Does your bike need a check over? Visit Dr Bike on  Thursday 21 March outside the Student Hub , from 11.30-14.30.

Dr Bike are trained bicycle mechanics who regularly come onto campus to check and adjust your bike for free. The service is available to University of Kent and University of Greenwich students and staff.

Additional work will be quoted individually but will always be at a special reduced rate.

For more information visit our Dr Bike webpage.

If you do not own a bike, check out the Rent & Ride cycle hire scheme.

The School of Arts, in partnership with Studio 3 Gallery, Kent Law School, and the Centre for Critical Thought, has organised two collaborative events with artist Heath Bunting, to be held on Friday 15 March 2019.

The events consist of a seminar for students and staff at 11.00 in Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6, and a talk which is open to the public at 16.00 in the Studio 3 Gallery.

This joint venture was initiated by Mihaela Varzari, an independent curator currently undertaking a PhD in History and Philosophy of Art, and Dr Connal Parsley, Senior Lecturer in Law and Deputy Director of Kent’s Centre for Critical Thought. Each presentation will be followed by discussion with the organisers, chaired by Dr Michael Newall, Senior Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Art.

Heath Bunting’s international artistic career, spanning over 30 years, has roots in local political and social activism in Bristol with a strong focus on anarchism. The emergence of the internet in the mid 90’s in UK, perceived by Bunting as a social revolution, allowed him to immediately embrace it as an artistic medium, as well as a tool for social change. Street art, sports, permaculture, information sharing via networks, or forest trips, to mention only a few, become artistic ways of representation. Considered a pioneer of net.art, Bunting’s work is also associated with the second wave of institutional critique, known for challenging via networks and exhibitions available only on-line, the hyper commodification of art markets in the West. As politics and the nature of the internet have changed, so does Bunting’s questions and interests. His strong interest in recent legislation, commerce and systems of control, as seen in Status Project (2008), renders his work difficult to categorise, but nevertheless richly informative for students of history of art and law.

If you wish to attend the seminar on Friday, please RSVP to Connal Parsley at C.Parsley@kent.ac.uk

Please book your free ticket for the talk at 16.00 on Facebook or Eventbrite.

Learning and Organisational Development are running a Managing Performance training session on Monday 25 March from 9.30-12.30.

For further information and to book a place, please visit your Staff Connect Dashboard.

Please book your place by Friday 22 March, 17.00.

Dr Sophia Labadi, Senior Lecturer in Heritage & Archaeology for the Department of Classical & Archaeological studies, has recently been featured in a report by the French Ministry of Culture in regards to her book Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice (Routledge, 2017).

Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice (Routledge, 2017) is referenced in this report, entitled ‘Culture and Migrants’ (Culture et migrants), to explain the unique role that museums can play in providing opportunities for immigrants to learn the language of their host countries. The conclusion of Dr Labadi’s book and the recommendations from the report by the French Ministry of Culture are aligned: provisions of language skills must be improved and expanded. Museums could play a greater role in this process, to tackle better multiple forms of exclusions faced by migrants.

Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice argues that museums can offer a powerful, and often overlooked, arena for both exploring and acting upon the interrelated issues of immigration and social justice. Based on three in-depth European case studies, spanning France, Denmark, and the UK, the research examines programs developed by leading museums to address cultural, economic, social and political inequalities. Where previous studies on museums and immigration have focused primarily on issues of cultural inequalities in collection and interpretation, Museums, Immigrants, and Social Justice adopts a more comprehensive focus that extends beyond the exhibition hall to examine the full range of programs developed by museums to address the of cultural, economic, social and political inequalities facing immigrants.

Chapter 1 of Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice is available online.

A presentation on ‘Understanding and Working with Self-harm and Attempted Suicide’ is to be given by Dr Terence Nice, Programme Director (Psychotherapy), from the Centre for Professional Practice.

The presentation will take place on Monday 25 March, from 9.30-11.30, in Grimond Lecture Theatre 2, Canterbury campus.

The presentation focuses upon the assessment and treatment of people who self-harm and attempt suicide. The presentation looks at the prevalence of self-harm, national guidelines, causative factors and ways of ameliorating suicidal ideations and diminishing acts of self-harm. The territory of self-harm and attempted suicide is often paradoxical and labyrinthine, leaving clinicians, practitioners and workers uncertain about how to react positively and respond appropriately. The presentation is aimed at all those people who come into contact with young or older people who self-harm or attempt suicide.

The presenter is a Lecturer in Psychological Therapies, Highly Specialist Psychotherapist and an active researcher in this field. Dr Nice has also developed a self-harm tool-kit to assist in the assessment and treatment of this group.

The presentation will be followed by Q&A time. Refreshments will be provided and certificates of attendance will be issued.

Entrance fee to the event is £20 per person. All spaces must be pre-booked – book your place now via the University’s  online store.

For Kent staff, internal journal transfers areavailable. Please use the cost code 1830-385-44385 and email professionalpractice@kent.ac.uk with your name and contact details.

