From Martin Atkinson, Director of HR and Organisational Development

This is to confirm that all deferred salary awards associated with 2020 academic promotions and salary award processes will be paid in the October pay run.

Standard progression ‘automatic’ increments, including academic advancements, and any transition arrangements from the Reward Strategy deferred by 12 months due to the pay freeze will also be paid in October along with 2021 academic promotions and advancements.

Given the volume of work involved in processing these payments, all awards associated with the 2021 salary award processes will be paid in November and backdated to 1 October.

We aim to send all letters detailing the outcome of 2021 salary awards processes to staff by Thursday 11 November.

Martin

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

A new online training module for civil servants around the world has been developed by international law expert Dr Luis Eslava for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The module on ‘Green Cities and Infrastructure’ explores contemporary debates about sustainable development in low income and G20 countries.

Dr Eslava said: ‘The topics covered in the module highlight the role of urban and local development in conversations about the future of the global environment. The module shows how effective and progressive actions at the local level should recognise the impact of past development policies on current urban arraignments, and how meaningful local engagement with communities, in both “developed” and “developing” countries, are an essential step towards global environmental justice.’

The module was commissioned by the FCDO for their Trade Policy and Negotiations Faculty (TPNF) as part of their extensive program for government officials specialising in trade policy across Whitehall and globally.

Dr Eslava said: ‘It was a great privilege, both professionally and academically, to be able to contribute to the training of current and future FCDO officials posted across the world and who are directly dealing with crucial questions about domestic and international development and global trade policies.’

Dr Eslava was supported in the development of the ‘Green Cities and Infrastructure’ module by Kent Law School alumnus George Hill. George graduated from Kent with a First Class Honours degree in European Legal Studies in 2019 and is currently completing an LLM by Research at the European Institute in Florence. George co-authored a chapter on ‘Cities, Post-Coloniality and International Law’ with Dr Eslava for the Research Handbook on International Law and Cities (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021).

Dr Eslava is a Reader in International Law at Kent Law School with teaching responsibilities that span across Law and International Development, Public International Law and International Human Rights Law.

He is an active member of The IEL Collective, the network Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and is currently writing a book on the changing nature of global poverty, Broken Worlds: New Poverty, Law and Youth Violence. He is also co-editing The Oxford Handbook of International Law and Development (OUP, forthcoming 2022).

We are delighted to announce that nominations are open for the brand new Kent Staff Recognition Awards!

The past year and a half have been difficult for us all.  Whether we have been furloughed, working from home or continuing to work on our very quiet campuses, everyone has had to adapt, to change the way we work and to juggle work with our home lives in ways that we wouldn’t have imagined beforehand.  And we must not forget that some of us have suffered illness and lost loved ones.

Every employee and every team should be proud of what we have all achieved and, whilst Covid and the University’s financial challenges haven’t gone away, we feel the time is right to celebrate the amazing efforts of our staff by launching our new Kent Staff Recognition Awards.

The Awards are intended to celebrate the achievements of Kent staff across five categories: unsung heroes, great teams, supportive colleagues, most humorous moments and community impact. Further detail about the Awards and how to nominate a colleague or a team can be found on our Kent Staff Recognition Awards webpages. Nominations will close at a minute to midnight on Sunday 31 October and awards will be presented at an Awards Evening on Wednesday 10 November.

We look forward to receiving your nominations and to celebrating the fantastic contributions and achievements of our staff, as well as hearing about those funny Teams moments we have all enjoyed so much.

Karen and Martin 

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President
Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

From Martin Atkinson, Director of HR and Organisational Development

This year continues to present unprecedented challenges across the University as we adapt to the largescale disruption brought about by the pandemic and our continued period of change at Kent, coupled now with the difficulties many staff are experiencing following the launch of KentVision. The impact this is having on many people’s wellbeing has been a major concern in recent Executive Group meetings – we hear what you are saying and are fully committed to putting the right things in place to address the issues as quickly as we can. 

In recent weeks a sub-group of JSNCC has been meeting to explore the issues impacting staff wellbeing in depth, leading to a report that lists out key recommendations (link requires VPN access) to help us move forward. These recommendations were endorsed by the full JSNCC yesterday and also have the full support of both Karen and the Executive Group. I’d like to personally thank the members of the Working Group for coming together at such a busy time to find ways forward with this – I’ve no doubt their input will help us identify tangible improvements that are of real benefit across our community. 

