Teaching Sustainability: Sustainable Teaching

Registration is now open for Teaching Sustainability: Sustainable Teaching, a one-day event taking place on Friday 1 March in Keynes College focused on sustainability in the curriculum.

Hosted by William Rowlandson, Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies for the Department of Modern Languages, and Catherine Morris Environmental Adviser in the Estates Department’s Sustainability Team, the event is open to both staff and students and interested staff from professional services departments are welcome to attend.

The principle objective of the conference is to develop networks among staff and students across the University and in other institutions, in order to provide a common platform for contributing to the embedding of the UN Sustainability Development Goals in the University’s curriculum.

Following the University’s commitment to embed sustainability into all areas of operation, this event will feature speakers from across the sector giving insight into how these issues have been addressed at different universities. The event will cover a wide range of approaches including the creation of stand-alone sustainability modules, incorporating sustainability topics into existing teaching and utilising pedagogy to embed sustainability skills. This will be followed by opportunities for students and staff to look at ways these approaches can be employed at Kent, and to begin the process of co-creation of curriculum content.

The conference is supported by Professor April McMahon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Education, through the Teaching Enhancement Small Support Award (TESSA). Further support has been provided by Chloé Gallien, Master of Keynes College, as part of Keynes College’s 50-year anniversary celebrations.

More information and links to registration for the event can be found via this conference blog.

Students develop their LinkedIn skills with LinkedIn Live

On 29th January 2019, the Employability Points Scheme, Kent Union JobShop and SU Network co-hosted LinkedIn Live, where students gained the chance to meet and hear from industry experts on how to develop their LinkedIn profiles.

With over 100 students in attendance, informative talks were given by Mark Gaisford (Founder & CEO of RedSprout), Becky Simms (CEO of Reflect Digital), Ralph Meyer (Global Senior Customer Success Manager at LinkedIn), Jade Pluck (LinkedIn Trainer & Coach) and Molly Wright (Founder of Molly Moodle Media).

Speakers provided expert guidance on how to write an eye catching CV, how to ensure a LinkedIn profile stands out and how to network effectively through this online platform.

Additionally, students gained the chance to network with employers and have their portrait photos taken for their new profiles.

For further information on future LinkedIn Live events, please join the MeetUp group.

 

Guinness World Record Attempt: Paper Hearts

Everyone welcome to the Guinness World Record Attempt – FREE – Book now!

Sport and Exercise Students are attempting to achieve a Guinness World Record right here in Medway. All are welcome to the FREE event on Saturday 9 February.

From over 40 different groups, thousands of people have been involved across the universities, campus, and local community to create over 50,000 origami hearts, which will be displayed as a walk-through model of a heart. The project has taken about a year from start to finish and the main record breaking event is taking place here, in under two weeks.

Book your FREE ticket:  or it’s 4 clicks to book on Facebook.

We’re here, we’re queer, and we want to hear your stories!

The University of Kent’s LGBT+ Staff Network is looking to publish Gay as in Happy, a collection of interviews and personal stories that focus on LGBTQ+ members of staff, students, and the wider community. Gay as in Happy will be published as a book and excerpts will be featured on social media platforms.

We want to provide a positive outlook on coming out and on being queer in a predominantly straight world. Why? Because it is crucial to live in hope and to know that a fulfilled life as a queer person is possible (and, dare we say it, desirable). Sharing positive stories gives us hope and allows us to imagine happy endings for ourselves and for our loved ones. Thus, hope becomes a radical act. Because to imagine a better life is an important step towards creating a better life.

In order to make this happen, come and speak to us! We are looking for contributors who want to share their positive experiences about coming out and being out. If you would like to get involved, or to simply find out more, please email lgbtqbook@kent.ac.uk . You can find out more and get involved at the Researching The Rainbow Conference, Grimond Building on 16th Feb 2019.

Podcast interview with Vice-Chancellor, Professor Karen Cox

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, interviews the University of Kent’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Karen Cox.

Karen talks about her background in nursing, and having very strong early childhood memories of Christmas. Karen also describes how she looked up to Margot Fonteyn, and recounts other memories of growing up. These include: recording the charts on a Sunday; who her ‘nursing hero’ is; the eclectic nature of today’s politics; her reaction to the result of the 1979 General Election; who her favourite radio presenter is; why radio is a ‘security blanket’ and how she still has dreams and takes comfort from thinking about what might be around the corner.