For any queries, please email professionalpractice@kent.ac.uk or call 01634 888929.

Two cyclists from Kent Sport at the University of Kent are getting on their bikes to tackle the National Children’s Football Alliance (NCFA) Peace Ride to the Belgian town of Ypres on Saturday 23 March in order to twin the University’ sports pitches with the peace field in Belgium.

Oli Prior, Head of Physical Activities and Lee Thompson, Outdoor Facilities Manager are proud to be riding from the first University Peace pitches in the UK and twin them close to the World War Memorial to the Missing in Ypres.  Taking part in the ride will further cement the legacy of the pitches at the Canterbury campus. On arrival at Ypres, the pair will lay a ceremonial Poppy Football at the Menin Gate Memorial at the daily 8pm ‘Last Post’ service.

The NCFA’s Peace Fields project aims is to raise enough money to send a team of team of children from India to the 2019 Global Peace Games in Messines, Belgium.  To support this cause and back Oli and Lee, please make a pledge on the charity’s Crowd Funding page and be sure to include a word of support for Oli/Lee or the University of Kent so the charity know who you are backing. Alternatively, Oli and Lee have their own Just Giving page so you can pledge your support there.

Kent’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox said: ‘I am delighted that the University is supporting this great cause and event. I send my very best wishes to all those taking part in the ride and look forward to hearing about the outcomes of the project later this year.’

The Pride (‘Personal Responsibility in Delivering Excellence’) Award recognises members of Kent Hospitality staff who go out of their way to deliver excellent customer service.

Any Kent Hospitality staff member (permanent or casual) may be nominated from Canterbury and Medway campuses. The award is given out four times a year with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers, a certificate and Pride badge.

Nominations can be made by any member of University staff, students or visitors. Make your nomination online or alternatively you can pick up a paper form next to the red nomination boxes located in all Kent Hospitality’s catering outlets in Canterbury and Medway, as well College reception areas.

Please make your nominations detailed, providing as much information as possible why the nominee is being put forward for a Pride Award. The panel are looking for staff who achieve more than just what is expected in their role (i.e. hardworking, professional, positive and friendly attitude).

Congratulations to December 2018 Pride Award winners – Linda Jarvis, Rutherford College Receptionist and Sam Riddington, Medway Food and Beverage Manager.

For further information or for guidance on submitting nominations please contact: pride@kent.ac.uk

Dr Julian Baggini, honorary research fellow in the Department of Philosophy and Kent honorary graduate, has recently been appointed academic director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Julian Baggini is a writer and the founding editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine. He has a PhD on the philosophy of personal identity and is the author of over 20 books including The Pig That Wants to be Eaten (Granta, 2010), The Virtues of the Table (Granta, 2014) and The Ego Trip (Granta, 2012). Julian’s most recent book How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy (Granta Books, 2018).

The Royal Institute of Philosophy is a charity dedicated to the advancement of philosophy through the organisation and promotion of teaching, discussion and research of all things philosophical. The Institute is not committed to any particular philosophical school or method or, of course, any ideology.

Julian is also appearing at an event with Richard King, Professor of Buddhist and Asian Studies, called ‘Globalising Philosophy’ taking place on Friday 14 June 2019.

Max Tyler was for many years the historian and archivist of the British Music Hall Society.

After his passing in January 2018, his collection was transferred to the Special Collections and Archives at the University from the British Music Hall Society. He had liaised with the University over a decade earlier to arrange to transfer ownership of the collection after his death.

The collection contains material spanning from the late 19th century to the early 21st century.

It includes: original and copies of Music Hall song sheets, song sheets and scripts for musical comedies, music hall programmes, playbills, 20th century music hall and vaudeville magazines and periodicals, music hall audio recordings on cassette, CD, shellac discs, and reel-to-reel tapes, published books on music hall, and music hall performers, research notes.

We are looking for ways to raise further funding to support cataloguing the collection so that it will readily available to a wide range of audiences, including researchers.

Leaving a legacy can also impact and support scholarships, alleviating hardship and future research.

If you would like to find out more about legacies, please sign up to the Estate Planning Seminar in the Widoger Law Building on Friday 22 March from 15.00 to 16.30.

The Learning & Teaching Network are running the following sessions:

Running an effective Board of Examiners (for Canterbury, Internal staff)

Wednesday 20 March 2019, 13:15-14:30

UELT Seminar Room, Canterbury

External Examining and Boards of Examiners at Kent (for Medway, Internal and External staff)

Wednesday 27 March 2019, 13:15 – 14:30

Lunch will be available from 13:00

Gillingham Building Room 412 (G4-12),Medway Campus

The sessions will give an overview of regulations and requirements relevant to Board of Examiner meetings. Participants will be given up-to-date guidance about the Credit Framework and related examination conventions / procedures for the classification of awards, in accordance with Annexes J and K of the Code of Practice. The relevant policies and procedures will be reviewed, and there will be time for questions and discussion.

If you wish to attend one of the sessions please complete the online booking form: https://www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/networks/ltn/documents/LTN_booking_form.html