The next meeting of the University’s Honorary Degrees Committee will take place on 4 March 2020 and we are looking for suggestions/nominations for the award of honorary degrees for the consideration of the Committee.

Suggestions should be returned by the deadline of Wednesday 19 February 2020, either by email to J.L.Pearsall@kent.ac.uk or by post to Jo Pearsall, Council Secretariat, The Registry, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ.

At its meeting in March 2020, the Committee will be considering suggestions for awards in 2020 and beyond and, to ensure the award of honorary degrees across a broad range of academic disciplines and subject areas, it would be helpful to receive at least one or two suggestions from each School.  We would also like to encourage nominations in the area of medicine and health sciences, to celebrate the opening of the Kent and Medway Medical School in 2020.

You can find all the necessary information, including the nomination form in Word and pdf formats on the honorary degree nominations website.

The published information includes the criteria for awarding honorary degrees and the honorary degrees that are available, with guidance notes. To get an idea of the calibre of University of Kent honorary graduates, our honorary graduates website shows recent recipients and short biographies.

Anyone can put forward a nomination so if you have any questions about this or wish to put forward a nomination, please email Jo Pearsall.

Staff and students are encouraged to find out more about what to do in the unlikely event of a terror incident on or off campus.

Our Campus Security Run, Hide, Tell webpages include three new videos with UK Government advice on:

• How to react to firearms or weapons attacks
• How to identify and respond to suspicious behaviour
• How to identify and deal with suspicious Items.

Mark Arnold, Head of Security at Kent, comments: ‘While there is no specific intelligence about any threats to the University, these videos are a timely reminder of common sense advice. I’d urge all members of our community to set aside some time to view them.’

The webpages also include advice on what to do if you find a lost or suspicious unattended item, on or off campus – find out more by clicking on the new tab: ‘Unattended items – lost or suspicious’.

And there’s a reminder of the Government’s key ‘Stay Safe’ principles:

RUN – find the best protection available, out of sight does not mean out of danger.

HIDE – see if you can locate the attackers, what type of weapon is being used, the direction the attacker(s) are travelling. Limit access and secure your environment. Lock the doors and remain as quiet as possible.

TELL – contact the police via 999 then Campus Security via 01227 82(3333), give them all the information you have.

Find out more and view the new videos on the Campus Security Run, Hide, Tell webpages.

NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) have awarded the University of Kent Players an accolade for Excellence in Drama for their production of Gail Young’s Bothered & Bewildered which took place at the Gulbenkian in September 2019.

This is the second time in as many years that the group have been recognised in this way, their production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in 2018 also received this accolade.

Their latest production, JB Priestley’s Dangerous Corner, takes place at the Gulbenkian 27-29 February 2020, so go along and see this double award-winning group in action.

Tickets priced at £12 (£10 for concessions) are on sale now on the Gulbenkian website.

Professor Colin Hills from the University of Greenwich will be taking part in the first Drill Hall Dialogue event of the year.

His talk on ‘Working with CO2 is a gas: mineralising carbon in industrial waste’ takes place on Tuesday 11 February 2020 in the Drill Hall – room DA002.

The University of Greenwich has been researching carbon capture and utilisation through mineralisation technology.

Developing from the treatment of contaminated soil and then hazardous waste, high volume wastes can be useful feedstocks for making carbonated construction products. By producing limestone in the reaction between CO2 gas and alkaline wastes into benign construction materials, the associated risks are managed and the wastes are diverted from landfill and given value. Commercial production of carbonated construction products is in kT range, with new materials under development.

The background to our award-winning carbonation technology, its current status and future direction will be presented and discussed.

Drill Hall Dialogues is a monthly series of talks held at the Drill Hall Library, the learning resource centre for the Universities at Medway collaborative project. A wide variety of topics has been covered including prison libraries, NHS libraries, Dickens and Christmas, Medway regeneration, the Medway Floods of 1953 and Fort Amherst. We have also received talks from academics based on the campus including the Centre for Journalism (UKM) and the Faculty of Education (CCCU).

The talks take place on the first or second Tuesday of the month and usually last no longer than 45 minutes with 15 minutes allotted for any questions and answers. All staff are welcome to attend.

Dr Anne-Maria Brennan, a lecturer at the Centre for Professional Practice, recently took part in the International Summit on Balanced and Inclusive Education which was held in Djibouti City.

