Category Archives: Student Guide

Cultural Food Festival Takes Place Today

The Cultural Food Festival returns for the second year today at the Canterbury campus. It plans to bring together societies from across campus to create a night of food and celebration.

Hosted in Rutherford Hall, student groups will prepare a wide offering of authentic dishes working alongside Kent Hospitality chefs. Bring your friends, find some fabulous food and maybe try something new! 🎉🙌

Tickets will be £4 for a meal or 3 for £10. Just turn up and pay at the one of the till points.

The Cultural Food Festival takes place between 17.00 to 20.00.

Why Stand-up Matters: Comedy and its Politics

In the first of this year’s ArtBites talks Sophie Quirk, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre in the School of Arts, explores whether stand-up comedy has an impact on society; how it shapes attitudes and voices dissent. Drawing upon exclusive interviews with comedians, it also addresses some of the political challenges facing practitioners today, including the industry’s weaknesses in diversity and representation, its debates around freedom of speech and political correctness, and accusations of elitism and political bias.

Sophie is the author of Why Stand-up Matters: How Comedians Manipulate and Influence (2015) and The Politics of British Stand-up Comedy: The New Alternative (2018).

ArtBites talks showcase academic research and book publications by lecturers in the School of Arts.

The talk will take place: 13:00 – 13:20 Thursday 21 November next to the DVD Collection in Block B, Ground Floor, Templeman Library.

Panel event asks ‘Is Extinction Imminent?’

On Tuesday 19 November 2019, the School of Arts will host a panel discussion entitled ‘Is Extinction Imminent? Imagining Existential Risk in a Time of Climate Emergency’, which will take place in the Aphra Theatre at the University of Kent from 1pm to 3pm. The event will be chaired and hosted by Francesca Laura Cavallo, PhD candidate in History and Philosophy of Art.

The programme will feature the screening of Himali Singh Soin‘s short film we are opposite like that (Frieze Artist award 2019), and a panel discussion with Lucia Pietroiusti, Curator of General Ecology at the Serpentine Galleries in London; Simon Beard, Academic Programme Manager and Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge and a representative from Extinction Rebellion.

Extinction Rebellion activists took London by storm in April and October 2019 by framing their joyful pacifist action with die-ins and doomsday narratives. In academic terms, meanwhile, the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk – a multidisciplinary team of scientists at Cambridge – has been urging attention to what philosopher Nick Bostrom dubbed ‘global catastrophic risks’, in a famous article (Bostrom, 2013). As both agree that threats to the survival of humanity must be tackled immediately, the challenge is the speculative nature of long-term forecasting and the need to communicate urgency for what transcends one life span. Artistic practice, on the other hand, has long engaged with speculative futures, paid attention to the signs of endangered life and encouraged reflection on what may be, stretching our perception of geological deep time into a future behind our lifetimes. As Jacques Attali put it: ‘Like everything that is out of our control, the long term is frightening – unless it fosters a form of utopia that would allow us to believe that, purely by dint of our will, tomorrow will be the best of the past and the present combined’ (Attali, 2015).

In more practical terms, alarming visions of environmental disaster are tempting, suggesting shaking the public from complacency and short-term thinking, even as they bypass any uncertainty and inevitably (over?) simplify. Yet, at least before the impact of Extinction Rebellion, stark and immediate portrayals of climate change threats have not clearly been effective.

The event is open to all and free tickets can be booked through the Eventsbrite page.

The event is generously supported by the School of Arts Graduate Study Committee, with special thanks to Studio 3 Gallery, Aesthetics Research Centre, Yasmine Rix and the Critical Studies for Risk and Uncertainty Research Centre.

Professor Scarlett Thomas inaugural lecture – 20 November

An inaugural lecture by Professor Scarlett Thomas, in the School of English, will highlight how the University fits into her novels.

The lecture, titled ‘Collapsing Tunnels and Teaspoon Amnesties: Fictionalising the University of Kent’ takes place on Wednesday 20 November from 18.00 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1, Canterbury campus.

Scarlett Thomas joined Kent in 2004 as a practising novelist. Since then, she has published four novels for adults, three novels for children and a book about creative writing.

The University of Kent has appeared in many of these books, sometimes fictionalised, sometimes not. With readings from several of her books, Scarlett will talk about both how the University fits into her novels, and how a novelist fits into the contemporary university.

The lecture will be followed by a reception and book-signing. Admission is free and open to all.

To find out more and register for the event, see the Eventbrite pages or email englishevents@kent.ac.uk

Students Set to Graduate This Week

Students from the Medway and Canterbury campus will graduate on Wednesday and Friday respectively. The congregation which consists of those studying Masters and Bachelors will be awarded at ceremonies held at Rochester Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. Both ceremonies will be streamed live on our YouTube channel and on the University of Kent website.

The University of Kent also awards honorary degrees to distinguished individuals life who have made a significant contribution to society. Honorary graduates are selected from nominations by members of the University and very often have links with departments or are University of Kent alumni.

Insight into Fintech day for Kent students!

On Thursday 31 October, the Success Accelerator Programme brought 15 talented second-year students to London to experience the Fintech industry. Hosted by Investment 20/20; a careers site for aspiring investment management graduates, who offer a graduate trainee programme with 42 partner companies. The students received an introduction into Fintech, with speakers from Fintech start-ups and financial services, who spoke about the developments within this emerging industry.

