Moving Memory to perform ‘Love Grows’

Moving Memory Dance Theatre Company, created by Sian Stevenson, Senior Tutor and Lecturer in Drama and Theatre in the School of Arts, will be performing ‘Love Grows’ at The Gulbenkian, the University’s on-campus commercial cinema and theatre, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 August 2019. The performance is part of the bOing! Family festival 2019.

The show will celebrate love between generations, telling stories of love and friendship which emerged during a series of workshops that have taken place across Kent with four primary schools and four older peoples’ settings. It will feature a combination of dance and a digital installation, bringing together an inter-generational company that will groove its moves promenade style through the festival goers at four points during the day.

‘Love Grows’ will be the second show on an ongoing project, ‘Still Stomping’, developed in partnership with Gulbenkian, Canterbury and Kent County Council, and with funding from the Baring Foundation and Arts Council England’s Celebrating Age scheme.

Moving Memory has built a reputation for creating bespoke projects that offer older people high-quality, creative, movement-led opportunities focusing on animating the stories of the everyday via movement, music, spoken word and digital forms. Their work is targeted primarily at the older generation but from the outset they have worked with younger people as performers, performance assistants, stage managers, digital artists, and filmmakers.

Tickets to the show are free; details of times can be found here.

Further details for the bOing! festival can be found here.

Nostalgia podcast with Fran Beaton

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Fran Beaton.

We learn that Fran was brought up in East Anglia and that there was a strong Welsh dimension to her childhood. The pair talk about the extent to which childhood memories are composite in form and about the change of culture in 30 years around ‘stranger danger’.

Chris and Fran go on to talk about how Kent has changed over the years; different styles of writing; Benjamin Britten operas; what happens when things on wrong on stage at the theatre; travelling on her year abroad; becoming a teacher educator; the value of doing a PGCHE; the EEC and CND; the role of politics in shaping our lives; and gathering around the JCR to watch ‘Monty Python’. They also unpack some of the baggage around nostalgia and the notion of ‘developing resilience’.

Kent Sport student membership update

Kent Sport is excited to announce new student membership options for 2019/20 available to buy online or at the Sports Centre and The Pavilion receptions.

In December 2018, Kent Sport and Kent Union launched the #FitForPurpose survey. Students and staff were able to have their say on Kent Sport membership and what they wanted out of their membership options. We listened to what you said and have made changes to our membership options.

Whether you want an all-inclusive membership or to use the gym and classes or even just to try a new sport – we have options for everyone.

• Premium Plus £245 – For less than £1.50/day, our all-inclusive membership combines the benefits of Premium and Plus. Enjoy discounted physiotherapy and massage, exclusive offers at The Pavilion Café Bar, bike hire, seven-day advance booking, and UNIversal BUCS membership.

• Premium £190 – From just 90p/day, this option gives you unlimited gym access, entry to all fitness classes, free access to our Let’s Play activities, and five-day advance booking. Additional activities available (fees apply).

• Plus £175 – From just 84p/day, this option gives you free access to club training sessions*, intramural sports club entry, free recreational sports bookings, and five-day advance booking. Additional activities available (fees apply).

• Pay to Play £5 – Our low commitment option gives you the flexibility to play when you want, with a £4.50 fee per session.

Make sure you check the benefits table to see what is available for each membership option.
“Over 2,500 students and staff filled out the survey, so thank you so much for making your voices heard! We hope these changes will greatly enhance the student experience.” – Emily Window, Vice-President (Sports)

We have listened to your requests for a more varied membership offering, giving you the opportunity to get active the way you want. We hope you love the new membership options and look forward to seeing you at Kent Sport!

“I would absolutely encourage all new students to get involved in sport. Even if you’ve not really played sport before coming to campus, there are so many different ones available of varying levels of ability and seriousness. Engagement in sport has 100% been my fondest memory of being at University.” – Ieuan Gale, Scholar of the Year 2018/19

New options are also available to the University of Kent staff, alumni and the public. For more details about all membership options, benefits, and terms and conditions at Kent Sport, visit kent.ac.uk/sports/membership.

To stay up-to-date with the latest Kent Sport news, activities and special offers, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @UniKentSports.

Brush up your language skills or learn British Sign Language

Kent staff are eligible for reduced fees on the eight ‘Language Express’ world language courses run by the Centre for English and World Languages. You can choose from Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish at Canterbury, or French and Japanese at Medway.

The fees for staff are £269 for 40 hours of classes during the autumn and spring terms. Courses start in October and most classes take place in the evening.

As a member of staff, you can apply for 50% funding towards the course fees, whether or not the language studied is relevant to your role at the University. You may be awarded 100% funding if the language studied is directly linked to your current role. Please apply for funding via Learning and Organisational Development

CEWL also offers Level One and Level Two British Sign Language courses. The fees are £458 and £680. Please note that the funding does not apply to these two courses.

Find out more and book your place on the CEWL website

Success at TUCO Awards for Kent Hospitality

Congratulations are in order for the catering team at Kent Hospitality as they were awarded the prestigious ‘Member of the Year’ Award at the 2019 TUCO (The University Caterers’ Organisation) Annual Conference earlier this month, held at the University of York.

