The first Lunchtime Concert of the new term kicks off with a Highland fling this Wednesday (25 January), as award-winning ensemble Fara brings folk music of Scotland to the Colyer-Fergusson concert-hall.
As usual admission is free, with a suggested donation of £3: more details can be found on our Music webpages, or collect the new What’s On brochure from Colyer-Fergusson and the Gulbenkian.
All professional colleagues working at Faculty or School level in Canterbury and Medway (around 290 staff) were invited to a one-day development conference on Thursday 12 January, at the Canterbury campus on the theme of dealing with change.
This is part of the “Excellence Initiative” started in 2012 to encourage the sharing of good practice across the different Schools and Faculties, and to celebrate and enhance the service delivered by professional staff to students and academics as well as to other professional colleagues working centrally.
The current “Excellence and Change” enhancement theme succeeds the “Service Excellence” and “Excellence through Partnerships” themes, which gave birth to a number of projects, such as the very successful Shadow Matching and Coffee with Colleagues schemes in 2016.
The day began with two keynote addresses from Professor April McMahon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education, and Dr Christopher Sarchet, consultant for SUMS and Convenor of the AUA’s Managing Change in Higher Education Network. Both discussed the various internal and external changes which have been – and will be – impacting the University, as well as the whole sector, and how professional service staff can embrace these changes.
During the afternoon, each participant was able to attend two break-out workshop sessions from a choice of nine, which included topics such as the politics of change; dealing with change; career pathways; the student perspective; or mindfulness. These were led by Kent staff as well as visiting speakers from Kent Union, Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Northampton.
We were delighted to be joined throughout the day by members of central departments and central projects who manned stands which either showcased new developments in their areas, or highlighted the various opportunities and support offered by the University to staff who are seeking or facing a change in their professional life. These included the Student Success Project; Staff Connect; Wellbeing; the Requirements Team; Self-Guided Audio Tour; further qualifications offered by the Centre for Professional Practice; and the University’s Master Plan, to name but a few.
We were also fortunate to have one of our colleagues, Louise Frith, and one of our students, Sophie Thurlow, documenting the conference through graphic recording. These images, as well as the presentations are available on the Excellence Initiative website, where further information on current projects and past and future events can also be found.
The Excellence events team would like to thank everyone who gave the keynote addresses, delivered sessions, exhibited and contributed to the success of the conference, as well as all of the colleagues who attended.
Book your place now for the first Student Success mini seminar, to be held on Medway and Canterbury campuses next month (February).
The seminar, which focuses on “Student Motivation” by Stephen Earl, will take place on:
Wednesday 15 February 2017, Medway Campus, Medway Building Room M1-22, 13.00 – 14.00.
Friday 17 February 2017, Canterbury Campus, Grimond Building, GS3, 13.00 – 14.00.
The purpose of the event is to share details about student motivation at Kent and to allow colleagues from across the University to meet and exchange ideas.
The seminar will provide an overview of research undertaken in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences as part of the Student Success Project. The research takes a psychological perspective to student success, investigating how students’ motivation and experiences at university may influence their attainment, engagement and well-being.
Underpinned by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), this work also considers factors that may influence students’ autonomous learning, feelings of competence, and sense of relatedness at university. The aim of the research is to identify how students’ motivation may differ between student groups so we as an institution can better support students’ motivation at university.
All staff are invited to attend. To register your attendance please email Elizabeth Buswell.
The University of Kent has become one of the first UK universities to attain the new ISO14001:2015 environmental management certification.
Building from our original certification in 2012, the new 2015 version of the standard places greater emphasis on how organisations integrate environmental performance into governance, management and operational processes. Kent’s early certification to the new standard recognises the University’s leadership and its commitment to embedding and improving its environmental performance.
More information on the University’s Environmental Management System can be found on our Safety webpages.
As part of the ongoing improvements to environmental management at the University, we will be re-vamping webpages, launching a new behaviour change campaign and publishing an annual sustainability report. Keep an eye on Campus Online for any updates.
From Monday 23 to Friday 27 January 2017, Grounds Maintenance will be working in Eliot Extension courtyard to prune and tidy the shrubbery next to the now demolished Law School.
