Kent Students’ Union (KSU) Advice Service is holding a free drop-in eVisa surgery for students between 14:00 – 16:00  on Wednesday 26 March at Nexus in the Templeman Library.

Come along with your passport, BRP (if you have one) and have your UKVI account login details available, so that they can check for any errors or missing documents. 

KSU Advisers are trained to give immigration advice to Kent students, so can also answer questions about your eVisa. See the KSU Advice Service website to learn more. 

Why are they doing this? 

The Home Office has replaced Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) with eVisas. If you hold a BRP that expired on 31 December 2024 and your UK visa is valid beyond this date, you may still be able to use your expired BRP to travel to the UK until 1 June 2025,  but you should also set up a UKVI account.  

You also need to link your eVisa and passport to your account.  If you don’t do this, you are likely to face delays when you travel. 

Follow the instructions on this Home Office page to create a UKVI account now, if you don’t have one already. 

What if I already have a UKVI account and an eVisa ?

If you already have an eVisa and have added your current passport to your UKVI account, you do not need to do anything else, but you are welcome to come to the surgery to make sure that everything is OK with your eVisa and account.  

If necessary, you should update your UKVI account with your latest contact details and any passport which you intend to travel with. 

Further information 

Further information, including details of the eVisa support available from the UKVI, can be found at  www.gov.uk/evisa. 

In support of University Mental Health Day, Thursday 13 March, Kent Sport will be offering 10 free spaces in 10 different classes on our fitness and dance class timetable to support everyone and promote mental wellbeing within our community.

The classes available to access on the day are listed below;

• Virtual: BodyAttack, Sprint, BodyCombat, Dance & GRIT
• In-person: Body Blast, Power Pilates, Core & More, LBT & Boxfit

For all class start times and descriptions, visit our classes webpage.

To book a free class as a Plus, Pay to Play, or non-member, visit the Sports Centre reception and fill out the paper form for the class(es) you would like to join. There are 10 free spaces in each class so sign up quickly before they’re gone! If you’re a Premium Plus member, all classes are included in your membership so you can book online as usual.

If you’re not yet a Kent Sport member, you’ll need to create a free Pay to Play membership before you’ll be able to join the classes. You can create an account quickly and easily through our online booking system.

Student Refugee Week in March is an opportunity for students to galvanise and engage with the issues and resilience of people seeking sanctuary.

Student workshop

We are delighted to welcome Actors for Human Rights bringing ‘Ice and Fire’ to campus on Thursday 13 March in Aphra, Grimond Building. Join them 16:00-17:00 for a participatory workshop: Mapping the Asylum Process exclusively for students which will give you an opportunity to understand the complexities of the UK asylum seeking process and the challenges people face as they navigate it in order to gain legal status.

Performance, panel and reception

Following the workshop, Actors for Human Rights will perform Asylum Monologues, a stunning performance crafted from first-hand accounts of the UK’s asylum system in the words of people who have experienced it.

This will be followed by a Q&A featuring panellists from KRAN, Care 4 Calais alongside Ice and Fire moderated by Student Action for Refugees (STAR) society, and a reception. The performance, panel and reception are free and open to all.

Eight Kent students will enter the dragons’ den in the ASPIRE’s pitching finals to try to impress judges including the founder of international fashion brand Dune London, Daniel Rubin. 

Selected following the inspiring 15-week Business Start-Up Journey programme, students who could win £1000 prize money are:

• Toyin Sanyaolu (KBS) with Wonder Lab – immersive STEM teaching. 

• Jane Davidson (History) with Positive Procrastination – time management tools. 

• Danika Hossain (KBS) with Banghra Blends – Indian inspired range of cocktails and drinks. 

• Felicity James (School of Social Sciences) with Dive Right In – an inclusive swim school. 

• Isidora Grey (KBS) with Protein Cookies 

• Akash Ramakrishna Iytha (KBS) founder of a new customised clothing brand 

• Aamir Khokhar (KBS) with Khocars tours – inclusive sports car road trips 

• Rhoslyn Singh (School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics) – Rhoslyn’s Art – direct to consumer hand-painted artwork 

The finalists will compete in the pitching finals to be held in Sibson on Wednesday 19 March. They each have 5 minutes to pitch their business, followed by 4 minutes of quick-fire questions from the judges. 

The judges are: 

• Emay Enemokwu, KBS graduate and founder of JEHUCAL streetwear brand  

• Nadia Simpson, KBS graduate and founder of Your Amora and NuEleFa beauty brands  

• Daniel Rubin, KBS graduate (second 500), Kent Hon Doc and founder Dune London  

• Alex Ford, Computer Science graduate, serial entrepreneur and founder Claro Wealth  

• Laura Bounds MBE owner of award-winning brands Kent Crisps, Kentish Oils, Kentish Condiments and A Little Bit Food Co  

• Debbie Zaman, Angel investor and mentor for the Innovation RCA incubator at the Royal College of Art. Supporter of woman in business and (Exited) Founder of With, PR agency. 

Nadia was a finalist last year and is judging the competition this year.

In the audience will be family, friends and supporters of the ASPIRE’s work including investors, mentors and ASPIRE alumni. 

The finalists will all be working with mentors to help them prepare for the pitching finals. Mentors include owner of Garage Coffee, Luke Underdown, owner of Macknade Fine Food Hall, Stefano Cuomo and Dan Crooks, MD of iFruits. 

Pop-up market

Alongside the pitching finals, other students will be showcasing their businesses in an exciting pop-up market held in Sibson atrium from 10:00 – 13:00 on March 19. 

Businesses taking part in the pop-up market include 1823 fashion including clothes, shoes and accessories; Divine Lashes by Isha; EntreConchitas jewellery, Hampers by Dani, Heretical Studios VR experiences and delicious cakes from Spontaneous Bakes and Sugar Sweet. 

Shop the pop-up market any time between 10:00 – 13:00 to show your support for Kent’s student entrepreneurs. 

Places to watch pitching finals from 14:00-16:00 are limited and allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. To request a reserved place please email ASPIRE@kent.ac.uk  

This week is National Student Money Week (3-7 March 2025). This year’s theme is Survive and Thrive: Building Financial Resilience. Find out what’s on and how you can get support.

Basket challenge, Monday 3 March 11:00-15:00 – guess the amount and you could win the whole basket!

Notice how the amount your shopping costs sometimes jumps up so quickly? Kent Students’ Union is putting brand-name items up against their value counterparts. Come and look at their two shopping baskets in Nexus, Templeman Library, and work out the difference those shops cost and see which option offers the best value for your budget.

Guess how much each of the baskets cost and whoever has the closest guess will win that basket. (Two baskets available so 2 chances to win). Each basket will have 10 items, one basket will be the branded items and the other will be the value options.

Kent Students’ Union Advice Team pop-up on the Plaza, Wednesday 5 March 11:00-14:00

Speak to the KSU Advice Team on the Plaza on Wednesday about tips and strategies to manage your money effectively. They will be there to discuss budgeting tips as well as giving out freebies.

More support available

Here’s a reminder of some of the support on offer from Kent and KSU:

• We have a range of financial support you can apply for if you are facing financial difficulty including the emergency hardship fund and an emergency short-term loan.
• The KSU Campus Pantry provides short-term support to students in need of supplemental food. The first time you use the service there will be no questions asked, just show your student ID.
• You can pick up free sanitary products at both Canterbury and Medway campuses.
• Find part-time work through JobShop.
• If you’re in your first year or live on campus, don’t forget to make use of your free gym membership!

See more support on our Cost of Living support webpage.