Additions to Kent’s ‘family friendly’ policies have been announced by the Athena SWAN team.

The policies, which have been approved by our Executive Group and Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC) now include:

• additional leave and pay for parents of premature babies
• special leave for fertility treatment now available from day one of employment
• colleagues leaving the University within three months of their maternity leave ending will not be asked to pay back any contractual maternity pay.

The new policies are based on ideas and feedback gathered at focus groups, forums and Athena SWAN events. The full ‘wish list’ was quite long so our Athena SWAN team took a pragmatic approach and focused on enhancements that would deliver the most impact for those affected within a manageable cost to the University.

Further details are available in the Family Friendly Policies proposal reviewed by JSNCC. 

About Athena SWAN

The University has joined and is committed to the principles of the Athena SWAN charter, which recognises and celebrates good practices in higher education and research institutions towards the advancement of gender equality.

The charter, which was launched in June 2005, was first implemented to advance representation of women in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics (STEMM). The charter was expanded in 2015 to also include arts, humanities, social science, business and law (AHSSBL) disciplines as well as professional and support roles, and for trans staff and students.

All our academic schools at Kent have engaged with the Athena SWAN Charter and between them hold nine Athena SWAN Bronze awards and one Silver award. The University also holds a Bronze award at institutional level.

To find out more, see our Athena SWAN webpages.

This week, schools and departments across the University are hosting a week of virtual celebrations for our graduates.

Our students have shown a tremendous strength and resilience in completing their examinations and studies during such a challenging time. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say we are all incredibly proud of their achievements, especially in these extraordinary circumstances.

I know that for many of you this will be a bitter-sweet moment, and that you will miss taking part in our usual ceremonies and celebrations. Seeing our graduates celebrate with their families and friends is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our University Calendar.

I would encourage you to have a look at some of the events taking place throughout the week. Tomorrow, I will confer our finalists’ degrees in absentia in Eliot College, the University’s founding college and location of the first graduation ceremony. And on Friday at 14.00, there will be a joint virtual ceremony with the University of Greenwich for our Medway School of Pharmacy graduates. Graduating students will be invited to join celebration ceremonies in Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals at a later date as and when we are able and safe to do so.

On Monday, we held the Kent Student Awards and, as always, the entrants were simply awe-inspiring. Congratulations to all of those who were shortlisted and, in particular, to Paul-Georg Ender who won the Student of the Year award, and to Kent Islamic Society, winners of the Group of the Year award.

I also want to thank you, our staff, for all your hard work in supporting our students. Thanks to you they have gone on to complete their studies, despite the challenges they have faced as a result of Covid-19. It is through your efforts that our finalists will graduate with a degree they can be proud of and enter into the next phase of their lives with a great university experience to build on.

With all good wishes,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Skype for Business will stop working at Kent from Monday 27 July when it will be decommissioned. Microsoft Teams replaces Skype for Business as our virtual meetings and chat tool.

Installing Teams and disabling Skype for Business (S4B)

• If you’re not already using Teams, we recommend you install Teams before 27 July so that you’re already familiar with it
• Switching off S4B: on Staff Managed Desktops, it will be disabled automatically on 27 July. Advice for disabling it on other devices

External contacts

If you use Skype for Business with outside contacts, please do the following by 27 July:

• Move their contact details into Outlook: this will make them available within Teams and Outlook
• Install Teams so that any external messages sent to you via Skype for Business can be routed to you in Teams.
• Make sure you’ve set up alternative contact methods (such as Teams) before the switch off

If you have any issues working with external contacts in Teams after Monday 27 July, please tell us. Email helpdesk@kent.ac.uk and include the email address of the person you’re trying to connect with.

Tier 4 interviews unaffected

Skype (Skype.com) will still work for Tier 4 interviews.
Why this is happening
To address some technical issues related to running both Skype for Business and Teams side by side.

Help and support
If you have any questions about Teams or any of the Microsoft 365 tools:

• Join a drop in session (via Teams): Wednesdays 10.00-11.00: weekly drop in
• Use our Microsoft 365 guides and Microsoft 365 FAQs

Contact us via online chat, call 01227 82 4888 or email helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

We are hosting our next Postgraduate Virtual Open Event on 27 July 2020, from 16.00 – 18.00. 

