Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning & Teaching Network session titled ‘Focus on Quality (Medway)’ taking place on Wednesday 6 December, 13.15-14.30 in Medway Rochester R2.09.

The 2017 Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) creates a new regulatory environment with the Office for Students (OfS) is at its heart. Its aim will be to secure student success by providing risk-based regulation for teaching excellence, social mobility and informed choice in higher education. With the advent of subject level TEF, Dr Louise Naylor will consider the changing role of the NSS and other TEF metrics in establishing teaching excellence.

Dr Silvia Colaiacomo will discuss the process, report and recommendations of the Assessment and Feedback Audit, which was carried out by the University’s Academic Audit Committee in March 2017. As part of the recommendations, some applications and resources developed through the EQUIP (Evidence-Informed Quality Improvement Programme) project will be illustrated, by looking at examples focussing on how to improve assessment and feedback.

Nik Duncan will discuss inclusive design principles and Kent Inclusive Practices (KIPs). KIPs enable academic and professional services departments to embed simple but effective adjustments that can improve the learning environment for all students, reduce the need for retrospective adjustments and lessen the additional workload required to implement individual Inclusive Learning Plans (ILPs).

Participants will be encouraged to share ideas and suggestions about future Medway forums. These can be submitted at the point of registration – see below – for sharing on the day.

To book a place/register, please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

The staff and student Travel Plan Survey 2017 is now open. Complete the survey and enter your University of Kent email address for your chance to win £100 cash card to use at the catering outlets on campus, or one of 100 hot drinks vouchers.

Let us know how we can improve travel to, from and around our campuses. The data from the survey helps shape various reports including the University Travel Plans and the Movement and Transport Strategy which feeds into the Canterbury campus 50 year Masterplan.

This is your opportunity to let the Estates Department know how we can improve travel to, from and around our campuses. Have your say on buses, cycling, parking, the Campus Shuttle and more.

The survey takes between 5-10 minutes to complete. There is also a “finish later” option if you need to return to complete the survey. The survey closes Friday 8 December 2017.

The staff and student Travel Plan Survey 2017 is now open. Complete the survey and enter your University of Kent email address for your chance to win £100 cash card to use at the catering outlets on campus, or one of 100 hot drinks vouchers.

Let us know how we can improve travel to, from and around our campuses. The data from the survey helps shape various reports including the University Travel Plans and the Movement and Transport Strategy which feeds into the Canterbury campus 50 year Masterplan.

This is your opportunity to let the Estates Department know how we can improve travel to, from and around our campuses. Have your say on buses, cycling, parking, the Campus Shuttle and more.

How long does the survey take?
The survey takes between 5-10 minutes to complete. There is also a ‘finish later’ option if you need to return to complete the survey. The survey closes Friday 8 December 2017.

SMFA’s Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and acclaimed award-wining contemporary visual artist, Adam Chodzko, is one of eight artists featured in Slow Violence, an exhibition, symposium and events developed collaboratively by UHArts and the Contemporary Arts Practice Group, School of Creative Arts, University of Hertfordshire.

The artists will reconsider the prevalent and far-reaching threat of climate change. The Symposium, which is free, is on Wednesday 29 November from 10.30 to 16.00, and brings together a diverse roster of speakers from the fields of environmental psychology, visual arts and business.

The Exhibition Opening Reception is also Wednesday 29 November, and then runs until 20 January 2018.

For venue, opening hours and more info http://www.uharts.co.uk/whats-on/2017-autumn-and-winter/slow-violence

Exhibiting internationally since 1991, Adam Chodzko works across media, from video installation to subtle interventions, with a practice that is situated both within the gallery and the wider public realm. http://www.adamchodzko.com

Venue:

Art and Design Gallery, College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB
+44 (0) 1707 285395 | uharts@herts.ac.uk | www.uharts.co.uk

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday 09.30-17.30, Saturday 09:30 to 15.30. Admission free.

Colleagues are invited to attend the Learning and Teaching Network session taking place on Friday 8 December,  from 13.15-14.30, in the UELT Seminar Room.

Presented by Dr Anthony Manning, Dean for Internationalisation, the session will focus on Curriculum Internationalisation and how this can be embedded in your academic practice at module level.

It will provide an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of what is meant by internationalising the curriculum and to reflect on aspects of internationalisation which are already present in your provision in relation to taught content, teaching approaches and assessment.

Throughout the session, examples of good practice will be shared and discussed. Time will be allocated for questions and to provide support to staff working on module specifications.

This session will be of particular interest to staff who updates their module specifications or are planning to write new programmes. Staff are encouraged to bring their module specifications to the session. All staff are welcome to attend.

To book a place please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

The Centre for Mental Health recently published a collaborative report on NHS mental health services – and SSPSSR student Amy Hardie was involved in the project.

For over 30 years, the Centre for Mental Health, as the charity is now known, has conducted and disseminated research about understanding, current practice, knowledge, services and solutions in the mental health landscape. Working with the NHS Benchmarking Network, the Centre for Mental Health briefing paper is a detailed analysis of NHS data.

Amy joined the charity for her year in Professional Practice as part of her BSc Social Sciences degree. Amy’s role was as Policy Research Assistant and she quickly realised that she was analysing data and drawing conclusions that had national significance and impacted on government policy.

Andy Bell, Deputy Chief Executive of the charity says of Kent’s professional placement year: ‘We benefited enormously from Kent’s placement scheme. It boosted our capacity to get important messages across to policy-makers in Government, in Parliament and more widely across the country. It extended our analytical capacity and our ability to respond quickly to consultations, inquiries and debates. We recommend the placement scheme to any charity wanting to make a difference nationwide.’

Amy’s work throughout the year centred around data analysis which formed the basis of the ‘Mental Health NHS Benchmarking Network Data for England and Wales: the last five years in adult and older adult mental health services’ (Bell et al., 2017).

Amy says: ‘I am humbled to have been a part of this project as it is expected to have substantial impact and add to the growing evidence base developing around a current lack of mental health services available in secondary care.’

A year in professional practice is available to Criminal Justice and Criminology and Social Sciences students; for more information contact SSPSSR Placements Co-ordinator, Ellie Jupp.

Colleagues are invited to attend the next session of the ‘New Approaches to Teaching for Experienced Staff at Kent’ taking place on Tuesday 5 December, 12.55-14.00 in the UELT Seminar Room.

Presented by Dr Stefan Rossbach, School of Politics and International Relations and winner of the Social Sciences Faculty Teaching Prize 2017.

Given that for some time now, students have had access to mobile, networked devices that allow them to draw on vast quantities of information at any point in time, it is not original any more to suggest that ‘the teacher’ is no longer the centre of knowledge in classroom situations. However, student expectations and teaching styles (including the design of teaching spaces) seem slow to adapt. This session aims to explore the radical implications and creative potential of ‘de-centred’ learning, where students are not just recipients or ‘consumers’ of knowledge, but ‘nodal points’ in the creation of learning.

To confirm your attendance please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk