We know that acing your studies is helped by having top quality tools at your disposal, so what better way to do this than with a new MacBook Air?

Back by popular demand, our partner Santander Universities, are once again giving away 10 MacBook Air laptops in their latest student prize draw.

Entering the prize draw is quick and easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Register for Santander Open Academy – a free online learning platform (if you’re not already signed up)
2. Follow the verification link in your confirmation email
3. Log into the Open Academy platform and select ‘Get Started’ to complete your entry into the Santander Universities MacBook Air Prize Draw!

All university students can enter. Including undergraduates, postgraduates, part-time and full-time students. You also don’t need to bank with Santander to get involved. So be sure to share with your friends, coursemates and anyone else who could benefit from this opportunity.

Enter by 11pm on 29 February 2024 for your chance to win!

Enter Now

Together with KMCC (Kent & Medway Cyber Cluster) and KMCS3 (Kent & Medway Cyber Security Student Society), iCSS, is co-organising a CyberAnything Competition.

We increasingly rely upon digital, networked and smart technologies such as mobile devices and the internet to live our lives. Or we can say that we are living in the Internet of Everything (IoE), a cyber-physical world where so many hardware devices, software systems, physical things, systems and people are now interconnected. However, the cyber elements of our lives and how security, privacy and safety of such elements affect our lives are not always visible or overlooked, and sometimes intentionally concealed. They are often so entrenched in our way of being that we overlook our reliance upon them until they stop functioning, e.g., when a power cut, server downtime or an empty battery hits us.

How to enter

This competition welcomes anything that is cyber-related in our daily lives. You can use your camera or other image-capturing device to capture a moment as a photo or a short video, or create a drawing, or prepare an infographic such as a flyer or a PowerPoint slide, or write an essay or even a poem, or make a 3-D printed object or a hand-crafted artefact, etc., which can tell a story about living, learning and connecting in the cyber or cyber-physical world in the past, at present, and/or in the future. You are also welcome to try generative AI for creating your submission, but in this case please describe which generative AI tool(s) were used and how you used it/them, e.g., prompt(s) you used to create the submission. Download competition flyer.

The deadline for submission is Friday 1 March 2024 23:59. We plan to announce the prize winners in late March 2024.

Who can enter

Submitted artefacts will be judged anonymously by a judging panel for the following prizes in the following four categories:

• Current staff of the University of Kent
• Current students of the University of Kent
• Alumni of the University of Kent, and
• Other UK residents who have never been affiliated with the University of Kent.

Cash prizes

• 4 Best Overall Prizes (one per category, £80 Amazon e-voucher per prize),
• 4 Most Creative Prizes (one per category, £80 Amazon e-voucher per prize), and
• 8 Runner-Up Prizes (two per category; £20 Amazon e-voucher per prize).

Find out more and submit your entry.

12 hour laptop loans now available to use on campus.

You can now borrow all Templeman Library laptops for up to 12 hours; and laptops from the self-service cabinet in the Library Café can be borrowed and used across the Canterbury campus. Chargers are available to borrow from the Welcome Desk, along with laptop bags if you’re using it outside the Library.

We’ve extended the loan period and expanded the places where the laptops can be used in response to student feedback, enhancing this popular service to better support your study needs #YourUniYourSay

Campus laptops: for use across campus

• Laptops from the self-service cabinet in the Library Café can be borrowed and used across the Canterbury campus.

Library laptops: for Library use only

• Laptops from the self-service cabinet on Floor 2, Block C, are restricted for use in the Templeman Library only.

Loan chargers and laptop bags

• Chargers are available for loan from the Welcome Desk, along with laptop bags if you’re using it outside the Library.

How loan laptops work

1. Borrow loan laptops:
   • For campus use: from laptop cabinet in the Café area (Ground floor, Block B)
   • For Library use only: from laptop cabinet on Floor 2, Block C.
2. Use it: for up to 12 hours – the laptop works with wired and Bluetooth headphones.
   • Need a charger or laptop bag? Pick one up from the Welcome Desk.
3. Save your files: to your University OneDrive so you can easily access them.
4. Return it: take it back to the cabinet and plug it in. If you have borrowed a charger and / or laptop bag as well, please return them to the Welcome Desk.

Any problems? Please take the laptop to IT & Library Support in Nexus, Ground Floor, Block D, so we can sort it out.

What’s included

• All Office 365 tools
• Internet access and webcam
• Accessibility apps
• Citation tools

What’s not provided

• Course-specific software
• Laptop accessories (eg mouse)
• Speakers (they’re disabled)

The small print

• Laptops loaned from the Café self-service cabinet can be used across the Canterbury campus.
• Laptops loaned from the cabinet on Floor 2 are still restricted for use in the Templeman Library only.
• If you don’t return the laptop at the end of the 12 hour loan period, there won’t be a fine – but you won’t be able to borrow any other items until you do!
• If you lose the laptop, we will charge you for the replacement costs.

Please follow our laptop loans conditions of use and Library and IT regulations when using them.

Find out more

See our Laptop loans guide.

Lock-in a year of art adventures for less + save 20% off a Student Art Pass today using code STUDENT20,

A Student Art Pass is your key to unlocking a whole of year of arts adventures for less, including: 250+ museum and gallery discounts, 50% off major exhibitions and exclusive career-boosting paid arts opportunities.

Use code: STUDENT20 at checkout.

Get your pass today.

Applications for the Wellbeing Student Advisory Board are now open.

The Advisory Board’s purpose is to help guide Kent Union and the University of Kent in improving our approach to student wellbeing and ensuring our work is impactful and accessible to all students. This will involve discussing current and future plans and offering suggestions based on the board’s shared expertise and experiences. Topics discussed at meetings will include mental health, safety initiatives, the cost of living crisis, sense of community and belonging, as well as anything else that is important to you. You will help shape student wellbeing at Kent.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for 20 students on undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, from a range of courses and years to create a diverse and inclusive panel. Any student who is currently enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at the University of Kent can apply to be part of the panel.

No prior experience is required to be a member. All you need is to be passionate about student welfare and helping all students to love their time at Kent.

What to expect?

A two-hour meeting will occur three times in the academic year with additional opportunities to get involved in projects and campaigns. Invitations for these meetings will be sent once membership to the board is confirmed.

Students based on the Canterbury campus will receive £20 KentOne credit in exchange for their active participation in the two-hour WSAB meeting. Students who are not based on the Canterbury Campus will be compensated for their time at the same rate through an alternative method. Students will also be able to earn Employability Points throughout the academic year.

How to apply?

To apply, please submit either a maximum of a 500-word response or a 2 minute long video telling us a bit more about you, what skills and experiences you feel you would bring to the role and why you would like to get involved.

The deadline to submit your application is Monday 8th January 2024 at 12:00.

Apply now via online application form. 

If you have any questions please email Tom Freeston (Vice-President Welfare and Community) at Kent Union, t.freeston@kent.ac.uk.

Good luck with your application!