Category Archives: Finalists

Staying on for a Master’s at Kent?

Here at the Kent, we understand your passion to progress. Whether you’re wanting to advance your skills or develop your knowledge further, let us help you reach your full potential. Become a critical, creative and strategic thinker with high-level research, planning and communication skills – exactly the attributes all employers look for.

If you’re a final year undergrad considering staying on for postgraduate study, do make sure to check out the following:

Different courses that Kent offers – full time, part time, short courses or conversion courses for those looking for a different route altogether
Funding and scholarships that are available to you, with scholarships that could take off up to £5,000 off your tuition fees, you don’t want to miss out applying.
Kent are hosting a series of events throughout Feb – May, including Postgraduate Open Events, Drop-in chat sessions at Nexus and subject specific talks. Do register or attend to find out more about specific course details.
The extensive employment opportunities that include work placements, career support, networking and 1-2-1 coaching.

Find out more about the benefits of staying at Kent, hear from student who decided to stay on for a Master’s and sign up to register for updates on our website.

Lead Kent nominations: find out more about the roles

Be a part of something big at Kent Union and nominate yourself to Lead Kent. This is all about students working for students to make their university experience the best it can be as an Elected Full-time Officer.

Based in the Mandela Students’ Centre, the Officer team liaises with leaders in the university and higher education across the UK and Europe to make sure that student voices are being heard.

These are full-time, paid positions. You do not need to be a final-year student to run, you can interrupt your studies. Nominations close on the 21 February at midday.

Officer role descriptions

Students’ Union President

Promotes, extends and defends all student rights.
Acts as the lead student voice to Kent Union and the university.
Leads the Officer team.
Leads on campaigns to improve overall student experience.

See Students’ Union President full role description.

Vice-President Postgraduate & International Experience

Leads on issues of PG and international accommodation, wellbeing, education, training and employment.
Leads on supporting European satellite campuses and internalisation work.

See VP Postgraduate and International Experience full role description.

Vice-President Welfare & Community

Represents students on all welfare matters.
Leads on student housing, well-being and EDI, as well as environmental and sustainability work.
Works with liberation networks.

See VP Welfare and Community full role description.

Vice-President Student Engagement

Leads on sports, societies and volunteering groups.
Leads on employability and alumni engagement.
Represents students on all co-curricular activities.
Supports all student groups and runs campaigns.

See VP Student Engagement full role description.

Vice-President Academic Experience

Represents students on all UG education matters.
Supports and empowers academic communities, including societies and student reps.
Leads on the Kent Union education strategy.

See VP Academic Experience full role description.

You’ll be part of a dedicated team

Being an Officer is great fun and incredibly fulfilling but it’s also a lot of hard work.

There are a host of career staff working behind the scenes supporting the Officer team to help on their campaigns, and work towards making their goals a reality. We also offer training sessions and continued growth and development throughout each Officer’s term.

Nominate yourself to Lead Kent.

Find out more on Kent Union’s Lead Kent webpage.

Exams: Religious Observation request deadline Fri 2 Feb

Some religious days or festivals will fall during the May/June exam period and we understand that students may wish to observe these. We will therefore make every effort to avoid timetabling exams or assessments on such dates where a religious observation request has been made ahead of the deadline.

The deadline for submitting a religious observation request for the 2024 exam period is Friday 2 February 2024. Find the request form and further information on Religious Observations here.

Join Kent’s New Mentoring Scheme: Celebrating Mentoring Month

January marks Mentoring Month, and there’s no better time to invest in your personal and professional growth. If you’re a student looking to make strides in your academic and career goals, sign up for the Career Mentoring Scheme, which partners students with alumni who work in their chosen industry or sector.

By participating in the mentoring scheme, you’ll gain a unique perspective on your chosen profession, develop key skills and knowledge, and prepare for life after graduation.

You can take part in the programme for one or two terms, depending on your needs and availability. The programme is available to all undergraduate and postgraduate students, with applications accepted throughout the year.

The Career Mentoring Scheme is an excellent opportunity to build your professional network, connect with alumni in your field, and receive valuable advice and guidance. Take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your career journey and apply today!

