Category Archives: Student Guide

Be kind written in coloured chalk on a chalkboard

Top 10 ways to be kind to yourself and others

Being kind to yourself and others is something we should all practise and a message that’s even more important during the current pandemic and lockdown.

World Kindness Day is celebrated annually on 13 November and is marked by good deeds and pledging acts of kindness to make the world a better place. In the UK, Kindness Day UK was launched in 2010 and is organised by Kindness UK, a not-for-profit organisation.

Here are some suggestions on how you can show kindness during lockdown (and remember being kind is not just for the day, but always):

1.Organise a virtual get-together for someone who’s going through a rough time.

2.Follow some positive accounts on social media, for example @kindness.news, @wholesome_planet and @the_happy_broadcast on Instagram. If a post brightens your day, share it with others.

3.Drop a note to an elderly neighbour to ask them if they need anything. Help someone feel less isolated.

4.Allow yourself breaks from study and work. A screen break can also be beneficial.

5.Take time to check in with a friend you haven’t spoken to for a while.

6,Clear out your old clothes ready to take to a charity shop. If you don’t need it, give it!

7.Invite your friends list to ‘like’ the page of a local business to help it grow.

8.Offer to make your housemate a cup of tea or a meal.

9.Always say thank you. You could take the time to thank a teacher or lecturer who has helped you.

10.Take some time for yourself! Be sure to set some time aside in the week to do something you enjoy.

Cogs graphic with images within such as medal and graph

Gaining experience during lockdown

If you are looking to gain some work experience, don’t let lockdown deter you! We have put together a few ways in which you can gain experience and develop your employability skills, many of which can be done remotely.

Volunteer

Volunteering is a rewarding way to gain experience and develop your employability skills. There are numerous charities and organisations looking for help, including remotely. A few of these include:

  • NHS Responder Volunteers
  • Canterbury and Herne Bay Volunteer Centre
  • United Nations Volunteers
  • Translators without Borders
  • Zooniverse – research projects
  • Be My Eyes
  • TechSoup

You can also log your volunteering hours with the Kent Volunteering Scheme!

Virtual Internships

Virtual internships are flexible, online opportunities, where you can undertake remote experience. Many virtual internships exist in areas such as tech, marketing and social media roles. Some employers will give you project work to complete over a period of time, and you may have regular catch-ups with the employer.

Others are more flexible, allowing you to complete them in your own time, such as The Forage, which offers free open-access virtual internships. Great for building your commercial awareness! Opportunities include those in Law, Design, Tech, Investment Management, Banking and more!

Courses

There are lots of online courses you can explore, many of which are free. Whether that be something to complement your degree, or you want to learn something completely new, such as coding, a language or digital marketing. Find these on sites such as Coursera, The Open University and Future Learn.

We also offer free courses through Study Plus. We have a variety of online workshops, bookable online, covering a range of topics including: meditation, resilience, project management and photography!

You are not only learning something new, but having this on your CV will show your professional development outside of your degree.

View more resources for gaining experience, on our How to develop your skills at home guide.

You can also access the guide, plus all of our other resources and slides on our Moodle page: DP4450.

Things you can do during lockdown 2:0

To help you through lockdown 2:0 we have organised a series of online events.

Whether you want to develop your CV, try something new or explore local parkland – there is something for everyone!

As well as a programme of events our support services are still available – so please get in touch if you have any questions or need some help.

Please remember – you can still go out for exercise as often as you like, either by yourself, with your household or with one other person from a different household. Read our explanation of the new lockdown rules for details.

We are here to support you and we will get through this together!

Look after your wellbeing

There’s a lot going on in the world at the moment, and students are being faced with challenges not yet seen before, which might make you more vulnerable to feeling anxious, depressed or just low.

Whether or not you have struggled in the past with mental health issues, take a bit of time to actively focus on your wellbeing and remember that whatever you’re going through, support is available at Kent.

View wellbeing support and events at Kent

Develop your CV

Our Careers Advisers have developed a Moodle Module to help you develop your skills at home and will be sharing advice on how to gain experience and prepare applications.

They have also organised a series of employability events for lockdown.

Read careers advice for lockdown

Get crafty

With Christmas around the corner, why not try making some handmade gifts? Student Support and Wellbeing have subsidised some art kits for students during lockdown. You can pick up an art kit for just £4.50 (instead of £10) by 18 November 2020.

Find out how to get an art kit

Studying during lockdown

Studying and keeping focus during lockdown can be challenging. Our Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) offers free one-to-one appointments and are running a whole series of online workshops.

Find out more on the SLAS webpages.

Let’s make music

We are asking all our students, staff, and alumni musicians to record a piece of music in isolation and submit to our Virtual Music Project. Our Music Department will then build it into a festive virtual performance for Christmas.

