The Battle of the Somme (1916) will be screened at Westgate Hall, Canterbury on Wednesday 2 November.

This year, Imperial War Museums (IWM) and members of the First World War Centenary Partnership are working together to show the UNESCO listed film The Battle of the Somme, to audiences across the world.

Shot and screened in 1916, it was the first feature-length documentary about war and changed the way both cinema and film was perceived by the public. In the year of its release around 20 million people, almost half the population of Britain at the time, watched The Battle of the Somme, many hoping to see the image of a loved-one or friend captured on film.  One hundred years later this unique film from IWM’s collection is being shown to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.*

This free screening at Westgate Hall, Canterbury, is organised by Gateways to the First World War and Westgate Community Trust and will feature live piano accompaniment with original melodies from pianist Stephen Horne and percussionist Martin Pyne. Come along and find out more about how the British public encountered the war on the big screen, with a welcome from the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, introduction to the film from Professor Mark Connelly (Professor of British Military History at Kent) and a talk from Stephen Horne on the musical accompaniment to the film.

The film will be shown at Westgate Hall, Westgate Hall Road, Canterbury CT1 2BT (entrance via Pound Lane car park). Doors open at 18.30 and there will be a cash bar.

*For more information about the First World War Centenary Partnership’s plans to commemorate the Battle of the Somme visit www.1914.org

It was with deep regret that the University learned of the death of Emeritus Professor Alfred Smyth on 16 October.

Alf was a former Master of Keynes College and an Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, specialising in the British Isles. His monumental study of King Alfred the Great, published in 1995, made a major impact in the field of Anglo-Saxon studies, following two important earlier monographs.

In 1997, he was awarded funding from the EU Raphael scheme to hold a conference on Medieval European national identity issues at the University of Kent and at Windsor Castle. He edited the findings in a book titled Medieval Europeans: Studies in Ethnic Identity and National Perspectives in Medieval Europe to which he contributed a chapter. From 1999, Alf was Director of Research and later Dean of Arts and Humanities at Canterbury Christ Church University.

Alf’s funeral will take place at 10.00 on Wednesday 26 October at St Teresa’s RC Church in Ashford, followed by a gathering at Godmersham Village Hall. His family have requested no flowers, but donations may be made to the Pilgrim’s Hospice if you wish.

This Wednesday (26 October), Dr Bike is back on Canterbury campus located outside The Pavilion from 08.30-15.00.

The new Cycle Hub is nearly ready; there’s still essential work going on inside but it won’t be too long before it’s up and running.

On Saturday 22 October the Development Office kicked off the University’s 2016 Telephone Campaign, with a team of students from across the University calling alumni in the UK and USA to share their experiences at Kent, update them on all the latest news from the University, and also to speak about the Kent Opportunity Fund.

Over 170 applications were received for the student fundraiser positions and a selection process identified 26 successful students who will be part of the campaign for the next four weeks.

One of these students is Noor Hafez, a second-year English student, who said: ‘I joined the 2016 Telephone Campaign so that I could be a part of a project I believe in. I want to help make education more inclusive of everyone regardless of financial capabilities or background. I would like to contribute to us passing our fundraising goal and being able to offer more scholarships and more opportunities for students who truly deserve it.’

The 2016 Telephone Campaign hopes to raise over £77,000 for the Kent Opportunity Fund, which supports the Alumni Postgraduate Research Scholarship, bursaries for students experiencing financial hardship, the Student Projects Grants Scheme and student sport.

To find out more about the Kent Opportunity Fund, email Eva Chow in the Development Office.

The search is on for unsung heroes across the Medway region.

Nominations are now open for this year’s Pride in Medway awards, co-sponsored by the University.

The awards aim to reward people who go above and beyond the call of duty in their everyday lives – for example, showing courage, being a good carer or community volunteering

As well as an overall award, each of the sponsors – also including the Medway Messenger, Uniper, Mid Kent College, mhs homes, Medway Council and Southeastern – also choose their own individual winner.

In 2016, the University’s award went to Amy Harwood who, aged 13, was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, a disease causing hair loss. She was nominated by her mum for being ‘incredibly brave’ in coping with the condition.

Overall winner was Anita Marinelli who raised almost £600,000 for the Ruby Young Appeal. Ruby was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer, just before her second birthday.

Nominations for Pride in Medway 2017 are open until 9 December 2016. Find out more on the Pride in Medway webpages or following them on Twitter (@PrideInMedway #prideinmedway or Facebook by searching ‘Pride in Medway’.

Be prepared to be invited to coffee by a stranger!

You may be surprised to receive an invitation for a coffee in the next few weeks from a colleague you may not know! This is all part of a new initiative called “Coffee with Colleagues” jointly funded by the Academic Division and Commercial Services, which aims to enhance the partnership between professional staff in Schools and Faculties and their colleagues in Central Services.

In October, staff from some parts of the University have been given the opportunity to invite a colleague they have never met in person, or do not know very well, for a drink. For more information, click here.

Participants will be encouraged to take a selfie of their coffee encounter to be entered into a draw for a chance to win a lunch for two.

This opportunity will culminate with a networking coffee morning for all participants on 23^rd November in Canterbury and 25^th November in Medway (both to take place between 10am and 11am). Those of you who took part in the Shadow Matching scheme are encouraged to also invite to this event your shadow match, as well as your new coffee partner.

This is part of the Excellence Initiative and follows on from the very successful Shadow Matching pilot scheme which facilitated reciprocal visits between Schools and Central departments earlier this year. Participants in the Shadow Matching scheme reflected on how nice it had been to put a face to a name, and commented on how useful the visits had been in better understanding the other person’s role. This gave rise to the “Coffee with Colleagues” idea in order to provide colleagues across the University with a further opportunity to meet one another.

The Excellence Initiative events team

There’s still time to sign-up for a Language Express course this year.

The courses start in week 3 and are open to Kent students and staff as well as members of the public. They take place in the evenings to fit around work and study. Kent staff can apply for funding from Learning and Development. There are nine modern languages to choose from.

For more information and to hear previous Language Express students talking about their courses, visit the Language Express webpages.

Language Express French and Japanese 20-week courses start in Medway on 12 October.They are open to Kent students and staff as well as members of the public.

Fees are only £105 if you are a Kent student (limited to the first 35 applicants). Kent staff can apply for funding from Learning and Development.