Not long left to enter! 10 chances to win £1,000

Register with the Santander Scholarships programme by 20 November for chance to win £1,000!

10 Kent students will win £1,000 for simply registering online with Santander’s Scholarship programme. Through the programme you can:

Apply for scholarships and grants
Gain work experience
Learn the skills graduate employers want

Student Learning Advisory Service…at your service!

Did you know that the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) is hosting no fewer than twenty five on-campus workshops at Canterbury and sixteen at the Medway campus this term? Most of these workshops are being delivered as hybrid sessions so you can join even if you cannot make it in person.

As we speed towards the second part of the Autumn term and assessment deadlines start to loom large on the horizon, it’s a great time to seek help from our advisers. Among the various academic skills workshops we have on offer are:

Writing introductions and conclusions
Paragraph writing
Presentation skills
Effective reading
Critical thinking
Using AI as a legitimate tool
Advanced essay writing
Good academic practice using TurnitIn

Plus we also cover a range of maths and stats topics such as:

Probability
Anova and Chi-square testing
Calculus – stationery points and slopes
Calculus – differentiation

See all SLAS in-person events and book online.

SLAS is here to help you become your best ‘academic you’ and to achieve your goals.

LibrarySearch Discovery: take your research to the next level

We’re thrilled to let you know about some upcoming enhancements to LibrarySearch to help transform your research. From 1 November we’re launching LibrarySearch Discovery, a pilot scheme running from November 2023 until April 2024.

LibrarySearch Discovery will provide access to 50 million+ curated Open Access resources in addition to the extensive collections already available from University of Kent libraries, making it easier than ever to find the right information for your next assignment or research project.

Open Access (OA) resources are freely available, digital content from around the globe. They are part of a wider ‘open’ movement to encourage the free exchange of knowledge and resources to widen access and encourage creativity.

Key benefits of LibrarySearch Discovery

Free access to 50 million high-quality academic journals, ebooks, datasets and educational resources
Clearer layout that’s easy-to-use with search results separated by collection type
Seamless, accessible browsing of collections anywhere, from any device
Intuitive interface to filter and rank your search results.
Direct links to available online content regardless of format.

Finding resources will work in exactly the same way, with a simple keyword search in a single search box.

The new search results page will initially show you all relevant items held in our Library collections but you can also view search results from our Digital Collections and Open Access resources just by clicking through the three tabs.

We hope that you’ll like the look and improved functionality of the new LibrarySearch Discovery interface. If you would prefer to use the original LibrarySearch or LibrarySearch Digital you can choose the ‘Classic’ or ‘Digital’ views available at the top of the screen.

What’s next

We are really pleased to be able to share these amazing resources with you and hope that you’ll take full advantage of the opportunities LibrarySearch Discovery provides.

We’ll be demonstrating how to get the most out of Open Access content during the year and in our library training.

We are committed to providing you with the resources you need for your academic study and research, and to working closely with you to ensure we have a successful pilot.

If you have any questions please get in touch: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

Free Destination Success Bootcamp, 17-19 November

Our Careers and Employability Service are running the ‘Destination Success Bootcamp‘ 17-19 November. This is a 3-day intensive training programme with the purpose of helping you map out your journey to success and build confidence in your abilities. This programme is suitable to those across all years, including recent graduates.

This programme will be delivered face to face on the Canterbury Campus (Friday 17 November 12:00-16:00, Saturday 18 November 12:00-18:00 and Sunday 19 November 12:00-18:00. Each day will start at 12:00, allowing time for those traveling from Medway. You need to attend every day in order to gain a place on the programme.

The programme will focus on:

Understanding you – This module aids self-reflection so you can better understand how you work, this will include completing a personality profile, exploring your personal values, your strengths and development areas, imposter syndrome and the power of positivity, finishing with looking at what you want to get out of life.
Navigating you – This module with focus on how to nurture and build good relationships, focusing on team dynamics, exploring learning styles and rules of teamwork, having challenging conversations and how to communicate in the workplace.
Universal Life Hacks – This final module will give you a toolbox of ideas to hit the ground running, including decision making, planning, prioritising and delegating, mapping your skills and looking at whether you would employ yourself.