Four key recommendations 

At the heart of the report are four key recommendations the group felt would best address current concerns around Wellbeing: 

• Wellbeing and Workload Focus Groups: Bringing staff together to talk about workload, to help us quickly identify and surface issues impacting staff as they arise and work together on solutions 
• Toolkits: Alongside the Mental Health Support intranet site, a toolkit will be prepared for early next year that brings together our Wellbeing resource and ensures everyone knows more about support available at Kent 
• Spreading the word: Encouraging more conversations about staff wellbeing and mental health by encouraging everyone to read this report and ensuring everyone has a chance to contribute towards putting improvements in place 
• EG engagement: Finding new ways to bring staff and the Executive Group together – including continued staff engagement via the popular Staff Webchats series which we will develop further throughout the year 

Workload 

The Working Group were clear that workload issues are the number one driver for the impact on wellbeing many staff are feeling at present. This includes the continued challenges we face following the launch of KentVision, for which as an Executive Group we apologise unreservedly. 

There are no quick fixes to workload issues or to the problems with KentVision. However, this is a key priority for EG and we are determined to improve our current situation as quickly as we can. This includes introducing short-term resource where it can make a difference and continuing to prioritise process improvement through the How We Work project. The new KentVision project manager has written directly to key stakeholders using the system with details of the changes now being put in place to improve delivery and to help alleviate some of the problems being experienced by users across the University. 

Looking ahead 

Kent is a great place to work in so many ways, but I realise that the current workload and wellbeing issues mean that it may not feel like that for some staff at present. There is much to do to improve staff wellbeing and we will provide regular updates as the recommendations get taken forward.  

Alongside that, we also want to recognise just how busy things have been. While it may still be a little way off, I’m pleased to confirm in advance that the last normal working day before Christmas (Wednesday 22 December) will now be a full rest day in recognition of how hard the last few months have been.  And, given we know how hard it is to take leave at the moment, staff will be allowed to carry over up to 10 days leave this year rather than the usual five.  Full details of both will be confirmed nearer the time. 

I fully recommend reading the Report in detail to find out more about our commitment to improving wellbeing at Kent. My thanks again to those involved for their hard work and genuine commitment to finding better ways to support our community at Kent. 

With all good wishes, 

Martin 

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

Update by KentVision Project Manager, Martin Carvey 

As the new Project Manager for KentVision, I wanted to give everyone an update on where we are with the project and what our next steps will be. As many will be aware, there are a number of issues with KentVision currently which are having a major impact across the University. While there won’t be any quick fixes to this, we know that solutions are needed urgently and are working as fast as we can to identify and deliver them. 

Project management 

Working with Project Sponsor Richard Reece, we have established a new Project Board with more regular reporting to Executive Group. This includes a more robust approach to risk management and revised timelines that reflect our current status. While also making improvements on an ongoing basis, we are working towards having the key aspects of KentVision fully operational by mid-2022. 

Additional support 

While the KentVision project team has worked tirelessly to get us to this stage, greater resources are essential to the future success of the project. We are currently bringing in additional business analysis, development and user support with this in mind. 

Priorities will include setting up a specifically designed Service Desk by the end of November to better manage emerging issues, while also building in additional time into the planning, testing and delivery cycle so more issues are addressed before they impact students and staff, 

Ongoing communications 

KentVision impacts across a number of areas of the University and both Richard Reece and myself want to make sure everyone is kept fully informed of progress in the coming weeks. Along with dedicated workshops for frontline teams, all staff can join a Staff Webchat in November (date tbc) where we will give a full update on the project and answer any questions you may have. 

In the meantime, you can find out more on the KentVision webpages.

Martin Carvey | KentVision Project Manager

All staff are invited to submit new or updated declarations for incorporation in the 2021/2022 Register.

The University Council holds a Register of Interests for members of Council and all staff, in line with the Higher Education Code of Governance and the Office for Students Audit requirements. It is up to individual members of staff what, if any, interests they declare – however, making a declaration provides protection for both you and the University against any possible allegations of impropriety.

For the purposes of the Register, an interest is defined to be any financial or other personal interest an individual may have in any relationship or proposed relationship between the University and an external body. This would include consultancy, employment, directorship or other activity within a commercial concern, shareholding or membership of statutory and public authorities. Other education establishments and companies with which the University has an actual or potential business relationship should be included, as should any interest that a family member might have that could give the appearance of a conflict, even where no actual conflict exists.

