Category Archives: Student Guide

Summer at Kent: what’s on in August

As well as relaxing in the sunshine, summer is a great time to meet new people, develop your skills and explore!

Summer at Kent is a series of events aimed at students who are staying on or near campus, whether that’s for a few weeks or the whole summer.

Get involved this month

Plan ahead

Use the summer to plan ahead with sessions on how to find a part-time job, working abroad and how to plan your career.

Get outside

Head to the Kent Community Oasis Garden near Park Wood on Wednesdays and Fridays (10:00-14:00) for their open volunteering sessions. Everyone is welcome at Kent Community Oasis Garden, whether you’re an expert gardener, a complete beginner, or just coming along for a chat.

Get creative

Every second Friday, you can join us for Creative Spaces, a crafting and social meet up. Enjoy some crafts, come for a chat or just as a space to chill out.

Be productive

If you’re a postgraduate researcher, join the ‘Shut up and write’ session to help get past any writer’s block and give you that motivation to keep going. The idea behind Shut Up and Write is that you bring your notes and writing implements (whether pen and paper or laptop), and write in focused, concentrated bursts with short breaks for chats with other Researchers. It’s a great way to get writing, even if you edit later!

There are also dissertation workshops at Canterbury campus and online to help you focus on progressing your research project to a conclusion, managing the writing-up process and thinking about how to optimise your dissertation (presentation, formatting, purpose and direction).

Chill out

Relax in the Chill Zone with Nintendo Switch MarioKart, arts and crafts and games including Klask, Table Football and board games. Plus refreshments and cookies.

Celebrate love and acceptance

It’s Medway Pride on Saturday 17 August! Pride Medway takes place in Rochester and features a Pride Parade followed by the Pride Celebrations. There are still some free tickets available for Kent students. And look out for Kent students and staff in the Pride Parade! If you would like to join the Medway Pride Parade, please email R.S.Lamyman@kent.ac.uk.

Get prepared for any resits

If you have resits, there are online sessions around revision skills and coursework resit planning to help you progress.

See all Summer at Kent events.

My Kent, the new website for students, is now live!

The new My Kent website is designed for current students making it easier for you to find the information you need while studying at Kent.

Let us know what you think by emailing communications@kent.ac.uk or using the feedback button on the new site.

Benefits include: 

🔎 A search bar that only searches services and information for current Kent students 

📚 All your Kent services and systems in one place 

🚀Improved design informed by students and user experience experts 

🌍 Website navigation designed for current students only 

These changes are following student feedback that you find it hard to find the information you need on the current Kent website. 

This is the start of a journey of continuous improvements to the website experience for Kent students. So tell us what you like, and don’t like, so we can continue to improve the student website for you. 

What do I need to do? 

Nothing – you will be automatically redirected to the new website. This change won’t affect Moodle, KentVision, your email or timetable. 

For consistency, the name of the student app has also changed to My Kent Student App.

Postgraduate Conference success

Kent’s Annual Postgraduate Conference took place on Wednesday 3 July 2024, hosted by the Graduate and Researcher College (GRC), in collaboration with the Division of Arts and Humanities, the Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Kent Business School, the Division for the study of Law, Society and Social Justice, and the Division of Natural Sciences.

It was a remarkable celebration of the vibrant research community here at Kent, with a record number of students and staff attending.

Speaking at the Conference Reception, Gordon Lynch, the Director of the GRC said:

“The heart of the University’s mission is to produce new knowledge, to train people in developing new knowledge and ways of thinking, and to share that knowledge with the wider world. The annual PG Conference is a celebration of that work – whether it’s for all the innovative work done by our research students, all the investment in their training and development by supervisors and all the work done by other members of staff to make that community of learning possible. It’s been fantastic to see so many people engage with this year’s event and to continue to build on the partnership between the Graduate and Researcher College and our Schools and Divisions.”

Thank you to the student and staff organisers for their brilliant efforts in coordinating the Divisional sessions, and to the student presenters for their outstanding contributions. The engaging research talks, insightful panel discussions, impressive poster presentations, and dynamic interactive workshops made the day truly exceptional.

Finally, we would like to extend our congratulations again to the winners and runners up for the Kent Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, GRC Prizes, and Divisional Session Competitions. A full-list of winners can be found on the GRC Annual Postgraduate Conference 2024 page.

Kent Stars: Superstar Society

This month’s Kent Stars are the Medway Music Society who won Society of the Year at the latest Medway Activities Awards. They won for transforming the society, and running successful events that would often get up to 70 students attending.