Find out more on the Facebook page.

Explore Kent’s scenic walks

One of the perks of living and studying in Kent is access to lots of outdoor space. From beaches to scenic parks and historic buildings, this county has it all!

During this lockdown you can meet one other person from a different household for a walk with a coffee or you could go as a household.

Get outdoors this lockdown by exploring some of these walking routes

Bond with housemates

During lockdown you can still socialise as a household. Kent student Rowena has shared some fun things you can do with your housemates during lockdown.

Try Kent Sport’s online workouts

Kent Sport has created a range of online workouts for you to try at home.

Have a go at Kent Sport’s free online workouts

Photo by Rebecca Grant on Unsplash

Kent logo

Response to Government end of term announcement

From Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience:

As you will no doubt be aware, the Department for Education has announced its plans to bring students safely home for Christmas. The guidance, released earlier today, makes it clear that you will still be need to remain in lockdown until 2 December. The following week – 3-9 December – has been designated as the ‘Student Travel Window’ and the Government has requested that we, like all universities, develop a plan to enable students to have staggered departure dates.

The Government also requires all teaching to be online from 9 December at the latest.

I appreciate today’s announcement by the Government may cause you some concern. Please be assured that we are now looking at this latest guidance to assess how it impacts on our existing plans for this term, including assessments that may be due between now and the end of term, and will issue further updates over the next few days.

We will continue to update our online guidance for students in response to the latest guidance from the Government.

I would also like to reassure you that the health and wellbeing of our students and staff remain our key priority and will inform all our decision-making in response to this latest guidance.

In the meantime, until you hear otherwise, please continue to attend your face-to-face and online learning sessions where you are expected. If non-attendance has not been approved, it will have an impact on your attendance record and learning outcomes. If you cannot attend a teaching session on campus, you must notify your school as soon as possible.

We are committed to supporting you during this challenging time and we are here to support and advise you. If you have any concerns and wish to speak to someone please call Student Support and Wellbeing on 01227 823158, email CovidSupport@kent.ac.uk or ring the University Nursing Service on 01227 823503.

My very best wishes to you and your family.

Richard

Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience

 

Multicoloured pencils joined to make a circle

Lockdown: Study Plus free online events and workshops

During lockdown, why not make the most of all the online Study Plus and Careers events? Develop your skills and meet others with similar interests.

Session include Photography, Editing and Proofreading and Resolving Conflict.

Wednesday 11 November 14.00-15.30 – Introduction to Project Management 

Projects are happening all around us and in the workplace it is likely that you will find yourself either involved in a project or managing one.

The aim of this course is to share some tools and approaches that will help you set-up and deliver your project successfully.

Saturday 14 November – 10.00-14.00 – Emergency First Aid 

An introduction to Emergency first aid. This will be a 4 hour event.
Please note we have limited spaces available so book soon to avoid missing out!

To promote the concept of continuous personal development, positive curiosity, and resilience to succeed.

  • What is a growth mindset
  • Fixed mindset v Growth Mindset – 5 key areas
  • The power of ‘yet’
  • The role of feedback
  • Define what it is and why it is important
  • Common barriers to good time management
  • Understand different types of time management issues, strategies, techniques and tools to address these.
  • Know what their own time management issues are
  • Leave with practical plan specific to their needs

We are living in exceptional times. Lockdown took us all surprise and for many of us it meant reimagining the way we work and manage our lives. But as we ease into this ‘new normal’ what are we doing to ensure that our approaches are as inclusive and emotionally intelligent as possible? You are graduating into a world that is more digital and global than ever before, and this session has been created to give you space to think about your role in making that space accessible and safe for you, and others. This session covers:

  • Why does being inclusive matter: the ethical and business case
  • Power and Privilege and its impact on our working lives
  • The Equality Act 2010 and the legal context
  • Harm reduction: action planning and behavioural changes

No matter who you are, if you interact with people there are bound to be times when we are required to have difficult conversations. Most people would rather not have the conversation, will try to avoid it if possible or hope it goes away, or sometimes we may address the situation ineffectively and potentially make it worse. This course is designed to give you the skills and confidence you need to have those challenging conversations in an effective way.

By attending this course, you will learn:

  • the common reasons why we avoid having difficult conversations
  • principles that will help you get the best out of challenging situations
  • understand common motivations with challenging behaviour
  • how to be assertive

Many organisations now expect all employees to help write quality web content. These skills are a great asset to any company and your career, whatever your academic background and job role.

Whether writing web pages, a corporate blog or helping to build a social media campaign, this session will give you the basics for writing compelling online content. It is highly interactive including group discussion and practical exercises.

