The Corporate Events team is looking for volunteers to help during congregations for Medway and Canterbury – can you help?

MEDWAY (Rochester Cathedral):
Wednesday 20 November (x2 ceremonies), 10.30, 14.30

CANTERBURY (Canterbury Cathedral):
Friday 22 November (x3 ceremonies), 10.30, 14.30, 19.30

This is a special day for all of our graduating students, and a great opportunity to be involved in an important University event.

We have a variety of roles available for volunteers, so whether you would like to be in the Cathedral for the ceremony, helping the graduands check-in, or managing the guest queue, there is something suitable for everyone.

Things to know:

• Volunteers working two consecutive ceremonies will be provided with lunch or dinner in between their two shifts
• Volunteers can choose any ceremony ‘shifts’ from the above list, and full training will be available for your designated role.
• In any role, there will be a member of the Congregations’ team on hand to support you
• Different roles will have different start and finish times due to the requirements of that role for the ceremony
• It’s a wonderful week and is a great opportunity to see any students that you have supported graduate.

If you would like to get involved in November 2019 Congregations, we would be delighted to have you.

To register your interest or to find out more about the roles available, please email congregations@kent.ac.uk with your preferred ceremony/ies or your query.

The Teaching Enhancement Small Support Awards (TESSAs) are small grants introduced during 2017-18, to support colleagues in enhancing teaching, learning and the student experience.

The TESSAs offer funding of between £500 and £3,000 per award, with up to £5,000 for large, high-impact, collaborative awards operating across Schools and ideally in more than one Faculty, or across Schools and PSDs. During our first two years of operation, we have awarded over £76,000 to 46 successful projects. The total funding available across both rounds in 2019-20 is expected to be up to £50,000.

Applications should be submitted by 12 noon on Tuesday 26 November 2019 for projects to start during the Spring or Summer Terms 2019-20 (with notifications of outcomes by Tuesday 10 December). There will be a second round for projects to start during the summer of 2020 or in the Autumn Term 2020-21 (for comparison and planning, the closing date last year was Tuesday 14 May 2019). Your project should not take more than one year in total.

For more information on how to apply, please visit the UELT TESSA webpage.

The School of Engineering and Digital Arts is delighted to announce that on Wednesday 20 November from 6 – 7 pm in the Jennison Lecture Theatre, John Batchelor, Professor of Antenna Technology will deliver the annual Jennison Lecture, kindly sponsored by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

The lecture is entitled “Electronic sensing with (almost) no batteries” and will focus on how a simple RFID (radio frequency identification devices) tag can be converted into a sensing system, and how it can work with (almost) no battery at all.

After the lecture, there will be an opportunity to network, and light refreshments will be served.

All staff and students welcome as well as members of the public and members of the IET.

Click here to complete the 2019 Staff Survey

Kent’s 2019 staff survey is now live and will be open to everyone for a period of 6 weeks – until 13 November.

Inclusivity and respect are crucial characteristics of our university which should be fostered and sustained more than ever if we are to realise our Kent 2025 ambitions and be true to our values. This is particularly so during this period of organisational change and as the external environment becomes ever more volatile and challenging. Your opinions are really important to us and we want to hear your thoughts.

This survey is an excellent opportunity for you to provide confidential feedback on your perception of Kent as a place to work and help us understand some of the issues that affect your working life – what we do well and what we can do better.  We want to know how we measure up against our values and Kent 2025 ambitions during this time of organisational change.

Making significant change is never easy but the benefits to be gained through Organising for Success are real. As we progress through the different stages of the project it is important for us that you understand the changes, feel supported by your manager, have the opportunity to share your views and still believe Kent to be a good place to work.

• Be open and honest – your feedback is vital in guiding us on how to make changes to enhance your working life.
• The survey is completely anonymous.  We are not able to attribute responses to an individual.
• It is shorter than the previous survey – It should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete.

For more information, for more information, please see our Staff Survey webpages.

If your question has not been answered here, please speak to your line manager or email: staffsurvey@kent.ac.uk

Friday 4 October is Korea Day at Gulbenkian and all staff and students are invited!

In partnership with Korean Cultural Centre UK, we are presenting:

From 5pm – Korean Chef Hyung-Soo Yim will take over our cafe, serving delicious Korean Street Food.

From 6pm – A spectacular display of digital artwork on the outside of the Gulbenkian building by artist Yiyun Kang.

7.30pm – A gig by sensational Korean band Jambinai – who use traditional instruments, but play them in a very contemporary style! They leapt to international recognition playing the closing ceremony of the Olympic winter games in PyeongChang.

The event is free to attend, and tickets for the gig are £10 for Uni Kent Staff & Students.

The Medway Collaborative Projects Initiative provides funding for staff of the three Universities at Medway and their partner colleges to collaborate on projects that will benefit all Medway students.

The funding may be used to:

•       Invest in pilot equipment/software

•       Invite external speakers or workshop facilitators

•       Activities to support collaboration.

The call for applications for funding for 2019-20 is now open. Please see our page.

The submission deadline for applications is Friday 15th November 2019.

The new series of free Lunchtime Concerts in Colyer-Fergusson Hall launches next week with the Mēla Guitar Quartet on Weds 10 October at 1.10pm.

Since being International Guitar Foundation young artists in 2015 the Quartet has gone on to release a CD on the NAXOS label in 2017, and was Park Lane Group young artists for the 2018/19 season.

The group has performed in venues such as St. James’ Church, Piccadilly; Kings Place, Hall One; and Milton Court, Barbican.

As usual, admission is free with a suggested donation of £3. Join the Music department as we lift the curtain on the new concert season!

For more details click here.

Our academic staff continue to lead the way in outstanding research and teaching, and this has been recognised in our latest promotions.

Fifty nine academic colleagues are celebrating promotion to professor, reader, senior lecturer or senior research fellow across our Faculties of Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences, with effect from 1 October 2019.

The new professors are:

Professor Vybarr Cregan-Reid, School of English; Professor Sophia Labadi, Professor Axel Stähler and Professor Ellen Swift, School of European Culture and Languages; Professor Karen Jones and Professor Jan Loop, School of History; Professor Scott Wildman, Centre for Higher and Degree Apprenticeships; Professor Dan Mulvihill, School of Biosciences; Professor Patricia Lewis and Professor Jesse O’Hanley, Kent Business School; Professor Bob Smith, School of Anthropology and Conservation; Professor Alastair Bailey, School of Economics; Professor Adrian Pabst, School of Politics and International Relations; and Professor Michelle McCarthy, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.

Alison Ross-Green, Director of HR and Organisational Development, said: ‘The University is dependent upon the personal growth and career attainment of its academic staff to refresh, develop and strengthen our organisation for the future. Congratulations to all those promoted in 2019. Your hard work and focus on excellence help to ensure the outstanding student experience, research achievement and funding that is so important to our success going forward.’

You can see a full list of Academic Promotions 2019 here.

Picture shows: Professor Jan Loop, School of History.