Kent’s Centre for Professional Practice is launching a new online short course: Introduction to Master’s Level Study.

This short self-guided study resource introduces you to the concepts and skills required for successful study of the Master’s programme delivered by the Centre for Professional Practice. Participating in this course gives you the opportunity to develop academic writing and critical reasoning capabilities and manage complex information effectively. This is an online short course, no attendance is required. To access it you will be using the University of Kent’s Virtual Learning Environment.

For more information and how to sign-up, see the CPP webpages.

This is a self-guided study resource comprising two parts plus a third part for those wishing to gain academic credit.

• Part I: an introduction to the skills needed to research and write assignments at Masters’ level.
• Part II: an introduction to concepts of learning at Master’s level.
• Part III: assessment details (only required if seeking to gain academic credit).

From the course, you will develop skills in the following areas: the ability to communicate clearly in written formats in academic and professional workplace settings; manage complex information effectively and present this using a comprehensive range of learning resources; demonstrate a capacity for autonomous learning and the ability to access professional resources as appropriate.

On successful completion of Parts 1, 2 and 3, you will be awarded 15 credits.

You can purchase Parts 1 & 2 at a total cost of £100 (this is non-credit bearing option).
For those wishing to go on to gain academic credit, the cost for Part 3 is £550.

The University was saddened to learn that Reginald (Reg) Brown passed away peacefully on Thursday 1 December.

In the early years of the University there was an arrangement whereby selected students from the Rose Bruford college of Speech and Drama were permitted to complete a degree in English at Kent in two years. Reg was one of the first beneficiaries of this scheme, arriving at Kent in 1968. The Gulbenkian opened in June 1969 and the post of Director fell vacant just as Reg graduated a year later in 1970. He was already seeking other possibilities of employment, and was led to apply for it almost by chance, but was duly appointed.

Reg was Director of the Gulbenkian for 22 years, during which time, being a prodigious and versatile worker he directed, acted, sang, built and painted scenery and even serviced the theatre’s van. He fostered excellent town-gown relationships, directing and performing for amateur companies, and importing local talent into University productions. He inaugurated, with the help of the then Music Director Alan Laing, the summer pro-am operatic productions which ran for many years even after Reg’s retirement, and featured large international staff-student choruses. All this he achieved on a shoestring budget.

Widely known and liked, Reg was a defining figure in the University’s first quarter of a century; it is largely thanks to the achievements of Reg that the Gulbenkian gradually expanded into a central University arts complex.

Following Reg’s retirement he continued his long association with the University and with Rutherford College, as a valued Honorary Senior Member. Reg visited the University very recently to attend the 50th anniversary lecture on 14 October and also to attend the memorial service for another former member of staff, Bob Gibson, less than a fortnight ago.

The Rutherford flag is flying at half-mast in recognition of Reg’s long-standing association with the University and College. Reg will be greatly missed by all, and our thoughts are with his wife Janet.

Please contact the Rutherford Master’s Office if you would like to receive funeral details when they are known.

Picture shows: Reg Brown (left) and Bob Gibson (right) as the ‘Porters’.

Read this blog post by Paul Allain, Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, Faculty of Humanities, to find out how the Society of Authors supports academic writers.

The University of Kent Players are looking for people to join them, either on stage or back stage, in their next production – Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters, adapted by Stephen Briggs.

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, this comedy tells the story of three witches trying to save the kingdom of Lancre from the evil Duke and Duchess and to ease the mind of the lately murdered King Verence.

The production will be supporting the Orangutan Foundation, of which Terry Pratchett was a trustee and long-standing supporter.

Auditions take place on Thursday 1 December and Tuesday 13 December at 17.30 in Keynes Senior Common Room, with the production taking to the Gulbenkian stage 6-8 April 2017.

There is also a read-through of the play tonight (Tuesday 22 November) at 17.30 in Cornwallis South S33. Just come along and join in – no obligation!

If you are interested in being involved in this production in any way, please email the Players for further information.

If you use a standard University staff PC, you can download Microsoft Office 2016 now.

This means that you can choose when you get it. In January 2017 all Staff Managed Desktop PCs will be moved onto Office 2016.

