Tag Archives: Medway

Mathilde Poizat-Amar

Mathilde Poizat-Amar delivers Think Kent lecture on travel writing

Dr Mathilde Poizat-Amar, Lecturer in French in the Department of Modern Languages, has given an online lecture entitled ‘Why is Travel Literature so Interesting?’ for the University’s Think Kent series, which is now available on YouTube.

In a globalised and increasingly connected world where we can collect information about unknown places without having to open a book, travel literature could easily pass for an endangered species in the literary landscape. Yet, despite the concurrence of Internet and the ever-growing importance of major literary genres (such as the novel or the autobiography), travel literature stands the test of time – both in terms of popularity and critical importance.

Mathilde’s talk takes the case of modern and contemporary French Travel Literature to present a few reasons why travel literature is so resilient to change, and why studying travel literature matters more than ever. You can watch the full talk on YouTube.

The Think Kent lectures are a series of TED talk-style lectures produced with the intention of raising awareness of the research and teaching expertise of Kent academics and the international impact of their work.

Players offer staff a dramatic break

The University of Kent Players are holding a read-through and open auditions for their next production, a radio play of Scarlet Pimpernel. 

The play will be performed to a live audience by the University of Kent Players at Mungo’s, Eliot College, Canterbury campus, on Friday 30 November and Saturday 1 December 2018.

The University of Kent Players will be holding a friendly script read-through and get together at 17.30 on Tuesday 25 September  in Cornwallis South Room S33. This will be an opportunity for people to have fun, mingle and sit together reading through the script aloud. Please note that no casting decisions will be made from the read through.

Auditions will be held at 12:00 on Tuesday 2 October (Rutherford Cloisters room 15) (you don’t have to attend all two hours) and 17.30 on Thursday 4 October (in Templeman Library, Room D G 01).

The friendly group welcomes anyone regardless of experience and also welcome anyone who would like to assist backstage or with foley (sound effects). Please feel free to just turn up to auditions or contact the group (players@kent.ac.uk)

University of Kent Players:

The University of Kent Players are an amateur theatre group, consisting of staff from the University of Kent, Canterbury, raising money for charity on each production. They perform two productions per year at the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury the most recent, a successful adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.

Meet Kent Businesses

The Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce is hosting the Kent B2B Medway on Thursday 20th September 2018 at The Historic Dockyard Chatham. It is an opportunity to speak to Kent businesses from a variety industries and make new connections.

It is a free event on all day (08:30 – 16.00) so pop in before, after or in between classes.

There will be signs up around the Dockyard but the event itself will be taking place at No 3 Slip.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Arriva discounted bus tickets

 For students at our Medway campus, the cheapest way to commute to university is our Arriva Student Annual ticket. This ticket allows travel on any Arriva bus throughout Medway, Kent and East Sussex for the entire year.

The Universities at Medway work with Arriva to provide highly discounted bus tickets for both students and staff. Because of this, the student annual ticket is only £140. This works out as only 39p per day for travel all around the region!

 For information on how to apply, and the exclusive University of Kent promotional codes, please visit our Medway bus webpage.

Staff feedback complete on training and appraisal (RPD) functions in Staff Connect

You will soon be able to book Learning and Organisational Development training and record your appraisal (RPD) through Staff Connect, the same system that is used for HR and payroll.

In August, staff interested in seeing how these new elements of Staff Connect will work, attended user testing and training sessions and provided feedback on the system. The Staff Connect project team have been using this feedback to make improvements to the system and to update user guides before these new elements go live.

The Stakeholder Engagement Group has also met to provide feedback on the project. This group includes members from academic schools, faculties, professional services departments and unions to ensure all University of Kent staff are represented.

For more information please visit the Staff Connect website or contact staffconnect@kent.ac.uk

 

Student Art Pass- a year of art for just £5

Art Fund are launching a scheme called Student Art Pass, allowing any full-time higher education student to engage with art and culture.

Explore world-class museums all over the UK and enjoy a year of endless inspiration with friends, for your studies, or just for you.

From the V&A and British Museum to Cardiff Castle and Jupiter Artland, a Student Art Pass brings you free access to over 240 museums, galleries and historic houses, and 50% off major exhibitions.

Student Art Pass membership costs £5 a year and includes access to recommendations on what to see, creative competitions and paid opportunities in the arts.

The Student Art Pass is available for £5 for a limited time (until 9 December) to all full-time students, get yours here.

Returning to Kent?

Welcome back! If you’re returning to Kent after the summer break, here’s a helpful summary for settling back in.