The summit is the culmination of an initiative to produce the Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education, which is part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SD4) which seeks to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.

As part of the summit, Dr Brennan gave a presentation entitled Inclusivity re-imagined: celebrating humankind’s medical endeavour.

Commenting on her presentation she said: “The aim was to illustrate how the study of the history of medicine and its areas helps promote an inclusive approach to the STEM curriculum by highlighting its importance to human civilisation and culture.”

During the summit she also formally signed the Universal Declaration on Balanced and Inclusive Education and the Constitutive Charter for the Organisation of Education Cooperation (OEC) in her capacity as Vice President of Science Engagement at the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation.  The newly formed OEC will develop and implement international strategies to achieve SDG4 by the target date of 2030 as set by the United Nations.

The Centre for Professional Practice offers a range of flexible, part-time postgraduate programmes and short course which have been specifically designed to meet the needs of professionals who wish to develop their academic skills whilst maintaining their professional roles. Programmes include a Master’s in Professional Practice, Applied & Specialist Healthcare and the online short course Introduction to Masters-level Study.

For further information, visit the Centre for Professional Practice website, email cppmedway@kent.ac.uk or telephone 01634 888929.

A group of staff, who are currently undertaking a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship as part of their professional development, produced a university-wide Legal and Ethical Guide for Digital Marketers, which could be a valuable source of information for other colleagues within the University.

The digital Guide provides encapsulated information about:

• Intellectual Property
• Copyright
• Data Protection Act
• GDPR & ICO
• Equality Act and Anti-Spamming Laws
• Cookies
• Consumer Protection Rights
• Adverting Standards Authority
• DMA Code of Practice
• Social Media Policies
• Accessible Marketing

Further links and best practice examples are provided in each section for more in depth information.

Apprentices said: “Our aim was to create a revision guide which combined information about laws and best practice from the University, UK government and other governmental bodies. The guidebook includes laws and policies that staff will encounter and need to adhere to when participating in marketing and communication activity at the University.”

Francesca Wyllie, the Digital Marketing tutor from SR Education for the group, commented: “I am delighted to say that all Digital Marketer Apprentices worked really hard on this project to produce this handy Guide. The purpose was to help them learn important issues and to be able to relate them to their own roles and activities. The draft Guide then was checked by the University’s Compliance Officer who came up with some helpful suggestions and edits.”

Before making the Guide available to all at the University, the apprentices are seeking further feedback from relevant academics and professional services staff. If you would like to contribute, please email us for a copy of the digital Guide: cppmarketing@kent.ac.uk

The Guide was created by: Nicola Baldwin, Hannah Brazier, Natalia Crisanti, Tim Hewitt, Loreta Jarvis, Philippa Page, Carly Turnham and Lyle Young.

Are you getting involved with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Teach-In? Interested in finding out more about the SDGs or how Kent is planning to meet Sustainability challenges? Join us for our Sustainable Development Goals Lunch to talk to operational and academic staff from across the University and beyond about sustainability over a fantastic bespoke Sustainable lunch.

When: Tuesday 25 February, 12.00 – 14.00

Where: Keynes Teaching Foyer

We’re planning a fantastic buffet including a delicious Butternut Squash and Sweet potato curry with all the trimmings and places are limited so please email sustainability@kent.ac.uk to let us know you will be coming.

As well as to raise awareness of Sustainability at Kent, this event has been planned to celebrate those who take part in the SDG Teach-In during the preceding week (17 – 21 February).

The Teach-In is an NUS-coordinated campaign where universities across the UK aim to make links to the SDGs within their taught courses during the week of the 17 – 21 February 2020. For more information about the SDG teach-In please visit our Sustainability Education web pages

Estates Customer Services are holding a pop-up event on Wednesday 5 February, from 11.00 until 13.00 in the Welcome Desk area of the Templeman Library.

Members from the team will be there to answer any Estates-related questions you have, and be able to outline all of the services the Estates Department offers. There is also a comments and suggestions box, where you can supply your feedback.

This event will also be featuring an insight into the Design & Print Centre and the services available. Visitors to the stand will be able to pick up their own 10% discount card for printing services and have the opportunity of ordering a personalised teddy bear, just in time for Valentine’s Day, (or any other special occasion) for the special price of £6.99.

Your feedback is extremely important to us and we aim to continuously review and improve our services. Please come along and see us, as it would be great to hear any suggestions you have.