Acting in accordance with the Higher Education Code of Governance and the Office for Students Audit requirements, the University Council has established a Register of Interests for members of Council and for all staff.  It is at the discretion of individual members of staff what, if any, interests they declare.  It should be noted, however, that declaration provides a protection for the University and individuals against any possible allegations of impropriety.

For the purposes of the Register, an interest is defined to be any financial or other personal interest an individual may have in any relationship or proposed relationship between the University and an external body.  This would include consultancy, employment, directorship or other activity within a commercial concern, shareholding or membership of statutory and public authorities.  Other education establishments and companies with which the University has an actual or potential business relationship should be included, as should any interest that a family member might have that could give the appearance of a conflict, even where no actual conflict exists.

All staff are invited to submit new or updated declarations for incorporation in the 2020/21 Register. Council Secretariat will be pleased to provide confidential advice to any member of staff on this matter.

Documents, including the Policy and a Declaration Form can be accessed on the Council Secretariat website.

The University’s Policy on Personal Benefit can be found here.

Article from Kelsey Laidler-Symes, Travel Advisor | Security & Transport Centre Estates Department

Cycling is good for health and fitness; it’s beneficial to the environment and is a quick, cheap mode of transport in urban areas.

The Staff Cycle to Work Scheme offers employees the opportunity to purchase a brand new bike and accessories from a range of participating local stores at a discounted rate. You will also save on Income Tax and National Insurance contributions, against the cost of the bike, and can even spread the cost over a 12 or 18 month period.

In order to qualify, you must use the bike for at least 50% of your journeys to and from work. To find out if you are eligible visit the staff finance page.

The new cycle scheme provided by www.cyclescheme.co.uk means the purchase hire value has been extended above the previous £1,000 limit. This change in scheme will enable employees to continue enjoying the benefits of a cycle to work scheme arrangement with the opportunity to hire a bicycle plus relevant safety equipment up to the value of £3,000 as a tax-free benefit, through a salary sacrifice arrangement; employees take a reduced gross salary during the hire period thus making savings by paying reduced income tax and national insurance contributions.

Some common FAQ’s can be found on the Employee answers – Cyclescheme Knowledge Base

Please also remember if you are cycling to, from, or around the campus be bright and be seen. Make sure you are visible to motorists. For more information, hints and tips check out the roadwise website.

Microsoft Yammer is coming this month (February)

Yammer, a Microsoft 365 communications tool, is being launched to all staff this month.

About Yammer

Yammer is a workplace based social network, similar to Facebook, where friends are colleagues. You’ll see workplace reminders instead of advertisements, and updates are linked to University news, events, and questions or thoughts shared by colleagues.

It will offer us an informal open staff communications channel, where you’ll be able to:

• Interact with University news by liking and commenting on posts
• Follow other members of staff
• Create or join community groups: these can anything from sports and leisure interest groups such as ‘walking group’ or ‘book-club community’, to groups based on work-related topics and themes. Groups can be open for anyone to join, or private, where requests to join need to be approved

Yammer is part of Microsoft 365. Where Microsoft Teams lets us set up formal collaborative online workspaces with access restricted to members only, Yammer will be open to everyone, and is envisaged to be a more informal communications tool.

What’s next

When we release Yammer, you will be able to access it via office.com or the Yammer mobile app, and we will be releasing further tips for using Yammer in the summer. Yammer is an optional, open, communications tool, and not something that you will need to check on a regular basis, unless you want to!

When you access Yammer, you can search for communities that interest you, and if one doesn’t exist, create one and start having conversations with like-minded colleagues across the University. If you want to find out more about Yammer please take a look at Microsoft Yammer for staff.

Yammer will email you with the latest updates from communities you follow, but you can unsubscribe from these emails if you wish.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Best wishes, 

Information Services 
University of Kent 
helpdesk@kent.ac.uk
01227 82 4888 

Three projects from academic colleagues in the School of Physical Sciences (Division of Natural Sciences) have been awarded New Horizons Grants of £200,000 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The four academics involved are celebrating global acknowledgement after being recognised as part of a ground-breaking new programme to support adventurous, high-risk research. The review process focused on the transformational potential of the research, and the three projects from our academics were amongst approximately 100 funded in the UK.

