Staff are warmly invited to take part in a free online event on ‘Understanding, Accepting, & Embracing Neurodivergent Ways of Experiencing the World’, which will also cover what support is currently offered to Kent students. It’s a free online event from 12.00 – 13.30 on Tuesday 30 March, bookable via Eventbrite.

We are all part of the neurodiversity of humanity, where everyone experiences the world in different ways. In this short online workshop, Dr Chloe Farahar will work with you to discuss the challenges and strengths of being neurodivergent (e.g., Autistic; attention differences; anxiety; etc.); how autistic students’ strengths can make them great university students; and how the University of Kent has dedicated support for the challenges neurodivergent students face in education.

Session overview:

• What is neurodiversity and what kinds of neurodivergence are there?
• Life in labels (trigger warning for non-detailed mention of suicidal thoughts).
• A rose by any other name would smell of…stigma (the importance of language).
• Challenges and strengths of being neurodivergent.
• Being Autistic at university and the support offered at Kent: Q & A ask questions about university life.

You can attend the workshop in a way that suits you, so you can say as little as you like, use the chat function only, or just attend – all modes of participation are welcome.

If you have any queries about this event or support for autistic students at Kent in general, please email autismsupport@kent.ac.uk.

Natalia Crisanti | Student Support and Wellbeing, Student Services 

Dear Colleagues,

Today marks the first anniversary of the UK going into national lockdown. The last 12 months have challenged us in ways none of us could have imagined, and as people across the country unite for a day of reflection, I wanted to write to all of you to thank you for your remarkable response across the University.

Covid has impacted all of our lives in some way. Some will have personally suffered with what is a horrible illness, or gone through the worry of seeing loved ones unwell; some, I know, will have lost people close to them, and I offer my sincere condolences to those whose families are grieving.

Alongside all of this, we have had to adapt to incredibly disruptive changes at home and at work. Laptops have become lecture theatres; bedrooms have doubled up as boardrooms. Boundaries have inevitably been blurred as a result, and I fully appreciate the enormous impact this has had on many of you as you’ve juggled huge demands across both home and university life.

I have been incredibly moved by the way you have worked to support each other and our students throughout. Whether at home or on campus, all of you have played a part both in keeping our community safe and keeping the University going. Much of this has shown the very best of what we do, from adapting rapidly to changes in technology and working practices to supporting our wider community through volunteering and providing PPE to the NHS.

As restrictions continue to relax in line with the Government’s roadmap for coming out of lockdown, this is also a time of mixed emotion as we look, with hope, towards brighter times ahead. Yesterday we launched a new staff survey looking at the future of work, and I encourage all of you to let us know your thoughts as we plan for a return to some sort of normality. We will continue to keep you updated on plans and, all being well, I look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible back to campus later in the summer when all are ready to do so.

I hope you all get a chance to reflect today on what has been a year like no other and thank you all again for everything you continue to do for the University.

With all best wishes to you and your families,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

We are launching a staff survey looking at the ‘Future of Work’ at Kent. With your input, we’re keen to make sure we find the right balance between new and old approaches, capture the best parts of what’s happened over the past year and find out more about what you feel would support you most once more of us are able to be back on campus.

We’d like to hear about your experiences of work since this time last year: what you’ve learnt and what is (or may have become) important to you. We’re inviting your views on working practices you believe we should keep, where we need to do better, and what you think could be left behind.

The findings of this survey will be highly influential in determining the ways we choose to work in the future and the infrastructure and support we will need. It is a survey that requires reflection but will hopefully be worth the time that you invest in it. The findings and feedback from staff will be discussed at EG and JSNCC and be an important consideration in our plans for the future.

The survey has been designed under three headings: ‘Physical Space and Working Environment’, ‘Technology’ and ’Culture’, all of which reflect the changes to the way in which we work and how we each experience our connection with the University and its community.

Completing the survey

The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete. You’re encouraged to take the time you need to properly reflect on the answers you give – it is possible to complete the survey in stages if you need to.

Some of the questions will be more relevant to staff who have been prioritised to work on campus, and others to those continuing to work remotely. Please answer all questions that you feel apply to you and your working arrangements. The survey is now open and you can access it by following this link.  If you have any questions about completion, please email the team at staffsurvey@kent.ac.uk.

Closing date 

The closing date for completion of the survey is 17.00hrs on Friday 9 April.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your experiences, reflections and suggestions. The results will be shared with staff and the JSNCC.

Please remember that the University’s Employee Assistance Programme is available to provide confidential information and advice to all staff on a range of workplace and personal issues.

Alison Ross-Green | Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development

An update on student travel over the Easter vacation, which staff should be returning to campus, the importance of Covid-19 testing, and vaccination bookings.

