Events roundup: 23-29 January

This week is going to be a busy one with Welcome Fairs, Environmentally Friendly Careers Week and much more! See a roundup of what’s on this week below.

Are you in your final year? The National Student Survey (NSS) opens today (Monday 23 January). Complete the NSS to have your say about your time at Kent. As a thank you, we’ll give you £10 credit on your KentOne card or a £10 voucher for the Deep End if you complete it by Sunday 5th February. Complete the NSS now.

Monday: The environment and your career, Covid Vaccine Pop-up and Wellbeing Cafe

What’s the environmental situation got to do with your career? Quite a lot actually… come along to this session about the context of environmental and socially sustainable careers to find out more.

NHS vaccination teams will be at the Old Bank, Canterbury campus TODAY 10:30-15:00 (Monday 23 January) to offer Covid-19 vaccinations.

All students are welcome to come along to the Wellbeing Café on Monday afternoons in term time, a space to connect with other students in a relaxed environment with a focus on promoting your wellbeing and mental health through activity.

Tuesday: The Big Fair and Managing Stress When You’re Busy

On Tuesday, make sure to head to Kent Union’s the Big Fair in the Sports Centre to discover sports clubs, societies or volunteering opportunities. It’s not too late to get involved!

Stress is something that affects everyone. This Study Plus online workshop focuses on how to manage stress wen you’re busy or have a heavy workload. Learn more about what stress is as well as practical tools to help manage it.

Wednesday: Medway Welcome Fair, Year In events and Welcome Global Hangout

Head to the Hub on Wednesday to discover your Union at the Medway Welcome Fair and meet sport clubs and societies. Plus, there’ll be plenty of freebies on offer.

All students are invited to welcome our new international students at the Welcome Week Global Hangout! Enjoy a wide range of activities, free food and music. Book your free ticket.

Have you considered adding a ‘Year In’ to your degree? Increase your employability and gain new skills by doing a year in a different subject. Sign up for this online Year In information session on Tuesday afternoon to hear about all the Year In options including a Year in a Language, Management and Journalism. This event will be followed by a series of more in-depth sessions giving greater detail about what is involved in specific Year In programmes. You should attend this overall info session in order to then attend other subject specific sessions you’re interested in.

Thursday: Careers in Sustainable Health Care and Tobogganing (Medway)

As part of Environmentally Friendly Careers Week, join this online event to learn about Careers in Sustainable Health Care. Speakers from a variety of areas of the NHS talk about sustainability and the NHS Green Strategy.

Give Tobogganing a go at a local snow sports centre in Medway! Tickets cost £3.

Postgraduate students are invited to this Welcome Back Coffee and Networking Morning for Postgraduates. Have a coffee and pastry and chat with the Graduate Researcher College (GRC) team and other PG students.

Friday: Holocaust Memorial Day

Friday is Holocaust Memorial Day. On 27 January at 16:00, you are invited remember pause and reflect by placing a battery-operated tea light in your window to honour Holocaust victims and show you stand against prejudice and hatred today. These candles are available free from Mandela Reception from Monday 23 January (open Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00) and from the Helpdesk in Drill Hall Library at Medway.

See more student events.

Opportunities

Your new and improved ‘Progress Profile’ is ready to view. See your attendance and marks in an easy to evaluate format.
Returning student accommodation applications are now open for September 2023. Find out the benefits of campus accommodation including how you can choose to live with your friends.
Become more employable – add a Year In to your degree
Last chance to get a Student Art Pass for a fiver. Gives you free entry to hundreds of museums and galleries across the UK, and 50% off major exhibitions. Only available until 31 January.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January

Between 1941 and 1945, six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The Nazis also murdered millions of others including Roma, Gypsy and Sinti people, people with disabilities, gay people, and many whose political views or religious beliefs threatened the Nazi regime.

On 27 January 2000, the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, 46 governments signed the Stockholm Declaration and founded Holocaust Memorial Day. This day is to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia (1975-1979), Rwanda (1994), Bosnia (1995) and later Darfur in 2003.

You can learn more about the Holocaust by using your Kent login to access an online library of films.

On YouTube, you can watch Medway campus Chaplain Lynne Martin’s seven-minute video marking Holocaust Memorial Day, in which she shines a light on the hope, bravery and heroism of an individual in the midst of horror and atrocity. You can also learn more about the Holocaust by using your Kent login to access an online library of films.