Our last postgraduate event was so popular we’re giving an opportunity to all potential students to watch again the presentations from our specialist academics and attend live Q&A sessions, as well as find out more about funding and the Graduate School.

Preparations for the event are underway and those who are taking part have been informed by the Recruitment team. Our Postgraduate virtual event in May saw over 800+ prospective students attend on the day, with over half from overseas.

It would be a great help if colleagues could promote the virtual event across their platforms, either on their school websites and on social channels,  as well as forwarding on to friends or family members who may be interested in a postgraduate programme at Kent.

For further information and to register for the event please visit attend the Postgraduate event webpage.

As Kent prepares for a phased return to campus, many of our colleagues are busy ensuring a safe return for us all. We’ve been talking to staff across the Estates department to find out what they’re doing as part of a special ‘Return to Campus’ series.

In our first feature, we hear from Gary Richardson, Maintenance Stores Supervisor about the work of the Estates Maintenance Stores team and Sarah Cooke, Head of Customer Services and Engagement, on the Design & Print Centre’s contribution.

Gary Richardson: ‘The Estates Maintenance Stores team have been operating remotely over the lockdown period, researching, and investigating products relating to both customer enquiries and order requests. We have also been kept busy maintaining stock levels for essential maintenance requirements on both the Canterbury and Medway campuses.

We have procured a diverse spectrum of products from hand-sanitising gel and foot-operated dispensers, pumps, electrical components, and boilers, to Perspex sheets enabling our talented maintenance teams to manufacture bespoke screens. This will enable staff, students and visitors to return to campus and enjoy the safest possible environment.

As a team, we’ve worked hard to offer choice and obtain the best possible value for the University.’

Sarah Cooke: ‘We first started to look at the social distancing signage requirements in early May, and it was evident we would need to move quickly to produce everything needed to make the University’s campuses compliant with the government’s guidelines.

‘Thankfully, we have our own in-house Design & Print Centre, which has proved invaluable in turning around the signage in this time-frame. Lesley Farr, Graphic Design Supervisor, has created a whole suite of social distancing signage designs, which accommodate the needs of each school and department. The turnaround time from request to design is far quicker and cheaper than it would have been to outsource this to an external company, and the signs are aligned with the Kent brand and colour palette.

‘Once the designs are agreed, Ian White, Production Supervisor, reviews the orders. Through Ian’s contacts and knowledge, he was able to swiftly secure the print materials needed at competitive rates and there has not been any delay in production. The three Print Technicians; Hannah Bentley, Melanie Smith and Craig Richards have been working hard on campus to print all the floor vinyl’s and posters required, while maintaining social distancing and enhanced hygiene procedures.

‘I have been managing the Design & Print Centre for just under a year now and I am so impressed with this team and how well they work together.’

Find out more about the services the Estates department provide.

In our next Return to Campus feature, we’ll look at the work of the Facilities Management team. 

On Monday 20 July, Vice-Chancellor Karen Cox and Kent Union 2019/20 President Sasha Langeveldt will be announcing the winners of the 2020 Kent Student Awards.

Join us online at 15.00 to find out who has won each of the 9 categories as well as the prestigious Student of the Year and Group of the Year awards! You can view the nominations on the Kent Student Awards site.

The event will be released at 15.00 on Monday 20 July on YouTube and Facebook and the video will also be shared to the Kent Union Facebook page. Join in the conversation by using the hashtag #KentStudentAwards.

The Covid-19 webinars from Care First continue the week commencing Monday 20 July. Please see below for the schedule and where you need to register.