The award recognises the institution that has made the most significant contribution to the work of TUCO with Kent praised for their support of framework agreements, attendance at events, training courses, tender working parties and other activities. The other two shortlisted Institutions were the University of Manchester and the University of St Andrews.

Head of Trading, Keith Williams said on the win: ‘Our team are delighted to have won this award reflecting the efforts put in to bring a quality service to Kent. We have played an active role in TUCO over the last few decades, recognising it as the perfect platform to benchmark against competitors, train and develop our team and benefit from leading market research and trend data by remaining up to date on industry standards and contributing to the work of TUCO. To have this recognised is a great honour.’

TUCO is the leading professional membership body for in-house caterers operating in the higher, further education and public sector. They are committed to advancing the learning and development of catering and hospitality teams, and work to provide quality standards, advice and information to those working in in-house catering.

Thank you!

Thank you to the hundreds of staff who took the time yesterday to call the Clearing hotline to help with the stress testing needed to ensure that we were fully functional in time for this morning’s Clearing activities.

Although we offer our applicants a web-first approach, we receive calls to the hotline not just from applicants, but from prospective students asking about a wide range of issues ,from grade outcomes to accommodation, and from those wanting reassurance about their offer of a place.

Thanks to the efforts of staff, and those of the specialist teams in EMS, IS and Estates, we opened the hotline at 07.00 today (Thursday 15 August) confident that it would be able to handle the volume of calls we are expecting.

A special thanks also to the hotline operators, a team of 60 students, for all their hard work in testing the hotline.

Japan Festival 14 August

Come and have a go at Japanese crafts and meet students from Kobe, Kogakkan and Musashino at our free event on 14 August.

You will be able to try your hand at a range of traditional Japanese arts and crafts, such as calligraphy and origami. The event takes place at the Centre for English and World Languages in the Chipperfield atrium from 5pm-6:30 pm. Everyone is welcome!

Link to venue on campus map.

Running Workshop 2019

On Saturday 31 August 10am to 1pm, the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic would like to invite members, non-members and local runners to the fifth informative running workshop. In this workshop, we will be looking at strength and conditioning.

The workshop will be split in to two sessions:

First session: We will re-visit running drills as there is always room for improvement.
Second session: We will look at strength training exercises to improve running performance and reduce risk of injury. For those who wish to practise with weights, this will be available too.

Where: The Pavilion, University of Kent, Canterbury campus, CT2 7SR.

Who: Open to members and non-members. All abilities welcome.

Cost: £10 per person with complimentary tea and coffee on arrival and £5 off your next sports massage or physiotherapy session.

Payment: Must be made before the event by visiting reception at the Sports Centre or the Pavilion.

To register: Either email your application form to: physio@kent.ac.uk or mail / drop it off to the Physiotherapy Clinic.

What to bring: Running gear if you would like to complete parkrun first, plus additional running attire that is both comfortable to sit in during the lecture and then straight into the practical elements.

For more information, please visit our Website.

Hello Kent welcome campaign update

Every year we run our welcome campaign for new and returning students.

This year the welcome campaign is a joint University and Kent Union project and is part of the Hello Kent initiative, an outcome of the Welcome, Induction and Transition project commissioned by Student Experience Board.

The campaign will feature on buses and bus stops, buildings and poster sites, e-newsletters and digital screens as well as t-shirts worn by helpers and even a Hello Kent tent run by Kent Union.

The main welcome website, which includes advice blogs and events, is now live: www.kent.ac.uk/hello

Hello Kent branded images and templates for posters and plasma screens are now available to download from the branding website

Schools will receive printed Hello Kent marketing packs over the next few days.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, contact communications@kent.ac.uk

Alumni theatre company Last Fleet Theatre at the Camden Fringe

Last Fleet Theatre, a theatrical company formed by a trio of Kent graduates, is currently performing a show at the Camden Fringe.

The show is entitled Is This The End For Captain Space? Captain Space has always compared herself to the likes of earth legends Han Solo and Captain Kirk, only much cooler, and with better hair. She has spent her life traversing the galaxy, righting wrongs and having high concept adventures. But when she finds herself in danger, she is forced to ask: ‘Is this the end for me?’

With only the ship’s computer for company, Captain Space faces her greatest challenge yet… herself! Will she be content with all those unsaid goodbyes, unresolved arguments and loves still lost? It is an intimate two-hander exploring love, loss and loneliness in a science-fiction world.

It stars Isobel Hamilton, who recently graduated with a BA (Hons) in Drama and Theatre in July 2019, along with Fergus Macdonald, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Drama and English and American Literature in 2014. The play is written by alumnus Richard Yuill, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Drama and Theatre in 2014.

The show is currently running at the Actors Centre in central London until Saturday 10 August, starting 6.15pm. There will be a 2.30pm matinee on the final Saturday. Tickets cost £12/£10.

For full details, please see the page here.