Dr. Emma Pugh, Lecturer in Physics, School of Physical Sciences, has been awarded an EPSRC New Horizons grant for the project “A New Window for the Control and Measurement of Quantum Systems”. The project aims to create a new type of experimental probe for magnetism in quantum matter which will enable us to simultaneously create and measure new quantum states.

The work is being undertaken in collaboration with Professor Crispin Barnes from the University of Cambridge. Our innovation will combine innovative optical techniques with high pressure methods at low temperatures producing a new measurement system to allow us to study magnetic behaviour in materials.

Dr Gunnar Möller, Royal Society University Research Fellow in SPS, won his grant to design New Platforms for Topological Superconductors, which could open up novel ways of designing quantum computers. The project will also involve Prof. Seyed A. Jafari from the Sharif University of Technology.

Dr Moller’s proposal aims to explore a new platform for creating topological superconducting states of matter. The new systems can also be regarded as analogues of gravitational fields, so could also be used to explore connections with astrophysical settings.

The third successful SPS project come from Dr. Gavin Mountjoy and fellow SPS academic Prof. Anna Corrias. The pair’s project on “Persistent Phosphor Glasses” is designed to create a new type of phosphorescent glass for optical applications.

Modern technology depends on mastery of materials, and functional glasses and glass-ceramics are used in a range of devices in the sectors of communications, healthcare, energy, and aerospace.  The aim of the new project is to make fully dense and transparent materials which can be functionalised with a variety of oxide nanocrystals to overcome the following limitations in the manufacturing of such materials. This project will create an exciting new generation of functional materials through oxide nanocrystal doping of glasses.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “It is critical we give the UK’s best researchers the resources to drive forward their revolutionary ideas so they can focus on identifying solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as climate change.

“This government funding will allow some of our brightest mathematicians and physicists to channel all their creative ingenuity into achieving potentially life-changing scientific breakthroughs – from mathematics informing how we save our rainforests to robotics that will help track cancer faster.”

New Horizons grants were evaluated without knowing the identities of the project leaders or their institutions which highlights the recognition given to the science behind the proposals, and demonstrates how the School is delivering world class research with a real-world impact.

Welcome to Philip Pothen as he starts work this week as the new Director of Engagement. For the last 15 months, Philip has been the Acting Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at De Montfort University, with a wide-ranging portfolio including reputation management and communications, having joined the University in 2015 as Deputy Director, and Associate Director of Communications. 

Prior to working at DMU, Philip worked for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) where he was Head of Communications and Public Engagement.  While there, he was responsible for the promotion of major initiatives involving public policy, the creative economy and the arts and culture sector and for setting up and developing partnerships with the BBC, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Wikimedia and the Cheltenham Festival, among others. Prior to that, he worked for Jisc, promoting the use of technology in higher education and research during an exciting time of change for the sector as it embraced the use of ICT in learning, teaching and research. 

He has qualifications in PR and teaching, having taught in both higher and further education, has a D Phil in Philosophy from the University of Sussex, and authored a recently republished book entitled Nietzsche and the Fate of Art.

Philip says: ‘I’m delighted to be joining the University of Kent at this time and I’m very much looking forward to working with colleagues to help take forward Kent’s exciting ambitions as a civic university. It’s clear there’s already so much great work going on and I’m excited to be supporting this really important area of the University’s work. Thank you to everyone for the very warm welcome!’

With our new Divisions and team structures now largely in place, our ongoing focus in the months ahead will be on how we work together across the University so that each team has the tools they need to thrive. 

Alongside major projects like KentVision and the continued rollout of Microsoft 365 online collaboration tools, we want to hear from you on what we could be doing differently to simplify and improve the way we work. With help from staff across the University, the Project Management Office is working to map our processes and see if there are new or simpler ways we could be doing things so we all have more time to focus on the best of what we do. 

Everybody at Kent can have a part to play in this work, and we want to gather your thoughts, big or small, on what changes we need to make our day-to-day jobs more straightforward. If you’ve got an idea, let us know via the form on the How We Work staff webpages. 

The Project Management Office will collate these suggestions before updating on what we will prioritise in the weeks and months ahead. We will shortly also be launching an online tool which will highlight all of the suggestions that have come in from staff, along with what is being done about them – whether it is a quick fix, part of a longer-term project or something we can tackle another way. 

We will also provide regular updates over the coming months and hold ongoing engagement events so that all teams across Kent have the chance to feed in their thoughts. 

Ray Short, Head of the Project Management Office, said: “Nobody knows better than all of you what the little headaches are that stop us all working as well as we can. With our new structures in place this is the perfect time to focus on what we could be doing better – whether they are improvements, changes, or even whole new processes that could benefit you, your colleagues, your students or the wider University as a whole. Let us know your thoughts and we look forward to working with you on the things we need to fix!’. 

Submit your suggestion for how we could do things differently 

Find out more about our focus on How We Work 

As you know, the Prime Minister has confirmed that the earliest date for the return of schools and universities in England is Monday 8 March, depending on public health advice. For us, any return to face-to-face teaching is likely to be staggered, with the prioritisation of groups such as finalists or those who need specialist facilities. However, this very much depends on the outcome of the Government’s review of the current restrictions, which is currently scheduled for the week of the 22 February 2021.

To ensure that we are best placed to respond to a possible return to campus from 8 March, if we are allowed to and it is safe to do so, Richard Reece, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience), working through Silver Command, is setting up a task and finish group, comprised of Division Directors of Education and Student Engagement and Experience leads.

This group will build on our previous work and set out plans to enable a safe return.  Part of this work will be engaging with staff to allow them to plan out their teaching and examining activities for the rest of the academic session. We will continue to keep staff and students informed of our progress in this area.

I appreciate that, while this latest news provides us with a direction of travel, it does not give us the certainty we would like to have at this time. There is no doubt that such ongoing uncertainty is affecting both staff and students, and we are committed to ensuring our plans are centered on the need to protect the health and wellbeing of our entire community.

The pandemic has affected all our mental health in one way or another, and I wanted to draw your attention to Time to Talk day which takes place next week. A national initiative, its aim is to show how small conversations about mental health can make a considerable difference and there are several ways you can get involved here at Kent.

A project team including staff from across the University is also putting in place the recommendations from the Stevenson / Farmer Thriving at Work review, which focuses on mental health in the workplace standards. Over the coming months, the team will be raising awareness of resources already in place to support staff, along with establishing networks, training and support. This measure will add to our already considerable range of resources and support for staff that can be found our staff webpages.

I thank you all for your hard work and dedication at this difficult time,

My best wishes go to you and your families,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Academic mitigation

A new Academic Mitigation Group has been established to plan for and coordinate issues relating to students’ academic performance and progression during this academic year. Led by Professor Richard Reece (Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience), the group brings together divisional and professional service staff with working groups currently focussing on four areas:

• No detriment measures
• Online assessments and examinations
• Timetabling
• Review of consumer law compliance as requested by the Office for Students.

The first outcome of the group was to confirm details of the current coursework extension available for students which is outlined in the Student Coronavirus webpages. Outcomes from the Group will continue to be shared with staff before being communicated to students and we hope to have the first overview of our no-detriment plans and processes early next week.

Regular Covid-19 testing

Taking part in regular testing is an essential part of the Government’s strategy to combat the spread of Coronavirus. According to Government guidance, any staff working on campus should be tested twice a week. You can book to have your tests at our Canterbury Asymptomatic Testing Site or at the facility at the Deep End at Medway. Testing facilities are also available in the community and relevant sites are listed on the Kent County Council and Medway Council websites.

Further information about asymptomatic testing is available on our Staff Coronavirus webpages.

Our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services and provide useful advice and support, including weekly webinars.

This week’s (Monday 1 February – Friday 5 February webinars are as follows:

Monday 1 February 2021 – ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link.

Tuesday 2 February 2021 – ‘Resilience during the Pandemic‘
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 3 February 2021 – ‘Children’s Mental Health Awareness’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 4 February 2021 – ‘The Benefits of Counselling’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 5 February 2021 – ‘Living with someone with COVID-19: Tips for the Home’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

The Music department is pleased to announce the launch of their Zoom for Thought: Music Department In Conversation series, starting on Wednesday 3 February. This sequence of livestreamed interviews with luminaries from the music industry is one not to miss, with the first featuring soprano super-star Rachel Nicholls.

Rachel will be In Conversation with Head of Music Performance, Dan Harding, on Weds 3 February at 19.30, and everyone is welcome to watch what promises to be a fascinating insight into the working life of one of the country’s foremost sopranos. The entire series will be free to watch from the Music department’s YouTube Channel.

Livestreamed every fortnight, during this series viewers will be able to submit questions if they wish.