During this taster course you will:

  1. Be provided with tools to help you identify your core values, i.e. what matters to you.
  2. Experience increased clarity as to your core values and feel more connected to your own potential and deeper sense of purpose.
  3. Be provided with tools to build self-confidence and curiosity to approach experiences and feedback from a positive and constructive angle.

Learning Outcomes:

  • How you can use the rule of thirds to compose your images
  • How to use layering and  negative space in your images
  • When to change the aperture on your images

The focus of this session the focus will be around language, phrasing, championing and challenging. We will share best practice models, research and advice to ensure attendees feel confident to talk about Equality and Identity in an inclusive and thoughtful way. In the workshop we will explore:

  • Can I say that? Looking at current news stories and challenges
  • Exploring what we mean by ‘tone of voice’ in organisations
  • Guiding principles and best practice
  • Weaponised language and reclaimed words
  • Surgery session

This 2-hour workshop course will provide you with useful communication and leadership skills that will enhance your ability to build relationships and gain respect.

By attending this workshop, you will learn:

  • practical skills to build your confidence when communicating both personally and professionally
  • how to communicate like an influential leader
  • what is needed to build rapport.

Editing and proofreading are transferable skills that will be valued in any job role. At work, you will need to check your own emails and reports. Your employer may also ask you to check other people’s work as part of your role. This session will give you the skills, tools and resources to check written work effectively. It is highly interactive including group discussion and practical exercises.

By the end of the session, participants will have:

  • Understood the need to manage yourself, the team, and the task!
  • Examined their own personality style and therefore how they may manage
  • Explored Problem Solving and Decision-Making tools.
During the second part of this taster course, you will explore how your key values from part 1 are crucial to your chosen career and how to approach your careers and job search from a place of creativity, authenticity and possibility.

Check our Target Connect to see all the Study Plus and careers events on offer. 

Looking up into trees with blue sky

Careers and Employability Service: Supporting you in lockdown

As we begin a second lockdown, we understand this is a very uncertain time for everyone. The Careers and Employability Service is here to support you in exploring, finding and securing work opportunities. The pandemic has meant that there are now different approaches you can take when job hunting, as well as, a variety of ways to develop your skills from home, which in turn can support your mental health, which we want to share with you.

Below are a few positives that have come from the current situation, in relation to your career, which are important to highlight. We will also be sharing our advice over the coming weeks, for students looking to gain experience, prepare applications, apply and succeed in securing work opportunities.

Positives of lockdown and your career

  • While so many people are still working from home, it may mean that you can widen your search when looking for jobs/experience (in terms of ‘location’), as many are now remote. It gives you time to reflect on your career goals and research new job roles. If you are considering your options, book a Careers Guidance Appointment to talk to a Careers Adviser.
  • You can access a wider range of employer events and workshops. Many employers have moved their events online, opening them up to all students.
  • Job-hunting whilst in lockdown provides you with an opportunity to develop skills, such as, resilience and adaptability, which are key skills employers value.

Before considering ideas of what to do during lockdown, it’s important to remember

  • Self-Care is necessary. Do not feel pressured to ‘fill all of your time’. This has been a challenging year and adapting to a new normal can be hard. Of course there are things you can do to develop skills, which can also support mental health, but you need to do what’s right for you.
  • Include some non-negotiables into your day, for example, taking regular breaks or going for a daily walk. Make the most of getting outside and exploring your local area, something our Careers Adviser Amy does regularly (the above image is from her walk before work)
  • Stay in touch with friends / family, to maintain a good network. You can be creative to keep in touch, such as virtual dinner dates, virtual games and quizzes!
  • Make time to do something you enjoy, whether it’s blogging, reading, binging a box set, running etc!
  • Access support from Student Support and Wellbeing, whatever you’re going through, support is available at Kent, including appointments and wellbeing events.

Developing your employability during lockdown
Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing our advice to help you gain experience, prepare applications, apply and succeed! Keep posted on our social media for our daily tips, and you can also access our ‘How to develop your skills at home’ guide on our Moodle page: DP4450, click on the tab Remote Working & Online Vacancies to access this.

Follow us on:
Facebook; @UKCES
Instagram: @unikentces
Twitter: @unikentemploy

How to keep physically active during Lockdown

Lockdown can be tough – along with studying, eating well and catching up with your friends and family, you need to make sure you are getting enough exercise.

With the sports hall closed and public gyms closed for the unforeseeable future, getting your regular exercise can be tricky. Also staying at home for a long period of time can make you lose the motivation to keep fit.

However, it is imperative that you take up physical exercise because not only does it keep you calm and will also boost your health during this unprecedented time.

Here are some tips on how to stay physically active when self isolating.

