Join a panel of BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) Kent alumni sharing their experiences of university, job hunting and the workplace. Ask your questions!

The online webinar takes place Monday 3 August at 19.00.

Book your place online now.

For the attention of all students returning as undergraduates in September 2020.

I hope you are enjoying the summer – even if the summer is not quite what you might have expected – and are getting some well-deserved rest. 

Here at the University, we are working hard to prepare our campuses for your return in September. 

Looking after all members of our community is our top priority so we are putting measures in place to help you stay safe, study and socialise on campus. 

To give you a better idea of what to expect, we have developed a set of FAQs with the students’ unions. Read the FAQs online now. These are being frequently updated in line with Government guidance, so please check the FAQs before you come to campus. 

Please note, Medway campus arrangements are being discussed with our campus partners (Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church) and more information will be available in due course. 

There is an accommodation Webchat on Friday 24 July at 10.00. Laura, from our Accommodation Team, will talk you through everything you need to know about on-campus accommodation. Lesley, from GK Unions, will also be sharing advice for students renting off-campus. Sign-up now. 

I also want to take this opportunity to remind you of the student support on offer over the summer. Our student support teams are on hand to help with any wellbeing, study or finance questions you have as are the Kent Union and GK Unions advice centres.

If you have any questions about returning in September 2020, please email studenthelp@kent.ac.uk. Alternatively, if your enquiry is about this summer’s exams and assessments, please email exams2020@kent.ac.uk.   

I look forward to welcoming you back to campus in September! 

Richard 

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

The University of Kent and Kent Union have announced the winners of the annual Kent Student Awards, via a video live-stream broadcast to all students via the University’s YouTube channel.

The event took place on Monday and the ceremony was hosted by Karen Cox, Vice Chancellor and President of the University; Sasha Langeveldt, President of Kent Union; and Gavin Esler, Chancellor of the University.

The winners of the Kent Student Awards 2020 were:

Outstanding Contribution to Media and the Arts

Nathan Keates, for running improvisation classes and bringing people of different backgrounds and age groups together in the community. In doing this, he has shown the merit and uniqueness among student projects.

The T24 Drama Society, which had six shows each term in 2019, donating £300 to charities such as East Bridge Hospital in Canterbury and the Roald Dahl foundation, with upcoming donations to Mind and a local LGBTQ+, in addition to providing stage experience to those with none.

Outstanding Contribution to the Community

British Red Cross On Campus: UKC, for developing the welfare hubs project on the Canterbury campus, delivering peer to peer welfare hubs at University events. Since the Summer Ball, the project has trained 30 Kent Safe Mate volunteers in basic physical and mental health First Aid.

Elena Ilia and Libby Kane, for further developing the university-based charity UKC STAR (Student Action for Refugees), whose aim is to help refugees by spreading awareness of the issues facing refugees and asylum seekers, and coordinating volunteers to help on projects.

Outstanding Contribution to Sports Development

Charles Dabbs, for his role as President of the Ice Hockey club this year and contributing to the development of the club and sport in general at Kent. He has helped to reorganise the structure of the Ice Hockey Club, in a way that has provided new opportunities for student athletes.

Molly Walsh, for leading the lifting group Kent Barbell to have Kent’s first ever Olympic Weightlifting team, with Molly herself spending her own time and considerable effort to qualify as a British Weightlifting coach to help the club.

Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability

Yasmin Ali, who has made significant contributions to sustainability action at the University. Yasmin has been committed to leading student engagement on social justice and sustainability issues, spearheading awareness-raising on the links between colonialism and the climate emergency as well as facilitating climate activism through creating “DeCO2”. Yasmin is also a co-founder of the Swish Society, encouraging grassroots action against fast fashion in Canterbury.

Carolyn Postlethwaite, as the first elected Sustainability Network Chair where she has organised events and supported initiatives in sustainability, including; Sustainability Network Nights, a Network coffee morning and a week of events related to climate action. Carolyn’s efforts contributed significantly to Kent’s sustainability, and she is expanding plans to care for Kent’s campus wildlife.

Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity

Christine Bishop, as Class and School Rep, has listened to the student voice and liaised with Kent Business School to ensure concerns and ideas are always addressed. She has supported Academic Peer Mentoring for others throughout the University experience and has campaigned for the school to employ a student support officer for BAME students.

