Student Leadership Election nominations open Monday 6 January and close 3 February 2020. Register your interest or nominate yourself here.

As a student-led, membership organisation we’re looking for great students to shape the leadership of Kent Union and the way the University runs.

There are five full-time, roles open to all Kent Union members to stand as a candidate, as well as to vote to choose the next Leadership Team. (All students of the University of Kent are members of Kent Union, unless you have chosen to opt out.)

Students’ Union President

• Chair of Board of Trustees
• Union development
• Medway representation

Vice-President Academic Experience

• Undergraduate academic experience
• Student Rep system (300+ volunteers)
• Academic communities
• Education strategy

Vice-President Welfare and Community

• Student wellbeing
• Liberation
• Local community
• Environment and sustainability
• Housing

Vice-President Student Engagement

• Represent and support student groups (ie. Sports clubs societies, volunteers)
• Sports development
• Employability
• Alumni engagement
• Volunteer reward and recognition

Vice-President (Postgraduate Experience)

• Postgraduate accommodation, educational needs and wellbeing
• European centres
• Graduate Teaching Assistant concerns
• Postgraduate Student Reps
• Internationalisation
• Liaison with KGSA

The Full-Time Officer roles are based in the Mandela Student Centre on Canterbury Campus, but spend much of their time out on the campuses talking and getting feedback from students. They also attend meetings to represent those student views to the University, the local community as well as to the wider world.

The Full-Time Officers receive a generous package during their year in office including extensive training and support to deliver the role; access to recognised management qualifications, an NUS TOTEM card, a phone, a laptop and a bursary £19,000 pa.

Find out more about the Kent Union Student Leadership Election.

It’s time to start thinking about your exams.

Get prepared by looking at our exam webpages.

Please see below upcoming dates for your diary.

Religious observance requests

Deadline for submission Tuesday 4 February 2020 (17.00).  Contact exams@kent.ac.uk.

More information about religious observance requests.

Personal timetable release

The exam timetable is released to students approximately two weeks before the end of spring term.

Follow us on Twitter for the first timetable announcement – @UniKent_CSAO 

Inclusive Learning Plans

If you require adapted arrangements for your exams you must meet with Student Support and Wellbeing to discuss your learning plan. More information and deadlines (ILPs).

Examinations Period 2020

Monday 4 May – Friday 12 June 2020.

Note:  Saturdays are included in the examination timetable.

Contact the Exams Team

Canterbury: exams@kent.ac.uk

Medway: medwayexams@kent.ac.uk

Twitter:  @UniKent_CSAO

Are you an international student looking to top up your Employability Points and receive free academic language and writing support?

Sophia Vänttinen-Newton, the In-sessional and Short Courses Manager in the Centre for English and World Languages warmly invites you take part in her research study which will explore student reactions to written academic assignment feedback in credit-bearing modules

Her study aims to explore what students think about written assignment feedback from tutors and what you think about the quality of the marking. Your participation in the study will involve you looking at and reading feedback for a written assignment and then answering a series of short questions via Survey Monkey (open, closed and multiple choice questions) about the tutor feedback you have read.

Completing the tasks in the study will take you 45 minutes to an hour and you may be contacted after the study to clarify any answers provided on the Survey Monkey questionnaire. Any of your data in the study will, of course, be anonymised. If you are interested in taking part, further details a bout participation will be sent to you before you commit.

If you would like to take part in the study, you will receive 5 Employability Points and if you would like academic writing support and some help with your coming written assignments, you are more than welcome to book in for a free 30 minute Individual Writing Tutorial at a convenient time with me after completing the study to talk one-to-one about your writing.

Please contact Sophia Vänttinen-Newton at sophia.van.newton@gmail.com  if you would like to take part in the study or you have any questions.

Would you enjoy helping new students feel welcome? Fancy earning some Employability Points along the way?

International Partnerships are looking for student volunteers to assist with three key parts of welcoming our new international student arrivals in January 2020.

