The Department of Philosophy recently ran another successful Philosophy Reading Weekend on 23-24 February, with papers and discussions converging on the topics of medicine, emotions and ethics. The walk to the coast came complete with enlightening discussions and splendid weather.

Maddie Smith presented on anger and political emotion, Hugh Robertson-Ritchie presented on chronic fatigue syndrome and phenomenology, Alyx Robinson presented on optimism and transhumanism, and Michael Wilde was working the epistemological angles, having recruited a dozen new members for the Centre for Reliabilism. The idea of a murder mystery event was discussed for next year.

Following the event, Head of Department, Todd Mei commented: “Philosophy happens in many different ways, and one of the most memorable and significant of those can be outside the lecture hall or seminar room and in an informal space shared by inquisitive and open minds. The Philosophy Reading Weekend has never failed to deliver on that front!”

Seen on the Department of Philosophy’s Facebook group: “Thanks to everyone who came to the Reading Weekend this weekend. We had a great time, incredible weather, and those cakes, as always, were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!”

Funny Rabbit, the new comedy club created by Dr Oliver Double, Reader in Drama in the School of Arts, will feature an all-female line up of comedy acts in honour of International Women’s Day, in its second show on Friday 8 March 2019 in The Gulbenkian.

Funny Rabbit is a new kind of comedy club – radical and exciting, but also warm and snuggly as a bunny rabbit. Whether you’ve never seen live comedy before or you’ve been watching it for decades, Funny Rabbit is for you.

The all-female line up includes headliner Tanyalee Davis, as well as Wendy Wason and Carriann Redneck. In addition, two students from the School of Arts will be performing guest acts: Pia Sharp and Annaleise Sansum, who are both studying on the BA (Hons) Drama and Theatre programme.

Remarking on the special show, Olly said: ‘I’m very proud that the second ever Funny Rabbit show is celebrating International Women’s Day. The only shameful thing about it is that by compering the show, I’m ruining an otherwise all-female bill’.

You can book tickets for Funny Rabbit on the Gulbenkian website: here: https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/event/funny-rabbit-comedy-club-3/

Five students from the School of Arts will have their own directorial features showcased at the forthcoming KTV Film Festival 2019, to be held in Gulbenkian cinema on Saturday 16 March.

The festival is organised by KTV, Kent Union’s television station, and is independent of any curricular film practice. The festival aims to showcase the outstanding talent from student filmmakers at Kent.

The films by School of Arts students include:

• Steps of Detachment, directed by Elliot Bowden, who is studying on the BA (Hons) in Film and Drama
• Cigarettes and Alcohol, directed by Alfie Court who is also studying on the BA (Hons) in Film and Drama
• You Won’t Remember Me, directed by Victor Blaho who is studying on the BA (Hons) in Film with an Approved Year Abroad
• Sending to the Sea, directed by Iris Perović who is studying on the BA (Hons) in Film and Drama
• Sweet Child of Mine, directed by Tyler Hamblin, who is studying on the BA (Hons) in Film.

SECL student Dominic Taylor, who is studying on the BA (Hons) in Religious Studies and Philosophy, has also directed a contribution entitled Waiting for Certainty.

The filmmakers have dedicated weeks of their time to adhere to each of the key component of filmmaking, giving them the opportunity to use skills vital in the film industry and tell sophisticated stories. The festival aims to be a celebration of film, friends and fulfilment, as well as a chance to hear from our directors themselves and learn about their experiences on set. All are welcome to the festival, where from cast and crew, family and friends will be present.

Entrance to individual films costs £3; an all-day ticket costs £12, with an option of a VIP ticket including access to buffet lunch and glass of Prosecco or soft drink at £14.

For full details, please see the KTV Facebook page.

The Learning and Organisational Development Team will be running a seminar on HRT and The Menopause on Friday 8 March 2019 in Keynes Seminar room 16, Keynes College, Canterbury campus starting at 10.00am until 12.00. (Originally organised to take place at the Medway campus).

This important seminar will provide information, advice and guidance on the Menopause, how it affects women and the impact of this from a work perspective.

This seminar will be delivered in two parts:

Part 1 a presentation by Anita Ralph MSc (Herbal Medicine), MNIMH MCPP, who will share and open for discussion holistic medical approaches in treating the symptoms of The Menopause.

Part 2 of the seminar will be a presentation by Miss Anne Henderson – Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, who will share information and discuss The Menopause and Prescription HRT, medications etc.

This seminar is open to everyone (this includes men). The menopause is something that affects not only those who are going through it but also colleagues, managers and others who are there to support people who are going through it.

If you are interested in attending, please book a place via Staff Connect.

This is your last chance to register for a one-day event taking place on Friday 1 March in Keynes College focused on sustainability in the curriculum.

Hosted by William Rowlandson (SECL) and Catherine Morris (Sustainability team) the event is open to academic teaching staff and students. Interested staff from professional services department are also welcome to attend.

Following on from the University’s commitment to embed sustainability into all areas of operation, this one-day event will feature speakers from across the sector giving insight into how these issues have been addressed at different Universities. This will cover a wide range of approaches from creation of stand-alone sustainability modules, incorporating sustainability topics into existing teaching and utilising pedagogy to embed sustainability skills.

This will be followed by opportunities for students and staff to look at ways these approaches can be employed at Kent, and to begin the process of co-creation of curriculum content.

More information and links to registration can be found via the event blog.

The University has been commended for its positive progress on Technician Commitment.

The Technician Commitment is a sector-wide, collaborative initiative led by the Science Council and supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Technicians Make It Happen campaign, to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research.

Kent signed-up to the Technician Commitment in September 2017 and has formed a working group chaired by Mark Ellis, Assistant Director, University Operations Support. In October 2018, the working group submitted a self-assessment and two-year action plan to the Technician Commitment Steering Board.

