Church services, led by the University Chaplains, happen here on campus every Sunday in term time. There is a range of options and they are easy to get to, at times you can manage and often followed by lunch or other social events.
See the Chaplaincy webpages for more information or take a look at the noticeboards and information panels located around the Canterbury campus.
The Cathedral authorities, in collaboration with Kent University Chaplaincy, invite Kent University students a special welcome evening at Canterbury Cathedral which will include a private tour of the building after it has been closed to the public.
There will also be a reception with free food and drink; a welcome talk and a chance to hear the world famous men and boys choir.
Tickets available here: https://store.kent.ac.uk/product-catalogue/events/chaplaincy-trips/cathedral-evening-tuesday-24th-september-2019 or free of charge direct from the Chaplaincy s.c.e.laird@kent.ac.uk
Will Wollen, actor and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Drama and Theatre, has lent his voice to a series of talking sculptures to go on display in King’s Cross from this Friday.
The installation ‘Talk to Me’ has been designed by Steuart Padwick and will be displayed as part of the festival ‘designjunction‘, running from 19 to 22 September 2019 in the N1C area of London.
The installation consists of two monumental interactive sculptures of cuboid wooden figures. As people walk by, a proximity sensor is triggered, and the figures will begin to voice poignant and uplifting words. These conversations start to crack the ‘burden’, provoking conversations about mental health. ‘Talk to Me’ is a hopeful piece, reminding us that through communication with one another the weight so many of us carry, can be lessened.
Will joins actors and perfomers Niamh Cusack, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Tom Goodman-Hill, Joelle Taylor, Adam Kammerling and Chris Thorpe, in voicing the talking sculptures.
‘It’s been a pleasure to be involved in this important project,’ said Will. ‘Being available to talk and listen to our fellow human beings can be life-saving.’
The sculptures will be situated along King’s Boulevard in Kings Cross, London, until 22 September.
For more details, please see:
http://www.steuartpadwick.co.uk/talktome/
Nimasu Namsaren, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Film this summer, will feature in an ongoing series of events on ‘Exploring Identity in Student Filmmaking’, at Pushkin House in London on Friday 27 September 2019.
The series aims to explore questions around the concept of modern Russian identity and how it has evolved and manifests in young people. The first in the series will feature a presentation by Nimasu followed by a screening of her short film Mavzhuda.
Mavzhuda, which won the Best Film award at the Canterbury University Film Festival 2019 and was selected for the Lift-off First-time Filmmaker Sessions and the Zlaty Voci Student Film Festival, tells the story of the eponymous 12-year-old girl who immigrates to Russia from Uzbekistan with her family. Her new life in St Petersburg is challenging and in order to fit in she starts to forget her own culture and language and loses the connection with her grandmother. One day after school, Mavzhuda ignores her while walking together with other kids, and the pain that she inadvertently brings to the family helps her to find her own place in the hectic world around.
Pushkin House is a Registered Charity which aims to support and promote Russian culture in London and beyond, and provides a focus for Anglo-Russian cultural exchange, education and information about the Russian language, arts, literature and music. In pursuit of these aims, Pushkin House has developed a varied cultural programme on Russian literature, art, film, music, theatre and dance, as well as history, philosophy and politics. Events include lectures and talks, seminars, conferences, exhibitions, films, concerts and readings.
To attend the event, you need to become a member of Young Pushkin. Membership includes free entry to thought-provoking talks, £5 tickets to Music Salon concerts, a curated programme of completely free events and creative networking opportunities. You can sign up for membership here: www.pushkinhouse.org/young-pushkin
More information about the event is available here:
www.pushkinhouse.org/events/exploring-identity-in-student-filmmaking
Welcome back! If you’re returning to Kent after the summer break, here’s a helpful summary for settling back in.
Timetables will be on the Student Guide before term starts on the 23 September 2019.
Lectures for all modules and stage 2 & 3 module group allocations will be released on Monday 9 September 2019.
For Stage 0 & 1 modules, group allocations will be finalised by Friday 20 September 2019.
You must be registered on your modules for your personal timetable to show. Continue to go back and check your timetable regularly for updates including other events. Read our Timetabling FAQs.
You will need to register on SDS from Tuesday 17 September 2019 (now OPEN) so we know you’re definitely coming back. You don’t need to register in person or attend arrivals weekend. This is for new students. Please pay any outstanding fees to the University so you can register and delays are avoided. To ensure swift payment of your student loan, you are advised to re-register by Wednesday 18 September 2019. It takes 3-5 working days from the point of registration for funds to be released to your account. Read more.
Term starts on Monday 23 September 2019. Welcome Week is the week before (16-20 September). View term dates
If you’ve got a new phone, tablet or laptop, get it Kent WiFi-ready before you come back to campus by running our WiFi setup tool. For friends or family visiting campus, WiFi Guest is available for those who don’t have a Kent IT Account, an eduroam account or govroam account.
Living off campus is very different from living in University accommodation. Read our community webpages for information on bills, bins, neighbours and much more!
Highlights and new developments include:
The new Kent and Medway Medical School – with their first students starting in September 2020.
