Our new dedicated space for Special Collections & Archives on the lower ground in Block A of the Templeman Library is now complete, and our collections are currently being moved into their new permanent home. All collections will be stored in the same space again, so it will be much easier and quicker to access material.

The Reading Room will remain open. However, as collections will be travelling between stores, we need as much notice as possible if you’d like to come in and see material, ideally a week.

If you’re a student booked in for a group visit, it’s still happening! All seminars, inductions and groups are going ahead as planned.

If you’re an academic who’d like us to host a group visit, please get in touch. We’re still taking bookings for seminars this term (and next year), but it may not be possible to host a session at the last minute unless it’s already booked.

The move is scheduled to take about three weeks. We’ll keep everyone updated on the Special Collections & Archives blog and on the website.

The Special Collections & Archives team will remain in their current office on the first floor in Block A, Templeman Library. If you have any questions or queries about the move, please get in touch.

Have you an interest in working with or finding out about other cultures? Two exciting new virtual mobility projects have been launched this term as part of the Study Plus offerings.

Working with either a university in Hong Kong or Japan, students will work in small groups on a common task and produce a presentation at the end. Themes surround the issue of Migration and Free Trade. Students will be expected to work with their counterparts from Hong Kong or Japan and communicate via Skype and other technologies.

Deadline for initial applications is 4pm Friday 13 October

For more information and to sign up click here.

After a ride through the attractive countryside in the Weald of Kent, we arrive at the ‘fairytale’ Bodiam Castle, a 13th Century building in an excellent state of preservation. The cost of admission to the castle is included in the £15 ticket price, as is your picnic lunch. Later we proceed to the coast near Rye for a seaside walk. The day ends with free time in the attractive mediaeval town centre of Rye, with its historic buildings and unusual shops. We aim to have arrived back in Canterbury by about 6pm.

This popular annual excursion, organised by the University Chaplaincy, departs from the Canterbury Campus at 9.00 on Sat 21 Oct. Tickets available now from Kent’s Online Store.

Picture by Stephen Laird

Need to fund an idea or project?

The Kent Opportunity Fund offers bursaries of up to £5,000 from the Student Project Grants Scheme! Applications open on the 16 October.

What is the Kent Opportunity Fund?
The Kent Opportunity Fund has been established to support a broad range of scholarships, student projects to enhance extra-curricular activities at Kent, and bursaries to support students experiencing financial hardship. Committees of Kent staff, alumni and donors allocate the funds raised and ensure that they go to the students most in need.

To find out more and apply please follow the link: https://www.kent.ac.uk/giving/opportunityfund/projects/

It’s World Mental Health Day on 10 October and to show support, Student Minds and UKC Mental Health Group will be out on the plaza between 12.00 and 14.00 promoting ways that YOU can look after number one!

Now the Welcome Week madness is over, it’s probably a good time to start exploring Kent and the support services on offer. Watch our support, health and wellbeing video.

You can also read our short pdf guide to support at Kent.

Support with your studies

Studying for a degree is very different to studying at school. You have a lot more control over your learning and greater independence.

You will also be asked to do things you’ve never had to do before (eg referencing in a certain way, dissertations, vivas…) this is where the Student Learning and Advisory Service (SLAS for short) steps in.

SLAS can help you with everything from perfecting your essay writing to learning how to reference properly. You can learn in your own time using our online guides or attend one of SLAS’ many workshops.

Don’t forget your school is also there to help you with your studies and offer a range of study support.

Have you registered with Student Support and Wellbeing?

If you have a disability you should contact Student Support. They can provide not only academic support but can help with funding applications.

If you’re going through a difficult time or just don’t feel happy – staff in our Wellbeing Team are always available to listen.

Advice Centre

From money worries to getting on with your housemates, Kent Union’s Advice Centre is available to help. All advice is free to Kent students – so make the most of it!

Medical advice

Kent has its own NHS general practice on campus. There’s also an independent pharmacy next door, so you don’t have to go far when you’re feeling under the weather.

If you need any medical advice, treatment of a minor illness/injury or contraceptive advice, you can visit the ‘drop-in’ nursing service in Keynes College.