  • Stage two and three timetable dates are on the Student Guide and will be released week beginning 10 September. Continue to go back and check your timetable regularly for updates including other events. Read our Timetabling FAQs.
  • You will need to register on SDS from Tuesday 18 September so we know you’re definitely coming back. To ensure swift payment of your student loan, you are advised to re-register by Wednesday 19 September. It takes 3-5 working days from the point of registration for funds to be released to your account. Read more.
  • Term starts on Monday 24 September. Welcome Week is the week before (17-21 September). View term dates.
  • If you’ve got a new phone, tablet or laptop, get it Kent WiFi-ready before you come back to campus by running our WiFi setup tool.
  • Living off campus is very different from living in University accommodation. Read our community webpages for information on bills, bins, neighbours and much more!
  • Find out what’s changed at Drill Hall Library on the Student Guide.

Have a great 2018-2019 at Kent!

Professor Read co-organises International Conference in Turin

Professor Peter Read is co-organising an International Conference, Métamorphoses d’Apollinaire, this autumn at the University of Turin and the Museum of Modern Art, Turin. The conference, running on 22-23 October 2018, marks the centenary of the death of French war-poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) and will bring together speakers from France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Switzerland, UK and USA.

The conference will also include the opening of an exhibition on Picasso and his circle at Turin’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and a professional performance of Apollinaire’s “surrealist drama” The Breasts of Tiresias, first published in 1918,  at Turin’s Teatro Stabile. Peter is co-organising the conference with Professor Franca Bruera (University of Turin) and Professor Laurence Campa (University of Paris X-Nanterre). The conference is co-sponsored by the Centre for Modern European Literature, University of Kent.

Lent by the National Gallery 1997 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/L01895

Peter Read and Picasso in Paris

Professor Peter Read is giving two public lectures at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to accompany the exhibition “Picasso Bleu et rose” (Picasso Blue and Pink), which will run from 18 September 2018 to 6 January 2019 and include 240 works of art. Peter’s first talk, on Picasso and the Circus, will be at 3pm on Saturday 13 October in the restored “fumoir”, or Smoking Room, of the museum, which is a former railway station and hotel, opened in 1900. Peter’s talk is part of the “Picasso Circus Weekend” taking place in the museum that Saturday and Sunday, with a big top in the nave of the building and performances by trapeze artists and an “extreme dance” company from New York.  Peter’s second talk, at 12 noon on Friday 2nd December, in the Musée d’Orsay’s lecture theatre, will be on representations of Paris in Picasso’s work during his early years in the city, from 1900 to 1906.

Peter Read has also contributed several texts to the catalogue of the Cubism exhibition opening at the Centre Pompidou in Paris on 17 October, and has contributed to a Dictionnaire du cubisme being published to accompany that exhibition.

 

An image of Drill Hall Library with red brick and an arched frontway

Hello Library and IT at Medway!

If you’re starting at University of Kent’s Medway campus in September, you might be wondering where to study, how to get online, and how to find the books you need for your course.

Here’s an overview of the library and IT services you can use:

The Drill Hall Library

The Drill Hall Library is your main library at Medway. It has the books you need, plus study spaces, PCs and laptops, printers, photocopiers and scanners, and support for your subject.

  • Read this useful guide to the Drill Hall Library. It tells you the basics, like when it’s open and how many books you can borrow.
  • Visit the Library for your induction session, which has been pre-arranged by your School or department, to learn your way around.
  • Look out for games, competitions and fun prizes in Welcome Week in the Drill Hall Library.Take part in our induction and experience summer seaside fun and games.

IT services for you

Here are some of the IT services you can use as a Kent student:

  • Over 500 student PCs, laptops and 800 study spaces in the Drill Hall Library and University of Kent buildings.
  • University Wi-Fi (eduroam) in all buildings at Medway. You can set up your Wi-Fi connection before you arrive on campus, which means you connect instantly when you get here
  • Print, copy and scan machines across campus – all Kent buildings and the Library are connected to a nearby printer
  • Borrow a laptop for a day loan from the self-service cabinet in the Pilkington building Monday to Friday 08.00 – 18.30.

If you need help, look out for the leaflet in your welcome pack, which you will receive at registration, visit the Helpdesk in the Drill Hall Library, or contact our IT & Library Support Desk.

Research students

Need a space to work? You can use the Postgraduate Researchers’ Room in the Drill Hall Library. This newly designed and furbished room is available for postgraduates from all three Medway universities, providing an excellent space to study, network, practice presentations and meet those with similar research interests.

Need more help?

For help with Library and IT Services: