The Timetabling Office has now taken over the booking of central rooms on the Medway campus during term-time. To streamline the process, we have made a number of changes:

• Staff bookings for non-teaching events during term-time should be made via the staff booking form on the Timetabling Office website. Please note that bookings in standard teaching hours (09.00-18.00, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.00-13.00 Wednesday) for 2018-19 can only be made once the timetable has been released to students on 10 September; bookings outside the standard teaching hours can be made at any time.
• Bookings for events during vacation should be made via the Conference Office: email conferences@kent.ac.uk or phone (01227 82) 8000.
• Bookings for PC rooms in the evenings and at weekends during term-time and any time during vacation should be made by phoning (01227 82) 4888 or helpdesk@kent.ac.uk
• Bookings for the meetings rooms in the Rochester building are overseen by the Office of the Vice-Chancellor (Medway) and are requested by emailing: rochesterrooms@kent.ac.uk
• Requests for changes to standard room layouts should be made directly to Estates using the Archibus system. Your school/department will have a member of staff who has access to Archibus. Please ensure that you allow sufficient time in your booking request to the Timetabling Office/Conference Office/VC’s office to allow for the layout to be changed and then returned at the end of your event. If you change the layout yourself, please ensure it is returned to the standard layout as displayed in the room at the end of your booking.

If you have any other queries or concerns, please email timetabling@kent.ac.uk

The Tonbridge Centre has launched its latest programmes of short courses. The programmes are  designed to provide study opportunities for personal interest or self-development, among like-minded people and without formal assessment. Courses include weekday and Saturday lectures, Study Days and weekly courses at Kent’s Tonbridge Centre and Medway Campus. Subjects include French Painting and Culture, Art and Politics, The Treaties of 1919-23, The Cambridge Spies, The Modern Commonwealth, the literature of Zola and Maupassant, and The Grand Tour.

Full details of the programnmes can be found by visiting www.kent.ac.uk/tonbridge and then follow the links to book online. General enquiries may be made by calling 01732 352316 or by email to tonbridgeadmin@kent.ac.uk .

The consultation process between the University and all current and eligible members of USS has now opened, running from 3 September until 2 November at 17.00.

Consultation will consider the cost-sharing proposal required to complete the latest pension valuation, details of which can be found on the dedicated USS consultation website. This consultation is entirely separate to, and will run in parallel with, the work of the Joint Expert Panel (JEP), set up to independently assess the basis of the 2017 valuation.

Several channels of communication have been created to facilitate the local consultation including meetings with staff and union representatives, University-wide communications and Kent’s own dedicated website.

Any questions that cannot be answered by the consultation materials and website can be asked by emailing the Kent HR Consultation team at hrussconsultation@kent.ac.uk

Next week the University will host a world premiere.

A brand new work by internationally renowned choreographer Jasmin Vardimon will be performed first at Gulbenkian, before embarking on a national (and eventually international) tour. There are still tickets available for performances on Thurs 13, Fri 14 and Sat 15 Sep – tickets from Gulbenkian.co.uk or call 01227 769075.

See Medusa for free!

If you are not traditionally a dance fan but interested in finding out more, Gulbenkian are offering you the chance to see Medusa for free. We have ten spaces left in our Introducing Medusa group, which you can join by emailing d.yard@kent.ac.uk

The group will meet twice:

Thursday 6 September, 19.00 – to meet the Jasmin Vardimon team, and discuss Medusa over a drink.

Friday 14 September, 19.30 – free ticket to watch the performance, followed by a chance to meet and chat with the dancers in a special Q&A after the show.

You need to be able to attend both dates and not be a regular dance attender.

The strength of Kent Law School’s ongoing links with its alumni in Canada led to a summer of work experience and an articling placement for Mark Lauriola who is now employed at the offices of Law School alumna Sarita Samaroo-Tsaktsiris in Toronto.

Both Mark and Sarita studied the Law School’s two-year Senior Status LLB; Mark graduated from Kent in 2016 and Sarita graduated in 2005. Sarita is now Principal of her own real estate law firm, SST Law Professional Corporation, and Mark is her first articling student.

Mark first applied for a summer of work experience at Sarita’s firm during his studies at Kent thanks to the support of the Law School’s dedicated Employability and Career Development Officer Jayne Instone. Jayne’s weekly bulletins detail placement and networking opportunities at home and abroad for the diverse international student body at Kent.

Mark said: ‘In the second half of my first year at Kent I began to become familiar with how Canadian firms did their hiring and tried to build a network through the research. In the meantime, Jayne was constantly sending emails to facilitate networking to former Kent students. This made it easier to meet Canadian lawyers who previously attended Kent Law School.’

Mark is keen to encourage other Canadian students who are studying their law degrees in the UK and hoping to practice law in Canada: ‘In all honesty, there will be hurdles but it is possible to overcome those and you can do it. Try hard to get your first opportunity wherever in Canada and go from there. Any experience is good experience. With some luck you’ll be fine. I’m always happy to help Canadian Kent Students, especially in Ontario if they have any further questions on this.’

The University will be hosting its annual Foundation day lecture on 28 September with a talk from The Rt Hon Lord David Willetts.

Lord Willetts is currently the Executive Chair of the Resolution Foundation and Chair of the British Science Association, as well as the Chancellor of the University of Leicester.

Foundation Day is held each year in celebration of the foundation of the University of Kent.

The talk will be held in the Colyer-Fergusson Concert Hall. No booking is required but seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

On the 26 September Kent Innovation & Enterprise are hosting the inaugural Inspire Challenge Excel Conference at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. Marking the first anniversary of the Inspire Challenge Excel Programme (ICE-P) this will be a day of inspiring talks and workshops from a range of speakers and facilitators.

Among the speakers are Kent Honorary Graduate Dr Amanda Cottrell OBE, delivering her talk ‘Suffrage to Ceilings (glass or otherwise)’ which takes a light-hearted but profound look at the journey of women through a century of change and the University’s very own Professor Amalia Arvaniti from the SECL presenting on language and gender. Workshops will be delivered by representatives from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, who have made it onto The Times list of the Top 50 Employers for Women for the last two years, as well as the Business of Brand.

The conference is open to everyone and will be a unique opportunity to learn, develop and network with likeminded individuals.

The programme was launched in September 2017, with a lecture from the inspiring Dr Sue Black. It aims to bridge the gap between the university and business communities and create opportunities to support women in all stages of their lives and careers.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided and you can book your place here: https://bit.ly/2BsuBlX

Thank you to our inspirational alumni and student volunteers who stewarded at the bOing! festival last Saturday as part of the Kent Gives Back project.

You all did a fantastic job! We hope you enjoyed the performances and exhibitions as well!

If you are Kent alumni and are interested in getting involved in future Kent Gives Back volunteering events please contact N.Fleet@kent.ac.uk. Thank you!