1. Meet & Greet Volunteer, Tuesday 7 January: You will be based on campus ready to welcome new arrivals and assist them to their accommodation. Shifts will be allocated in advance of the day.
2. Networking Volunteer, Wednesday 8 January 09.00 – 13.00: Meet and spend time welcoming our new International students to the UK over refreshments & activities.
3. Walking Tour Guide, Thursday 9 January 13.30 – flexible end: Love Canterbury? Why not lead a ‘walking tour’ from Eliot into the city centre. Point out key locations & routes, as well as your top tips of where to eat, drink, and shop in town. A fun way to earn Employability points and show new International students that even a rainy day in January can be fun! #BritishWeather

If you are interested in any of the above opportunities, please email internationalevents@kent.ac.uk with your selected event, full name, student email address and mobile phone number.

Note: We will need your mobile phone number in case we need to contact you during the day regarding the event. This will not be shared with any other students without your permission.

We look forward to hearing from you.

International Partnerships

The UK General Election takes place on Thursday 12 December. Make sure you use your vote so you can have your say.

Find out who your electoral candidates and are where your local polling station is on the Electoral Commission website, just enter your postcode.

At Canterbury campus there will be a polling station at Senate Building.

More information about how to vote.

Thank you so much to everyone that donated on Friday for Elf day.  A special thanks to those staff and students who got dressed up, it was great to see you get involved and support this worthy cause.  We raised just over £200 on Friday for Alzheimer’s Society!

The winner of the Elf cake was Jane Glew, it was cut up and shared with staff and students.

The winners of the sweepstake are as follows:

Guess the number of elves – answer was 359 elves – Debbie Worthington was the closest with her guess of 371.

Guess the name of the elf – Lucy Hale won with the name Elfie McElfie-face

Elf advent game – Graham Hartland

All 3 donated their winnings back to the pot.

Thank you once again for supporting this College event.

Film students on the module FI624: Beyond Cinema have organised a series of film screenings with a difference this December.

Beyond Cinema considers the changing nature of where, when and how audiences engage with film and the moving image. As part of the module, students have organised screenings of classic films as an immersive experience and appropriate to the time of year.

The series opens with a 25th anniversary celebratory screening of Friends on Sunday 8 December at 7pm, including a Friends themed quiz, starting at 4pm in the Gulbenkian Cafe. Four episodes of the classic TV show will be screened, and tickets cost between £4 and £10. To book online please visit the Gulbenkian’s website.

On Monday 9 December there will be two screenings of Duncan Jones’ science-fiction drama Moon (2009) held in Jarman Studio 1. The screening will be an immersive experience, with an airlock walkway and the film will be show an astrodome. Seating will be on the floor, but there will be plenty of cushions to make it as comfortable as possible.  The screening has been organised by BA (Hons) in Film student Tommy-Joe Brown (pictured, building the walkway), and the event is held in partnership with School of Physical Sciences.

There are 16 tickets per screening and cost £3 each and may be booked by the Gulbenkian’ website.

To capitalise on the festival season, there will be a screening of the Christmas Rom Com Love Actually (dir. Richard Curtis 2003). As this is the season of goodwill, the event is held in support of the student-led charity initiatives Kent Marrow and Canterbury Homeless Outreach. Katie Head, also on the BA (Hons) in Film and who has organised the screening, said: ‘I wanted to do a charity fundraiser for Kent Marrow and Canterbury Homeless Outreach in particular, as although they are two charities that need help and support all year round, Christmas is a time that I believe they need it the most. I thought that Love Actually would be the perfect film to bring people together for a joyous evening and then also give them the opportunity to support these charities in any way they can.’

Tickets cost between £4 and £8.70, and may be purchased from the Gulbenkian.

The final film in the series is The Grinch (dirs. Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier 2018) which will be shown at a family-friendly screening at the Gulbenkian cinema, at 11am on Sunday 15 December. Tickets cost between £2.50 and £4, and may be purchased from the Gulbenkian’s website.