Category Archives: Student opportunities

Fruiting trees

Diamond Anniversary Orchard planting, 15 March

This academic year we have launched the Diamond Anniversary Orchard project and planned the planting of an orchard of over 300 fruit and nut trees. This project was designed to celebrate that most undergraduates starting this year will graduate in 2025 which is the University’s 60th birthday and it is hoped that our students can watch the orchard grow and be part of its transformation from grassland to a complete and flourishing space.

Help us plant more trees

We managed to plant some trees last week in the snow (!) but need your help to plant more. Our next planting session is Wednesday 15 March between 10:00-13:00. You can come for as long or as little as you like. There will be a full briefing at the beginning of the session and newcomers throughout will be paired up with someone that has been trained.

Why an orchard?

The Southern Slopes provides an ideal setting for a semi-natural orchard and meadow that will not only be a beautiful space for students, staff and community members to enjoy, but also provides a complex habitat that will boost biodiversity in the area.

Step one is planting the fruiting trees, which once mature, will provide future students with fruit and nuts that they can harvest and enjoy. Later this year we will be seeding wildflower seeds to create an understory meadow that we will cut swathes through proving a peaceful space to walk through and enjoy.

Because this orchard will be a mosaic of trees, grasses, shrubs, wildflowers, and a pond, it will support a wide range of wildlife. As fruit trees age quickly, they create the perfect habitats for invertebrates and birds, such as the lesser spotted woodpecker and the rare noble chafer beetle.

This unique habitat will also feature key elements for our human community bring people and nature together. Accessible pathing so everyone can enjoy the space; seating with a view for meditation, rest or socialising; an outdoor teaching area; and a bird hide to spot nature from a quiet vantage point.

All the elements will be tied together with a central point that marks the six academic divisions that make up our learning community, celebrating all the students that will be our class of 2025 and beyond.

chef preparing a meal

Get a free ticket for Kent Giving Week’s cooking show

There are 100 free student tickets to see Kent Giving Week’s ‘In The Kitchen Cooking Show’ on Tuesday 21 March at 12:00-13:00 in Darwin Conference Suite.

The show includes free tasters but you will have to be quick before all the free tickets go!

Get your free ticket now!

Professional chefs will provide a masterclass on how to cook their trademark dishes on a budget. What’s more, our fabulous in-house caterers will recreate them for the audience.

Find out more about Kent Giving Week and how you can get involved!

Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

group of staff and students at walk finish line

Join 5k Your Way on 23 March

Come participate or volunteer for 5k Your Way which is a sponsored 5km route around the campus on Thursday 23 March from 12:00-14:00

You can come along as a group to walk (or run!) to help us reach the goal of providing 10,000 meals for students facing extreme financial hardship. Students can register for free. 

Find out more about Kent Giving Week and how you can get involved.

If you are facing financial hardship, please see support available to you and contacts on our cost of living webpages.

Take your ambition further. Discover how at our Postgraduate Open Event.

Postgraduate Open Event, 1 April

Join us out our Postgraduate Open Event on Saturday 1 April, meet our staff and current students across our UK and European campuses. 

What to expect at the Open Event:

  • Find out more about postgraduate study at Kent in Canterbury, Medway, Paris and Brussels.
  • Discover our multimillion-pound scholarship fund and other funding opportunities.
  • Learn more about our career focused programmes and work-placement options. As well as our conversion courses in psychology, business, economics, computer science, journalism, law, social and healthcare for those looking for a change of direction.
  • Meet and chat to our incredible academic and support staff as well as our current students.

Book your place today.

Cost of Living Hardship Fund opens 6 March 

To help support students facing hardship as a result of the increased cost of living, the UK Government has provided additional funding of £15m to English universities. Of that, the University of Kent has been allocated £126k, which must be awarded to students by 31 July 2023, to add to existing hardship funds. 

We have created a Cost of Living Hardship Fund to release these funds to Kent students. The fund can be used to help with rent or any other increased living costs due to the cost of living crisis. The Cost of Living Hardship Fund will open on 6 March 2023. 

Students who are facing financial hardship due to the increased cost of living are invited to apply for an individual award of £300 to help with any increased living costs. Priority will be given to students who have not been awarded other hardship funds. However, if you have previously received a hardship fund but are still in financial need please apply as your application will still be considered.

The Cost of Living Hardship Fund will open on 6 March 2023. We encourage you to read the guidance on how to apply in advance so you can apply quickly once the Cost of Living Hardship Fund opens on 6 March. Once we reach the application threshold, we will close the fund so we can begin processing applications. 

 

Students smiling in seminar with laptops

Did you come to Kent via Clearing? Would you be willing to share your experience?