Following this, the group had the chance to partake in a speed networking session, with city professionals, working in a range of Fintech companies.

During the afternoon, the group were joined by Success Accelerator mentors, who networked with the students over lunch. A couple of our alumni; Sheyi Lisk-Carew, Reema Raisinghani, Luke Bewley and Michael Thurlow also shared their career insights during a panel talk, discussing their career paths since leaving Kent and their current roles within procurement, data and market analysis and consultancy.

The Success Accelerator Programme, which is sponsored by the Kent Opportunity Fund, aims to inspire students at Kent to achieve a career in the City. The programme includes students from the School of Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, and Actuarial Science and Law. Currently, there are 16 alumni mentors, all professionals dedicated to improving outcomes for those students looking to achieve their own version of success by gaining employment in London.

This was a fantastic event, which gave students an awareness of what investment management involves and its importance, how Fintech plays a huge role in the success of the industry and the opportunity to meet a variety of people who work in the sector. We would like to thank Investment 20/20 for hosting us and we look forward to visiting them again in the future.

Join us for some glow-in-the-dark fun!

Ever wondered how you could make your favourite activities that little bit more fun? Well grab your mates, put on some neon clothes, don those glow sticks and join us for this term’s UV nights at the Sports Centre!

On Monday 2 December we’ll be hosting UV sports including korfball, netball, dodgeball and many more. We’ll also be running two sessions of our very popular roller disco.

On Tuesday 3 December we’re putting on very special UV fitness classes to get your blood pumping. Afro House Hiit, BodyPump, Strong by Zumba and Spinning are all on the timetable for the evening.

Visit our UV sports night webpage for the full timetable, booking and payment details.

Give the gift of wellbeing this Christmas

This Christmas, treat someone to the unique gift of wellbeing with our vouchers for Kent Sport membership and the Physiotherapy Clinic. So if you know a student, staff member, alumni or member of the public in need of some wellbeing, then get in touch!

For all voucher enquiries*, please email memberships@kent.ac.uk

Check out the Benefits of membership and prices and the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic.

*Excludes Pay to Play. Membership vouchers for University of Kent student or staff members can also be purchased at reception. This will be added to their Kent One card upon purchase. Vouchers for membership available to buy until 16 December 2019.

Disability History Month exhibition: Mike Oliver

UK Disability History Month celebrations at Kent

As part of UK Disability History Month 2019, we are hosting an exhibition in Keynes College about Mike Oliver, Kent alumnus and former lecturer, who was a key figure in the movement to secure equal rights for disabled people. The exhibition launch event will take place on Tuesday 26 November at 18.00 and is free to attend – book online via Eventbrite. It will showcase extracts of his work and personal affects kindly lent by Oliver’s widow, Joy Oliver, as well as the ways in which the University and Kent Union are trying to improve accessibility now.

The theme for this year’s Disability History Month is Disability: Leadership, Resistance and Culture. We will be asking our Kent community to engage with the exhibition and reflect on what our current culture and barriers might be, and what we can do individually and collectively to address these.

Who was Professor Mike Oliver?

Oliver studied for an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from 1972 to 1975, at a time when the campus was widely inaccessible for a wheelchair-user. Mike Oliver completed his PhD in Sociology at Kent in 1979, and immediately moved to a position as Course Director at Kent for a new Masters programme aimed at Social Work professionals working with disabled people, which is believed to be the first postgraduate course in what later became known as Disability Studies.

Professor Oliver’s work examined the assumptions that disability was a medical problem, and shifted the focus away from illness and impairment and toward the allocation of resources. The medicalised model had created a label for disabled people as tragic victims, but Oliver’s assertion was that personal difficulties could be addressed as public issues, an insight that led him to develop the Social Model of Disability. The problem of gaining entry to a classroom is not because someone uses a wheelchair, but when that classroom is upstairs…a problem exists. Remove the stairs, and you remove the problem; this is the essence of the Social Model.

The Social Model of Disability has been widely adopted as the best practice model for public institutions, and is the best known theory of disability practice. As a disability activist he campaigned for the outlawing of discrimination against disabled people (Disability Discrimination Act 1995).

In 2018, Kent approached Mike Oliver to create an autobiographical film of his life, and his association with the University of Kent, ‘Kicking Down the Doors: From Borstal Boy to University Professor’, which premiered at Darwin Conference Suite during UK Disability History Month in November 2018. The film continues to receive very positive feedback and has been viewed over 3,800 times.

New Kent Student Award

The Kent Student Awards, which seek to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contribution students make to the Kent student experience, will launch a new award for 2020: The Mike Oliver Award for Improving Accessibility. We hope that the next generation of staff and students at Kent can pick up the mantle so inspiringly worn by Mike Oliver.

Relax. Recharge. See Art.

You’re not alone if you find you need some headspace this term. The charity Art Fund have created a ‘Calm and collected’ report which found that nearly half of us feel anxious regularly. They also found that while 63% of us find a visit to a museum or gallery helpful in de-stressing, only 6% of us go regularly.

With a Student Art Pass you can unplug in a sculpture park, time-travel to past civilisations, get lost in a painting or make a local museum café your main hangout space – all without having to worry about the cost.

Apply before 15 December to get 100s of museum discounts across the UK, 50% off major exhibitions and access to paid opportunities in the arts – all for just £5 a year.

Purchase a Student Art Pass.