We have recently heard about a WeChat scam aimed at Chinese students, where the caller claimed to be from the Chinese Embassy and asked for bank details. You should never give a caller your bank details. Please read this warning from UKCISA about this particular scam.

If you receive an unexpected email, phone call or letter from someone claiming to be from the Home Office, be careful, as it may be a scam. The Home Office has issued new guidance on how to protect yourself from tricks and scams.

Some students have been tricked into paying large sums of money to fraudsters. If you think you might have been contacted by a fraudster, please contact Kent Union Advice Centre.

Dr Oliver Double, Reader in Drama in the School of Arts and Director of the Centre for Popular and Comic Performance, featured on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row last week, to attempt to answer why is the unfortunate mishap hilarious – so long as someone else is falling off the ladder?

Front Row is a magazine programme discussing the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.

‘One of the oldest theories of why we laugh is that we laugh at the expense of somebody else,’ explains Olly, who features 2 minutes into the programme, ‘we can trace this back to Aristotle, who said “comedy is an imitation of men worse than average”. But that’s not really an adequate explanation, in the sense you do laugh at Laurel and Hardy falling over but at the same time they also inspire great affection.”

Olly was interviewed alongside Jonathan Sayer of Mischief Theatre, and stand-up comedienne Natalie Haynes.

The programme may be heard on the BBC’s website.

As part of its commitment to Employability and Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity, the School of Engineering and Digital Arts is delighted to announce that on Wednesday 17 October at 13.00 in Jennison Lecture Theatre, it will be welcoming Dawn Bonfield, MBE to the University of Kent for an inspirational lecture on Inclusive Engineering and Technology.

Inclusion in Engineering and Technology is a competence that allows engineers and technologists to ensure that their work is inclusive of and accessible to everybody.  It is a methodology to ensure that products and services have been designed with 360 degree visibility, and that the needs and requirements of all users – both now and in the future – have been considered. It takes into account traditionally under-represented groups, ensuring that data sets which have been used to inform design are complete and non-biased, and that these groups are represented in the design process, as well as considering the manufacturers, maintainers and users of the finished product or service.

Dawn Bonfield is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University, and Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a Company which aims to work towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering. She is Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), and in 2018 is an Ambassador for the Year of Engineering.

To book your ticket for this event, please book via Eventrbite or alternatively, just turn up. All welcome.

George Mindano is the first PhD student to complete his degree through the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Kent. His thesis investigated students’ understanding of the concept of ‘student voice’ to investigate whether strong group identity influences students’ responses to mechanisms designed to capture this. His findings indicated that student and academics have both varied and multi-dimensional understanding of the ‘student voice’ phenomenon. His study also revealed that while the majority of senior academic leaders maintain that ‘student voice’ has been amplified through various feedback mechanisms, most students think that surveys such as the NSS are not an accurate representation of their voice, with institutional failure to act effectively on their feedback and change practice.

George found doing his PhD at Kent was probably one of his most fulfilling and best experiences ever. ‘I chose University of Kent because of the support and interest I received from my prospective supervisors. I was also lured by Kent’s reputation, location and institution’s willingness to fully support my studies. I received tremendous support from my supervisors (Drs Joanna Williams pictured with George and Janice Malcolm), the Centre for the Study of Higher Education and the Graduate School. I was involved in two research projects and presented at several international conferences, which helped my growth as an early research career’.

In June 2018, George completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with University of Sussex and has returned to Malawi with his family.  He is teaching at University of Malawi’s Polytechnic on part-time basis and also consulting with the Ministry of Education.

The Student Services Department has organised a series of Bitesize talks on various topics this term. The talks are open to all staff and no booking is necessary.

The talks are generally held in Canterbury and we video conference in to Medway.

Bitesize Talks – Autumn Term 2018/19:

• 11 October, 13.10-14:00 , CCLT1 (123)  Understanding Mental Health Difficulties –  Kate Pitchforth
• 15 October, 13.10-14:00, CESR2 / M1-16 The role of the Student Conduct and Complaints Office -Alison Mansell
• 22 October, 13.10-14:00, CESR2 / M1-16  The role of the Resident’s Support Officer        -Stephen Burke
• 29 October, 13.10-14:00, CESR2 / M1-16  Building Student Resilience -Dr Elisabeth Curling/Lorraine Millard
• 5 November, 13.10-14:00, CESR2/ M1-16  The Autism Spectrum-Tom Sharp
• 19 November, 13.10-14:00, CESR2 / M1-16  Sexual Assault and Harassment; A University Response – Becky Wyatt
• 26 November, 13.10-14:00 , CSE109 / M1-16 The role of KU Advice Centre and the Student     -Omolade Adedapo
• 03 December, 13.10-14:00, CESR2 / M1-16   Student Support Services at Medway – Jane Glew / Lynne Regan

From 23 October, you will be able to book on to training run by the Learning & Organisational Development (L&OD) team through Staff Connect, the same system that is currently used for HR and Payroll. Line managers will be able to view and authorise training requests and you will also be able to record your appraisal (RPD).

Staff Connect replaces the current booking system on the L&OD website and local practices for recording appraisals (RPDs). Training provided in other areas of the University will not be affected.

Also from 23 October, line managers will also be able to set up “delegations” in Staff Connect, enabling other members of staff to approve requests on their behalf. They can also nominate different delegates for different people management processes on Staff Connect, e.g. their PA for annual leave requests, and another manager for appraisals if this reflects what happens in practice. User guides for both managers and staff regarding delegation set up and management are available on the Staff Connect Delegation page.

If you have any questions about Staff Connect, there is guidance, including a frequently asked questions section, on the Staff Connect website.

To find out more about using Staff Connect to book on to L&OD training courses and to record appraisals (RPDs), please come to one of the demo and drop-in sessions available for all staff and line managers. Please go to L&OD Staff Connect information to find out more.

This is the latest update in the Staff Connect Phase 2 project. The recording of staff absence, including annual leave, and staff recruitment will go live in early 2019. If you have any questions about the project, please contact staffconnect@kent.ac.uk