Fighting antisemitism and hate at Kent

Prejudice, discrimination and hatred based solely on difference is still pervasive in society today. This includes anti-Jewish attitudes, with reports of antisemitism increasing at Universities, and the recently released investigation into antisemitism within the National Union of Student (NUS).

Antisemitism is a form of racism and religious discrimination and we do not tolerate it at Kent.

We have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and the Jewish Declaration of Antisemitism. This is an important statement of our solidarity with the Jewish community and our commitment to stamping out antisemitism at Kent.

Light the Darkness – 27 January, 16:00.

On 27 January at 16:00, you are invited remember pause and reflect by placing a battery-operated tea light in your window to honour Holocaust victims and show you stand against prejudice and hatred today. You can also wear purple in solidarity.

The battery-operated candles are available free from Mandela Reception from Friday 20 January. (For safety reasons, please do not use a candle with a real flame. Candles with flames are not allowed in University bedrooms or many privately rented properties.)

Tag @UniKent_CCL on your socials and use #HolocaustMemorialDay and #LightTheDarkness to share your commitment.

There are other opportunities to commemorate throughout the year, including Antisemitism Awareness Week in March and Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day on 22 August.

Reporting

If you or another student you know has been the target of antisemitism, or any other form of discrimination, prejudice or harassment, you can use our Report and Support service to report anonymously or get support from Kent’s new Specialist Wellbeing Adviser (Bullying/Discrimination/Hate Crime) who can support students in incidents of discrimination or harassment (regardless of where or when these took place).

Written by Becky Lamyman, Natalia Crisanti and Joshua Stevens, Student Services staff, 20.01.23

Covid-19 vaccination pop-up, 23 January

NHS vaccination teams will be at the Old Bank, Canterbury campus TODAY 10:30-15:00 (Monday 23 January) to offer Covid-19 vaccinations.

Who can get vaccinated?

Under 50s can receive the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Covid vaccine. If you’re clinically vulnerable or live within the household of someone who is clinically vulnerable, you can get the Covid booster.

All over 50s can receive the flu vaccine and the Covid booster.

If you are unsure if you are eligible, please go to the vaccination pop-up where the team will advise you.

Find out more information about Covid-19 vaccination. See student FAQs for Covid-19 vaccination.

New Partnership with The Design Museum

ICCI and Kent School of Architecture & Design are partnering with The Design Museum in a new series of conversations with eminent and inspirational designers.

The first event will feature Yinka Ilora on Tuesday 24 January, 18:30 – 19:40, livestream in Marlowe Lecture Theatre 1. This event is free and all you need to do is turn up – no need to register.

Yinka Ilori’s bold visual aesthetic draws on his British-Nigerian heritage and injects vivid colour and dynamic geometries into projects as diverse as architecture, furniture, and fashion.
Ilori’s work represents a commitment to design that promotes joyful optimism and advocates for the next generation.

Reflecting on works in Parable for Happiness, currently on display at the Design Museum, London, Ilori and the curator Priya Khanchandani unpack his distinctive visual identity.
Discussing the relationship between form and function, art and design, the pair explore methods for inspiring creativity and hope.

The new and improved ‘Progress Profiles’ are ready to view

What are Progress Profiles?

A Progress Profile is a web app that graphically displays a student’s academic progress. Every Kent undergraduate student will have a Progress Profile. They display attendance and marks in an easy to evaluate format to quickly identify strengths, areas for focus and patterns that might otherwise be obscured. The reports now access KentVision data and have been enhanced to show even more detail such as resit and repeat information.

Why are they important?

Students have told us that sometimes it’s hard to know how well their studies are going. We created Progress Profiles to give a clear picture of your performance across every stage of the degree journey. If you are an Academic Adviser or Senior Tutor you will be able to see the reports of all your advisees. We all know how important it is for students to have regular conversations about their studies with an Academic Adviser and Progress Profiles can help focus and augment these conversations.

Progress Profiles can be accessed directly from the top banner of the Student Guide.

For any queries relating to access to, or content of, Progress Profiles, please contact the Information Services Helpdesk: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

For further information or to provide feedback on Progress Profiles please contact the Student Success Team studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk.

Your new and improved ‘Progress Profile’ is ready to view

What are Progress Profiles?

A Progress Profile is a web app that graphically displays your academic progress. Every Kent undergraduate student will have a Progress Profile. They display your attendance and marks in an easy to evaluate format to quickly identify strengths, areas for focus and patterns that might otherwise be obscured. They’ve now been enhanced to show even more detail than before.

Why are they important?

