Care first webinars – w/c 15 February 2021

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 15 February – Friday 19 February webinars are as follows:

Monday 15 February 2021 – ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link.

Tuesday 16 February 2021 – ‘How Colleagues can support each other whilst Working from Home’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 17 February 2021 – ‘Ways to show Kindness during the pandemic’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 18 February 2021 – ‘Tips to avoid eye strain whilst Working from Home’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 19 February 2021 – ‘Mental Health advice for Older People’
Time: 13.00-13.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Graduate and Researcher College Deputy Dean

The Graduate and Researcher College is delighted to announce that Dr Tim Hopthrow, Reader in Psychology, will be the GRC’s Deputy Dean from 1st April for 9 months. Professor Paul Allain will remain as Dean whilst seconded to REF Sub-Panel 33: Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies. He will continue to focus on the GRC’s new remit for supporting all academic staff who research with Dr Hopthrow focusing on Graduate Studies. Together and with the rest of the GRC team as well as Divisional and PSD colleagues they will be developing the GRC’s new strategy for approval in the autumn, recognising its new scope and updating its mission.

Dr Hopthrow has been Deputy Dean for the Social Sciences, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, a key figure in the development of the university’s Signature Research Themes, and has had extensive involvement in Graduate Studies, at Kent and beyond, in particular for our Social Science Consortium SeNSS.

Professor Shane Weller, who chaired the appointment panel, said “Tim comes with a wealth of leadership experience, and I very much look forward to working with him in this new capacity as the GRC focuses on its wider remit, supporting both our postgraduate community and our researchers throughout their career.”

Valentine’s Day special: vegan Aphrodite’s Desire dessert recipe

Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without something chocolatey and indulgent, so why not round off your romantic dinner with this vegan chocolate mousse? Appropriately named Aphrodite’s Desire, this decadent dessert has been specially created by Kent’s very own Chef de Cuisine, Rob Grimer.

If you’ve never tried a silken tofu chocolate mousse before, this recipe will take you completely by surprise! It’s decadent, rich, velvety smooth, creamy, and unbelievably easy to whip up. You’ll never guess that this dessert is vegan.

You can try different variations of this recipe by adding extra ingredients and toppings, the possibilities are endless. Why not add a dollop of nut butter, some flaked almonds, or a sprinkling of freeze-dried raspberries?

Looking for the perfect main course to wow your loved one? Look no further than Ben Elsbury’s Dolche Vita-style chicken katsu curry.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Kent Hospitality! xoxoxo

Aphrodite’s Desire (vegan chocolate mousse with passionfruit yogurt)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
• 200g silken tofu, drained
• 100g vegan dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tbsp treacle
• ½ lime, juiced
• 2 passion fruits
• 2 tbsp caster sugar or to taste
• 2 tbsp thick vegan yogurt

Recipe:
1. Put the tofu, vanilla extract, treacle and lime juice in a large bowl and blend with a hand blender until silky smooth (you can use a whisk, but it will take slightly longer).

2. Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl sat over a saucepan of simmering water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water.

3. Fold the melted chocolate into the tofu mixture. Spoon the mixture into two special glasses and refrigerate until set.

4. Cut both passion fruits in half and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Mix with the caster sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Fold half the passion fruit mix into the yogurt and leave in the fridge to set for about an hour.

5. To serve, remove the chocolate mousse from the fridge, top with a dollop of passion fruit yogurt, and pour over the rest of the passion fruit sauce. Garnish the dish with some grated chocolate and fresh fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, and tropical fruit will work well for this recipe.

Top tip: If you’re not vegan, you could swap the vegan yogurt for some thick Greek yogurt instead.

Did you have a go at this recipe? If yes, high five! Well done you! Why not share your attempt on Instagram and tag us @unikentfood?

Valentine’s Day special: Chicken Katsu Curry recipe

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so why not wow your sweetheart with a delicious homemade meal?

