Category Archives: Student Guide

Graduate School Prizes 2020

The annual Graduate School Prizes recognises the excellence of Kent’s researchers and the outstanding work carried out by academic and administrative staff members in support of postgraduate research and education.

The Graduate School Prizes will award prizes in the following categories:

Postgraduate Research Prize

Research Degree Supervisor Prize

School Director of Graduate Studies Prize

Postgraduate Administrator Prize

Postgraduate Teacher Prize

Early Career Research Staff Prize

Apply or nominate a candidate now via the Graduate School website where you will find the criteria for each prize and a nomination form.

Deadline for nominations is Thursday 9 April at 23.59.

Read about last year’s winners.

Volunteering Opportunities Fair 2020, 4 Feb

Volunteering is a great way to gain skills and experience to add to your CV whilst giving back to the community.

Come along to the Volunteering Opportunities Fair 2020 Tuesday 4 February 12.00-15.00 in Keynes Atrium.

This is a chance to meet with the following organisations offering local opportunities to get involved:

-Alzheimers Society
-British Red Cross
-Canterbury and District Early Years project
-Canterbury Homeless Outreach
-Demelza
-East Kent Mencap
-KAB
-Kent Marrow
-Kent Uni Blood Team
-KSSCRC
-League of Friends
-Porchlight
-Rethink Canterbury
-Strode Park Foundation
-Time to Give KCC

Find out more information about the event or learn more about our new volunteer scheme and how you can log your hours.

Free careers events- careers fairs, workshops and advice

The Careers and Employability Services (CES) are holding a huge number of events on a range of topics such as:

-Succeeding in applications
-Interview and Assessment Centres Q&A
-Speed Interviewing events
-Recruitment Agencies & Jobs Boards Fair
-LinkedIn Profiles
-How to talk to employers
-Professionalism and Work Etiquette
-The Kent Volunteer Scheme at Medway
-Finding inclusive employers (Disability/LGBTQ+ friendly)
-Talking about your disability to employers
-Competency and strength based interviews
-Race, Sexuality & Disability in Business
-Career Management
-Career Management for mature students and career changers
-The Hidden Job Market
-Tips on finding summer internships and work experience
-How to network
-Developing resilience in the recruitment process
-Meet the employer events
-Volunteering Opportunities Fair

To take advantage of these free events, see the Careers events calendar, or if you are in your final year of an undergraduate programme, you can see the Finalists events calendar and filter by ‘Careers’ to see targeted career events to prepare you for life after University.

Don’t miss out: there’s still time to do a Study Plus course

Study Plus courses run throughout the term, with several taking place or starting during Enhancement Week (Week 19). They enable you to learn about subjects that interest you and gain new skills.

KE024-Talking Cultures helps increase your awareness of cultural differences.Thinking about learning Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin or Russian? Try a taster session (KE181, KE181, KE183, KE184)

Put your ideas in to action with Screenwriting (KE087). Dirty History (KE004,) looks at the Medieval period as portrayed on film and TV and King Arthur at the Movies (KE195) focusses on Arthuriana in film.

Spend time in the woods, learning about crafts such as Coppicing (KE060) and Making a Brash Fence (KE161). Learn how to fell a tree with KE193 .Not only will you learn useful skills, but you will benefit from being outdoors and connecting with nature.

KE201- Vampires of the Fin-de-Siècle, examines the vampire myth as explored by writers of the nineteenth century. KE149 (Let’s Talk About Art), KE202 (Art and Politics) and KE203 (Art and Society) introduce you to art history, exploring the interaction of art and politics and the artist’s role in society. All start in Week 19.

KE095 Communicate with Confidence starts in Week 19, with a second session in Week 20.

KE122 Digital Photography is back during Weeks 19-23.

Prepare for an IELTS English language test with KE178 during Weeks 19-23.

KE097 Meditation for Study, Work and Life will introduce you to different techniques, such as mindfulness. Learn about Taoism with KE145.

If you are interested in Chinese Medicine, join KE171.

You can sign up for all of these courses in SDS workshop:

To see the full range of courses running this term, see the Study Plus website

Brexit updates and events

The 31 January will see the UK leaving the European Union. This is a historically significant moment and it will change the political relationship between the UK and our European partners. It will shape a future new relationship with Europe.

The University recognises this moment and its impact on colleagues and students. We understand this day will create many different emotions and will mean different things for each individual.

As a university community, we will continue to strive for international co-operation in Europe and around the globe for the enhancement of knowledge and the enrichment of the student experience. We are proud of our European links and our internationally diverse student and staff community from Europe and around the world.

Events on the day

In recognition of this moment, there are two events on Friday 31 January on the Canterbury campus that are open to both students and staff:

10.00-11.00 European solidarity march
Join Kent Union starting at University Plaza (next to campus shops). The march will finish at Woolf College. More details about the march are on Facebook.
11.00-12.00 University Brexit Information event, Woolf Lecture Theatre 1
Hosted by the Dean for Europe, this event will include information on our post-Brexit strategy, practical information on Brexit-related issues including settlement status and Erasmus, a Q&A session and an opportunity to come together and share thoughts as a University community. The event will be live-streamed to Medway and our European centres in Brussels, Paris and Rome. If you wish to come to join the Canterbury event or the Medway live-stream, please book ahead via Eventbrite.
- Book now for Canterbury
- Book now for Medway

Further information and support

For updates, information and advice on what support and assistance is available, see our Brexit information pages for students and staff.

