Gerard McGill, a counsellor at the University has collaborated with Carers Trust East Midlands to create a video on how to cope with anxiety during a crisis.
The video covers how to manage your anxiety, how to spot triggers and small things that you can change that will make your life less stressful.
The short video shares tips on how to create a daily routine, implement exercise, having a healthy diet and how to communicate effectively with family and friends.
Dr Wissia Fiorucci, Director of Education and Languages Co-ordinator in the Department of Modern Languages, has appeared on BBC Radio Kent as part of a discussion on whether, during the lockdown, it is easy to learn a new language online.
In the programme, Wissia discusses what it could be about British people in particular that makes it hard to learn a new language.
‘There is unfortunately a resistance towards learning different languages,” Wissia says, “Not from individuals, but obviously this is a country where the native language is spoken throughout the world. Therefore, motivation is somewhat lost.’
then goes on to discuss the benefits of broadening your horizon and careers prospects by picking up a language, and also comments on whether learning a language something you should start when you’re younger or if it can be picked up just as easily at any age.
‘At Kent, we have different pathways for students who have studied the language before and students want to start from scratch.” Wissia explains, “students who start as beginners often tend to actually become better because they have the passion and commitment that you can’t really have when you’re a child. I think that any age is fine to start learning a language as long as you’re motivated.’
You can listen to the full interview on the BBC website (timecode 1:13:00)
With all of us suddenly shifting to online teaching, this is the perfect time to hear from innovators who were engaging their students online before the COVID-19 crisis. This symposium is being convened by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education. As the symposium will be conducted virtually, participants will also be able to experience different methods of online teaching first hand from a learner perspective.
The event kicks off with a live session on virtual lecturing at 13.00 on 7 May. That session will also be recorded for access for those who cannot participate in the live event.
To ensure maximum flexibility for academics juggling multiple commitments during this difficult time, the other symposium papers will be available online either as short papers or short videos, with facilitated discussion boards from 7 May to 16 May.
Log on anytime during that period to see how colleagues are making the most of Moodle and engaging students in discussions online. Use the discussion boards associated with each session to ask questions or share your own experiences. Feel free to connect with paper presenters individually for more in-depth discussion.
You can self-enrol on Moodle at where you will also find links to the live events on 7 May.
If you have any questions or difficulties enrolling, please contact heprogsadmin@kent.ac.uk.
Dragan Todorovic, author and Lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of English, was interviewed by Steve Ladner on BBC Radio Kent’s Mid Morning programme earlier this month.
In the interview, Dragan discusses self-isolation due to COVID-19, creative writing and increased discipline and time to write. Dragan draws comparisons with works written during historical times of isolation, and the importance of these documents for future generations:
‘Some of the hugely important books in the history of creative writing have been written in times of isolation of some sort, from Bocaccio’s Decameron to Apollinaire’s Calligrammes and many other books’, Dragan explains. ‘It’s not only about the stories, but it’s also a vital document of how people lived at the time. Everything written at this moment is a document of the time, and we owe it to future generations to write it and leave it for them’.
Dragan also provides advice as to where new writers can start:
‘You have to write about yourself. There is no good creative writing unless you know how to write about the self. Writing a memoir is a fantastic beginning for most people, but it’s also very rewarding’.
The full interview can be heard on the Soundcloud website, with the segment featuring Dragan starting at 3:11:20.
As you will be aware, the Government has launched a number of support packages in recent weeks to support organisations during the current coronavirus crisis including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This Scheme allows employers to receive grants to cover the wages of their workforce who will remain on payroll but who are not temporarily able to work during the coronavirus outbreak, which is referred to as ‘furloughing’.
The University is not immune from the significant pressures resulting from this unprecedented situation and we are responding quickly to the changes in line with Government guidance.
As a University and your employer we are intent on protecting employment for all our staff during what we acknowledge is a very unsettling time for everyone. As such we are proposing to make use of the Government Scheme and to furlough those staff for whom there is no continuing work during this period.
