Attending a summer school overseas is a great way to experience another culture, gain a global perspective, enhance your studies and make friends from around the world.

The Partner Universities Summer Schools Fund has been established to enable University of Kent students to apply for a financial award of up to £1000 to attend a summer school at one of our partner institutions. For a list of the summer schools you are eligible for, please see: https://www.kent.ac.uk/goabroad/opportunities/summer-schools-fund.html

Deadline for applications is midnight on 15 March 2016.

As part of the University’s Student Project Grant Scheme HIVE, Hub for Innovation and Enterprise, is running an App Development Conference on Wednesday 16 March.

The aim of the conference is to introduce young entrepreneurs to the industry of app development and help students realize their potential by running a series of workshops and welcoming successful digital entrepreneurs to deliver speeches and provide insights on their entrepreneurial journeys.

This will be an introductory and interactive conference for non-technical people and aspiring mobile entrepreneurs; no prior technical or programming knowledge will be required for this conference, and there will be sandpit opportunities for like-minded students to work alongside external developers to grow their ideas.

Register: The conference is open to all staff and students at the University of Kent.Registration is required. Please register using your Kent IT details on the EventBrite page.

Location: Templeman Library, Library Road, University of Kent Canterbury Campus
Start Time: 12.30 There will be an opportunity to network at the end of the conference with free refreshments and catering.

Students who require extra time or Specialist Arrangements for exams need to apply to Student Support and Wellbeing before end of Week 23. To be eligible for extra time, you will be asked to register with Student Support and Wellbeing and you will need to meet with a Student Adviser to discuss your application.

All applications for additional time must be supported by evidence of disability or other significant difficulty (for example a doctor’s letter).

We encourage students who may require Specialist Arrangements to apply well before the Exams Deadline (1st April).

Alicia Sanctuary, a novice in the University of Kent Rowing Club, offers a student perspective of the intercollege rowing competition which took place on Wednesday 27 January.
It’s that time of year again! Intercollege competitions are in full swing and open for all to join. The rowing relay races took place with great success. Both rowers and complete novices attended and gave their all. The attendees were split into colleges; Rutherford, Eliot, Keynes and Darwin. Colleges competed until only one remained undefeated, the champions of this competition were Rutherford.

Alex McKinney, Chairman of the Rowing club, spoke about what the event meant for the society and for Kent Sport. Alex commented on the club as being open to ‘anyone who isn’t a member of the club and thinking about trying it out’, great for all those who are interested in rowing, or those who want to give it a go without the committing the sport competitively. Intercollege competitions offer an opportunity for the rowers to engage in friendly competition and to invite others to see what the sport entails.

Rowers at the University of Kent club are dedicated to early outings and rigorous training plans in preparation for races. The Senior Men’s boat will be racing at Henley Regatta this year and are making full use of the ergo machines and lifting area at Kent Sport in preparation for the international event.

The next Intercollege Rowing meet is on the 17 February, 14.00-15.30. So if want to a have a taster of rowing or just work up a sweat, come down to Kent Sport for the next relay race and they won’t disappoint you.

For more information about the University’s rowing club, follow UKCRowing on Twitter or Facebook. The committee members will answer any questions you may have.

Kent Union’s annual Leadership Elections is under way and the nominations period is now open as of Tuesday 19 January.

Students now have the opportunity to put themselves forward or recommend a friend who they would like to see lead the students’ union for the academic year 2016-17, with the nominations deadline being Tuesday 16 February.

There are five sabbatical officer positions available and they are President, Vice-President (Activities), Vice-President (Education), Vice-President (Sports) and Vice-President (Welfare).

Kent Union provides extensive training and support for all Leadership Election candidates both during and after the elections process. Students can now download a nominations pack, as well as nominate themselves, at kentunion.co.uk/leadership-elections.

The Returning Officer for the elections and the elections team be reached on elections@kent.ac.uk for all enquiries.

Key Leadership Elections 2016 dates

Nominations open: 12.00 – Tuesday 19 January 2016
Candidate bootcamp: From 27 January 2016
Nominations close: 12.00 -Tuesday 16 February 2016
Candidate briefing: 18.00 – Tuesday 16 February 2016
Kent Union staff speed meet: Afternoon – Wednesday 17 February 2016
Manifestos deadline: 12.00 – Friday 19 February 2016
Voting opens and campaigning starts: 13.00 – Thursday 3 March 2016
Voting closes: 17.00 – Thursday 10 March 2016
Results night: From 20.00 – Thursday 10 March 2016

SSPSSR Employability month is around the corner offering a variety of events including guest speakers from the Metropolitan Police, European Parliament, Kent County Council and the Prison Service to share their career insights with students. There will also be an International Internships Fair (with part-funding available) a free field trip to the Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bailey, as well as a networking event to end the month to which all are invited.

You can see the programme of events via this link: http://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/why-study-with-us/employability/documents/employability_2016_timetable.pdf

A short summary of the events can be found in the events calendar: http://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/why-study-with-us/employability/employability-fair-2016.html

Distinguished Italian legal scholar and politician Professor Stefano Rodotà  will deliver a guest lecture on ‘Reinventing the Body’ at the invitation of the Centre for Critical Thought at Kent Law School.

The lecture will explore the concept of the body and who owns it. More specifically, Professor Rodotà will ask if the body is still the product of biology or whether it is more the result of multiple interventions made possible by techno-science.

Professor Rodotà , currently Professor of Civil Law at the Sapienza University of Rome, is a former Italian presidential candidate in the 2013 elections and was a Shadow Minister of Justice in Italy in 1989. He has given lectures and seminars in universities around the world and is also Professor at the Institute for Human Sciences at Firenze. In addition, he is Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and Visiting Scholar at Stanford School of Law.

Numerous political positions Professor Rodotà  has held in Italy and Europe include: Member and former Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights; European Union Chair of the Italian Internet Governance Forum; President of the Italian Commission on Environment (2007); President of the Italian Data Protection Commission (1997-2005); President of the European Group on Data Protection (2000-2004); Member of the European Group on Ethics of Science and Technologies (1993-2005); Member of the Convention for the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000).

The lecture will be held in Darwin Lecture Theatre 2 at 17.00 on Tuesday 2 February. A full abstract is available online at: http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/law-news/files/2016/01/Reinventing-the-body.pdf

With the start of a new term, is it time to think about a new you? Kent Sport are offering student memberships for the remaining academic year at a reduced price. Gold membership is now just £147 and Silver membership is just £127.

Available to purchase now, student membership offers a huge range of benefits including unlimited access to the fitness suite*, all fitness and dance classes and access to facilities for club training**. Plus, if you purchase membership before midnight on Sunday 31 January, you’ll automatically be entered in to a prize draw for a chance to win a full membership refund and a sports goody bag filled to the brim with sports gear.

Student membership is available to buy online now, for use until 31 August 2016.

For more information about membership benefits and to purchase online, visit kent.ac.uk/sports/membership.

To stay up to date with the latest news, special offers and activities, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter UniKentSports.

*Unlimited access to the fitness suite for Gold members only. **Club joining fees apply.

To find out about Kent Sport visit our stand at the refresher fair on Wednesday and Thursday and have a chat with our friendly team.

You can check out all the fun activities we have lined up this term in our Sport at Kent brochure:
www.kent.ac.uk/sports/docs/timetables/sport-at-kent-t2-final-web.pdf

If you are not yet a member of Kent Sport, join by 31 January and you will be entered into a free prize draw for the chance to win back the cost of your membership and other great prizes. For further details visit www.kent.ac.uk/sports/membership/student.html.