The Steering Board has recently provided its feedback on the submission and commended Kent for ‘positive progress coupled with a clear and ambitious Action Plan’ which is comprehensive, well-structured and aligned to the aims of the Technician Commitment. The University will be presented with an Award of Submission at the next Technician Commitment Signatory event.

The Technician Commitment Working Group at Kent is in the process of developing resources for technical staff and there are a number of upcoming events:

• 6 March – Information session on technical Apprenticeship standards to tie in with National Apprenticeship week
• 22 May – Kent Technician Network, Technician’s Symposium at the Canterbury campus (details available soon).

Further information about the Technician Commitment is available on the Learning & Development webpages.

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning and Teaching Network session taking place on Friday 8 March, from 13:15-14:30 in Rochester Boardroom R2-09 on the Medway campus.

Karthikeyan Muthumayandi, from the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, will present this session on ‘Learning clinical special tests through gamified seminar’.

The primary objective of this feasibility research is to compare the delivery of gamified seminar to that of the traditional methods in teaching clinical skills. We used free web-2 technologies in developing a gamified seminar in the virtual network.

Eleven therapy students underwent learning through traditional seminar and gamified seminar in a random order. A semi-structured interview, pre and post student satisfaction level, knowledge and understanding scores were measured. Gamified seminar had better scores than traditional seminars in most variables but similar scores on the knowledge and understanding. Gamified seminar can be an adjunct to different seminar delivery methods.

If you have not already confirmed your attendance and wish to attend please complete the online booking form.

Kent RaG have teamed up with K-Bar, Woody’s, Origins, Mungo’s and Cargo to host a campus-wide charity pub quiz on Friday 8 March to commemorate International Women’s Day!

‘A Quiz Night Out’ is all about celebrating the achievements of women while raising money to help those living in poverty. Money raised will be given to CARE International, a charity fighting deprivation and injustice in the world’s most vulnerable places. CARE save lives, finds long-term solutions to poverty, and supports women and girls to overcome inequality and fulfil their potential.

The five campus bars will simultaneously be hosting the same pub quiz, on the same night, at the same time. Not only will teams have the chance to win locally in their chosen bar, but also become ‘Campus Quiz Champions’ – the overall winner from all five bars.

Quiz rounds will have a focus on famous females and feminine feats, alongside all the popular classics – geography, history, TV, sport etc. So, are you ready to get involved in this year’s biggest and most competitive quiz?

The quiz starts at 20.00. Entry is £2 entry per person (pay on the day). Maximum six people per team. All are welcome!

Find out more via this Facebook event link.

Kent colleagues came together recently for an AUA @ Kent Think-in event in the Sibson Building on Wednesday 6 February.

Taking the theme of ‘Thinking and Learning Together’, presentations included:

• Finding your True North – Gill Ledgerton, Head of Operations, External Relations, Marketing & Communications, University of Liverpool
• Using Mindfulness in Changing Times – Esther Van Hout, Business Development Manager at our Tonbridge centre.

The Think-In was organised by the AUA@Kent leadership team: Melissa Mulhall, AUA Advocate; Natalia Crisanti, Student Services; Mita Modal, Engineering and Digital Arts; Amy Green, Politics and International Relations; James Redmond, SSPSSR; and Alison Webster, Faculties Support Office.

The event was well received and is a good example of how the AUA@Kent network gives Kent colleagues the chance to get together and reflect on their work journeys from a different perspective, without the time and cost of travelling to off-campus training and conferences.

AUA/follow-up events
Why not join us for the next Kent events? The next talk in the AUA CPD chats series, on the topic of ‘Developing Self and Others’ is scheduled for 22 March.

This will be followed by the 4th Southern Regional Symposium at Canterbury Christ Church University on 24 April. Professor April McMahon will be one of the keynote speakers and will be talking about her experiences as a subject TEF panel chair for the Humanities panel. A spring walk and summer picnic are also planned for lunchtime (12.30) on 29 March and 13 May.

There is no need to be an AUA member already, just come along to see if it is of interest and of benefit in your current role/future roles. Contact one of the AUA leadership team above for further details.

If you decide to join the AUA, you can claim tax relief on your membership. AUA subscriptions can be claimed back via the HMRC Tax Relief for Employees website – there’s no need to complete a self-assessment tax form.

Visit the AUA website to find out more about membership.

You are invited to make nominations for two representatives of non-union members of staff to join the Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC); one position to represent staff in grades 7 and above, and one position to represent staff in grades 1 to 6. All University staff are eligible to nominate themselves.

An email was sent out to staff from Denise Everitt, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Office, launching the nomination process on Monday 25 February. If you wish to nominate yourself as a candidate for one of these positions, please click on the link in your email to complete the nomination entry form. You will be asked to provide a personal statement and the details of two people who support your nomination.

If you do not have time to complete the form immediately, it will remember your answers and you can pick it up again later on by clicking on the link in your email.  The deadline for completed nominations is 17:00 on Monday 11 March.

What is the JSNCC?

The committee is the main forum for consultation between the University and its staff and is one of the most important and influential committees in the University. Its membership includes management, union and staff representatives who meet each term. The current non-union staff members are Mark Ellis, Denise Twomey, Stephen Rowlstone and Becky Verlin.

Find out more about the JSNCC

Why join the JSNCC?
Acting as a staff representative is interesting and rewarding. It provides the opportunity to discuss and comment on University plans and policies, to meet a wide range of new people and to gain valuable personal development. Training and support will be provided to the successful candidates.

Further information about the JSNCC and the nomination and election processes can be found on the JSNCC website or by contacting HR via ERBP@kent.ac.uk