We would like to reassure all staff that those invited to be furloughed will continue to receive 100% of their current pay. The Government have agreed to fund 80% of pay and the University is committed to topping up so that furloughed staff receive their normal expected pay and both the staff and the University will continue to pay normal pension contributions. Other terms and conditions of employment and continuity of service will not be affected during this period.
This means that some staff will be designated (with their agreement) as a “furloughed worker” in the coming weeks, which means they will not be provided with work. There are strict criteria for the furloughing of staff and directors will be working with HR over the next few days to consider those categories of staff where furloughing for a period may be appropriate. It is expected that those individuals identified for furloughing will contacted in week commencing 20 April.
We will continue to update you on the situation and more detailed information can be found in the FAQs. In addition you may wish to refer to the Government guidance for more details of the Scheme:
The Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is initially set to run until the end of May 2020, but the Government has said that the Scheme will be extended if necessary. We are keeping the situation under review and will keep you updated as the coronavirus crisis unfolds in the coming weeks.
We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone as we continue to work together in very difficult circumstances. We are grateful for your continued commitment to the University and support for each other and wish you and your families well during this time.
Special Collections & Archives is looking to collect your experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of us are experiencing an exceptional time in our lives, where the COVID-19 coronavirus has had an impact on how we live, how we work, and how we interact with each other. Archives have an important role in recording these extraordinary times. In Special Collections & Archives we preserve the history of the University of Kent and the history of the regions and communities of which the University is a part, and we would like to create an archive collection that records the experiences of people in Kent in relation to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
We would like to collect records of your experiences of – and responses to – the pandemic. Your record of your experience can be anything – including diaries or journals, artistic responses, poetry, short videos, and photographs. This can be in digital or physical form and we invite responses from all members of the community – whether you are juggling working at home with caring responsibilities, trying to carry on studying, volunteering in your community to shop or chat to others, or working on the front line as a keyworker.
Your contribution to the archive will be kept by Special Collections & Archives as a donated item and we will catalogue and preserve it alongside our other archive collections. It will also be made accessible to others in our reading room, contributing to research and engaging people with this important part of history.
If you would like to contribute something, then please start to make your record in whichever form you choose. We’ll provide more information about how to send your responses in at a later date. If you have any questions about this project, then please contact specialcollections@kent.ac.uk
For information about Templeman Library resources during this period please click here. If you’d like to know about how Special Collections & Archives can support your research digitally please click here.
Wonkhe is the home of higher education policy, bringing the sector together through expert analysis.
A community of diverse voices, they provide platforms to drive the policy conversation forward and bring about real change.
Their podcast platform publishes The Wonkhe Show – which is a weekly roundup of everything going on in Higher Education. From University budgets and admissions to mental health during COVID-19, Wonke provides a great selection of podcasts for you to listen to.
To subscribe on your mobile device you can search for Wonkhe’s podcasts on iTunes, google play or your favourite podcast app.
The University has now launched Kent Student WebChats which is a new and informal series of live online discussions via Zoom. The WebChats are designed to help students keep in touch with staff and other students.
Staff representatives at Kent can also use these sessions to communicate with students, whether they are still on campus, now at home or overseas.
Any student is welcome to join any WebChat session, however to appeal to certain communities, these are the four sessions using the following themes for this week:
Undergraduate Student Session – Thursday 16 April 13.00-14.00
Chinese Student Session – Friday 17 April 11.00-12.00
International Student Session – Friday 17 April 12.00-13.00
Postgraduate Student Session – Tuesday 21 April 14.00-15.00
With over 72 students signed up so far, they represent a broad cross-section of programmes of study.
Please feel free to encourage students to sign up to the WebChats relevant to them.
The University’s priority at all times is the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff and students.
To help us all adjust to our new working environment, the HR Department have put together a new resource pack, with contributions from the Directors of Division and our Staff and TU Representatives. The ‘COPE Framework’ aims to help staff and their managers find ways to adjust to our new working environment.