The University is looking to create new content with students who came to Kent via Clearing. This can be video content, written profiles or social posts for use on Kent’s channels.

If you came to Kent through Clearing and would like to tell your story, to help others in a similar position this year, then please contact Sam Charman – Digital Content Officer at s.t.charman@kent.ac.uk for more information.

Students will be able to earn credit on their KentOne card for taking part.

Excel for all artwork

Looking to improve your Excel skills?

Apply for 1 of 5,000 places on ‘Santander Scholarships Skills: Excel for All’, a FREE, flexible, online programme delivered by Udemy.

You can choose either Complete or Advanced Excel – which, once completed, will help you to become more confident in one of the most widely used professional tools.

Applications close 16 May 2023, apply today!

#NeverStopLearning #Excelforall

Take your ambition further. Discover how at our postgraduate open event.

Postgraduate Open Event, 22 Feb 

Are you considering to stay on for a Master’s? Come along to our Postgraduate Open Event on 22 February at the Sibson building, Canterbury Campus.  

Find out more about:  

Speak to our friendly academic and support staff, as well as our own undergrad to postgrad students. See if postgraduate study may be an option for you.  

Book your place now.

Students on trip at Dover

Become an International Programmes Ambassador!

International Programmes is seeking to employ two ambassadors to help organise and provide a programme of social events and activities for Pre-sessional and short course students.

Do you have an interest in, and awareness of, intercultural issues? Do you have an understanding of what it’s like to be an international student in the UK? Do you enjoy working with an interesting and diverse group of people? Would you like to work during the summer holidays?

We’d love to hear from you!

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for two students to work on Band B contract (School Experience Placements; £13.81 per hour), reflective of the level of responsibility required.

The role will be from May to September 2023, with the potential to extend to December 2023.

It will involve occasional work between May and July, with most hours falling in August when we are at our busiest. Applicants need to be available to work flexible hours and this would be discussed at interview stage in greater detail.

Responsibilities

Key duties would include:

  • Meeting and greeting students and escorting visiting students
  • Providing campus tours and tours of Canterbury
  • Assisting & leading on-campus activities run by International Programmes
  • Leading outreach trips to local areas of interest on both weekdays and weekends
  • Leading enhancement activities on a weekly basis
  • Helping to organise and advertise the social programme to students in person, via social
    media and email
  • Basic administrative tasks for outreach activities under the direction of a member of
    University staff
  • Appropriate additional activities as and when required

We would also like our Student Ambassadors to plan and run weekly online enrichment sessions that will be open for all Pre-sessional students to attend, and potentially opened out to our short course students.

You will work closely with our Student Support and Experience Officers to promote and organise the social programme. You will be expected to use your own initiative to oversee day trips and organise and run online and in-person events as and when required.

What our previous Ambassadors say

Pre-sessional Student Ambassador Rosie says:

My time working as a student ambassador for the International Programmes was incredible, I was lucky enough to explore new places and revisit cities I had not been to for a while, all whilst meeting people from many different cultures. I highly recommend this job to anyone who loves exploring and meeting lots of amazing new people.

How to apply

To apply, please send a CV and a statement of interest by email to Amy Moses at a.moses@kent.ac.uk by Midnight on Sunday 26 February.

If you have any queries, please email Amy Moses.

Subject to selection, interviews will take place on Tuesday 14 March 2023.

For an insight into our Pre-sessional courses and the impact you would have as an ambassador, check out our Pre-sessional Video Competition First Place Winner 2022 and our Second Place Winner videos.

Re:Action 24/7 free bootcamp to boost your employability

What is RE:Action 24/7 Bootcamp?

RE:ACTION 24/7 is a 6-week FREE virtual programme, consisting of live and on-demand online sessions.  

  • Monday – relatable Q&A with a high-profile inspirational speaker, who will speak about their lived experiences. 
  • Tuesday – training session, where you can find out how to put your learnings into practice. 
  • Wednesday – employer sessions – find out about how the theme relates to the world of work, and how YOU can get involved! 
  • Thursday – reflections – your chance to learn about the importance of reflection, and how to apply it, and how to set yourself goals. 

Re:Action timetable

Not only can this programme boost your confidence, sense of belonging and career aspirations, it can earn you valuable employability points too! 

Who is it open to?

All students and recent graduates.
 

When does it take place?

The programme starts on Monday 20 February 16:00-17:00. There are 24 1-hour sessions which take place over a period of 6 weeks.  With a celebration event happening on the 30 March. See the attached timetable for more details.

How is it being delivered?

Everything will take place online and participants will be able to go back and watch anything they have missed.