The nomination said: “I think it is impossible to ignore the achievements that the society has made over the past academic year… I wholeheartedly think the Medway campus would simply not be the same without the Music Society.”

Hear more from the Medway Music Society and its President Skye:

“We are the Medway Music Society, we hold regular events with amazing live music as well as interactive events such as quizzes and karaoke. Firstly, to introduce myself and my team:

President: Skye Ryan, third-year student on the Music Performance and Production course. I am a keen guitarist, bassist and vocalist.

Vice President: Chloe Jagger is a second-year student on the Social Sciences course and she is an amazing vocalist.

Social Media Manager: Izzy Logie is a third-year student on the Music Performance and Production Course and she is a great vocalist and drummer.

Treasurer: Ash Luk is a third-year student on the Music Performance and Production Course and is a stunning bassist and vocalist.

Front-left: Chloe Jagger; front-right: Izzy Logie; back-left: Skye Ryan; back-right: Ash Luk

Society of the Year
“Winning Society of the year came as a complete shock as we thought due to the other amazing societies, who have also done so many amazing things for Medway students, the running would be very tough. Yet to hear that we won we are so grateful.

“This year we have really pushed the society to get back on its feet and rise to its former glory as we saw how amazing it could be and the experience it provided for students. Though this did not come easy, there was a lot of work to be done throughout the summer in the build-up to our freshers event to make sure we started off with a bang.

“This event made a great first impression and we couldn’t have done it without the help of the music lecturers Dr Rich Perks and Dr Richard Lightman. They helpfully guided us through the process making sure we thought through every detail so that this event would set us on track for an amazing year and it truly fulfilled its purpose.

“And so, winning society of the year was not just down to us but down to all those who supported us along the way. Including our returning crowd of students who stuck with us through the hard times as they knew we would come out on top.”

What advice would you give to other students?

“As for advice we would give other students running societies…

“First of all, it is not a small job, if you want success you have to be dedicated and stick to the plan even when it doesn’t seem worth it.

“Secondly, fix the small problems as they cause so much frustration and yet are fixed so easily. For example, we kept having problems with the key code of our cupboard door and this small fix has led to smoother running events.

“Thirdly, rely on your team. If you can’t do something yourself, ask for help, there is no point in making it difficult for one person when with the help of your team it can get done more easily and efficiently.

“Lastly, have fun. If you’re not enjoying it then why should you do it. This was the one rule we took on when starting out as we felt that for this society to work it shouldn’t be painful to run. Yes there will be bumps along the way but overall if it is taking a toll on your wellbeing and you can’t fix a better way then just don’t do it..”

What are your plans for the next year?

“Next year we plan to continue to grow the society, we have an amazing team taking over that have plans to elevate the Music Society to new levels. Such as getting gigs in different locations, perhaps introducing a music society after hours, a dedicated club night and much more (secret plans to be revealed next year so stay tuned).

“We, the current committee, can’t wait to see how the Music Society will continue to develop next year.”

Do you know an inspirational student or student group? Let us know.

Learn more about the Kent Stars campaign.

Free Medway Pride tickets now available

Tickets allocated specifically for the Universities at Medway for Medway Pride on Saturday 17 August are available now!

Free tickets for entry to the Medway Pride 24 Festival at the Castle Gardens – entry from 10:30, closes at 20:00.
Free tickets to take part in the parade (Rochester High Street to Rochester Castle Gardens) – meeting time and location to be confirmed.
If you just want to view the Pride Parade, you can do so without a ticket.

Please only book the tickets you need, as these are limited.

Preparing for resits

Hi, I’m Tim from the Student Learning Advisory Service, here with a few hints and tips as you prepare to resit one or more of your exams.

Firstly, stay motivated. The satisfaction of successfully passing your exams awaits you, so stay highly-focussed on reaching this important goal over the coming weeks. Free up as much time as you can to ensure success, perhaps by rescheduling some less important activities.

Consider any feedback that you may have received on your previous exams. What does it indicate that you need to improve for your resit? Perhaps you need to improve your depth of knowledge around a particular topic, or ensure that you include more key ingredients in your answers. Identify and use feedback to help you steer your preparation.

Reflect on how you managed the previous exam. Perhaps it was not lack of knowledge that let you down, but your exam technique. Perhaps you lost track of time so that you failed to complete the exam paper, or forgot to plan your answers before writing and lost your way halfway through them. Identify and note down any potential improvements to your exam technique that you can make, and practise them before your resit.

