The Turing Scheme offers funding for Kent students to study and work abroad.

The UK government has confirmed allocation of budget to support the Turing Scheme for the next three years in its Spending Review 2021. The Turing Scheme, the UK government’s programme to fund study and work opportunities across the world, was initially launched as a one-year programme for the academic year of 2021-22, and has been extended for a further three years, including £110 million for the academic year 2022-23.

More information on funding for the 2022-23 academic year will be published in due course, with the latest updates via the Turing Scheme website.

International Partnerships successfully bid for and is managing the University’s 2021-22 Turing project.

In 2021-22 we are supporting Kent students on a term or year abroad outside of Europe (those on placements in Europe continue to be supported by the Erasmus+ Programme for 2021-22 and 2022-23). We will also be supporting Kent students carrying out short, extra-curricular international placements via our new Go Abroad Bitesize initiative.

The Turing Scheme has and will continue to have a focus on widening participation and we are working with various stakeholders across the University to support this.

International Partnerships will be leading on the University’s annual Turing funding applications which will be submitted each spring for activities taking place in the following academic year.

We will be consulting with Divisions and Professional Services early 2022 to discuss ideas and activities for inclusion in the 2022-23 application.

From Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

Yesterday evening UCU head office informed us that they will be calling on Kent UCU members to take three days of strike action from Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 December on the ongoing disputes over changes to the USS pension scheme and over Pay and Conditions. They will also be calling on UCU members to start a period of Action Short of a Strike (ASOS), which will see members working to contract and refusing any voluntary duties for a period starting 1 December and ending no later than 3 May 2022. Further strike days may also follow in the New Year. This follows the mandates secured in the recent ballots.

We are continuing open and constructive dialogue with the branch so that we do as much as we can to avoid this planned action taking place. In the meantime, there are a number of workstreams led by the Industrial Action Response Group prioritising what we will need in place to support students and staff throughout the period of industrial action, with more information on the background to the dispute on our Industrial Action staff webpages. I will be in touch shortly with a further update on this, along with details of an upcoming staff webchat where you can ask any questions you have about this.

As before, we will all need to continue to be respectful of differing views about the issues on the ballots. I will also continue to keep you all up to date on developments as we navigate the coming weeks, including ensuring students are fully informed of what this will mean for them throughout.

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

Our Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC) held its latest regular meeting on Wednesday 10 November. The JSNCC is the main forum in which staff and trade union representatives meet with management representatives to discuss key developments across the University, particularly those that will impact staff. Find out more about JSNCC and how the reps can help you have your voice heard.

Updates from the November meeting

Q+A with the Vice-Chancellor

Our Vice-Chancellor Karen Cox joined the first section of the meeting to answer questions from the reps, including a number which were submitted in advance. This covered a range of areas, including her role in bringing together the different aspects of the University and coordinating our strategic delivery; how we work with Universities UK, who are a representative body that lobbies on behalf of universities; her upcoming role as a board member for the Universities and Colleges Employers Association; and how we can improve communication and feedback loops to Executive Group, including through further developing our staff webchat series and through new initiatives to support employer engagement that will come via our People and Culture Strategy.

Wellbeing and Workload

Following the recent recommendations from the Wellbeing Working Group, work has begun to scope out the focus groups needed to gather detailed information on issues regarding workload. At the meeting, it was agreed that ahead of this we should run an all-staff survey so we can identify particular areas of concern to then explore in depth. The aim is that this survey will be sent out before the end of term and will run through till early January, with the focus groups then expected in February once the results have been analysed, leading into action planning by the end of March 2022.

KentVision

A regular update on KentVision was provided, following on from the well-attended Staff Webchat earlier that week. Further clarity was provided on the Features and Functionality Business Analysis workstream for the project, which is there to sense-check and confirm prior work undertaken on the key things we need the new system to be able to do.

Job Grade Review

Our usual Job Grade Review process for professional service staff was suspended throughout Organising for Success. The Committee agreed that this should now relaunch, with the process for 2021/22 including a central committee that moderates evaluations carried out by local HR teams. Any regrades agreed will be backdated to 1 October 2021.

University Kindness Charter

As part of our Inclusive Allyship programme, a proposal was put forward to adopt a University Kindness Charter that sets out the positive behaviours we all want to adopt. Workstream members will be updating this following feedback from JSNCC ahead of circulation to Executive Group. Next meeting: Wednesday 8 December 2021 Find our more about JSNCC.

Congratulations to Robert (Bob) Green OBE, Reader in Forensic Science and Director of Student Engagement for the School of Physical Sciences, on his election as Vice President of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSOFS). Robert is a Fellow of the society and has previously served as Honorary Secretary and Acting Treasurer.

In his previous roles, he was instrumental in developing the student block membership scheme, resulting in a substantial increase of students joining the professional body. He  also sought to build membership and promote forensic science more widely through numerous visits to educational and other establishments.

The role of VP – a three-year term – focuses on setting and maintaining ethical and professional standards, and ensuring members maintain and uphold these standards. As a trustee of the professional body, Robert will chair the Membership and Ethics Committee, scrutinising and setting guidelines for membership applications, chairing the appeals committee and managing complaints and discipline issues.

The E-Learning Team are pleased to announce that the next event in our series of ‘Digitally Enhanced Education webinars’ will take place on Wednesday 1 December from 10.00 – 12.30 (GMT), with the theme ‘Multimedia and accessibility: Making online work for everyone’.  Please find the agenda for the event below:

Agenda:

• 10.00 – 10.05 – Phil Anthony (University of Kent): Introduction
• 10.05 – 10.20 – Nigel Megitt (BBC): Making television accessible: Identifying priorities to support audio description and captioning (subtitling) at scale
• 10.20 – 10.35 – Jonathan Penny (ITV): Audio Description: how does it work?
• 10.35 – 10.50 – Marion McGillivray (ITV): TV subtitling: how does it work?
• 10.50 – 11.05 – Kasia Senyszyn (University of Kent): What can the public sector learn from the creative arts about delivering accessible events
• 11.05 – 11.15 – Break
• 11.15 – 11.30 – Antonio Viera Santos (Atos): Tips for posting accessible content in social media
• 11.30 – 11.45 – @SightlessKombat (Accessibility consultant): Accessibility in videogames. The art of the possible…
• 11.45 – 12.05 – Stephen Rose (Microsoft): What’s new in Teams
• 12:05 – 12:20 – Simon Houghton (WeSupportDeafAwareness): What’s it REALLY like to be deaf? What are the challenges, and how can they be overcome
• 12.20 – 12.30 – Phil Anthony (University of Kent): Wrap-up

If you would like to join the webinar series, please express your here if you haven’t already. We add you the Microsoft Team linked to the series.  Colleagues from outside the University of Kent are very welcome to join and so feel free to circulate. If you would like to present at a future event, please complete this form and Phil Anthony will be in touch.

There are plenty of things going on and around The Hub on Medway campus! For more information and help about any events, visit The Hub What’s On webpage or email thehubmedway@gre.ac.uk. Here are some highlights of what you can expect at Medway:

Extra-curricular ensembles at Medway – 10 November – 16 December

Open to all students and the local community, from Pop, Rock and Soul Choir to Percussion group you can get involved at the University campus at the Historic Dockyard. Find out more.

Pilates – Monday 15 November (and every Monday) – 17.30 – 18.30

Happening in the Mezzanine,  this class you will work your full body with a variety of low impact movements, Pilates is a great way to wind down and relax. FREE for all students and staff. Open to all abilities. Find out more.

Zumba – Tuesday 16 November (and every Tuesday) 17.15 – 18.16

Want a fun exciting way to exercise? Zumba is the one for you!!  Open to all students and staff – all abilities welcome. Please arrive at The Hub and go to the mezzanine for 17.15. Find out more. 

Social Football – Wednesday 17 November – 17.00 – 18.00

Come along to social football, for some fun friendly games, meet new friends and improve your skills! Open to all levels, whether you are a beginner or advanced. Find out more.

Malcolm Dixon is Head of our Quality Assurance and Compliance Office but may soon be better known as an award-winning writer.

Malcolm’s first book, The Little House on Everywhere Street, was awarded the inaugural Acheven Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction. The prize includes a cash award and publication of the novel by Regal House Books in early 2022.

The Little House on Everywhere Street centres on a family who live in an unusual house, where they can step out into London, New York or Paris through different doors. Unknown to the three adventurous children at first, they can also travel in time – and so the adventures begin!

It may be Malcolm’s first published book but it’s not the first time he has seen his name in print. He has been writing for a number of years – since studying English at universities in Sunderland and Minnesota, US – and his short stories have featured in publications such as The London Magazine and Aesthetica.

Writing fiction alongside a full-time job has not been easy. Malcolm says: ‘I aim for around 1,500 words a week. I write mostly at weekends but then, in the week, I can often be found at lunchtime editing the novel on my phone in the Templeman Library – I missed it during lockdown!

‘When I came to write the first page of The Little House on Everywhere Street, I knew, with absolute certainty… this is exactly what I should be doing. Everything came together, the years of effort… I wanted the novel to be both well-written and as entertaining as I could make it. That the novel has been honoured by the award of this inaugural prize recognises that fact and means everything to me.’

How to get a copy

The Little House on Everywhere Street by F.M.A. Dixon will be published on 4 February 2022, but is available now for pre-order from Regal House Publishing, as well as Amazon UK, Blackwell’s and Waterstones. Leading UK sci-fi writer and critic, Adam Roberts, has hailed the novel as ‘a scrumptious time-travel adventure written with elegance and charm,’ and Malcolm hopes that this praise indicates his book will be well-received – and with good reason.

Two follow-on books have also been written, although whether or not we get a chance to read them may depend on how well the first one performs. ‘I’m truly grateful to everybody who has pre-ordered a copy,’ says Malcolm. ‘They’re helping me achieve a lifelong ambition, one that I hope can continue long into the coming years.’

Winner of the Supportive Colleague award is Paul Sales, IT Trainer, Student Operations. 

Paul was nominated for his key role in training and support for the rollout of KentVision, our new student management system. 

On receiving his award, he said: ‘I feel overwhelmed and massively thankful to everyone who nominated me. Working with me is a fantastic team trying to make KentVision work for everyone. I wouldn’t want their work to go unnoticed – they have been incredible, relentless and just doing their best for staff and students.’ 

Paul’s nomination  

Paul’s nomination notes how he ‘has been a huge support and a primary contact for many colleagues with all manner of KentVision queries. His KentVision expertise and university business process knowledge has been invaluable for collating feedback and working with users and the KentVision team together to find ways forward.  

‘He was directly involved with enabling divisional and central PSD colleagues, right from the start, to complete essential and urgent student records management work, including student assessment processing, examination timetable preparation, exam boards, student enrolment and registration, module registration to name but a few. He has seemingly endless patience, is incredibly knowledgeable, always ready to help, offer advice or just his ear for a rant.’