Get involved with the leadership development programme

T&OD are pleased to share with you details of a new leadership development programme and invite you to identify proposed participant to take place in the first cohort, starting in April 2022.

The leadership development offer has been reviewed and a gap for operational and first-line managers developing into a leadership role was identified.

The programme ‘Stepping up’ is proposed to address this gap.

The Stepping Up programme has been designed for members of staff with general people management experience over and above basic procedural knowledge and skills. These individuals will either be new staff or have been identified as having the potential to progress to a more senior management/leadership role. 

The brochure outlines the programme, including session dates and programme content. This is aligned with current and future organisational requirements, contemporary leadership and management practice. 

The programme is open to academic and professional services colleagues.

There will be a maximum of 15 people on the first intake, with plans to run further cohorts starting in both September and January. 

Within the brochure you will find a nomination form which needs to be filled out by the applicant and a statement of support will be required by their manager (Word version here). 

Please complete and return the form to the T&OD team (Ldev@kent.ac.uk) by 1st April 2022. They will confirm the cohort by the 8 April 2022. 

The most indulgent day of the year is almost here again. Nothing is more irresistible than a stack of pancakes, drizzled in maple syrup, slathered in Nutella, or spritzed and sprinkled with traditional lemon and sugar.

Shrove Tuesday falls a little later this year, which means we’ve all had plenty of time to practice our pancake flipping skills (in theory). But if you would rather leave the hard work (and washing up) to the experts, here’s where you can get your pancake fix…

Gulbenkian Café (Gulbenkian Arts Centre)

10.00 – 16.30 (whilst stock lasts)

American style pancake stack topped with:
– Bacon and maple flavour syrup £4.50
– Chocolate and banana (V) £4.50
– Apple, cinnamon, golden syrup, strawberry coulis, and soya yoghurt (Ve) £4.50

Mungo’s (Eliot College)

9.00 – 21.00 (whilst stocks last)

*HALF PRICE PANCAKES ALL DAY*

American style pancake stack topped with:
– Blueberry and maple flavour syrup (V) £2.25
– Bacon and maple flavour syrup £2.25
– Banana and honey (V) £2.25
– Nutella (V) £2.25
– Nutella and banana (V) £2.25

Vegan pancakes also available – just let a member of staff know.

V – Vegetarian | Ve – Vegan

Woody’s – Pancake Challenge

You can also head to Woody’s for their special pancake day menu. And join Woody’s later in the evening to see 12 people complete in the Woody’s Pancake Challenge and be in the chance of winning £100. 

Did your family come to Britain from South Asia in the 30s, 40s, 50s or later? Are you proud of both your British and South Asian heritage? Do you have a family history and story that you would love to share?

South Asian Heritage Week is being celebrated for the first time at Kent from the 28 March to the 1 April.

Alongside an exciting programme of events and activities taking place, we are looking to create an oral history exhibition exploring the culture and heritage of our British South Asian students and staff and are looking for students and staff participants. 

We are looking for stories and photographs showcasing family life, both in South Asian and in Britain, from the first day at school to the last day at work, from going on holiday to a family celebration.

We are particularly interested in the migration stories of your grandparents or great-grandparents, told either with their words or the words of other family members about their journey to Britain.

Key questions to explore could be:

• How did you come to Britain?
• Why did you choose to come to Britain?
• What were your expectations versus reality?

We will be turning your family heritage into a display in Keynes Atrium to run throughout the duration of the week.  You can submit your stories either as a word document or as an oral recording.

The featured image in this story is a family photo from our Student EDI Officer Becky Lamyman, showing her grandmother, mother and uncles. We’d love to see your family photos too.

We are very interested in photos, including those of family life both in South Asian and in Britain right up to modern day. These can be submitted independently of a story if preferred.  Please submit these in a digital format with a relevant caption. 

If anyone is interested in writing a blog post about their memories, identity, family traditions or any other topic then these would also be most welcome.

Please do ensure that you have permission from the relevant family members to share the stories and pictures.

If you are interested in taking part, or if you want more information, please contact Becky Lamyman, Student EDI Officer on rsl7@kent.ac.uk for a participation form. 