Plan your time so that you use it as efficiently as possible between now and your resit. Having identified gaps in your knowledge or aspects of your exam technique that require improvement, draw up a schedule on a time planner that will enable you to address all these issues in time for your exam. Break each day into one- or two-hour chunks of study time, each allocated to an achievable goal – be that revising from your notes on a specific topic, practising writing an essay under timed conditions, or committing important facts, formulas or theories to memory.

Remember that your exam is a performance. While you’ll want to work very hard between now and your resit to achieve the best possible result, you will need to stay fit and well at the same time. Establish a routine that balances your revision with enough sleep, regular breaks, good food and fresh air to keep you in excellent shape for your exam.

Finally, consider a 1-1 with an advisor from the Student Learning Advisory Service, to discuss revision skills, essay writing, exam techniques or any related topics before you resit your exam. You can book an appointment via the Student Learning Advisory Service website, where you will also find printable time planners to help you plot your course to success.

Good luck with your resit.

Campus catering update

As part of our wider work to give students the best experience possible and investing in our staff and students, we are looking at alternative options for catering on our Canterbury campus. This includes investigating options around outsourcing, if an appropriate partner can be found.

We are really proud of the work that has been done by our catering team to continuously deliver a high quality of service on campus, in the face of rising costs and challenging external factors. In order to continue to improve the catering experience on campus and cater to the evolving needs and wants of our staff and students, we are aware that future investment is needed.

We will be looking to use this as an opportunity to invest in our outlets and technological infrastructure, modernise our facilities and introduce well-known and recognisable brands to improve the experience of our staff and students and supporting a healthy community on campus.

A key part of the process will be finding a provider who can support and align with Right to Food objectives, ensuring healthy and affordable food is readily available for staff and students on our campuses. It will also include looking for a partner that can deliver development opportunities for our catering staff and minimise disruption to our workforce as well as the staff, students and visitors who eat on campus.

During this process we will continue to value and work with our excellent catering team and ensure they are supported throughout and that they are able to continue to deliver the high-quality service they currently provide.

We are at the very beginning of this journey and have just started a competitive tender. No decisions have been made regarding the future catering provision, but we will keep you informed if and when things change.

Update on student encampment

This update follows our previous statement of 15 May, where we committed to give an update on different areas of university activity that have been under discussion.

Like many around the world, we have watched with great alarm the lack of a peaceful resolution to the ongoing war in Gaza. The continued devastation, most recently through the bombardment of Rafah, remains very distressing with a profound emotional impact across our community here in Kent. We condemn violations of international law and any actions that target civilians and express our gravest concern for the loss of innocent lives that has affected so many. We also express our full support for the movement towards a ceasefire and the release of all hostages that is now on the table, which would lead to an immediate pause to military action and for urgent aid to reach Gaza as a priority.

There has been a devastating impact over the last year on universities in the region. International estimates suggest that 80% of universities in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by the war, with large numbers of students and academics killed and 90,000 Palestinians denied access to education. Any loss of life is a tragedy, but the effect of war on universities not only deprives Palestinian people of their right to learn and share knowledge but also further destabilises a region in desperate need of peace and recovery. Education is a fundamental human right that should be respected and protected universally, and the global community must recognise and act upon the critical need to protect it wherever it is restricted.

Investments and Partnerships

All of our activities at the University of Kent, including investment decisions, are governed by ethical principles that make sure we contribute positively towards a sustainable and peaceful future. Our Socially Responsible Investment Policy guides how and where we invest our money, which to clarify includes not investing directly or indirectly in weapons companies. We are committed to our shared responsibility to support global peace and educational preservation in how we work, collaborate and invest.

These principles also apply to our international partnerships. Any proposed partnership at the University is scrutinised and approved by our International Partnerships Approval Panel, whose membership includes representation from Kent Union and the wider academic community. These are then approved by our Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance Board with authority from Senate. We firmly believe that a free exchange of ideas is critical to academic advancement. However, our existing policies ensure that, while we would support individual projects that pursue peaceful and humanitarian ends, we would not form formal links with any organisation that fell short of these ethical standards. Both this and our investment policy reflect long-standing commitments that apply equally across all countries and territories, and which we are determined to maintain.