Documents, including the Policy and a Declaration Form can be accessed on the Council Secretariat website and on SharePoint. You can also find the University’s Policy on Personal Benefit can be found on our Governance pages.

Colleagues are welcome to contact Council Secretariat for confidential advice if needed.

Celebrate the festive season in style with us at Kent this year.

We’re excited to announce that Christmas Parties on the Canterbury campus are now open and taking bookings.

We have packages to suit all tastes, from organised Christmas Party Nights on Thursday 9 or Thursday 16 December in Darwin Suite with an indulgent 3-course meal and entertainment, or exclusive use of Darwin Suite for your own private festive event with seasonal menus, drinks and entertainment packages.

Or for something truly different, why not bring some festive wonder to your Christmas party and hold your event outdoors in our large marquee overlooking Canterbury Cathedral? Bespoke packages are available from festive BBQs and hog roasts, to canapés and Champagne topped off with a snow machine for a Winter Wonderland experience.

Plus, our Conference and Events Team are on hand to take the stress out of the organisation for you during this busy time.

So, whatever your plans, support Kent this season by keeping your spend on campus and count on us for fun-filled celebrations and a night to remember.

Find out more on the Christmas Parties webpages or send an enquiry via this form.

The E-Learning Team are pleased to announce that the next event in our series of ‘Digitally Enhanced Education webinars’ will take place on Wednesday 27 October at the slightly later time of 14:00 – 16:30 (BST), with the theme ‘Pedagogy and Practice when Teaching Online’.

Please find the agenda for the event below:

14:00 – 14:05 – Phil Anthony: Introduction

14:05 – 14:20 – Associate Professor Rachel Bolton-King (Staffordshire University): 5 Steps to Rethink your Remote Pedagogy

14:20 – 14:35 – Mary Jacob (Aberystwyth University): Dialogic feedback in online group tutorials

14:35 – 14:50 – Professor Phil Race: Assessment: Do we measure what we’ve taught, or something else?

14:50 – 15:05 – Michael Natzler (Hepi): Thinking about the student voice

15:05 – 15:20 – Chris Douce (Open University): Getting published in a peer reviewed journal

15:20 – 15:30 – Break

15:30 – 15:45 – Vikki Anderson, Susan Onens & Karl Nightingale (University of Birmingham): Audio feedback. A step towards a more inclusive curriculum

15:45 – 16:00 – Zoë Allman (Associate Dean, De Montfort University): Mental wellbeing for all

16:00 – 16:15 – Flower Darby (Northern Arizona University): Practical tips for engaging students via online forums

16:15 – 16:30 – Dr Peter Horneffer (All American Institute of Medical Sciences): Applying Evidence-based Strategies For Effective Teaching in Digital Classrooms

If you would like to join the webinar series, please express your interest here if you haven’t already. We will add you the Microsoft Team linked to the series.  Colleagues from outside the University are very welcome to join and so feel free to circulate.

If you would like to present at a future event, please complete this form and Phil Anthony will be in touch.

We hope to see you there.

Want to get active and have some fun too? Enter a team for this year’s Vice-Chancellor’s Cup, a light-hearted competition for staff across Kent, regardless of ability.

Once a month, departments compete activities ranging from rounders and volleyball to ultimate Frisbee, pub games and more! Most activities take place during the lunch hour (12.00-13.00 or 13.00-14.00) and span the academic year, starting with ‘It’s A Knockout’ on Tuesday 2 November 2021 and culminating in The Quiz event on Monday 12 September 2022. The Quiz event will be followed by a closing ceremony, usually held in the Pavilion Café Bar with a buffet for all attendees to enjoy food and drinks in between quiz rounds and crowning event winners.

Charlie Dast, Sports Development Officer, says: ‘Not only is the VC’s Cup a great opportunity to get up, move around and break up your work day, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to meet staff you may have never encountered in different departments across the University.’

Charlie, together with his colleagues Karen, Billy and Amy, will be on hand throughout the contest to look after participants. To date, 15 teams/departments have signed up, including: Research Innovation Services, Kent Business School, HR, Estates, Natural Sciences, Campus Security, Human and Social Sciences, Kent & Medway Medical School. But there’s still time to enter your own team! Deadline for entries is Friday 15 October 2021 at 17.00 – get your entry in now by emailing sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk.

You can find out more about the Vice-Chancellor’s Cup, what’s happening and when, on the VC’s Cup webpages.

The Sports Development Team looks forward to hearing from you!