The deadline for all entries is Wednesday 9 March 2022.

Join us on March 23 from 16:00 for the latest in the Stephen Gray lecture series.

The Stephen Gray Lectures are a series of talks named after one of Canterbury’s most prominent scientists. Gray had a broad range of interests spanning from solar astronomy to palaeontology but he is best known for his seminal experiments demonstrating electrical conduction and insulation (1729). The lecture takes place annually at the University of Kent’s main campus in Canterbury. It is organised by the university’s Division of Natural Sciences.

This March the series bring to you a talk by Professor Dame Jane Francis. This free hybrid event will be held on Zoom and in person (Covid permitting) with an opportunity to put forward your questions. Join us on March 23 from 16:00-17:30. During this public talk Dame Jane will discuss the topics of ‘Greenhouse to Icehouse: fossils of forests and dinosaurs amid icesheets of Antarctica’.

Submit your questions for Professor Dame Jane Francis

After the lecture, Professor Francis will be joined by a panel of experts from the University of Kent for a round-table discussion of questions posed by audience members. If you have questions for our panel of for Professor Francis, you can forward them to Natsnews@kent.ac.uk in advance of the event. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions during the event itself.

About Professor Dame Jane Francis

Professor Francis is Director of the British Antarctic Survey, a research centre of the Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI-NERC). She is involved with international polar organisations, such as the Antarctic Treaty and European Polar Board, and on several advisory boards of national polar programmes.

Jane Francis is a geologist by training, with research interests in past climate change. She has undertaken research projects at the universities of Southampton, London, Leeds and Adelaide, using fossil plants to determine the change from greenhouse to icehouse climates in the Polar Regions over the past 100 million years. She has undertaken over 15 scientific expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica in search of fossil forests.

Jane was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in recognition of services to UK polar science and diplomacy. She was also awarded the UK Polar Medal by H.M. The Queen is Chancellor of the University of Leeds, and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Tickets for this event are free, and you can book an in-person or virtual ticket on our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stephen-gray-lecture-series-guest-starring-professor-dame-jane-francis-tickets-265079719577

Professor Darren Griffin is raising money for the Donor Conception Network and Fertility Network UK by running… A LOT! Darren is a self-professed non athlete, but is challenging himself for these amazing causes.

Infertility affects 1 in 6 people of reproductive age all over the world. The Fertility Network UK is a unique national charity that provides free support for people experiencing fertility related issues. The charity has been running for over 2 years and provides a sorely needed, unbiased service that helps people deal with the repercussions of infertility.

The Donor Conception Network is a supportive charity network for families with children conceived with donated sperm, eggs, and embryos; alongside those thinking about, or undergoing donor conception procedures and for donor conceived people themselves. The Target:

• The Brighton Marathon on April 10^th
• 9x5K park runs – 3 down 7 to go!
• 2 half marathons the first February 27^th!!!!!
• 10 miles race – Completed in Canterbury
• 3x10km runs – One is Ashford already down!
• Virtual walk “Lands End to John O’ Groats” – 400 miles done!

Dig deep into your pockets, dive behind the sofa and support Darren to reach his target.

Follow Darren on social media as the plan unfolds and use the hashtag #NextGenFertility.

DONATE NOW.  

23 February, 15:00-17:00, Grimond Seminar Room 1 – Workshop and Discussion with Kent Refugee Action Network. 

Recently awarded the Hans Albrecht Foundation Human Rights Award 2022, Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN) work with separated young refugee and asylum seekers who have arrived in Kent alone and are claiming asylum. At this workshop, Dr Razia Shariff (CEO, KRAN) and Osama (a KRAN Youth Ambassador) will talk about the organisation’s core work and about their current efforts to counter the incoming Nationality and Borders Bill.  

Dr Razia Shariff has over 25 years of experience working in senior management in the third sector in London and Kent for arts regeneration, training providers, community empowerment networks and development trusts. She was previously Head of the Knowledge Exchange Team of the ESRC Third Sector Research Centre. She has held several trustee roles for women’s charities.  

Osama is one of the first Youth Ambassadors at KRAN. Originally Syrian, he has been in KRAN as a service user and later as an employee for over three years. He is studying Computer Science.