We’ve asked Kent’s Chef de Cuisines, Ben Elsbury and Rob Grimer, to come up with a scrumptious two-course Valentine’s Day dinner that’ll surprise and delight your loved one. These dishes are low cost and easy enough for any home chef to master, whatever the skill level.

Today we’re going to focus on the main course. For this, Ben’s chosen a student-friendly chicken katsu curry. This Japanese-inspired curry is a decadent treat with its golden, breaded chicken and smooth curry sauce. If you know someone who’s longing for a Dolche Vita-style katsu curry – this is the dish for them!

Getting the panko breadcrumbs to stick to the chicken is probably the trickiest part of this recipe, so take your time and read the instructions well.

Tomorrow we’re going to be publishing the recipe for Rob’s Valentine’s Day dessert, Aphrodite’s Desire, a vegan chocolate mousse with passionfruit yogurt. So, tune in tomorrow for more delicious declarations of love.

Chicken Katsu Curry

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
• Vegetable oil
• 2 chicken breasts
• Juice of half a lime
• 10g coriander, chopped
• 1 egg
• 10ml milk
• 60g panko breadcrumbs.
• 40g plain flour
• 40g chip shop curry sauce mix
• 40g carrot, cut into thin matchsticks or grated
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 50g red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 50g white cabbage, thinly sliced
• 150g jasmine rice
• Salt and pepper
• ½ lime, cut into segments for garnish

Recipe:
1. Prepare all the ingredients and have them ready in front of you – it always makes cooking much easier. Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan and bring two saucepans of water to the boil (one with about 1litre of water for the rice, and one with 250ml of water for the curry sauce – this will be needed later in the recipe.)

2. Begin by preparing the raw slaw. Mix the carrot, red onion, red cabbage, white cabbage, chopped coriander, and lime juice in a bowl together. Season well with salt and pepper and leave in the fridge.

3. Now prepare the breading station. In a shallow bowl, combine the flour with some salt and pepper. In a second bowl, beat the egg and milk together. In a third bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs. Top tip: breading chicken can get a little messy, you might want a bowl of hot soapy water to hand.

4. Slice your chicken breasts in two widthways, starting from the thickest part of the breast. You should now have four thin chicken fillets.

5. Working with one piece at a time, dip each chicken breast into the flour, then shake off the excess. Next, run the chicken through the egg mixture, again, shake off the excess. Finally, dip the chicken into the panko breadcrumbs and coat on both sides. You can gently press the breadcrumbs into the chicken to make sure they stick. Lay the chicken pieces on a plate once done.

6. Heat a good glug of vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add your chicken fillets and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until the breadcrumbs begin to colour.

7. Once golden, transfer the chicken pieces to a baking tray or oven proof dish and cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

8. While the chicken is in the oven, cook the jasmine rice to the packet instructions and add the curry sauce granules to the 250ml of boiling water, stirring well.

10. Once the chicken is cooked, slice the breaded chicken pieces into strips at an angle. To check your chicken is cooked, cut into the thickest part of the meat and check that its firm and white. Put the chicken back in the oven for a few minutes if it still looks pink.

11. To serve, generously heap the jasmine rice onto one side of your plate, add the slices of breaded chicken to the other, pop a little raw slaw on the side, and liberally pour the curry sauce on top. Serve with lime wedges.

Top tip 1: You can adapt this recipe to make it vegan. Simply substitute the chicken for firm tofu and use soy milk instead of the egg mixture.

Top tip 2: Can’t find panko breadcrumbs? You can use regular breadcrumbs instead.

Did you have a go at this recipe? If yes, high five! Well done you! Why not share your attempt on Instagram and tag us @unikentfood?

Covid-19 Hardship Fund – apply now

The Government has launched a new scheme to support current students who have experienced hardship during the coronavirus pandemic. £70m in additional funding is being provided to English universities of which Kent has been allocated £588,000.

The Covid-19 Hardship Fund can be used to support any current students who have incurred unexpected costs due to Covid-19. This could be due to a loss of income, childcare costs, travel or rent.