Support for victims of war

We also stand in solidarity with all students and staff at the university who are affected by the war in Gaza. This includes taking tangible steps to support victims of war – through continuing our work with external organisations like CARA, who are guiding us on practical ways to provide support and in particular education support, and through our existing Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme. We are actively working towards setting up scholarships for Palestinian students at the earliest opportunity, with funding secured for one place in 2024/25 and alternative funding arrangements being actively pursued for additional places next year and the year after.

Alongside this, we recognise the emotional impact the war is having on our students, and especially those who have lost family or seen their homes destroyed. We pledge to work with them to further enhance training for staff, including in cultural awareness and understanding the emotional needs of victims of war, and to provide additional student support, including mitigation and mental health support.

Supporting the right to protest

The University of Kent respects and supports our students’ right to peaceful protest and freedom of speech within the law. This has been consistent throughout the current student encampment, which has been organised and managed in a safe and respectful way. Through dialogue and advocacy, we are determined to continue our support for both peaceful resolutions to war and for the universal right to education across the world.

Read our previous statements

We appreciate the strength of feeling generated in both staff and students across the university by recent events. At all times we strive to be an organisation where everyone feels welcome and supported and take a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism, Islamophobia or any form of discrimination or harassments on campus. If you experience any discrimination, please use our Report + Support tool so that we can quickly take action and connect you with appropriate support within the University.

15 May 2024: Student encampment on campus

8 December 2023: Israel and Gaza: Supporting our community

10 November 2023: Israel and Gaza reflections

28 October 2023: Israel and Gaza

9 October 2023: Conflict in Israel and Gaza: Support for students

Paid job: Student Content Creator

Are you an enthusiastic and outgoing Kent student with a flair for creating engaging social media content? Do you have an eye for the latest trends on Tik Tok and Instagram? Are you confident on camera?

If so, we’re looking for Student Content Creators just like you to help bring the student experience at Kent to life online.

As a Student Content Creator, you’ll work across our digital channels to produce a wide range of content from Instagram reels and trending Tik Toks to vlogs and blogs and everything in between.

This is a great opportunity for a student interested in a career in social media as well as Marketing, Advertising, Communications and PR.

The job:

You will help shape and promote online and social media community experiences for the University. It will involve representing the institution on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the University website.

The Social Content Creator will:

Be active across the University community, researching and producing high quality content for the University website and social media.
Create interesting, timely and engaging social media content on a regular basis.
Be a visible presence at events and on campus – promoting events, posting live, taking pictures and video, interacting with students and presenting on camera when required.
Support the University with student and general online communications, providing feedback and recommendations for improvement.
Present on camera and interview students to help promote university services, support and values.
Help create content for blogs, the website and email.
Work across a wide range of content themes. Areas include: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI); sustainability; support; wellbeing; faith and belonging; employability; sport; music and Medway campus life.

Skills and attributes:

Enthusiastic and passionate about the University and social media.
Excellent communication skills and be able to work independently as well as within a team.
Expertise in all main social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc).
Good understanding of social media fundamentals, effect on customer experience and brand perception.
Good presentation skills and happy talking to camera.
Outgoing and prepared to professionally interact with others on behalf of the University.
Reliable, motivated and creative.
Some proven experience in photography, videography and/or blogging. Including editing (Capcut, VN and on platform).
Well organised and able to multitask.

Hours: 4-8 hours a week during term time.

Salary: £12.82 per hour

Contract: Start on 1 September 2024 and finish on 13 June 2025, with a one-month probationary period.

Apply now: To apply, please send a short ‘Day in the life’ video (60 secs max), reel or TikTok. Sharing what your typical day at Kent looks like, to give us an idea of what you study, your interests and any extracurricular activities. If you have a particular interest or network in one or more content themes listed above, please include that in your video. The more creative the better!

Find out more and apply through Jobshop.

New student website launching this summer

Over the summer break 2024, you may notice some changes to the student website as we get ready to launch our new student website for 2024-25.

The new student website will be designed for current students making it easier for you to find the information you need while studying at Kent.

Benefits include:

🔎 A search bar that only searches services and information for current Kent students

📚 All your Kent services and systems in one place

🚀Improved design informed by students and user experience experts

🗺Website navigation designed for current students only

These changes are following student feedback that you find it hard to find the information you need on the current Kent website.

This is the start of a journey of continuous improvements to the website experience for Kent students. So once it launches tell us what you like, and don’t like, so we can continue to improve the student website for you.

What do I need to do?

Nothing. When the new student website launches we will let you know and you will be automatically redirected. This change won’t affect Moodle, KentVision, your email, timetable or the Uni Kent Student App.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email communications@kent.ac.uk