshwater and marine conservation around the world.

After his retirement in 2002, Mike maintained close links with the School, and particularly enjoyed working with students on the annual field trip to the Peruvian Amazon. We will miss Mike’s unflappable nature and can-do attitude, accompanied by a twinkle in the eye whenever the outside world was being more absurd than usual. His knowledge, wisdom and kindness helped support a whole generation of DICE students and will remain one of his most important legacies.

Dr Bob Smith, Director of DICE

Mike’s funeral will take place on Tuesday 29 January at Barham Crematorium, CT4 6QU. No flowers please. A memorial service at the University will be held at a later date.

The University has re-committed to the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s manifesto for Public Engagement as part of its ten-year anniversary programme celebrating the organisation’s progress in leading engagement support across the higher education sector.

Our re-commitment to the manifesto is testament to our institutional passion for engagement in all of its forms through our research and teaching practice, in the context of our renewed emphasis on engagement, impact and civic mission.

The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) continues to work with Kent on its plans to develop the infrastructure and support mechanisms to enable staff and students to engage with the public.

Last year, the NCCPE worked with us to develop and deliver a survey on the infrastructure around engagement with research and on our current activities. It shone a light on our strengths in engagement with research: in our schools partnerships, engagement with policy makers on our research, and colleagues’ breadth of knowledge and expertise in engagement practice.

We will now be working with groups across the University to look at the opportunities to strengthen support and activity further.

Please contact Maddy Bell, Research Impact and Public Engagement Manager at m.r.bell@kent.ac.uk with any questions or comments.

Delivered by MIND, this popular session provides a comprehensive blend of practical advice and support for managers; including recognising potential issues and understanding how they can support and manage staff with mental health issues to effectively engage with the workplace.

The course is aimed at line managers and is taking place in Darwin College, Canterbury campus, on Thursday 24 January 2019. Book your place by logging onto Staff Connect.

The annual training for the safe release of trapped passengers is scheduled for 17 January.

This means that lifts in the following buildings will be out of service for short periods of time:

• Becket court
• Cornwallis Octagon
• Cornwallis East
• Tyler Court A
• Sibson (Maths reception)
• Sibson Platform lift
• Woolf College
• Jarman
• Sports Pavilion (new)
• Turing Hut 8
• Kent Union Parkwood Student Hub

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will endeavour to keep any disruption to a minimum. If you have any queries, please contact Estates Customer Services on ext 16666.

Phil Whittall
Head of Maintenance, Estates Department

The start of a new year brings a raft of new resolutions. Getting fit, losing weight, and being mindful of food are all common resolutions in the post-seasonal break. If this sounds like you, then we have an exciting competition which starts soon.

The Kent Sport Xercise Factor programme offers free one-to-one training over six weeks with the goal of improving members’ health and fitness lifestyles. The application process is now open to all Kent Sport Gold and Silver members, all you have to do is fill out an application form and post it in the ‘X’ box in the gym or email it to J.Dexter@kent.ac.uk by Friday 25 January.

The successful applicants will be guided by one of the qualified fitness instructors at Kent Sport and given specific advice and personal training to help them achieve their goals. At the end of the competition, the participant deemed to have embraced the programme the most will be crowned Xercise Factor 2019 champion.

Applications are now open and we are looking for students, staff and members of the public who think they have the Xercise Factor and want to commit to getting fit and changing their lifestyle for the better. It is a complete overhaul of exercise and lifestyle habits and the promotion requires full commitment from the contestants to complete the challenge. Pick up your application form from the fitness suite reception at the Sports Centre or download it online.

Not yet a member of Kent Sport? See kent.ac.uk/sports/membership for details and to sign up.

You can follow the progress of the Xercise Factor participants through our Instagram page UniKentSports or by searching #XerciseFactor.

Since 2 January 2019, staff have been able to request annual leave and record sickness absence through Staff Connect; the University’s integrated HR and Payroll system.

This is part of the continuing development of Staff Connect which aims to streamline our HR processes and extend employee and manager self-service, providing a one-stop-shop for as many HR activities as possible.

If you have any questions about Staff Connect and the launch of this new module, there is guidance and support available, including;

• Support sessions – available in January and February 2019
• Overview for managers of annual leave and absence management
• User guides for employees
• User guides for managers
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Who to contact for further support (pdf)

There are a couple of recurring questions that we thought it would be useful to highlight:

Bank holidays and customary days

• Your annual leave includes your entitlement for bank holidays and customary days and any carry over hours that we were told about in December.
• For full-time staff, bank holidays and customary days have been automatically deducted, however it is your responsibility to check the details entered are correct and amend if necessary (for instance, for staff who work a shift pattern across Bank Holidays)
• For part-time staff, holiday bookings need to be made for all bank holidays and customary days that you would have worked. Although the bank holidays are greyed out in the calendar (to make them easier to spot) you are still required to book leave on these days.
• When you request annual leave you will be asked to enter the hours you would normally be working on that day or days. That number of hours will then be deducted from your remaining annual leave entitlement.
• A report has now been made available to managers to allow them to review Bank Holiday and Customary Day bookings made by their team.
• Any 2019 leave which was already authorised via local systems or arrangements now needs to be requested through Staff Connect.