Find out more and book your place.

If you have any queries, please email studyplus@kent.ac.uk

Business Start-up Journey launch: hear from five business founders, 11 Oct

The Business Start-Up Journey Launch 2023: Wednesday 11 October 2023, 14:00-15:30. Sibson LT3, Canterbury, with FREE BUFFET.

Be inspired at the launch of this year’s Business Start-Up Journey where five amazing business founders share their start-up stories.

Social entrepreneur Anna Woods went from a highflying career as a buyer for top high street fashion brands, to becoming the founder of her own sustainable fashion business, Positive Retail, tacking the retail industry’s waste issue.
Sport and Exercise Science graduate Sophie Broom, the founder of The Awesome Anatomy Co, turned her artistic skills into a thriving business.
Computing graduate, Tomiwa Sosanya, the founder of Do You Customs, has won collaborations with big brands with his customised trainers and accessories.
Mathematics and Statistics student, Seth Mashate, discovered a gap in the market and plans to revolutionise data usage in the dental industry.
Law student, Munya Mwaijumba is launching Glimmer, an app which empowers freelance hairdressers.

Anna of Positive Retail shares:

‘I started this entrepreneurial journey because I knew in my heart the industry needed a solution to overstocks and customers needed to be a presented with a way to shop ‘pre loved & resale’ on the high street that felt compelling. Resale already had lots of online options ‘vinted/ eBay/ vestiere’ etc but there was no bricks and mortar equivalent that honoured the product properly. I spotted a gap in the market to create stores where quality and value were honoured, along with the customer experience. Everything is expertly and thoughtfully curated, we have done the hard work for you- you’re not rummaging in samples sales, or bidding online. We’re here for you to have a chat and to try on in a premium environment.’

What started as a 6 week popup 2 years ago is now 3 stores with a massively bright future. We want to be the ultimate destination that brands think of for their surplus stocks and shoppers come for resale.

Being an entrepreneur has felt like a pleasure. Yes, it’s incredibly tough but after years of bucking against the system and being frustrated with the status quo, I get to bring my own brand to life. It’s thrilling, fun, exhausting and magical. It’s a gift every day to be able to use all my skills & wisdom to give something to the world I am very very proud of. I know this is only the beginning.’

Hear from Anna and the other business founders at the launch event, plus find out more about how ASPIRE can support you to start your own business and develop entrepreneurial skills to enhance your career and employability. There will also be a free buffet lunch provided.

See full programme of Business Start-Up Journey events.

All students are welcome to attend.

Email aspire@kent.ac.uk to book your spot.

Final year students: how the Templeman Library can help you

Help with your assignments

You can get 1-2-1 help from your subject librarian on resources for your final assignments and dissertations, plus referencing advice.

Online support is available on our Library Research Skills Moodle page, including finding material for your research and managing your references.

Careers and employability reading list

Have a look at our Careers and Employability reading list to find books to help you with career choices and preparing for applications and interviews.

Exam-time study support

During exam time, you’ll find additional study spaces and silent study areas plus bookable individual study rooms in the Templeman Library. Study in the way you want to by choosing a study space to suit you. The Templeman Library is open 24/7 in term-time and most study weeks. Check out the Drill Hall Library opening hours at Medway.

Study and work smarter! Check out some of the great tools we recommend, to help you manage your time, take notes and stay focussed plus more.

Look after yourself

Browse our Wellbeing and Self-Help and Love to Read reading lists or check out the accompanying book displays in the Library Café. Libby Kent is a leisure collection of e-books and audio books from a wide range of publishers and genres including contemporary fiction, classic fiction, wellbeing and self-help books, themed reading lists such as LGBT titles and Black Asian and Ethnic Minority authored titles, and more.

Need some time out? The Templeman Library’s Chill Out Zone on Floor 1 provides a quiet space to relax and take a break from studying. If you’re on the Medway campus pop along to one of their wellbeing events.

After you graduate

Don’t want to miss out on the great resources when you graduate? You can join the Library as an alumni member.