Academic Advisers can also see the reports of all their advisees. We all know how important it is for students to have regular conversations about their studies with an Academic Adviser and Progress Profiles can help focus and augment these conversations.

Progress Profiles can be accessed directly from the top banner of the Student Guide.

For any queries relating to access to, or content of, Progress Profiles, please contact the Information Services Helpdesk: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

For further information or to provide feedback on Progress Profiles please contact the Student Success Team studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk.

Returning student accommodation applications now open!

Getting organised for next year? You’ll be pleased to know you (and your friends) can now apply for Kent’s accommodation for September 2023!

If you’re still in a post-Christmas haze, don’t fret, we’re here to take the hassle out of house hunting and worrying about deposits or bill payments. Opt to stay on campus next year and take advantage of the great benefits of living on campus.

Campus accommodation benefits:

All utilities are included (gas, electric, heating, water, personal contents insurance and Wi-Fi)
Zero deposit with nothing to pay until September 2023 (Canterbury campus) or an advanced rent payment for Pier Quays
Free sports membership at Kent Sport or Medway Park
Excellent location, just a stone’s throw away from study areas and social facilities
Shorter contracts lengths that match your term dates
24-hr campus security
Dedicated college reception and maintenance teams

We’ve set aside a limited number of rooms across the Canterbury campus and Pier Quays exclusively for returning students, so whether you are in your second, third or fourth year you can apply online!

Extra perks:

Live with your friends. Just tell us in your application whom you’d like to be roomies with and if you meet our requirements, we’ll house you together! (Check out our FAQs for more info).
Guaranteed offer for the first 1,000 undergraduate Canterbury returning student applications and all Medway applications.
Clarity and certainty. Early applicants get their confirmation as early as the end of January, with room allocation information following from late March/April.

Check your emails from the Accommodation Team or visit our returning student accommodation page for more information including our handy FAQs.

So, remove the worry of finding a new place to live, and instead apply online now and relax knowing you can live with friends and have the great facilities available on campus to return to next year.

Industrial action update – Strike action 1 February

We’ve now been notified that UCU members will be on strike on Wednesday 1 February – this is part of a coordinated day of action by lots of other trade unions to protest changes to strike laws in the UK.

Not all lecturers are UCU members and not all members take strike action. We’ll be in touch ahead of the 1st with more information about what we’re doing to minimise the impact of any disruption at Kent and in the meantime urge all sides to keep talking in the interests of settling the current national dispute.

We are here to support you throughout industrial action and will provide regular updates.

Read more on the background to the strikes and what we are doing at Kent on the industrial action website.

Help us shape the Kent Staff Volunteering Scheme!

Are you a volunteer or are you interested in volunteering? If so, help us shape the Kent Staff Volunteering Scheme by coming along to a workshop and sharing your ideas with us!

Canterbury 11.00-12.30 Senate Committee Room 1 26^th January 2023

Medway 10.30-12.00 Rochester Board Room R2-09 (TBC) 2^nd February 2023

Even if you can only pop in for 5 minutes please come along and give us your suggestions. If you can’t make it, share what you do and any ideas that you have at Kent Volunteers.

The Kent Staff Volunteering scheme gives each staff member 25 hours of paid leave for volunteering each year (pro-rata for part-time or fixed-term contracts). Volunteering is an excellent way to give something back to the community, enhance your CV and broaden your life skills, as well as the opportunity to meet new people and have fun.

To bring the scheme to life, we want your ideas to shape the scheme and help identify voluntary activities that benefit staff, the University and our communities.

Save 20% on Kent Sport memberships

January is often a tough month, with expectations high for the year. The days are dark, the weather is cold and it can be hard to get motivated. We’re here to help you crack those January blues and feel more energised and positive. That’s why we’ve reduced all our membership fees by 20% when you join between 16 January – 28 February 2023.

Already a Kent Sport member? Consider upgrading your membership to a package with even more benefits and save 20% when you do!

As a Premium Plus member, you have access to our whole fitness suite, a range of fitness classes, discounted fitness services and tennis tuition! It can’t get much better right? Well, you might be surprised to hear it can! New for 2023 and part of the Premium Plus package, you can access a suite of FREE Les Mills virtual instructor classes every week!

Our memberships are open to everyone, so the whole family can be involved. Hire a badminton court with friends, hit the classes with a colleague or explore our range of personal training sessions to help get you on your way.

What are you waiting for? Upgrade your membership at one of our sports receptions, or become a member today!