On Monday 30 November, the Student Data System (SDS) website will be unavailable while it is upgraded. The new site will be fully accessible and mobile friendly.

The look and feel of the site will change but the most frequently used features will still be available and can be accessed the same way.

(click to expand – view from phone and from desktop).

Coming soon on SDS

When the new-look SDS launches on Monday 30 November you won’t see the following features:

• Updated Postgraduate Research (PGR) progression pages
• Workshop sign-up form
• Progression and outcome letters
• Academic Advisor notes

This is because we are currently working hard to improve these features and they will be available shortly after launch. We thought it was important to provide you with improved access to the most frequently used features first!

The Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries membership are offering Kent students FREE membership to the Creative Industries Federation (CIF).

The Creative Industries Federation is the membership body which represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries. Through their unique network of creative organisations, influential policy and advocacy work and extensive, UK-wide events programme they support and celebrate the work of their members.

Membership to the CIF will give you the following benefits:

• Exclusive access to their carefully curated selection of launch resources that provide
 insight into the industry
• Practical guidance and tips to help advance your career
• Access to all the best platforms you can use to connect to the industry and to your peers
• 
Extensive details of the creative opportunities and job boards out there to fulfil your creative potential
• Exclusive access to parts of their busy events schedule, including recorded content from the landmark November 2020 Creative Coalition festival.

You can register on the online student membership portal, using your university email address.

Please fill in our quick survey!

Help Information Services improve the information and tools they provide to help you find available study space on the Canterbury and Medway campuses.

What’s important to you when you choose where to study on campus?

Tell us by filling in this short survey. It should take no more than 5 minutes.

Thank you very much for your help!

Feedback on any IT and Library services is welcome any time!

Gulbenkian are hosting a special FREE online comedy event for University of Kent Students on Friday 27 November.

The Noise Next Door – the quickest wits in comedy are set to charge onto your screens with a spectacular new show interactive for streaming that will trample your expectations.  AND it’s FREE for students to watch!  Join the stampede and grab yourself a ticket to watch online on Friday 27 November.   Tickets are available to book from the Gulbenkian’s website.

The Noise Next Door are twelve time sell-out veterans of The Edinburgh Fringe and have appeared on BBC One, ITV1, BBC Three and BBC Radio 4. They have also appeared alongside the likes of Michael McIntyre, Katherine Ryan, Romesh Ranganathan and Harry Hill.  Members of The Noise Next Door are also alumni from the University of Kent School of Arts.

Join us for bitesize online training sessions that will help you hone your search skills and give you hints and tips on using some of the Digital Library resources

Make the most of Your Digital Library by joining our wonderful librarians to discover how to use some of the key library resources and brush up your search skills.  Details of the sessions and the links to join them are below:

Your Digital Library: Search Skills 101

Boost your search results with these search strategy top tips and hacks.

Date: Monday 23 November 14.00.

Duration: 20 minutes

Link to session: Click here to join the session

Your Digital Library: Database Speed Dating Nexis 

Learn how to use Nexis to search the collection of national and international newspapers.

Date: Tuesday 24 November 10.00

Duration: 15 mins

Link to session: Click here to join the session

Your Digital Library: Database Speed Dating BoB

Learn how to use Box of Broadcasts (BoB) which is the University’s streaming service. Find documentaries, television and radio news for your research.

Date: Wednesday 25 November 10.00.

Duration: 15 minutes

Link to session: Click here to join the session

Your Digital Library: Medical Resources for all 

This short session introduces a range of resources such as e-books, journals or databases available for all Kent students and staff who are interested in medicine.

Date: Thursday 26 November 14.00.

Duration: 20 min

Link to session: Click here to join the session

As we begin the second week of lockdown, we hope you are keeping safe and well. This week we are focussing on career preparation, for those who are undecided about their next steps. Below you’ll find advice about how to explore careers and further study, identify your skills and update your CV!

Exploring Careers

When considering your future career, it can feel quite overwhelming. Luckily there are things you can do to narrow down your career choice:

• Book a Careers Guidance appointment to discuss your options with a Careers Adviser. Appointments are available daily.
• Complete our Careers Award! A free online programme that gives you the chance to think about your career and what type of opportunities are open to you.
• Listen to Bright Network’s talk on How to work out what you want to do, part of the Bright Network Academy, with practical steps you can take to discover your interests.
• Take a look at our I want to work in pages – a great starting point when researching! Also, sites such as Bright Network, Targetjobs and Prospects have a range of job profiles!

Access careers resources.

Exploring further study

Are you thinking about further study? There are many reasons why you may consider postgraduate study, and we can support you throughout the process. A few things to do when looking into further study are:

• Book a Careers Guidance appointment to discuss postgraduate study with a Careers Adviser. Appointments available daily: careers@kent.ac.uk
• Attend our Postgraduate Study workshop (this Wednesday at 2.30pm!) to find out about the application process and writing a personal statement.
• Take a look at our Further Study pages – a great starting point when researching!

Identify your skills

When exploring careers, it’s important to know what your strengths are, as this will help you to know the type of role which you would be suited to. To do this, you can:

• Access our Choosing a Career guide, with useful advice covering self-awareness, opportunity awareness and career exploration.
• Try taking a personality questionnaire to help you discover your personality type and how it relates to career choice. The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a well-known tool to try, access a free assessment based on MBTI, as well as other tests via our Choosing a Career Guide (pg.9)
• Book a Careers Guidance appointment to discuss your interests and career options. Appointments available daily: careers.kent.ac.uk

Updating your CV

It’s really important to keep your CV up to date, and relevant to the role and industry you are looking to work in. To do this, you can:

• Attend our Talk about your skills workshop (Friday 20 Nov at 9.00) to learn how to articulate your skills to an employer.
• Book a Quick Advice appointment for a CV check. We can provide feedback and advice about how to tailor your CV for a specific job. Daily appointments available: careers.kent.ac.uk
• Access our CV guide for tips and CV examples. You can also access our Creating a great CV workshop slides via our Moodle page: DP4450.

Keep updated on our social media pages:

Facebook; @UKCES
Instagram: @unikentces
Twitter: @unikentemploy

The Knowledge Exchange and Innovation team, supported by Enabling Innovation: Research to Application (EIRA), brings you i-Teams 2021 and the Business New Digital Horizons series.

These knowledge exchange activities support students’ employability, an opportunity to work with real-world companies and a way of adding employability points to their portfolio.

Kent Innovation i-Teams links the most innovative and creative students to industry, facilitating solutions to real world business challenges. Following a very successful Kent programme in 2020, we are excited to present our second year of i-Teams in 2021.

i-Teams is an 8 week programme where three student teams, who are selected from across all academic disciplines, work on their business challenge with the support of i-Teams mentor, Tudor Price, Deputy CEO at the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce.

The three challenge providing companies this year are IBM, Medway Council: Young Lives Foundation and The Research Network.

Details of our 2020 i-Teams programme can be found on the Hub for Innovation and Enterprise. You have until 23.59 on 29 November 2020 to apply for i-Teams 2021.

For all the details, and application link see the i-Teams 2021 webpage.

The Business New Digital Horizons series is an opportunity for students to present to companies. Topics include: Virtual and Augmented Reality – Ideas for Business, Social Media for Online Business, Online Security – How do I protect my online business, Website Start Up Tips and Laws for Digital Selling. If you are interested in speaking about any of these topics, find all the details on our Business New Digital Horizons page.

Participating in New Digital Horizons will earn you 20 employability points, and sessions will be running up to March 2021.

Both projects are open to all current University of Kent students.

If you have any questions please email: eirakent@kent.ac.uk

[Picture showing was taken in February 2020 prior to lockdown in March 2020].

You can now see how busy the Templeman Library is at any time.

If you’re planning to come to the Library take a look at our new Library occupancy checker. You can also view this on our digital screens when you enter the Library building.

The Templeman Library is open 08.00 to 22.00 every day until the end of term. We can only allow a limited number of people into the Library and you may have to queue to enter when the building is very busy. The Library is generally quieter early morning, later in the day and at weekends – but you’ll be able to check that for yourselves now.

If the Library is busy and you don’t want to queue there are a number of alternative study spaces across campus for you to use. You can also access a huge range of high-quality digital resources online.

Representing a range of culture, academic discipline, and personal interests, we are delighted to showcase this year’s cohort of Global Officers who are taking part in the Global Officers Leadership Development (GOLD) Programme.

Here’s the Global Officers Profiles 

The programme is a co-curricular venture, designed to fit around your academic studies.  It provides a framework of activities for globally-minded undergraduate students at Kent to develop their leadership skills, global citizenship and cultural awareness.

So far this year, our Global Officers have explored their own Cultural Intelligence and how they can develop this further; engaged in various virtual exchange projects with students from across the world; participated in inspirational talks offered by our partner universities in addition to playing a key role in future culturally themed WebHangouts.

The Programme provides a forum to learn more about the university, work with the Dean for Internationalisation and other colleagues around the university to share your own journey and experiences, and influence and have an impact on international experiences at Kent in a well-supported space.

“The Programme so far has been excellent, and I’ve been given so many opportunities to develop.  I’m looking forward to managing and organising events myself and engaging with the diverse student body” 

Jordan Pali, first year student, Finance and Investment with a Year in Industry.

Look out for events and initiatives being led by our Global Officers and how you can get involved, follow #KentGlobalOfficers.

If you are inspired by this story, did you know that you can include the GOLD Programme within your degree programme by taking it as a wild module, GOLD500? If you are not able to sign up for the module, you can take this as an extra-curricular activity, applications for 2021/22 will open in the summer.

For more information about the Programme, please email deaninternational@kent.ac.uk

All students are welcome to join this fun and informal, Diwali themed, Web Hangout.

This Web Hangout will take place on Monday 16 November, from 12.00-13.00.

We will be joined by Professor Nitin Arora, Happiness Proctor at Amnity University who will be giving a talk during our event.

Meet new students, take part in fun activities and share stories and experiences.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Sign up for the Diwali Web Hangout now.