The new resource pack and a one-page summary are available now on our Staff Guide.
The framework includes practical guidance to help us put in place working arrangements that, while recognising the stress of the situation we are currently in, relieve any unnecessary workload-related pressures.
The framework is based on four key principles – how best to:
The pack is designed to complement all the support already available across the University, from departments such as Occupational Health, IS and Kent Sport.
While it does not claim to have all the answers, its guidance on remote working, communication, the role of line managers and flagging of additional resources (including our Employee Assistance Programme) should help relieve some of the pressures colleagues are under. It also paves the way for colleagues to put together their own COPE Framework, reflecting their own particular circumstances, with the support of their manager.
Take a look and have a chat with your manager about ways you might be able to improve your current working environment.
What’s your role at the University and how long have you worked here?
I joined the University in 2002 as Bar Supervisor in Mungo’s (Eliot College). I’m currently Food & Beverage Manager for Rutherford Dining Hall, which involves supervising a catering team in one of Kent’s last traditional dining halls – but with a modern twist including a wok bar!
My team of about 30 are multi-talented and can turn their hand to anything from day-to-day cafeteria food to a staff BBQ for hundreds.
How has your role changed as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak?
Rutherford is the only venue on Canterbury campus still offering a catering service – the only other place to buy food is the Co-Op shop. So, we are rotating around 100 staff from different catering venues on shifts – usually around one per week – to help us provide cooked food for around 700 students who are still on campus.
Rosie Ochs, from Mungo’s, preparing food in Rutherford
I’m still trying to lead from the front – I like being hands-on – but also doing a fair chunk of my work from home. I’m one of four food and beverage managers on campus so we take it in turns to lead the team, and work closely with other members of the Kent Hospitality management team.
How easy was it to adapt to the new way of working?
When we first found out about the new social distancing measures – on 20 March – I came back to work that Friday evening and literally helped adapt things overnight. Over the following week, we condensed all our stock – donating food items that were nearer their shelf date to local food banks – and moved everything over to Rutherford.
Rutherford Dining Hall was the obvious choice to stay open – it’s the largest catering space on campus so it’s been easier to put in place a safe-distancing policy. We ask students – usually around 100 per day – to wait in marked out spaces (at most three at one time) and then serve their food in a Bag It box with pre-packed cutlery. Payment is also contactless, so the only thing they have to touch is the takeaway drinks fridge, which we clean on a regular basis.
The new-look Rutherford Dining Hall
What’s worked well?
To my team’s immense credit, most of those who were able to were keen to get back to work and their attitude has been “let’s just do it”. Our team atmosphere is better than it has ever been – in my view, they’re all champions!
What’s proved more tricky?
It’s taken a bit of work to sort out communications across the catering team – especially as colleagues have varying access to technology. To ensure everyone’s connected and up to date with both our team and University news, I use a mixture of What’s App and texts. And I’ve made sure that all members of my team have access to and are using their Kent emails.
What’s the atmosphere like on campus?
It’s pleasant, but very quiet! It’s just us, the Security team and a few contractors. You see some unusual sights – the other day, I saw two students in their dressing gowns working in the computer room, at a safe distance of course!
What’s been the response from your customers?
Most of our students seem to be really happy with what we were doing. For many, it offers a welcome bit of normality in the present time.
Our catering service is usually term-based so we’re keen to let all students still on campus know that we remain open. There’s no commercial aspect to what we’re doing – we’re just keen to keep students fed in a safe environment.
We have had to limit what we do a little – the wok bar has stopped unfortunately – but we’re still able to source fresh local vegetables from a local farm and offer a full menu, including meat, fish and vegetable options, every day from 12-6pm.
Mike Sault, from Sibson Cafe, prepares a Bag-It order
Overall, are you happy with what you’ve achieved so far?
Very much so. I am enormously proud of my team – many of them are volunteering to do extra days! I am also proud that we are still able to provide an essential service – after all, for many of our students this is their home.