Lama Jaghjougha, for recognising the vulnerability of immigrant and refugee women, even more so for those wearing the hijab, leading to her establishing the initiative (RWAN – Raise Women’s Awareness Network); supporting and encouraging immigrant and refugee women in their goals of further study, training and employment.

Outstanding Contribution to Student Voice

Kester Campbell, who has played a huge part in representing the student voice as the Biomedical Student Rep for his 1st and 2nd year and now in his final year is the Biosciences School Rep. His continual commitment in being a liaison with academic staff has helped many students through their academic journey.

Loveness Williams, who has supported fellow students, advocating for their rights and concerns as their Student Rep. Her efforts in supporting one another fostered unity and togetherness amongst the whole group and she has fulfilled her role with a high level of professionalism and dedication, finding a way to encourage everyone.

Young Europeans, which signed up over 500 new members to their mailing list at the 2019/20 academic year, helping to create a community of pro-European students. Most recently the society organised a European solidarity march on 31 January to show the European staff and students at the University of Kent that they are welcome, helping to support those feeling isolated during the Brexit process.

Outstanding Contribution to Fundraising

Kent Islamic Society, which raised £14,524 to fund a variety of different international projects such as cancer treatment and care in Gaza, constructing schools and providing access to education in Niger, Afghanistan and the Middle East and providing emergency aid to Syria, Sudan and Southern Africa. This campaign pushed students out of their comfort zone to learn new skills.

Kent Uni Boob Team, who have put of a range of events stressing the importance of getting to know your body in order to detect early signs of breast cancer in a climate where young people are often ignored and deemed too young to have breast cancer. The team have been a vital part of spreading the message of breast cancer awareness, having collaborated with multiple sports teams and societies to give a fifteen minute talk at the beginning of events. The team has raised over £2000 this year.

Outstanding Contribution to Academic Communities

Economics Society, whose aim this year has been to engage students with economics outside lectures, running weekly meetings on various topics within economics and arranging social events. The society has organised an Economics Summit and a trip to Frankfurt (to visit the European Central Bank as well as the European financial district). The summit has sold nearly 150 tickets, with various economic experts scheduled to speak on some of the biggest issues facing our decade.

Mooting & Mock Trial Clerks, Nicole Bolick and Nathaly Andreou, who have arranged 10 full Crown Court Trials (involving 200 student jurors, professional judges and actor witnesses), external moot competitions as well as the internal mooting programme. They had to arrange and co-ordinate the student judges and mentored the teams, co-ordinating 80 students. These co-curricular activities are vital to the law school’s curriculum and for the experience of students.

The Mike Oliver Award for Improving Accessibility

Paul-Georg Ender, who has helped in preventing the need for retrospective adjustments. This includes both the physical and digital spaces at Kent, such as evaluating tactile bumpers that the library will install on their steps and providing user feedback on Moodle and Blackboard Ally software, which are key to the student experience. Paul has engaged with this so much that he has launched initiatives of his own such as suggesting the creation of a tactile 3D map of the campus. This has now led to the creation of a PhD project in the School of Architecture.

Krysia Waldock, who organised Kent’s first ever Autism Pride event on 1 September. The event raised awareness of autism in general; raising awareness of autism support services provided at the University of Kent; providing a forum for information and discussion for autistic people in the region.

Student of the Year

The University and Kent Union were delighted to announce Paul-Georg Ender as 2020 Student of the Year, for his outstanding efforts in improving accessibility on campus and for Kent digitally.

Group of the Year

For their excellent work in supporting international emergency relief efforts to Syria, Sudan and Southern Africa, the Kent Islamic Society has been announced as 2020 Group of the Year.

Student Learning Advisory Service have released the new version of the Academic Support Services guide. It is aimed at new and returning students and focuses on the services Student Learning Advisory Service offer.

In the guide you will find information about 1 to 1 appointments, the Royal Literary Fund Fellows and the various partnerships with schools.

You can download the guide here.

Kent’s Virtual Postgraduate Open Event takes place next Monday and you will be able to discover more about Kent’s postgraduate programmes in Canterbury, Medway, Brussels or Paris.

Our staff and students will be on hand to any questions and help you discover why Kent is a great place for postgraduate study.

You will hear from the Dean of the Graduate School, get the latest funding information and learn about the discount incentives that are available for current students. You will discover all about our specialist dedicated postgraduate facilities and resources.

The virtual open event will be held on Monday 27 July from 16.00 -18.00.

