Once you have registered make sure you get involved in all that Welcome Week (or as some people call it, ‘week 0’) has to offer.

Welcome Week is a helpful introduction to the University and its’ services, including the Library and Kent Union, getting you ready for when teaching starts on 28 September.

Even if you’re not living in University accommodation you still need to attend Welcome Week.

Get the most from Welcome Week and make sure you…

• Go to the Welcome Fairs on 24 and 25 September. This is your opportunity to find out more about all the societies and sports teams you can join. You can also pick up a few freebies!
• Attend your school’s induction events. School induction events are a great opportunity to meet fellow students studying similar courses to you, while discovering the wide range of support services provided by your school. Contact your school for more details.
• Find out all you need to know about Library and IT services by attending a welcome session in the Templeman Library. Check your timetable or drop in. View our Hello Library! Hello IT! webpages for help.

International student?

As well as all the Welcome Week activities, there’s a special welcome programme for international students.

Postgraduate student?

If you’re a postgraduate student there is a range of induction events designed specifically for you, as well as the general Welcome Week events everyone can attend.

The Graduate School is committed to supporting the career skills development of all postgraduate students at the University.

The Graduate School administers the unique Global Skills Award for taught postgraduates. Postgraduate students registered on taught programmes of study are invited to apply for a place on our programme which comprises of a range of lectures on global issues and a series of skills workshops which have been specifically designed to improve your employability in a competitive job market.

The Graduate School coordinates the Researcher Development Programme for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers at the University. The Programme is designed to equip postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers with a full range of skills which will improve their effectiveness as researchers.

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 28 September. 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 22 September so we know you’re definitely coming back.

• Term starts on Monday 28 September. Welcome Week is the week before (21-25 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.

• Living off campus is very different from living in University accommodation. Read our community webpages for information on bills, bins, neighbours and much more!

Canterbury campus developments

• Campus looks a bit different from when you last saw it. A big change is the new Templeman Library wing. There are over 500 new social, quiet and silent study spaces in Templeman West for you to use. Discover more about the changes in Templeman Library.

• With the new space in the Templeman Library, the temporary study space in Senate will become staff offices for this academic year. Also, the Postgraduate Research Space will be in Oaks Study Hub from the start of term.

• The new catering addition to the Canterbury campus, Hut8 at Turing College, opens in Welcome Week. Hut8 offers three eateries in one food-court style space – including pizza, fish and chips and flame-grilled BBQ items. You can eat in the restaurant seating area, or take advantage of the delivered takeaway service across the campus until late, seven days a week. Have a look at the Hut8 menus and online takeaway information.

Medway campus developments

• Construction on your new Students’ Union building is moving along nicely. The new hording design will be in place for the start of term…you can’t miss it though, it’s bright purple!Listening events throughout the first term means you will have your say on the name of the new Student Hub. View a Q&A about the Student Hub, as well as all the latest photos.

• New teaching facilities at the Historic Dockyard – including a new home for Kent Business School at Medway and a 316-seat lecture theatre.

• Important information for parking at the Historic Dockyard

Have a great 2015-16 at Kent!

Natalie Cafasso Forman, a Hispanic Studies BA (Hons) graduate, has just passed the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners (CELPE- Brás) after learning Portuguese as part of her degree.

The CELPE- Brás, set up by Brazil’s Ministry of Education, is the only one of its kind recognised by the Brazilian Government and is required by foreign students who wish to study in Brazil and may be required by foreign professionals who wish to work or register with professional bodies in Brazil.

Natalie, the first student from Kent to pass the exam, said of her achievement: ‘Having studied Portuguese as a wild module along with my degree I felt it was really worth taking the Celpe Brás exam, as it’s a nationally recognised certificate often required by Brazilian employers and can help me get a job in Brazil, which would be amazing. I’d love to live and work in Brazil in the future. I would quite like to acknowledge Dr Antônio Márcio da Silva as it’s all down to his great teaching and encouragement!’

Congratulations to Natalie and we wish her every success in the future.

The School of Music and Fine Art is delighted to announce that Ben Crawford, Evdokia Georgiou and Nadia Perrotta, three recently graduated BA (Hons) Fine Art students, have all been selected for the prestigious 2015 Platform Graduate Award. Their work will be exhibited at Turner Contemporary, Margate, in September, after which the final winner from the region will be chosen.

Now in its third year, the Platform Graduate Award aims to support graduate professional development and nurture emerging talent from universities and colleges in the South East region.

Last year’s winner, Sophie Dixon, was also from the BA (Hons) Fine Art in the School of Music and Fine Art, for which she received a  £2500 bursary from Platform and a year of mentoring from an experienced art professional.

The Platform programme is a coalition of visual arts organisations in the South East: Turner Contemporary, Margate; Aspex; Portsmouth; De La Warr Pavilion; Bexhill; MK Gallery; Milton Keynes and Modern Art Oxford, and has been initiated by CVAN (Contemporary Visual Art Network South East).

For details on the 2014 awards, and last year’s winner, Sophie Dixon, go to CVAN website.

A TEDx talk by Alexander Stylianoudis, a Criminology and Sociology student, has been viewed online more than 10,000 times in less than a month.

Alexander’s talk, which was part of the TEDx conference held in June at the Gulbenkian , attempts to justify big corporations that avoid paying tax.

New for 2015: SLAS is piloting a new extra-curricular module for Academic Peer Mentors. This will be available to all registered mentors online via Moodle and face-to-face via weekly workshops. The training will support mentors in their role and provide them opportunities to share ideas and reflect on their experiences. Topics covered by the module include; the role of mentoring at Kent, active listening and communication skills, equality and diversity and student-centred learning approaches.

Academic Peer Mentoring at Kent has grown from strength to strength; the scheme is now running in 18 schools across the Medway and Canterbury campuses. Last year SLAS worked with approximately 350 mentors, this year it is anticipated that there will be even more. The idea behind the scheme is that experienced students provide academic and social support to newer students. This gives mentors invaluable employability skills such as; communication, time management leadership and team work whilst also benefiting mentees by providing them with a friendly face to ask questions about their course and university life. The focus of APM is on improving student achievement and as such it targets difficult modules rather than failing students.

Being a mentor is a fantastic way to ‘give something back’ to the university and it looks great on your CV. To find out more about mentoring please contact SLASapm@kent.ac.uk