Master’s Office

When you arrived at Kent you automatically joined a college. Your Master’s Office is there to give advice and can be used as a first port of call for any questions you may have.

Chaplaincy

University Chaplains run a wide range of religious and social events (including a very festive carol service in the Cathedral). They are also a good contact for advice and support.

International students

As well as all the other support services available to students, international students can visit International Team in the Registry Building. They can help with any international related queries and run a series of cultural events.

Why not start the new academic year with a Language Express course through the Centre for English and World Languages (CEWL)?

Learning a language can enhance your communication and intercultural skills as well as being fun!

Learn Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish at Canterbury. Courses start in Week 3 (week commencing 9 October) and last for 20 weeks. They are non-credit bearing and take place in the evening from 18:00 – 20:00.

For more information on classes, times and fees, please visit the Language Express webpages.

Learn British Sign Language 

CEWL is also launching a 60 hour (20 week) course in British Sign Language (BSL) open to anyone who wants to learn BSL. The course is run by Palm Deaf BSL Training Ltd and is suitable for anyone who:

• wants to learn basic language skills to communicate simple conversations with deaf people
• wants to progress to more advanced study and/or employment using BSL
• wishes to study BSL for personal development
• is the parent, family, friend or colleague of a deaf person

Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Level 1 Award in British Sign Language.

For more information, please visit our website.

On Wednesday 25 October, from 9.30-13.30, in the Galvanising Shop Performance Space, SMFA is thrilled to present a workshop with two incredibly versatile award-winning young artists – trumpeter Laura Jurd and pianist Elliot Galvin. The workshop is packed with improvisation, composition and creative music making.

Described by Lira Music Magazine as “two of the British jazz scene’s hottest young names – together a super unit that bubbles with musical and personal understanding”, both are prize-winning performers and prolific composers whose music crosses style boundaries.

BBC New Generation Artist (2015-17) and Parliamentary Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year (2015), Laura Jurd has released two albums (the most recent Together as One, with her band Dinosaur (of which Elliott is a member), was nominated for the 2017 Mercury Prize). She recently joined the faculty at Trinity Laban Conservatoire as a composition teacher.

Elliot Galvin’s main artistic vehicle is the Elliot Galvin Trio, winners of the European Jazz Artist of the Year Award. The group have also recorded two albums, including Punch, their debut for the prestigious Edition Records label. Elliot’s commissions include works for the Ligeti Quartet, London Sinfonietta, RESOLUTION dance festival and the Theatre Company Cut Tongues. His music draws on a wide range of influences from Keith Jarrett to Stravinsky, Ligeti, Deerhoof and the Beatles as well as the films of David Lynch, the Dada movement and the literature of James Joyce. He was a founding member of the Chaos Collective.

FREE to attend but booking via https://www.kent.ac.uk/smfa/events.html

Kent Law School’s research group, Social Critiques of Law (SoCriL), and the Gulbenkian Cinema are collaborating to hold a two-day festival focusing on migration and borders.

The festival, ‘CineMigrante’, will be held on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 October and will explore four specific borders (Calais, Lampedusa, Melilla and Mexico) through four film screenings. Wider issues will also be explored through debates and a workshop.

CineMigrante is a film festival that first originated in Buenos Aires in 2010 to raise awareness of migration and to promote cultural integration around the world. Since then, the festival has moved through countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Portugal, Chile, Spain and Italy.

The festival’s first visit to Canterbury begins at 18.30 on Wednesday 18 October in the Gulbenkian Cinema with opening remarks by Florencia Mazzadi and Martina Bernabai of CineMigrante and by Anne Hardy of Kent Refugee Action Network.

The films, to be shown across two evenings, are:

Wednesday 18 October:

• 18.30 – Lampedusa (by Peter Schreiner)
• 21.00 – The Golden Dream (by Diego Quemada-Diez)

Thursday 19 October:

• 18.30 – May they rest in revolt. Figures of war (by Sylvain George)
• 21.00 – Victimes de nos richesses (by Kal Touré)

There will also be a seminar at 16.00 on Thursday 19 October, providing a space to consider how social activism in the practice of law can affect academic dynamics.

Further information about the festival (including a synopsis of each film) is available on the SoCriL website.