The Student’s Union (Kent Union) Code of Practice

The Students’ Union (Kent Union) Code of Practice has been updated for 2018.

The Code of Practice governs the arrangements for Kent Union, including the rights of members, opting out of membership and other important information.

Kent Union is a registered charity and therefore subject to the restrictions placed on charities by the law.  Kent Union’s charitable objects are the advancement of education of students at the University of Kent for the public benefit by:

1) Promoting the interests and welfare of students at the University of Kent during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising students;

2) Being the recognised representative channel between students and the University of Kent and any other external bodies; and

3) Providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its students.

If you have any questions about the updated Code of Practice, please contact councilsec-staff@kent.ac.uk.

Technician Commitment logo

Technician Commitment launch event Wednesday 4 July

Learning and Organisational Development invite technical staff at the University to an event to launch the Technician Commitment.

The event will take place at the Canterbury Campus on Wednesday 4 July between 11.00 and 14.00. This will be an informal event, that includes lunch, and will:

  • Launch the Technician Commitment at Kent and generate ideas about how Kent can meet its pledge to technicians
  • Celebrate the contribution of Kent’s technical staff

Representatives from the Technician Commitment and the National Technician Development Centre will be attending.

Please book a place  through the Learning and Organisational Development activities calendar by 19 June 2018.

Staff BBQs, Canterbury and Medway – 20 and 22 June

All University staff are invited to a lunchtime BBQ hosted by the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox.

The lunchtime BBQs will take place on the Registry Lawn in Canterbury on Friday 22 June (12.00 -14.00) and outside No 1 Bistro in Medway on Wednesday 20 June (12.00-14.00).

Please register for either Canterbury or Medway and bring your ticket with you on the day.

Canterbury: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/university-of-kent-staff-bbq-canterbury-campus-2018-tickets-45548241015

Medway: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/university-of-kent-staff-bbq-medway-campus-2018-tickets-45548365387

The RSVP for this event is Monday 18 June, please register as soon as possible as this is a popular event.

Vegetarian and vegan food will be provided, but please do register any other dietary requirements.

The BBQs are free events for staff and we hope to see you there.

Please email events@kent.ac.uk if you have any further questions.

People and Nature

Dr Robert Fish appointed lead editor of major new journal

The British Ecological Society (BES), in partnership with its publisher John Wiley & Sons, has announced the launch of a new international journal.

People and Nature is an open access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed work from research areas exploring relationships between humans and nature.

The journal will be led by Kevin J Gaston, Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Exeter. Gaston will work closely with lead editors Robert Fish, Rosie Hails, Kai Chan and Cecily Maller, and an expert board of associate editors drawn from a wide array of fields that intersect with ecology, including economics, law, geography, sociology and the wider arts and humanities.

Recognising the importance of human aspects in all areas of ecology, People and Nature fosters innovation and experimentation. Authors may use quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies.

Dr Robert Fish, Reader in Human Ecology at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, added: ‘Ecological questions are wrapped up inside a wider set of political, social and cultural concerns and conundrums. This journal will be an important venue for debate and innovation in the complex arena of people-nature interactions.’

People and Nature will open for submissions in June.

Available exclusively online, People and Nature will be published in partnership with John Wiley & Sons, alongside five established journals from the BES, namely: Journal of Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Functional Ecology, and Journal of Animal Ecology.

Follow @PaN_BES for updates.

Irides - Dr Aki Pasoulas

SMFA’s Dr Aki Pasoulas has work selected for International Sound & Music Conference

Dr Aki Pasoulas, Director of Programmes (Music), Director of Education, and Director of MAAST (Music and Audio Arts Sound Theatre) in the School of Music and Fine Art, has had his electroacoustic composition Irides accepted in the peer-reviewed conference Sound & Music Computing (smc2018) with the general theme Sonic Crossings.

The concert will be held in Limassol, Cyprus, between 4 and 7 July. Keynote speakers include renowned composer Trevor Wishart.

Find out more on the conference website.

 

 

 

Irides (which literally means rainbows), was premiered on 24 April 2017 at the Sound of Memory symposium at Goldsmiths Great Hall, London. It has been subsequently selected for performances at the ISSTA (Irish Sound Science and Technology Association) conference at Dundalk, Ireland, at the Sound/Image conference in London, at the ICMC2017 (International Computer Music Conference) in Shanghai, China, and at the Helicotrema festival in Venice, Italy, in a concert curated by Hildegard Westerkamp.