Easter vacation

According to the latest Government guidance, students already back at their term-time address are permitted to travel home to their permanent address during the Easter vacation. As the Government is still trying to reduce travel where possible, students should only do so if it is necessary.

Any students wishing to travel during Easter should get tested at our on-site Asymptomatic Testing facilities before they leave. They should then be tested at a community facility, if possible, before they make their return journey to campus. Any students that test positive should self-isolate for 10 days and not travel until after their isolation period has been completed.

Working on campus

Covid-19 testing

We have launched a new campaign to encourage staff and students to get tested for Covid-19. From this week, anyone being tested at the Canterbury Asymptomatic Testing Site will receive a loyalty card allowing them to claim a free coffee after their second test and free lunch after their eighth test. We are currently looking at how we can provide an incentive to staff and students being tested at the Medway facility.

All students and staff accessing campus facilities should be tested twice every week. Staff may get tested during their working hours.

Regular testing is such an important step to help us keep Covid cases low among our community and ensure we can get back to the life at Kent we all miss.

Covid vaccinations

For any staff invited for their Covid-19 vaccination, we would strongly advise you to take up the opportunity if you are able.

It is important to attend your vaccination appointment at the earliest possible opportunity. If it is not possible to book your appointment outside of working hours or doing so would significantly delay you receiving the vaccine, you can request time off at full pay. Please speak with your line manager for further information.

A new FAQ concerning staff Covid-19 vaccinations has been added to the Staff Coronavirus website.

Dear Colleagues, 

This time last year, many of us were adapting parts of our homes to become offices at the start of a year of unprecedented change that none of us could have imagined. As we start to turn our attention to what a return to some sort of normality may look like, we will shortly be launching a staff survey looking at the future of work so we make sure we find the right balance between new and old approaches once more of us are able to be back on campus. While much of remote working remains challenging, we have also found new ways to collaborate and share across the University, so I encourage as many of you as possible to share your views via the survey so we get a really good sense of how we want to approach this in future. 

Another key part of looking ahead will be how we incorporate a range of student voices into our plans more widely as we return. On Monday, I was delighted to have our Kent Union officer team join us at Executive Group to share their plans for the weeks and months ahead, with a number of areas identified where we can collaborate and develop shared strategies between us. Congratulations to our new President-elect Aisha and her team, and we look forward to developing these plans together. 

We also continue to step up our focus on attracting next year’s intake, with virtual Applicant Days taking place this weekend for Canterbury and Medway. A huge thank you to colleagues both centrally and in Divisions for all of the work that goes into these fantastic events, which offer a real showcase for the best of what we do. 

With best wishes to you and your families, 

Karen Cox

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

The annual Graduate and Researcher College Prizes recognises the excellence of Kent’s researchers and the outstanding work carried out by academic and professional service staff members in support of postgraduate research and education.

Nominate someone you feel deserves recognition for their incredible achievements and for the work they do for and with our postgraduate community at Kent. This year there are six prize categories:

Postgraduate Researcher

Postgraduate Professional Service Champion

Director of Graduate Studies (Division/School/Centre)

Postgraduate Teacher

Research Degree Supervisor

Early Career Research Staff

The winner of each category will receive £250 which will be transferred to their school, centre or department to be spent towards their personal research and/or development.

Deadline for nominations is Sunday 16 May 2021, midnight.

Read about last year’s winners .

Our Education and Student Experience Managers within each of the Divisions – Natalie Conetta (Arts & Humanities), Chris Barron (Computing, Engineering & Mathematical Sciences), Bob McKay (Kent Business School), Charlotte Ransom (Human & Social Sciences), Siobhan Dumphy (Natural Sciences) and Emma Spiller (Study of Law, Society and Social Justice) – tell us more about their new role and how it’s going so far.

Why has your role been created and what’s its remit?

As part of Organising for Success, a defined education and student experience portfolio was created in each of the new Divisions to ensure more cohesive working between school-level professional service teams. Our new roles as Education and Student Experience Managers are pivotal to delivering this. We manage all Divisional matters associated with the student journey, ensuring we follow the University’s codes of practice and that our students are offered the best possible experience from the moment they arrive to when they graduate. 

Education and Student Experience Managers (Top, from left: Siobhan Dumphy, Bob McKay, Natalie Conetta. Bottom, from left: Emma Spiller, Chris Barron, Charlotte Ransom)

What does a typical day for each of you involve at the moment?

There is no such thing – for most of us, a large strong coffee in the morning is the only constant! It’s a cliché but every day is different and sees us ensuring that “business as usual” keeps happening through the staffing changes brought about by O4S, developing Divisional strategies, or working with professional service departments to develop frameworks for future collaborative working. Every day presents new challenges, and that’s without mentioning Covid-19!