How to download Office 2016 on a Staff Managed Desktop:

• Close all Office programs.
• Click Start.
• Click ‘Install a Program from the Network’ – search for this if you don’t see it.
• Select Office 2016 from the list of available programs.

‘Trump and Brexit: the end of politicial polling?’ is the theme of a pubTALK special on
Thursday 1 December at The Jolly Sailor, Canterbury, from 19.00

The last six months have seen two cataclysmic events in politics. The UK voted to leave the EU, and Donald Trump was elected to the White House. Most polls saw neither result coming.

In 2015, after the general election polling ‘miss’ in Britain, questions were raised over the value of polling, with one Labour peer saying polls were ‘corrupt’ and should be banned during election campaigns. After the polling fiascos of 2016, this debate is set to ignite once again.

In light of this, Q-Step are excited to host a panel discussion followed by a Q&A on the future of opinion polling in politics. Should polls be banned? Are they reliable anymore? What worth do they have for democracies today?

Josh Townsley, Dee Goddard, Jack Bridgewater and Tom Barton will lead the discussion on Thursday 1 December at The Jolly Sailor please arrive from 19.00 for a 19.30 start. As always, the evenings are free to attend and anyone is welcome to attend.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch or you can get up to date information via our website or mailing list.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Keli Jenner/ Joe Warriner

Website: www.kent.ac.uk/qstep
Twitter: @UniKentQstep
Tel: 01227 827716 | E-mail: qstep-info@kent.ac.uk

The University will host its annual Foundation Day Lecture on 17 November 2016. The lecture, titled ‘Don’t Dumb Down; Smarten Up’ will be delivered by Gwyneth Williams, Controller of BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

The lecture will focus on how can we better understand the ideas that mould us in order to make choices and take decisions about how we want to live and how we want our societies to function? This is more important now more than ever as we try to make sense of the unfolding global turmoil around us.

Contrary to the view that dumbing down is the only way to go, Gwyneth Williams, Controller of BBC Radio 4, argues that smart, intelligent, more challenging content us the way to reach and capture bigger audiences.

Gwyneth Williams has been Controller of Radio 4 and 4 Extra since 2010. Before that, she was Director of the World Service in English, Editor of the BBC Reith Lectures for many years and Head of BBC Radio Current Affairs. She started her career at the BBC writing current affairs talks for the World Service and then worked at the Overseas Development Institute before returning to the BBC. She has published two books, one, co-authored, on Southern Africa and another on Third World political organisations.

The lecture will take place in the Woolf Lecture Theatre on Canterbury campus from 18.30.
Admission is free and open to all.

Book now for exclusive offers across the new season of shows at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.

Highlights include up to 20% off selected performances of shows including Dick Whittington (25 November- 8 January), The Fully Monty (20-25 February), Funny Girl (2-6 May) and the Glyndebourne Tour 2017 (31 October-4 November).

Staff can access these exclusive rates, as well as a number of special members’ evenings, because of the University’s corporate membership. To book, call the box office 01227 787787 and use the code MARCOR171.

Full details of exclusive offers are available in this poster.

Further information on members’ evenings is also available on this flier.

The 2016 University open days took place at the Canterbury and Medway campuses in June, July and October. Over 5,500 prospective students and their families came to the events [1], which are coordinated by the Recruitment and Marketing team in Enrolment Management Services (EMS).

Open Days are key recruitment events, and their importance to the University’s recruitment strategy is clear. Our follow-up survey, sent to all visitors who attended, indicates the visitor experience at Kent’s open days is overwhelmingly positive: 72% of respondents stated they were definitely considering making an application based on their open day experience.

As part of the survey, respondents are also asked for their general feedback. Here are a couple of examples [2].

‘My top choice by a mile. I couldn’t want any more from a university and what Kent offers….the most effective open day I have been to. It has truly left a lasting impression on me.’

‘The first member of staff we encountered was so pleasant, helpful and lovely to talk to. Gave us a good impression of the University for the day. All staff were very helpful.’

EMS would like to take this opportunity to thank all University staff and students for their support in the continued success of our Open Days.

[1] Attendance data from 2016 Open Days at Canterbury and Medway
[2] Comments taken from the 2016 Open Day visitor feedback survey