 

 

 

Aki Pasoulas is an electroacoustic composer, whose works are regularly performed worldwide.

 

 

 

Also see https://www.kent.ac.uk/smfa/news.html?view=2609

Student voter registration

Want to make sure your voice is heard in the next election? Register to vote with your new term-time address on your return to University.

Why do I need to register?
You will be deleted from the electoral register at your existing student address during July / August this year.

When can I register?
When you return to Canterbury in September / October, you will need to register to vote (www.gov.uk/register-to-vote) giving your new term-time address.

What if I don’t want to use my vote?
If you return and decide that you do not wish to register to vote in Canterbury, please send an email to electoral.services@canterbury.gov.uk giving your name, address and stating why you do not wish to register to vote.

When is the next election?
The next planned election for the Canterbury area is the City election which will be held on Thursday 2 May 2019.

Student Success Project – Mainstream Initiatives Launch

We are delighted to invite you to the next Student Success launch on Wednesday 27 June. At this event, we will be launching the improved Student Success Dashboard – QlikView Phase 2, SStaRT: the  Student Success Resources Toolkit, and the highly anticipated Progress Profiles

Programme

13.30-13.45 – Arrival and refreshments
14.00-14.30 – Student Success Dashboard – QlikView Phase 2
14.30 – 15.00 – SStaRT: Student Success Resources Toolkit
15.15  – 16.00 –  Progress Profiles demo and questions

Student Success Dashboard – QlikView Phase 2

  • The second version of the Student Success QlikView dashboard, which can provide data about school cohorts, is released with added functionality, and granularity
  • Access to the SSP Dashboard is strictly limited, so this is your opportunity to see what data is available to you and find out who has access in your department

SStaRT: the Student Success Resources Toolkit

  • Come and find out how the new toolkit can help you find the best initiatives for your school
  • Hear how to contribute your own activities and best practice to the toolkit

Progress Profile

  • See the long awaited Progress Profiles and learn how they can support Academic Advisor meetings
  • Hear when they will be available, and what information they will contain

For more information and to register for this event and to see the agenda please visit our EventBrite page.

This event is free and open to all Kent staff.

 

Staff in Registry 3

Project Management Training

Learning and Organisational Development will be running a two-day Project Management training course on 27 and 28 June.

Objectives and learning outcomes are as follows:

  • understand the need for a consistent approach to project management within the University
  • use the underlying principles contained within the University of Kent project management framework on all future projects
  • work with a colleague post course to develop your personal action plan
  • communicate the new project management approach to colleagues and partners within the University

If you would like to attend a session, please email the Learning and Organisational Development Team ldev@kent.ac.uk

The roundhouse perspective

The Green Room: From tree to building

A University of Kent Crowdfunding Platform is being launched by the Development Office to support student projects at Kent.

First up are a group of enterprising students who are raising money to build an environmentally sustainable round wooden timber-framed building – using materials taken from the University’s own coppiced woodland.

This exciting project will create a teaching, learning, and social space set within an ethnobotanical garden. They need your help to prepare the site, assemble the circular structure, add the roof, and then design and construct the floor and walls.

You can follow their progress on Facebook or on Twitter @tree2_b

The crowdfunding launches this weekend!

Debarking

 

New Findings on Scientific Productivity workshop

Workshop: New Findings on Scientific Productivity – 27 June

A half-day workshop on ‘New Findings on Scientific Productivity’ is being organised by the School of Economics on Wednesday 27 June.

The workshop aim is to promote an exchange of knowledge and ideas between academics and other stakeholders in the area of science, research and innovation.

The workshop will take place in Darwin Conference Suite, Canterbury campus, starting with lunch at 12.00 and ending with a conference dinner at The Goods Shed, Canterbury.

The workshop will include presentations on:

  • Impacts of academic conferences in scientific productivity
  • Research funding and academics’ behaviour
  • The role of gender on collaboration decisions
  • The trends of ageing in science
  • Incentives and academics’ productivity

For more information about the workshop, talks and presenting papers, click here.

Registration is open and free via this link.