Examination and assessment SDS check now open

The Examination and Assessment Check for 2020 exams is now open.

Please check your details are correct for the 2020 exam period and ensure you are:

Registered for the correct modules
Assessed as expected (ie coursework and/or exam)

To do this log on to SDS, and select Registration.

Then select Examination and Assessment Check and check through your details.

You will then need to confirm if your modules are correct.

If there is a problem you will be taken to a new screen, please let us know what the issues are by submitting your changes. (Note: assessed refers to coursework and examined refers to exams).

Closing: Wednesday 26 February, 16.00.

If you have any questions please contact us exams@kent.ac.uk

www.kent.ac.uk/exams

SECL Inspirational Speaker events

You are warmly invited to attend our Inspirational Speaker events this term! Here are all the details for the talks we have coming up:

Jade Bentil, a black feminist historian and researcher at Oxford University, will be presenting her talk: ‘Be a thief to the university: black feminist politics and navigating the Ivory Tower’
on Wednesday 29 January at 17.00 in SIBSON sr 6.

As a Black feminist historian who seeks to centre the lives of Black women within her work, the historical tension between theorising Black liberation whilst in the colonial university has been one that Jade has continually meditated on. Using her own experiences in academia and contextualising them within the politics of Black feminism, Jade will explore the irreconcilable nature of this tension and what it means to ‘be in but not of the university’

To book tickets for this event please visit this Eventbrite website

Next up is Dr Kate Fox, the Yorkshire stand-up poet, author and comedian, will be talking about class and autism in: ‘Neurodiversions: or why I won’t be dressing up in a unicorn onesie to talk about autism, class, being a stand-up, fitting in & standing out!’
on Wednesday 5 February at 17.00 in Templeman Lecture Theatre.

Dr Kate Fox has worked extensively in radio as well as live performance and is currently touring with her show ‘Where there’s muck, there’s bras’ about northern women through history. She’s also a gentle activist and campaigner for the voices of Northerners, the working class, women and the neurodiverse.

To book please visit this Eventbrite website

On Wednesday 11 March Professor Heidi Mirza will be returning to Kent and will be speaking as part of the Decolonise UKC Conference. Dr Mirza is Professor of Race, Faith and Culture at Goldsmiths College and co-author (with Dr Jason Arday) of the recently published ‘Dismantling race in HE’. Time and venue TBA.

And finally, Dr Francesca Sobande from Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture, will present her talk: ‘Reframing the “Attainment Gap” and its implications: How institutions undermine the learning experiences of Black students’ on Monday 16 March at 17.00.

To book please visit this Eventbrite website

Dr Sobande’s research explores how issues related to racism, sexism and intersecting structural inequalities manifest in media and the marketplace.

New volunteering scheme launched for students

The Kent Volunteering Scheme has now launched through the Careers and Employability Service (CES). It has been designed to recognise and support the hard-work University of Kent students do when volunteering, and to help them to understand and articulate their skills development from their volunteering activity.

The Scheme runs this year from 1 May 2019 to 15 May 2020, so students can log hours previously volunteered. Hours are kept track of so students have the opportunity to progress through the different levels of the Scheme, starting at just 10 hours and increasing to 1,000+ hours.

After 50 hours are logged, students will receive support in benchmarking the skills they have acquired, ensuring their experience is positively reflected to potential future employers. To utilise the Kent Volunteering Scheme, simply go online and fill out the short form. CES will keep track of your progress and contact you at the relevant stages of the scheme. If you have any queries, please email studentvolunteering@kent.ac.uk.

Medway welcome back fair, 29 Jan

Come to the Medway Welcome Back Fair Wednesday 29 January 2020 11.00-14.00.

Meet and learn about student groups and all the services and events available for students at Medway. GK Unions has a great range of sports clubs and societies on offer that you can join. It’s not too late to sign up!

As well as our student groups, there will also be various companies such as Dominos and Arriva who will be giving away freebies and vouchers for use all year round!

The Welcome Back Fair begins at 11.00 though it will be open from 10.30 for anyone with accessibility worries. If you have any other accessibility needs for the fair, please contact activities@gkunions.co.uk by Monday 27 January.

Dentistry in a Contemporary Context.

This short CPD course is suitable for the whole dental team – Dental Care Professionals and Dentists. During this course, participants are encouraged to address contemporary dental practice within the wider context of social policy and cultural influence.

Dr Sam Shah will address the inequalities effecting health and well-being and the incorporation of health into historical and contemporary political and sociological agendas. Professor Ken Eaton will discuss oral health systems in Europe and beyond. John Darby will deliver an update on the national Advancing Dental Care Project. Plus, Mike Wheeler will discuss the potential of dental care professionals roles related to the future of dental services and how their training may be funded.

This course takes place over two weekends at the University of Kent Medway campus. The dates are 7-9 February and 6 March 2020.

For more information and to book your place, please click on this link.