Annual leave entitlement for seconded staff
Staff Connect calculates annual leave based on your current role. Unfortunately this means that staff on secondment cannot book annual leave for their substantive role until they return to their post. We are currently looking into whether this can be amended.

Sick leave
All new sickness absences need to be entered in Staff Connect. Any absence which started before 2 January 2019 should be managed via Payroll.

Team calendar view 
We have temporarily removed the ‘view team calendar’ button as it is not showing the correct information. The issue has been raised with our suppliers as a matter of urgency.

‘My View Session Ended’ message
This message occurs for some users. This issue has also been raised with our suppliers. If you get this message and cannot enter absence you can ask your manager to do it on your behalf.

This is the latest update in the Staff Connect Phase 2 project. The new staff recruitment system, replacing i-Grasp, will go live in February.

Building on the Wellbeing Zone theme for January 2019, here are links to some articles and publications expanding on the theme of alcohol consumption and how high levels of consumption adversely affect health and relationships.

• Drinkaware (UK): Are you drinking too much: Alcohol self-assessment tool
• NHS (UK): Alcohol Advice
• Patient UK (UK): Alcohol and Sensible Drinking
• Better Health Channel (Australian): Alcohol and Your Life
• Psychology Today (US): What is Your Relationship with Alcohol?
• com (US): 10 Signs you have a Toxic Relationship with Alcohol
• Alcoholics Anonymous GB (UK): Help with problem drinking
• Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol and Your Health (US): Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder
• Money Magpie (UK): Financial Cost of Alcohol Consumption
• co.uk (UK): Financial Cost of Drinking Alcohol Calculator
• American Addiction Centers (US): Alcoholism and Family/Marital Problems
• Drinkaware (UK): How alcohol affects relationships
• Org (US): Alcohol & Relationships: A Good or Bad Mix?
• PsychCentral (US): Is Alcohol Spoiling Your Romance?
• Life Hack (US): 5 Reasons Your Drinking Destroyed Your Relationship
• Very Well Mind (US): How to stop enabling an Alcoholic or Addict
• Alta Mira Recovery Programme (US): The Effects of Living with an Alcoholic Spouse
• WHO (International): Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018
• Healthline (US): Alcohol and Health: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• com (US): It’s Time to Rethink How Much Booze may be Too Much
• WebMD (US): FAQ: Alcohol and Health
• BUPA (UK): The Health Risks of Drinking Alcohol
• org (NZ): Alcohol Related Health Conditions
• UK (UK): Alcohol Consumption and Cancer Risk
• North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Trust (UK): Alcohol Misuse
• Alcohol Health Alliance (UK): How we Drink, What we Think Report 2018

The University of Kent Wellbeing Zone is a free tool to help you learn more about all aspects of wellbeing and you can use it to better manage your own health and wellbeing.

Logon today at www.kent.wellbeingzone.co.uk Or create an account by clicking ‘Register’ and using the following organisation Code : KENT1

Having listened to your suggestions from the recent Campus Shuttle survey, which over 450 staff and students completed, we have introduced some changes to the shuttle service this term.

In response to your feedback:

• passengers can now board the Campus Shuttle at Liberty Quays for travel to Pembroke campus and the Dockyard (Western Avenue)
• to allow for passenger boarding time without losing the hourly service, the shuttle now only stops once on the Canterbury campus, at Keynes bus stop
• the service no longer stops at Darwin bus stop
• the on-the-hour timetable continues with some changes to peak travel times to improve reliability
• change of route: Keynes- Liberty Quays- Dockyard (Western Avenue)- Pembroke- Dockyard (Western Avenue)- Liberty Quays- Keynes
• a new booking system allows you to book a seat on the day*
• we have introduced two new, larger Campus Shuttle vehicles (53 and 34 seaters).

Medway student feedback was clear in wanting the new service from Liberty Quays to the Pembroke campus and the Historic Dockyard. To ensure we can keep an hourly service, the decision had to be made to remove one of the stops at Canterbury. The majority of you in the survey said you’d prefer to keep the Keynes bus stop, or had no clear preference.

Features of the new vehicles include Wi-Fi, USB charging points, more comfortable seats, a toilet and fold out tables on the larger vehicle. Both of the vehicles will be wrapped in a University of Kent design.

*We aim to have the new booking system available in the next couple of days. We will tweet from @CampusShuttle when booking becomes available.

If you have any feedback about the changes to the shuttle service, please email TransportTeam@kent.ac.uk

www.kent.ac.uk/campus-shuttle