Monday 20 July 2020 –  ‘  ‘Mindfulness: how practicing mindfulness can help during the Coronavirus Pandemic’

Time: 14.00 – 15.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 21 July 2020 – ‘Health At Work Centre on ‘How to build healthier habits beyond lockdown’

Time: 11.00 – 12.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 22 July 2020 – ‘‘The science behind social distancing’

Time: 11.00 – 11.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 23 July 2020 – ”Travelling Safely after COVID-19′

Time: 14.00 – 14.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 24 July 2020 – ‘Lizzie Marlow on ‘How PayPlan and Care first support people with debt’

Time: 12.00 – 13.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Blog written by Chris Morrison, Copyright, Licensing & Policy Manager…

I am delighted to announce the launch of the University of Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy 2020. As mentioned in previous posts this has been a collaborative effort involving University staff, students and peers across the sector and beyond.

The strategy is aligned with the University’s 2025 strategy and sets out a vision that by 2025 people working and studying at Kent will feel confident in making informed decisions about using copyright material and will understand the role copyright plays in innovation and creation of new knowledge.

Copyright issues have become particularly pressing as we have responded to the pandemic by shifting our work online as we never have before. It is now particularly important to understand the implications of copyright law and licences when sharing the work of others, and how to communicate the work we create whilst at the University.

I am very pleased that Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience, has agreed to be the senior academic champion for the strategy. Richard says:

“The launch of the University of Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy represents a milestone. Across the sector, there is a deal of confusion among both students and academics as to precisely what can be done for teaching and other purposes with material produced by others. The Strategy aims to clarify this and provide support and other services to enable staff and students to move forward with confidence. By confronting copyright issues head-on, University of Kent is at the forefront of the sector and will enable the institution to respond more appropriately to the current pandemic and beyond.”

The strategy sets out a number of key values related to copyright. It clarifies that staff and students should act responsibly, but also be able to question assumptions about copyright. The strategy confirms Kent’s commitment to supporting its staff make informed decisions and we have just published entirely new copyright guidance that addresses the main areas that we come across at the University.

I’m looking forward to convening the steering group for the strategy which Richard Reece will be chairing, as well as developing our network of people whose roles involve advising on aspects of copyright law.

If you have any thoughts relating to the strategy, or you’d like to get involved in our work please get in touch: email copyright@kent.ac.uk

Professor George Saridakis from the Kent Business School is leading three special issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic in prestigious academic journals.

Researchers are encouraged to submit papers with strong theoretical and/or empirical focus for consideration for publication in Information Technology & People, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research and Sustainability.

The titles of the special issue calls are:

• Work from Home (WFH), Employee Productivity and Wellbeing: Lessons from COVID-19 and Future Implications
• The effect of COVID-19 on the performance of Ethnic-minority firms in the UK and worldwide
• Sustainable Management of Agri-Food under COVID-19

Professor Saridakis said: ‘It is a great pleasure to contribute to the Covid-19 research by co-editing three special issues with distinguished colleagues on these timely themes at some of the leading academic journals in this field.

‘The special issues aim to answer some important questions in each of the above Covid-19 related themes. With answers, we can shape policies that are more effective and, can improve personal and societal wellbeing.’

For more information on the Special Issues, prospective authors can contact Professor George Saridakis directly.

Assistant Housekeeping Manager Liz Ralph was the latest PRIDE Award Winner last month as she was nominated for producing numerous face masks during the early stages of lockdown.

Throughout lockdown, a skeleton Hospitality housekeeping team have continued working on campus to complete essential cleaning services, and it was when supply chain problems and an NHS shortage occurred early on, that Liz stepped in to produce hundreds of colourful, practical and reusable face coverings for the team still working on campus and beyond.

Describing her dedication, an extract from Liz’s nomination read: “she would often work late into the evening in her own time and cost to produce these much needed face masks for our essential housekeeping staff and deliver them on-site until an alternative supplier could be sourced, […] on top of this Liz made additional masks which she delivered to the vulnerable areas in her local community.”

We are sure that there are more of our staff going above and beyond, so if you know of any Kent Hospitality staff member from either the Canterbury or Medway campus it is easy to nominate them for a PRIDE Award. Just submit a nomination via the PRIDE website by completing our online form.

The award is given in March, June, September/October and December with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers, a certificate and a PRIDE Award pin badge.

The closing date for the next PRIDE Award is currently Wednesday 16 September 2020 at 12.00.