Book now to reserve your place and to keep updated on everything that will happen on the day.

This week will see a host of celebrations for our students.

We have the July Graduations 2020, Kent Student Awards and virtual events for schools. There are also special events such as celebratory video messages, conferral of degrees and a crowd-sourced poem.

You can find out more information about the Week of Celebrations here.

We are looking for students to get involved and contribute to a crowd-sourced poem. Kent alumnus, former Canterbury Laureate, and Glastonbury Festival poet-in-residence Dan Simpson is creating this special, unique poem for our July graduates of 2020.

If you are interested, then please send him a line or two and from this he will weave together a poem of many contributions. If you are stuck for inspiration, here are some suggested questions to get started:

• Tell us about a memorable moment during your studies.
• What is the main thing you will miss about the University?
• What challenges did you overcome, and who supported you during these challenging months?
• How does it feel to be graduating at this time?
• What are your hopes for the future?
• Give us three words to describe your time at Kent.

Please email your work to congregations@kent.ac.uk by next Wednesday 22 July by 5pm.

Templeman Library is reopening with a limited service on Wednesday 15 July. There will be a limit on the number of people allowed in the building and you will need to follow a one-way route to ensure social distancing.

The Library will be open Monday to Friday 9.00-17.00, via Main Entrance and Library Road Entrance only. Don’t forget your KentOne card to gain access.

Because of the restricted numbers allowed in the Templeman Library at this time, please consider whether your visit to the Library is essential. If you need a resource, please consider looking for an e-resource in the first instance using LibrarySearch Digital. We wish to give those people most in need access to the Library including postgraduates and those studying for August exams/assessments.

A limited ‘Click and Collect’ book borrowing service will be available for items not available in a digital format.

To use a study space (with or without a student PC), collect a ‘clean me’ sign from the Welcome Hall to place on the desk you’re using. This lets us know that the space needs cleaning and tells others not to use it before it’s been cleaned. You’ll be able to use a recently cleaned study space and PC.

Printers are available in all open study spaces. You will be asked to use a wipe to clean the touchpad before use.

See more information about reopening of Templeman Library for details on safety measures in place and which services are available. These services will be regularly reviewed and are subject to change.

As internationalisation assistants, Christine, Lauren and Alexandra worked closely with the Vice Chancellor’s office and various other parties such as the International Recruitment Team to coordinate and organise the 2020 Think Kent Global Showcases for various regions and countries.

The Global Showcase events exhibit global engagements typically carried out abroad by the University of Kent for its students, staff, alumni and international partners. It includes highlights from Kent’s academic schools, as well as information and discussion panels for applicants, alumni, and more. A novel aspect to the event this year was that it was organised and carried out virtually, enabling more accessibility amongst participants

Placement Role

We had an initial briefing on how our role would support the Kent Global Showcase (KGS) and Open Day events. We attended various Microsoft Teams meetings with the Dean of Internationalisation’s office, International Recruitment, Development Office and Corporate Communications departments. The staff gave us insights into how their roles contribute to Kent’s Internationalisation efforts and how they liaise to plan various aspects of KGS, for example entertainment and virtual tours.

During briefings by the KGS leads for Africa, Hong Kong and Pan-Asia, we were guided on how we would be involved during July Open Day, held on 4 July. We designed the participants feedback form and attended as student panellists via Zoom, where prospective students asked us questions relating to various aspects of the Kent student experience. Due to the unprecedented times we are in, the work placement was carried out virtually and we are grateful to the Employability Poibnts Scheme for the opportunity to be involved with the inaugural online events for the KGS and Open Day.

Employability Points Scheme

This valuable opportunity was solely available through the Employability Points Scheme. As is alluded to, this scheme grants students points based on the co-curricular activities they get involved in which heighten their desirability to potential employers. Examples of such activities range from seminars based around writing CVs to any part time job held alongside their studies. Upon collecting a set number of these points we were eligible to apply for this placement. All skills and knowledge regarding the world of work that we gained through collecting these points were able to be put to practice during this placement. Despite the added challenges of the virtual nature of the programme, we were still able to network with members from different university departments, allowing an exclusive insight into the collaborative nature of the running of University events. This also heightened our confidence and communication skills, especially when participating in live events such as University Open Days and on a larger scale, the Hong Kong and Africa Global Showcases.

From left to right- Christine Bishop, Lauren Lopez, Alexandra Tan