Take short active breaks during the day

Short bouts of physical activity add up to the weekly recommendations. Dancing and performing domestic chores such as cleaning and gardening are other ways to stay active at home.

Follow an online exercise class

If you can’t get up in time to join Joe Wicks, why not take advantage of the amount of online exercise classes available on YouTube? They are free and there are lots to choose from.

Walk

Even in small spaces, walking around or walking on the spot, can help you remain active. If you are on a call with classmates, stand or walk around your home while you speak, instead of sitting down. If you decide to go outside to walk or exercise, be sure to maintain at least a two-meter distance from other people.

Stand up while studying

Mix up your study habits by standing up whenever possible. Consider setting up a standing desk by using a high table or stacking a pile of books or other materials, to continue working while standing.

Try something new

Why not try yoga, dog walks, running, taekwondo, hula hooping, online exercises classes (e.g. from Kent Dance) and even turning your housemate’s empty bedroom into a home gym!

Web Cafe event

We are hosting a Web Cafe on Thursday 12 November between 13:00 and 13:30. This is a friendly drop in event, where students can discuss anything they wish.

Students will be able to discuss a variety of topics such as their studies, wellbeing, concerns, current news items and events as well as enabling us to update you on current topics.

Please come along and join us – whether or not you have a subject to raise. All matters can be discussed and all students are welcome.

You can sign up for the event on the link below:

Web Cafe on Thursday 12 November

Students will be sent the Zoom link a couple of days before.

Are these the same as Web Chats?

No, Web Chats are slightly more formal events lead by University staff on a specific topic to share important information with you, often followed by student Q&A. See the next Web Chat.

Three students in kitchen

What do the new lockdown rules mean for me?

From Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December 2020, there will be a national lockdown across England. 

That means you need to stay at home unless for specific reasons such as on-campus teaching, outdoor exercise or going to get food.  

Can I leave my student accommodation? 

Yes, but only for specific reasons such as attending teaching on-campus, going to the supermarket, and attending a medical appointment. You can also use the library or one of our study spaces.  

You can leave your home for exercise outdoors as often as you like.  

You can also go out with your household for ‘recreation’ time or on your own with one person from another household (one plus one rule).  

Examples of ‘recreation’ include meeting a friend in a park for a walk or picnic. You cannot meet in homes or gardens.  

Can I still attend on-campus teaching? 

Yes, you can leave your home to attend university.  

We will continue to offer a mix of online and on-campus teaching/supervision in a Covid-safe environment. 

What changes will there be to campus facilities? 

The majority of our campus services and facilities will remain open as they were before the lockdown. Our on-campus accommodation will remain open, as will the libraries and study spaces. 

With only a small number of exceptions, our catering outlets will also remain open offering a take-away service with eat-in service still available to those students on catered packages only. Some facilities may need to adjust their hours of operation. The Medical Centre on the Canterbury campus will also remain open.  

Please check our Student life information on the student coronavirus pages for more details. 

What will close off campus? 

Non-essential shops, hairdressers/beauty salons, leisure and entertainment venues will all be closed. 

Bars, restaurants, and pubs will also be closed but can offer takeaway services.  

What support is available? 

We are here for you in these uncertain times! 

We offer a wide range of support services for students, including wellbeing and support, finance, online learning, IT, housing, accommodation, and immigration. 

Please check out our support pages for more information.  

Can I return to my family home? 

If you are currently living away from your family home, a recent letter from the Minister of State for Universities is urging you stay where you are. This will help stop the spread of Covid and save lives.  

I am a commuting student. Can I still travel to university? 

Yes, you can still travel from home for education. Plan your journey in advance and make sure you follow the Government and travel operator’s guidelines. 

If you need support during this difficult time, please get in touch by emailing CovidSupport@kent.ac.uk 

We are here for you and we will get through this together! 

 

Kent Sport closure

Kent Sport will temporarily close

It has been decided that in order to protect the safety of our customers and staff, all sports and fitness facilities will temporarily close from Thursday 5 November in line with the national lockdown. We will remain closed until Wednesday 2 December, unless otherwise advised. We are, understandably, upset by this news and we know you will be too. Rest assured, we will be back as soon as possible.

Any updates on our service will be shared through @UniKentSports on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as soon as we are able to. We also have a dedicated Coronavirus webpage for more information.

The Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic will still be able to provide face-to-face physiotherapy and GP referral appointments at the clinic, as well as online consultations. Sports massage and other services are currently unavailable.

Although we won’t be able to provide a physical location for your exercise, we are moving more services online to help you stay active at home. We’ve added some fantastic at-home workouts to our Stay Well @ Home webpage, and we’ll continue to build on this content as we move through lockdown. We’re also recording some of our most popular classes for you to access at home.

From the team at Kent Sport, we hope you stay safe and well and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.