Tag Archives: Canterbury

Dr Simon Elliott

Competition: Win ‘Sea Eagles of Empire’ book by Dr Simon Elliott

The School of European Culture and Languages (SECL) is offering you the chance to get your hands on a signed copy of Dr Simon Elliott’s book Sea Eagles of Empire: The Classis Britannica and the Battles for Britain (History Press, 2016).

Sea Eagles of Empire was Dr Elliott’s first book and won Military History Monthly‘s Book of the Year Award. It tells the story of the Classis Britannica; the British Roman Navy.

Dr Elliott is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies. He talked about the process of research, writing, submitting and getting published at SECL’s Writing History and Getting Published event, held on 15 March. He was joined at the event by published author and fellow SECL alum, Amanda Thomas. you can see photographs of the event at the  Classical & Archaeological Studies at Kent Facebook page.

To enter the competition and win a signed copy of the book, simply answer the following question:

Which Roman Governor of Britain fought the battle of Mons Graupius in AD 83?

Send your answers to secl@kent.ac.uk with ‘SECL book competition’ as the subject of your email. The competition is open until midnight on Friday 25 May 2018.

Dr Arvind Madan

Dr Arvind Madan to give Distinguished Visitor Lecture on the future of primary care

Dr Arvind Madan, Director of Primary Care and Deputy National Medical Director for NHS England, will give a Distinguished Visitor Lecture on our Canterbury campus on Wednesday 18 April.

With more than 20 years of experience as a General Practitioner (GP) and having provided clinical leadership for the transformation of healthcare in the county of Kent, Dr Madan will speak on the topic: General Practice Forward View and a Vision for the Future of Primary Care.

Dr Madan will address questions including why healthcare in the UK is a contentious issue, what challenges the NHS faces, and how we can improve primary care in the future. His lecture will conclude with a Q&A session. Get involved in the discussion via Twitter using #CHSSopen18

The event takes place from 18.30 to 19.30 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1. Entry is free and open to students, staff and visitors. For more information or to book visit the event page.

Dr Madan is part of the Hurley Group, a large multi-site general practice and urgent care provider, and also the Kings Fund Advisory Board. He also works on his own Community Interest Company, Healthy Minds, which is a peer-mediation service for children, operating in 30 schools in London.

His lecture is brought to you by the Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS) at the University of Kent.

Beyond Brussels podcast interview

New BSIS Annual International Conference podcasts

The annual student-organised BSIS International Conference that took place on 5 April can now be downloaded as a podcast or listened to online via the recently launched Beyond Brussels podcast.

The conference examined how technological changes are affecting our sense of reality, in areas such as politics, humanitarian aid and social hierarchies.

Three of the five discussions from the day can now be downloaded via iTunes or Spotify or accessed directly from the Beyond Brussels website. They are:

  • Cyber Radicalisation: The Effects of Modern Technology on Political Extremism Panel 

Moderator: Dr. Yvan Guichaoua

Panelists: Adeline Hulin – UNESCO, David Ibsen – Counter Extremism Project, and Tommaso Virgili – European Foundation for Democracy

Listen online  iTunes  Spotify

  • Online Platforms: Power Hierarchies in a Digital Society

Interview with panellists Maryant Fernandez Perez – European Digital Rights and Gerald Hensel – Fearless Democracy

Listen online  iTunes  Spotify

  • Instrumentalising Blockchain: Humanitarian Aid and Technology Regulations

Moderator: Juan David Mendieta – Keyrock

Panelists: Niall Dennehy – AID:Tech, Ben Joakim – Disberse

Listen online  iTunes  Spotify

Beyond Brussels is run by a group of BSIS students, led by Executive Editor and Host Allie Elwell and Senior Editor and Host Marissa Diaz. The other students involved in the podcast are: Niki Papadogiannakis, Nadira Nasibli, Katrina Coles, Lois McLatchie, Hattie Schofield, Nadja Sorelvmo and Zoheb Masher.

With special thanks to the BSIS International Conference organising team lead by Francesca Grandolfo and Fernando Lozano Vazquez.

coffee with colleagues from image library

Coffee with colleagues: More vouchers now available

Due to the success of the Coffee with Colleagues scheme our sponsors have generously offered to make more coffee vouchers available for colleagues to invite someone they have never met in person, or do not know very well, to talk about their respective role or a work-related matter over a complimentary cup of coffee (or tea!).

This year, there is also a ‘mystery colleague’ option for more adventurous colleagues willing to be matched with a colleague at random.

Registration has been extended to Friday 13 April but don’t wait too long to register as numbers are still limited and vouchers allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, all you will need to do is complete a short form giving details about yourself and your guest.

Coffee with Colleagues is part of the Kent Colleagues Connect programme, jointly funded by the Academic Division, Commercial Services and Learning & Organisational Development. This programme offers a number of opportunities throughout the year to meet colleagues across the University in an informal setting and learn more about their role.

Assessment and feedback

Assessment and feedback in higher education: A research symposium

Colleagues are invited to attend a research symposium on Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education.

The event takes place on Wednesday 16 May from 12.30-17.00 in Sibson Lecture Theatre 1 and Atrium at the Canterbury Campus.  A drinks reception will follow the event from 17.00-17.30 in Sibson Atrium.

The way in which students engage with and learn from the multiple sources of feedback available to them is a key issue in the enhancement of student learning in higher education.  Well-designed assessment tasks and associated feedback can yield large learning gains compared to a variety of other educational interventions, yet the National Survey of Students consistently reveals the lowest student satisfaction for assessment and feedback.