Please be aware that access may be restricted from time to time for safety reasons and that there will be some noise disruption due to the use of machinery.
We apologise in advance for these works, which are necessary to bring the Wigoder build to a conclusion.
For any further information please contact the Estates Helpdesk on ext 3209.
Paul Griffiths, Grounds Maintenance Manager
Don’t miss the chance to catch internationally renowned jazz singer-musician Earl Okin, at Gulbenkian on Thursday 2 February.
Earl Okin is also one of the University of Kent’s first 500 students, completing a degree in Philosophy here from 1965-68.
His musical career began, while still at Kent, when he was signed to the same company as The Beatles in 1966. He has worked with some of the biggest names of the 1960s including Wings and Van Morrison, and written songs for the likes of Cilla Black and Bing Crosby.
A second career on the alternative comedy circuit began in the early 1980s after a performance on The Comic Strip, and he has performed over 500 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Earl Okin continues to work as a songwriter and jazz singer/musician. He is renowned for his vocal-trumpet solos and regarded as one of the most accomplished Bossa Nova artistes outside Brazil.
The concert at Gulbenkian is his first concert in a few years and partly to celebrate his 70th birthday the same week
Tickets are available now – priced £12, £11 GulbCard and University staff and £10 students – on Gulbenkian webpages.
The Student Hub, new home of GK Unions at Medway campus, is now open.
The Hub, on the site of the former naval swimming pool and skittles alley, has been transformed since 2015 with the help of students from both Kent and Greenwich Universities.
The Student Hub, new home of GK Unions at Medway campus, is now open.
The Hub, on the site of the former swimming pool and skittles alley, has been transformed since 2015 with the help of students from both Kent and Greenwich Universities.
The new hub has a modern bar, flexible entertainment and social space with a great range of food available. You can find out more about the Deep End menu here.
We also have an exciting programme of events lined up. To stay up to date, like our Facebook Page @deependmedway.
The Hub will be home to our Advice Centre plus offices for GK Unions Activities. It will also offer flexible, bookable activity space for Greenwich, Kent and Christ Church students.
The official opening of the Hub, featuring Tinchy Stryder, takes place this Friday night (20 January) from 22.00. You can buy tickets here.
The Student Hub and Deep End will be a transformational change for GK Unions improving the student experience at Medway, by providing much needed flexible social and activity space for over 6,000 students that we represent. You can see a preview of everything the Hub has to offer on this KTV film.
We can’t wait to see you in the Hub!
GK Unions
A range of additional support has been put in place since the beginning of last term to help students through some difficult situations which they may be experiencing.
A number of students were appointed, and attended a range of training sessions at the beginning of the autumn term, to fulfil the following positions:
These roles complement the highly successful Street Marshal Scheme, introduced last year by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. The scheme operates in defined residential areas with the dual aims of safeguarding students and local residents as they transit through these areas of Canterbury at night, and promoting positive community relationships by encouraging students and local residents to behave responsibly whilst walking through these areas.
A number of members of staff also received training last term to act as Sexual Assault Respondents (SARs), and be equipped to attend to anyone, at Canterbury and Medway, who may have suffered such an assault outside of working hours (5pm-9am and at weekends) . SARs operate on a rota and are accessed via Campus Security.
Further information on support available can be found on the Student Services webpages.
The University’s Tonbridge Centre has just launched its exciting short course programme for the coming spring and summer terms.
As well as courses in the humanities, it includes postgraduate-level taster courses: all are unaccredited, designed for exploration of a subject for interest among like-minded people. The courses range from one-off three hour workshops and study days to regular course meetings of up to eight weeks, on weekdays and some Saturdays.
New subjects in this programme are psychology, and a range of self-development courses. History has been introduced to the postgraduate-level taster courses.
The Tonbridge Centre is a small and friendly centre dedicated to part-time study, located just a few minutes’ walk from Tonbridge railway station and the town centre.
Full course information is available by visiting the Tonbridge Centre webpages.
Staff benefit from a 50% course fee reduction on some courses, subject to availability: please enquire by emailing the Tonbridge Centre or calling extension 4990 or 01732 352316.