A huge congratulations to Thomas on his new role as Vice President for Welfare & Community 2022/23, a student leadership position in Kent Union. This role draws focus to student life within the local community, development of student safety schemes and tackling student welfare issues at Kent.

We asked Thomas a few questions about his plans for the role, revealing his passion about living, studying and working in Canterbury.

What would you like to bring in your role as VP of Welfare & Community?

“Having previously volunteered for the Independent Police Advisory Group and Kent Union, I have a good knowledge of the work being done to make our cities safer and I am excited to contribute towards this great work in my new position. I am passionate about driving an increase in the volunteering and outreach from Kent Union societies and clubs, providing opportunities to use their unique skills to benefit their local community. I want to amplify their student voice and provide students with the tools and funding they need to mobilise their initiatives off-campus”.

Where do you feel you’ll work most closely with the local community in your role?

“A key part of the work we do is making Canterbury and Medway safe places to live and study. Local safety isn’t just an issue owned by students, rather it is one shared by our whole community. I would like to work with our local residents and services on shared goals that improve the city not just for students, but for everyone.”

How do you feel your experience at Kent has prepared you for the role?

“I have lived in Canterbury for 5 years and studied on the Medway campus to complete my degree, this gives me a great idea of the challenges faced by our students in these areas and I can’t wait to start my role and make a difference at Kent. One of the wonderful things about living and studying here, is that you truly feel a part of Kent, and that is something I am proud to be.”

We wish Thomas the best of luck in his new position, and look forward to working alongside him in the year to come.

**Updated 30 March – Our local union branch is currently balloting its members about whether to accept the proposal, which will take a few days to complete. We will update you all as soon as possible once we have the response.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Industrial Action Student WebChat on Friday 25 March. Missed it? You can view the recording online.**

From Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience  

Today is the first of five days of national strike action by members of the University and College Union (UCU).   

The strike is scheduled to run from today (Monday 28 March) to Friday (1 April). Not all areas of the University are equally affected.   

We continue to meet with our local UCU representatives to discuss how we can help resolve these ongoing issues and bring an end to the industrial action here at Kent.   

Meanwhile, teams across the University have been working to minimise as far as possible any disruption the strike might cause you and your studies. There is information about this on our webpages, including how you can keep up to date with any planned disruption to your studies.    

Background to the industrial action    

UCU has called the action over national-level disagreements over pensions and over pay and conditions. The action will affect a number of universities around the country. You can read more about the background on the student webpages.     

What the strike might mean for you    

It is probable that this week:     

• lectures or other timetabled classes may be disrupted or cancelled at short notice;      
• research activities could be cancelled at short notice;      
• other University services you use might be affected
  

UCU members are not obliged to tell us whether or not they will be working on the strike days so we will not know in advance what the level of disruption will be. However, we will share with you on Moodle any specific information we receive, and we recommend that you check your online course groups and your emails frequently to keep up to date about any changes that might affect you.     

You can keep a personal record of the impact of the strikes on your teaching by using the Kent Union Academic Experience Reporting Tool.  

Support for students    

Wherever possible, we will work with staff to prioritise essential student support services so that these remain in place throughout the industrial action.    

We have dedicated student support webpages where you can find details about the support available to you, and contact details of sources of help should you need it.    

I want to thank you all for your patience during this unsettling period, and to assure you that we are doing everything we can to bring this national industrial action to an end here at the University.   

We will keep you updated with any developments during the strike.    

Goodwill payments  

We will be distributing money not paid as staff salaries during the strikes to students based on the amount of disruption to each student caused by the strikes. We are currently working through the information we have about relative levels of disruption to students across the University and we should be in a position within the next few weeks to begin distributing that fund. I will keep you updated on that.  

Marking and Assessment Boycott  

As I mentioned in my email on Friday, I hope to have a positive update early this week on the local marking and assessment boycott. As soon as we get news, I will be in touch again.     

With all good wishes,    

Richard   

Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience  

**Updated 25 March, 14.00 – thank you to everyone who attended the Industrial Action Student WebChat. Missed it? You can view the recording online.**

From Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience

Further to my update earlier this week, the University has now made an offer to UCU which we hope will end the local dispute and bring the current marking and assessment boycott to an end. The UCU will need to discuss this with their members, but after positive discussions we are hopeful of a further announcement early next week. We will be in touch again as a priority when we have an update.

This does not impact the planned strike days over national issues which are still due to take place next week. I also know that many of you still have concerns and questions around industrial action at Kent – do join us later today at 12.45 for our Student Webchat where myself and other colleagues at the University will give a more detailed update and answer any questions you may have. We will also make a recording available afterwards for those that cannot make it.

With all good wishes,

Richard

Professor Richard Reece | DVC Education and Student Experience

Do you know what a student hub is? Are you wanting more social space? Do you want more options to access student support services? What do you want the student experience to be like at Kent?

These are some of the questions that we want to ask you!

The University is looking to improve the online student guide and to create a new space on campus for students.

Take the survey by 1 April and have your say 

We will also be on campus in the coming weeks so look out for us and have your say!

From John Sotillo | Director of Information Services 

Following the disruption to our IT services at Canterbury last week, I’m pleased to confirm that the majority of our systems are now back online across the University. The outage was the result of a detected cyber-security incident and the necessary steps we took as a precaution to manage this. For some students and staff, the recovery from the original incident will take some time and we are working closely with affected Divisions to manage this process.

What happened   

Earlier in the week our security systems detected a security breach in a specific area of the Kent network. As a result, Information Services (IS) and Divisional staff took prompt action to contain the initial situation and to prevent the attack from spreading more widely across Kent services and systems. We then progressed to more significant protective actions in order to counter the threat we had identified.

What we have done  

As part of measures taken, we isolated the School of Engineering domain from the rest of the University network and reset some 1,000 affected users’ passwords. A consequence of taking these necessary measures was the loss of authentication for Wi-Fi, wired network connections in student accommodation and student PCs on campus. IS worked swiftly to restore the authentication system, with most services back online within 24 hours.

We are pleased to report that services are now restored across campus, with the exception of the Jennison building, which hosts the School of Engineering domain IT infrastructure. Work to mitigate the impact on Jennison continues and will take some time.

What you can do 

We have strong security procedures and protocols at Kent but we all need to remain vigilant so that we can continue to work safely and securely online. There has been a rise in cyber-attacks on UK public sector / education sector organisations in recent weeks and these attacks have been intense, persistent and disruptive.

With your help, we can reduce our risk of further attacks. Please read our latest advice and guidance about staying safe online and use our online resources to stay educated and stay alert.

We are continuing our work to ensure that University services and systems remain secure. If you experience any problems or have any issues, please contact IT & Library Support.

Thank you for your patience during this time.

You told us you wanted more social spaces on campus, so we made it happen.

We’re celebrating our new social spaces with free food and live music:

Tuesday 5 April, 13.00-14.00 – The Oasis Lounge (Rochester Building)

Food, drinks and music.

Wednesday 6 April, 13.00-14.00 – The Hook Lounge (Clocktower Building)

Food, drinks and LIVE music.

No need to book, just turn up. You’re welcome to attend one or both events.

This is a great chance to catch up with friends and celebrate your accomplishments as we come to the end of the Spring Term.

See you there!