Although students struggle to understand what is expected of them on academic tasks, formal statements of assessment criteria are typically insufficient to build the task understanding and evaluative expertise that students need to monitor their own learning. Increasing opportunities for dialogic feedback (i.e. interactions between lecturers and students, students and students, and students own self assessments as students are doing the assessment task) may result in better learning outcomes.

This research symposium brings together five assessment and feedback researchers who will discuss their own research findings in relation to these key concepts and consider implications with delegates.  Sponsored by the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Kent, the event is free to participants both within and external to Kent, though places are limited.

View the programme and book a place via the Eventbrite page.

Richard Whitman

Professor Richard Whitman appointed to Research Excellence Framework sub-panel

Congratulations to Professor Richard Whitman, Head of the School of Politics and International Relations, Professor of International Relations and Director of the Global Europe Centre, on his appointment to Research Excellence Framework (REF) Sub-panel 19, Politics and International Studies, which has been announced by HEFCE today.

The full list of members of the sub-panel are available at the REF website.

This is excellent news for the School and in addition to the recognition of Professor Whitman as a leading scholar in the discipline, it represents an acknowledgement that Kent deserves a place within the REF evaluation process. This goal has been at the centre of the School’s REF Strategy since 2014 and is a testament to its enhanced external profile and the quality of research being conducted within the School.

 

Photographer

Through the Lens Festival of Photography

School of Music and Fine Art MA student Steve Kilmartin has organized an exhibition called Through The Lens –  Festival of Photography, running from 31st August to 8th September.

Held at St Mary In The Castle, Hastings, East Sussex,  this magical festival is for any photographer, photo-enthusiast, keen amateur or anyone who wants to see the world through a different lens. Offering a mix of world-class guest speakers, with new emerging photographic talent exhibiting alongside well-established photographers,  viewers can see contemporary photography and reportage all under one roof.

There is also an opportunity to submit photographic work – closing date for submissions is 1st July. Visit the festival website for more information.

University of Kent logo

Update for students on industrial action

Dear Student,

As you may know, together with the Vice-Chancellor, I attended a meeting with student reps and others on Tuesday 14 March. The aim of the meeting, organised by Kent Union, was to hear student concerns relating to the industrial action being taken by some members of our academic staff. Both the Vice-Chancellor and I greatly appreciated having the opportunity to attend and hear from students about their concerns.

We realise that those of you who are in schools affected by this action are inevitably worried about the impact it might have on your assessments and academic progress. While we have a website for students which includes a broad range of FAQs, it was clear from yesterday’s meeting, and from other conversations and communications we had from students, many of the questions you are raising are specific to both your subject and school.

I want to reassure you that the Executive Group of the University and faculty Deans are working with schools affected by the industrial action to put systems in place to mitigate against its impact on you and will communicate what these are over the coming weeks. At the beginning of next week, your school will email you with detailed updates which respond to the concerns raised at the student reps meeting and through other channels. It is important that you are aware that the guidance will come from your Head of School (or in his or her name) and that it is guidance from that source that you should regard as authoritative.

I also want to reassure those students who are emailing me and other colleagues with a range of issues and queries that these are being collated centrally to ensure we have a sense of the nature and scale of the concerns. These will be reflected in the information you will begin to receive from your school next week. I should add that we are endeavouring to reply to those emails as quickly as possible, and where school-specific issues are raised we are forwarding to the school so that they can respond to you directly.

There is no doubt that staff have a great commitment to you as students. The University, Kent Union and the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) at Kent have jointly called on all those involved at a national level to work together to reach a solution, and the University will continue to seek an outcome that protects the interests of our staff and students.

Yours sincerely,

David Nightingale | Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost

Eastern ARC training

Funding opportunity for Essex Summer School course

The Eastern ARC and the Graduate School will fund an opportunity for one Social Science PhD student working on a project with applied quantitative methods to attend an Essex summer school training session.

This includes the fees for one course, accommodation during the training period as well as travel. To apply, please email EARCpgmobility@kent.ac.uk with the title of the course you wish to attend, and up to 500 words addressing the following points:

  • Background summary of your PhD project
  • How the method proposed will advance your PhD project
  • How attending the course will advance your skill set as a PhD candidate
  • Why you wish/need to attend the course this year

You will also need to include a half page supporting statement from your supervisor, and a short CV outlining training courses you have already attended and indicating your current level of statistics training.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 20th April 2018, and the award will be announced by the end of April.  If you have any queries please email Hannah Swift and/or EARCpgmobility@kent.ac.uk.

Please note that applications from first and second year full-time PhD students (up to the fourth year for part-time PhD students) will be prioritised.

PRIDE Awards poster

Submit your PRIDE Awards Nominations

The PRIDE (‘Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence’) Award recognises members of Kent Hospitality staff who go out of their way to deliver excellent customer service.

Any Kent Hospitality staff member (permanent or casual) may be nominated from Canterbury and Medway campuses. The award is given out four times a year with each winner receiving £100 of shopping vouchers, a certificate and a badge.

Nominations can be made online by any member of University staff, students and visitors. Alternatively you can pick up a paper form next to the red nomination boxes located in all Kent Hospitality’s catering outlets in Canterbury and Medway, as well as College reception areas.

Please make your nominations detailed, providing as much information as possible on why the nominee is being put forward for a Pride Award. The panel are looking for staff who achieve more than just what is expected in their role (i.e. hardworking, professional, positive and friendly attitude).

Congratulations to December’s Pride Award winners – Fay Allen, Student Accommodation Co-ordinator and Christine Nottage, Keynes Day Cleaner.

For further information or for guidance on submitting nominations please contact pride@kent.ac.uk