Planned Future are returning this academic year to facilitate further pre-retirement and mid-career sessions for all staff who want to plan ahead.

Pre-retirement workshops

The suggestion for the pre-retirement session is for staff who are aged 50+, but all staff are welcome.

We have three pre-retirement sessions available. One full day workshop and two bite size sessions.

The objectives of the full day workshop are:

• How to approach retirement and the change in lifestyle that it will bring
• Have a better knowledge of managing the financial side of retirement
• Have had the opportunity to network with colleagues who are also looking ahead

We have one full day session on Tuesday 19 May 2020.

The bite size sessions only cover the financial side.

The bite size sessions are on Monday 20 January 2020, at the Medway campus, and Tuesday 7 July, at Canterbury. As always, all staff are welcome to attend at either site.

Mid-career workshops

We have one bookable mid-career session on Tuesday 19 May.

The objectives of the mid-career session are:

• Learn how to manage your finances
• Understand how to protect your family financially
• Consider the options for saving and investment
• Learn how to top-up your pension
• Identify the personal and financial actions which will make the most of your finances
• Start the process of planning towards a successful retirement.

Please book your place for any of the workshops, through Staff Connect.

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning and Teaching Network session titled ‘Intelligibility support for international staff’ on Wednesday 30 October, 13.15-14.30 in Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6.

Presented by Rebecca Coleman, this workshop looks at intelligibility support for international staff and support staff at the University of Kent. 

We aim to highlight the importance of these staff members being clearly understood and present common issues that they may face. There will be the opportunity to discuss intelligibly issues that you have encountered and individually and in groups look at ways of improving them.

Further support offered by the Centre of English and World Languages (CEWL) in this domain will be mentioned at the end of the session.

Complete the online booking form to confirm your attendance.

If you enjoy playing film music and scores from classical musicals, come and try the Pops Orchestra at its first rehearsal!

An informal weekly play-through of popular film and musical scores (and conducted with varying degrees of success by the Deputy Director Music) Pops Orchestra is an informal ensemble open to all students, staff and alumni – no audition required!

Join us on Thursday 24 October at 1pm for an hour-long session including music from ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and more, and turn your lunchtime into a musical journey across the silver screen…

New Modern Languages module SCL505 ‘Cultures of Sustainability’ has been inaugurated with an extra-curricular discussion about permaculture and the planting of an apple tree.

To mark the new module, permaculture expert Jo Barker held an informal discussion in the Kent Community Oasis Garden about the principles of permaculture, and the planting of a Red Falstaff heritage apple tree.

This was followed by a foraging walk, identifying the variety of hedgerow plants and ‘weeds’ that are edible and nutritious.

School Sustainability Champion and Module Convenor, William Rowlandson, who organised the session, commented: ‘It is important that we consider the scope of teaching beyond the confines of the seminar room and lecture theatre. Whilst this was an optional session and therefore not attended by all the group, it was a successful event, introducing the notion of the campus as a Living Lab and exploring the principles of permaculture and sustainability from the perspective of the Humanities. We hope to hold more similar events later in the semester and in subsequent years.’

There is still time to book your place on The TEF and Student Engagement Conference scheduled for Friday 8 November 2019 in Woolf Lecture Theatre on Canterbury campus.

The conference is open to all staff at the University. Further details and booking are available on our Teaching webpages.

This term Futsal open sessions run weekly on a Tuesday evening from 17.00-19.00 in the Sports Centre. Staff or students teams and individuals can drop in at any point during the sessions.

Futsal is free for Kent Sport Premium Plus and Plus members; and costs student Premium and Pay to Play members £4.50 per session. All genders welcome. 

What is Futsal?

Futsal is a great opportunity to try a different version of football, a game which so many know and love at Kent. Futsal is played indoors, with a smaller heavier ball; it is generally a quicker paced game which is more reliant on passing skills. Most popular in mainland Europe, Futsal falls in line perfectly with the University of Kent’s European identity.

Email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk for more information.

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