History of Art intern partnership with Canterbury Museums and Galleries

The Department of History of Art is delighted to announce a new partnership initiative with The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, part of the Canterbury Museums and Galleries group, and the Esmee Fairburn Fund to offer nine spring-term internships for our students.

The project will enable Stage 1 and Stage 2 students to help research and record the museum’s extensive art collection which includes work by Henry Moore and David Hockney in addition to a wide selection of Old Master material. Volunteers will also be asked to contribute to strategies for sharing the archive contents with members of the public.

Canterbury Christ Church University will be offered a further nine places under the scheme which is funded until August.

Canterbury Museums and Galleries is a National Portfolio Organisation recognised for its health and wellbeing work.  As part of the ‘Happy Museums’ initiative, the project will also explore the personal and experiential benefits of working with exhibition collections and curation activity more broadly.

For further information on the programme, please contact Dr Grant Pooke, Head of History of Art, School of Arts.

Moot Court

Kent is first university in England and Wales to hold paperless moot

Kent will be the first university in England and Wales to hold a paperless moot after being given access to CaseLines, a computerised evidence and courtroom presentation system.

CaseLines helps eliminate paper in courtrooms and gives lawyers, court staff and judges access to legal evidence bundles (including multimedia evidence). It has been used by the UK’s Supreme Court since 2014 and was chosen by the UK Government to digitise all of the criminal courts in England and Wales in 2015. The CaseLines Crown Court Digital Case System is used in all the Crown Courts (and some Civil Courts) in England and Wales.

Kent Law School will use the digital bundling software at its first paperless moot on Wednesday 27 March. The moot is being held to mark the naming of the Law School’s Moot Court in honour of Dr Kennedy Wong, a major benefactor of the Kent Law Campaign. The Kent Law Campaign raised £5m for the construction of the Wigoder Law Building, the building in which the Moot Court is housed.

Four Kent Law School alumni will be returning for the special show moot to act as the advocates for the appellant and for the Crown in a case that involves a threat to the Prime Minister at a party conference.

Joe Chambers, Samuel Davis, Cara Hall and Guevara Leacock will present their arguments before a Court of Appeal panel comprising: barrister Richard Honey (from Francis Taylor Building); the Rt Hon Lord Justice Mummery; Judge Andrew Patience QC; Law School Lecturer (and criminal barrister) Darren Weir; and Her Honour Judge Adele Williams.

The evidence bundles will be available to view by everyone in the Moot Court, including members of the audience with access to a mobile device.

 

 

Sunrise

Philosophy Reading Weekend 2019

The Department of Philosophy is organising its annual Philosophy Reading Weekend, which this year takes place on 23-24 February for a trip to the coast, featuring philosophical talks by fellow students, as well as walks, games, and an evening at the local pub.

This is a great opportunity to relax mid-semester and talk philosophy with other students and staff in an informal setting, spend time doing non-philosophy outdoor activities, and read or chat in the common room.

Tickets are £30. Limited places are available; for further information and to book tickets, visit the Philosophy events page

LGBT History Month 2019

Throughout February we will be observing LGBTQ+ history, and the history of gay rights and related civil rights movement.

The University of Kent, LGBT Staff Network, Kent Union, LGBT Student Network and the Gulbenkian Theatre have brought together a range of events throughout February to celebrate and commemorate LGBTQ+ individuals and history.

Find the full programme of month-long events here.

pubTalk - 11 February 2019

Kent Q-Step pubTALK on palliative care – 11 February

The next Kent Q-Step pubTALK on Palliative Care – Not Just for Cancer? will be given by Professor David Oliver, Tizard Centre, on Monday 11 February.

The talk will take place from 19.00 for 19.30 at The Old Buttermarket, 39 Burgate, Canterbury CT1 2HW. Entry is free.

Palliative care is the active support of people with life threatening illness, considering all aspects of care – physical, psychological, social and spiritual. It is often associated with the care of people with advanced cancer, although when St Christopher’s Hospice was opened in 1967 by Dame Cicely Saunders, patients with other diagnoses were admitted.

Professor David Oliver’s interest has been in the development of palliative care of people with neurological disease and his research and publications have been on this developing field, particularly for people with motor neurone disease. This pubTALK will look at this area and how palliative care, in hospices, hospitals and the community, is developing to care for people with any disease.