The Mandela Building is becoming the new home of Kent Union’s Jobshop, the Full Time Officers, the Advice Centre, sports, societies and volunteering. Mandela will also have a small study/social space, a student kitchen, student toilet facilities and union offices.
There have been renovations to the Sail and Colour Loft, home to Kent Business School at Medway.
There are more places to study in Templeman library including study pods and techno-booths for group work, and individual study carrels for private study.
Medfest doubled the number of visitors attending the festival and was a great success, with rides and live performances.
The School of Economics has moved to the Kennedy Building, which is located between the Sports Centre, Jennison and opposite Sibson. The Kennedy building provides more dedicated social and meeting spaces for students and staff. There are also 11 new central teaching rooms in the building including an IT suite.
Team Medway won the inter-campus Varsity 8-4 against Team Greenwich.
Over at the Pavilion in Parkwood, Kent Sport is working on a brand new indoor tennis and events area open to members.
Have a great 2019-20 at Kent!
If you are a returning student, tour personal timetable is now available on the Student Guide if you are fully registered on your modules.
This will show your main group classes, such as lectures, and your group allocations, such as seminars or labs, for level 5 and 6 modules.
If you are taking any level 4 modules your group allocations will be finalised by Friday 20 September 2019.
If you have recently changed module or programme of study, there may be a delay to your personal timetable being available.
Continue to go back and check your timetable regularly for updates including other events. If you have more questions, read the Timetabling FAQs.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get a degree in a fraction of the time it normally takes? The One Hour Degree game has been produced specifically for students who are about to join or have recently begun their degree journey at Kent.
It is a narrative based adventure game which simulates all the significant elements of gaining a degree condensed into as little as one hour.
There are five independent ‘quests’ focused on Welcome Week, the first term, the first year, year 2 and year 3. The game introduces key facilities, support networks and social opportunities that are available at Kent as well as displaying stunning imagery of our parkland campus.
Players will earn ‘knowledge’ and ‘wellbeing’ points along the way as well as a badge for each completed quest. Together they will dictate the classification of the ‘degree’ received at the end before you have the opportunity to be part of your very own graduation video. With more than 100 million unique pathways through the game, you can easily choose a different story path each time to see how different decisions result in different outcomes.
The game does not require a login or user account and can be played by anyone who has access to a web browser, on any device.
Play the One Hour Degree game now.
Kent and Medway Medical School held its first Virtual Open Day on Tuesday 10 September. The event was hosted on YouTube and featured presentations from the founding Dean, Chris Holland and members of the senior academic and clinical team. The event was hosted by Louisa Britton from KMTV who also supported KMMS technically.
The live event attracted 204 participants and at its peak had 75 concurrent viewers. The audience had an average screen time of 28 minutes and questions flooded in throughout the two-hour broadcast. Overnight the recorded stream had over 80 more views with international visitors from India, Spain, Italy and Lebanon to name a few.
Mary Langford, Communications Manager says: ‘As we have a relatively short admissions window (KMMS applications close on 15 October) we wanted to try doing something online to allow prospective students to hear more about us without having the expense of travelling to Canterbury. We ran it in the early evening to allow people to get home from school or work and then tune in.’
Philip Chan, Admissions Lead says: ‘At KMMS we are committed to innovation in all areas. We felt that running a virtual open day allowed prospective students to engage with KMMS in a new way – to hear from the senior team and ask live questions from their mobile devices. We were really impressed by the quality and variety of questions we were asked and the number of people who engaged with it live – we will definitely do this again.’
Is transhumanism possible? Would it be a good or bad thing for the human race?
The Department of Philosophy is hosting a panel discussion on the nature of transhumanism on Thursday 19 September at 16.00. The event is sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and takes place as part of the wider programme of events organised during Welcome Week. All are welcome to attend.
Many critics argue that transhumanism is an irresponsible pursuit of an impossible utopia, and that it does more to undermine humanist philosophy than develop it. Others, like Aubrey de Grey, point out that the pursuit of longer, healthier lifespans is straightforwardly a good thing since it benefits individuals and the human species; it frames death and ageing as the result of biological flaws that can and will be remedied.
This event will begin with perspectives on transhumanism offered by three specialists from history, philosophy, and biosciences, which will be followed by an audience-led discussion.
Speakers:
Alyx Robinson (Philosophy)
Charlotte Sleigh (History)
Linas Tamošaitis (Biosciences)
Moderator:
Todd Mei (Philosophy)
Following her participation in the UK-South Africa Knowledge Frontiers Symposium earlier this year, Dr Lavinia Brydon, Lecturer in the Department of Film, has co-organised a walking workshop to take place later this month in Tshwane, South Africa.
Seed funded by the British Academy, Lavinia is working with colleagues from the University of Pretoria and University of the West of England Bristol as well as two community partners to explore how arts-based approaches can creatively re-imagine socio-urban space in the South African city.
The workshop is structured as a walking and writing tour of Tshwane, with participants invited to explore the relationship between stories, storytelling and public space. This includes examining literature and poetry about – and performed within – urban architecture. It will also examine how these artistic practices and outputs sit alongside other community-based artwork.
For further information about the project, please contact Lavinia at l.brydon@kent.ac.uk.