Are there any particular challenges you’re all facing – eg Covid! – and how are you overcoming them?

There are so many challenges at the moment, the biggest of which is bringing together a team that covers such a large portfolio, whilst working remotely and still ensuring we are providing a great level of service for our colleagues and students. We are overcoming this by finding new ways to stay connected, creating a supportive working environment which is understanding of the challenges we are facing both at work and at home. We are in awe of the pace of our teams’ learning and their resilience.

There is an ESEM for each of the new divisions – how are you all sharing best practice as a cross-division team of professionals?

We’re actually a really tight team! We meet on a weekly basis and have a vibrant Teams chat where we discuss how we are approaching processes and talk through the most streamlined way of working. From the very outset, we all understood the need to work collaboratively, and this has had a really positive impact on our progress across all our divisions. Often, one or two of us will represent the six at committees and meetings and so clear communication between us is key. We’ve transferred this model to our teams through the creation of ‘Leadership Groups’ which is enabling the managers within our ESE teams to share information and best practice more fluidly too.

As an ESEM team, what are your immediate priorities?

Our immediate priorities are supporting our teams to be able to offer a great student experience. This year has been challenging in so many ways and our teams have worked incredibly hard so having a focus on their wellbeing and ensuring they feel supported and happy and are working well is really important to us.

What else have you got in mind for the longer term?

We are all looking forward to being able to be more strategic and less reactive; being able to move away from the issues that the pandemic has presented and building on a long-term strategy with students at the forefront.

How can colleagues get in touch/find out more?

We have a catchy distribution list for anyone wanting to work with us as a team:
div-edstudex-managers@kent.ac.uk.

Otherwise, if you are in a Division, just come and ‘speak’ to us (virtually at the moment, of course) and we’ll be happy to help!

Congratulations to Mita Mondal on her appointment as South Network Coordinator for the Association of University Administrators (AUA).

The AUA is the professional association for higher education administrators and managers. It is committed to connecting every professional within its network and supporting members throughout their career in HE.

Mita, who is Quality Assurance and Accreditations Manager for our Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, has been an AUA member since 2014. Her new new Coordinator role involves overseeing networking across 265 South Region members.

She says: ‘Being a member has proved invaluable in terms of both developing my own skills, and sharing good practice within Kent and across the HE sector. I’m excited about taking on this new role to enable other colleagues to benefit from this valuable experience.’

Mita joined Kent in 2007, working in various roles in student administration, HR and finance, becoming Centre Administration Manager in 2014 and then, more recently, School Administration Manager for the School of Engineering and Digital Arts. She completed the AURORA leadership programme in 2018.

AUA membership

The University of Kent has been active participant in the AUA for many years and more than 50 professional services colleagues are currently members. Membership is open to anyone working in university administration and benefits include:

• professional recognition
• networking opportunities & mentoring
• professional development, including a PG Cert Programme
• events and conferences
• access to resources and publications.

Networking event

One of Mita’s first tasks as AUA South Network Coordinator is to organise a series of networking events, inviting speakers to deliver training and development activities for South network members. The first event, ‘Opportunities for Enhancing Student Experience Through Internationalisation at Home’ will take place on 16 March from 12.30-13.30. Both AUA and non-AUA members are welcome and can sign-up via this AUA link.

If you work in professional services and would like to know more about or get involved in the AUA, you can email Mita. More information is also available by visiting the AUA website

Article from Kent Sport: 

We’re excited to share with you the proposed phased reopening of Kent Sport facilities over the next few months, starting on 29 March.

While Kent Sport facilities remain closed until this date (with the exception of the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic), the proposed reopening dates are as follows:

29 March – Outdoor sports under current guidelines (individual bookings and organised training) at The Pavilion will resume and we are excited to introduce a new timetable of outdoor fitness classes. Booking for these sessions will open on 22 March. A full timetable for outdoor classes will be available on our classes webpage shortly. We will also be open on the bank holidays Good Friday, 2 April and Easter Monday, 4 April.

*12 April – The gym will reopen for cardio and weights sessions only, and the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic will continue to offer face-to-face and online physio consultations and once again be able to offer massages and exercise referrals.

*17 May – Our indoor tennis courts at The Pavilion, indoor sports at the Sports Centre and indoor classes will return.

Please note that all sessions will need to be booked in advance. All Kent Sport facilities follow strict social distancing and a mask or face covering is required on arrival, before and after your activity. A mask or face covering is not required during your activity.

*All dates are subject to change and are reliant on Government guidance. Further updates on the reopening of our services will be shared through @UnikentSports on social media as soon as we are able to.

While we wait for the reopening of our services, make sure you check out our Stay Well @ Home webpage for at-home workouts, virtual classes and wellbeing advice.

See our Coronavirus webpage for specific information and FAQs.