Phase 1 of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund is now open and current students can apply for a £500 individual award to help their finances. There is a simple application process outlined on the Covid-19 Hardship funding webpage. When applying you’ll be asked a series of questions to make sure you are eligible and asked to include your bank details. If your application is successful, your award will be transferred directly to your bank account.

Applications will close on 16 March 2021, or earlier if the full £588,000 has been awarded.

Please remember that if you have suffered financial hardship this academic year due to coronavirus, there is lots of support available through our range of Emergency Hardship Funds.

Please contact our Financial Aid team or Kent Union’s Advice Service (Canterbury) or GKSU’s Advice Centre (Medway) for more information on what fund may be suitable for you.

Vice-Chancellor’s update – 11 February 2021

Work continues to put arrangements in place to support a possible return to campus from 8 March. We are working on the basis that any return to face-to-face teaching will be phased with the prioritisation of specific student groups. However, any return is dependent on public health advice and we are hoping for more certainty when the Government announces the outcome of its review of current restrictions which is scheduled for the week beginning 22 February.

The Office for Students (OfS) has confirmed that it will be providing additional funding of £50m to the sector to help address student hardship. Of this money, £40m is for rent-related hardship, with the remaining £10m being added to the hardship fund previously announced late last year. Together with Kent Union, we are now working hard to ensure students are aware of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund as well as other sources of emergency hardship funds that we have available.

This week’s severe weather has brought us additional challenges and, on behalf of students and staff who are on campus, I would like to say a special thank you all those in Commercial Services and Estates who have been working hard to keep the Canterbury campus running and clear of snow and ice.

I also wanted to flag the work that is being done by members of the LGBT+ Staff Network who, once again, have organised a series of events to mark national LGBT+ History Month. Established in 2005, the Month provides an opportunity to celebrate LGBT+ histories and cultures. This year’s events include LGBT in Lockdown and This Is Not My First Pandemic, which seek to highlight the impact of HIV/AIDS and Coronavirus, drawing parallels between the two. As the University’s LGBT+ champion, I am hugely appreciative of the work done by members of the Network on top of their already considerable workloads and thank them for all that they do for our community.

With my very best wishes to you and your families,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Allyship Progamme – starting 23 February 2021

Continuing with our ‘Challenging Racism’ campaign, 23 February 2021 sees the start of our Inclusive Allyship Programme as a four part series looking at the values, behaviours and actions of Allies within Kent.

Allies will play a key role in supporting the University to advance its Equality agenda by linking with the staff networks, to support them with events and activities; be driven by staff lived experience and expertise; and support various stakeholders across the University to drive a culture of inclusion.

We continue our partnering with Liverpool John Moores University and City, University of London, and Inclusive Employers in delivering the Allyship programme with a cohort of 40 people across all 3 institutions.

Inclusive Allyship Programme (Part A)

Delivered by Inclusive Employers, the programme will take place over several weeks to allow for reflection and action between sessions. Each session will be one hour long.

Aim of the programme:

Understand what makes an Inclusion Ally and how it relates to three key areas: values, behaviours and actions.
Explore privilege, circles of influence, and the boundaries of the role.
Explore frameworks and techniques to challenge exclusion and have challenging conversations.
Create an individual plan of action.

Session 1 (Introductory Session) – “Welcome to Allies” webinar (23 February 2021 – 11.00)

Values: why are Allies important? – We’ll take a look at the purpose of Allies at the University and the wider context, including anti-racism and structural discrimination.
Behaviours: how do Allies make a difference? – We’ll discuss privilege and power and how this can be utilised to make the workplace more inclusive, identifying the boundaries of the Ally role.
Actions: what do Allies do? – We’ll look at specific projects and initiatives Allies can support, and the actions they will be taking over the next 4 weeks

Further information and a full list of additional dates corresponding to the Allyship programme, can be found on Staff Connect. There are places still available so don’t forget to book your spot!

Covid-19 Update – 11 February 2021

Students’ return to campus

According to the current Government guidelines, universities have been required to suspend face-to-face teaching for the majority of study programmes until at least 8 March 2021. New guidance is due to published during week commencing 22 February 2021. We expect this updated guidance to recommend a probable phased return to campus, prioritising students who need access to specialist equipment or facilities. Divisions are currently developing plans outlining which cohorts of their students should be prioritised for return and will be completing this work shortly.

Our teaching spaces are being reorganised to allow for two-metre social distancing, and this will significantly impact the number of students that can be taught face-to-face in any single session. Assuming the Government does allow students to return to campus, preparatory work will take place in the fortnight before to organise accommodation, HR policies, on-campus facilities and other student-facing areas.

Any additional staff required to work on campus will be contacted by HR at least a week in advance so they can make the necessary arrangements. Further information regarding returning to work on campus is available on the Staff Coronavirus webpages.

Regular testing for Covid-19

As the number of students and staff accessing campus increases, it is vital that regular testing for Covid-19 takes place. The Government recommends that individuals without symptoms are tested twice each week and you can do so at our campus testing facilities at both Canterbury and Medway.

There are currently no reported positive cases of Covid-19 at the University; however, with many students still living off-campus or at their permanent homes, this may not necessarily be an accurate reflection. It is important that all positive cases are reported via the Student and Staff procedures so do please encourage all students and staff to do so.

Since 7 September 2020, there have been 392 reported positive cases among our student population and 33 amongst our staff. These cases reflect community spread rather than transmission through any University teaching and learning activities. This is testament to the hard work and commitment of our whole University community to keep each other safe.

Learn how colleagues are creating and delivering sessions online

The E-Learning Team are pleased to announce that the next event in our series of ‘Digitally Enhanced Education webinars’ will take place on Friday 5 March, from 10.00-12.10, with the theme ‘Pedagogy and Practice when Teaching Online’.

Please find the agenda for the event below:

10.00 – 10.05 – Dr Phil Anthony: Introduction

10.05 – 10.20 – Sideeq Mohammed (University of Kent): Lessons Learned from Teaching a 550-Student Blended Learning Module

10.20 – 10.35 – Pip McDonald (Royal Agricultural University): Indiana Jones and the Temple of Zoom. A Transnational Online Pivot Adventure

10.35 – 10.50 – Dominik Lukes (Oxford University): What should educators know about User Experience and User Interface Design: Lessons for learning and teaching

10.50 – 11.05 – Joseph Berry (University of Birmingham): Digital Fieldwork During Lockdown

11.05 – 11.20 – David Bedford (University of Kent): How academic departments and librarians can work together to help students develop important skills

11.20 – 11.35 – Terese Bird (University of Leicester): Learning Medicine Mobile, Online, Blended, and Hybrid

11.35 – 11.50 – Debbie Holley & John Moran (University of Bournemouth): Creating, supporting and sharing: moving value-based learning online

11.50 – 12.05 – Future Teacher project: Lilian Soon (University of York), Alistair McNaught & Ron Mitchell: Supporting skills in online delivery by modeling good practices

12.05 – 12.10 – Phil Anthony: Wrap-up

If you would like to join the webinar series, please express your interest by enrolling on the Digitally Enhanced Education Webinars Moodle module, or by requesting access to the Team ‘Digitally Enhanced Education webinars‘ linked to the webinar series.

We hope to see you there.

Dr Phil Anthony
Learning Technologist | Division of Natural Sciences & KBS

The Marsh family go viral…again!

Dr Ben Marsh of Kent’s School of History, Danielle Marsh of Kent Business School (KBS) and family have once again recorded a song which has gone viral.

Adapted from Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ their version ‘Totally Fixed Where We Are’ reflects on people’s current feelings and frustrations during the third lockdown.

Becoming internet sensations with their first song ‘One Day More’ back in March 2020, the Marsh family have once again appeared on television for an interview with BBC Breakfast.

You can find a link to their video on our Twitter post or watch their latest performance on their YouTube channel.