This blog is from Minna Janhonen | Athena SWAN Adviser, Learning & Organisational Development 

As we are in the midst of August, which is the Breastfeeding Awareness Month, it is a perfect time to draw attention to the pregnancy and maternity support facilities at Canterbury and Medway Campuses.

At Kent you are welcome to breastfeed your baby where ever YOU feel comfortable. There are dedicated rooms available for those needing to express or breastfeed at both the Canterbury and Medway campuses. These can also be used by expectant colleagues to take a rest and put their feet up!

How to use ‘Parenting Rooms’ 

The room at Canterbury is Rutherford E3-W8 and an access card can be obtained from Tyler Court reception. At Medway, the room is M0-04 in the Medway Building and can be unlocked by Estates and Campus Security. The rooms are used first come first served basis, calling the Tyler Court Reception (Canterbury) or Estates and Campus Security (Medway) is a good idea if you want to make sure no one isn’t using the room when you’re planning to. There is currently no booking method in place.

Both rooms contain fridges, chairs and beds.

Personal Experiences:

“When returning to work from Maternity Leave earlier this year I found using these facilities (at Canterbury Campus) very simple and easy. I was still breastfeeding so it was important to me to be able to express milk in quiet and calm environment during the working day.” 

The change in the government’s approach to grading of A-levels has had a considerable impact on university admissions across the country, as has the lifting of the cap on student numbers. The Vice-Chancellor will send an all-staff email later this week which will give an update on the University’s response to the situation. 

To help keep our community safe as we start returning to campus, a new Covid-19 Code of Conduct for Staff and Students has been agreed.

The Code of Conduct, which is aligned to government guidelines so subject to change, highlights the need to adapt to new ways of studying and working as the lockdown eases and we return to campus.

The Code outlines changes to our environment, adaptations to ensure our sites are Covid-secure, and what we all need to do to make sure we keep each other safe. There are detailed sections on:

• How Covid-19 is transmitted and what to do if you have symptoms on campus
• A duty of care to protect all members of community
• Travelling to and from campus
• Hygiene and cleanliness
• Social distancing measures
• Face coverings
• Vulnerable groups
• Mental ill health

All staff and students are expected to follow the Covid-19 Code of Conduct guidelines while on campus, as well as standards within our existing Charter/Code of Conduct.

• Student Charter
• Staff Code of Conduct

We will shortly be launching a campaign to support our staff, students and visitors with the new behaviours expected on campus. This will help us all to understand how we can keep our University community safe and support each other as we return to work.

For latest University updates and FAQs on Covid-19, see our staff webpages.

The Gulbenkian Cinema will reopen on 20 August.

The opening two weeks will see a mix of new films, including Clemency, Summerlandand Parasite, plus the return of Emma, Jojo Rabbit and 1917.

The popular family screenings are also back on Sunday afternoons, with Onward and Trolls World Tour the first offerings.

Initially the cinema will screen films Thursday to Sunday, to test audience demand, but the team aim to return to a full offering in September.

The team at Gulbenkian have been busy putting in place systems to support social distancing, as Operations Director David Haigh explains:

‘Gulbenkian is an independent arts centre with a strong sense of community. It has been so sad to see the building empty these last few months and we are all looking forward to being open again.

‘We have put a lot of thought into how we maintain our friendly, personal welcome whilst keeping staff and audiences safe. We have reduced our cinema capacity, put in place clear one way systems and improved our online booking process to ensure the public can book and visit with confidence – and you can expect the usual cheerful welcome from our front of house team.’

The first tickets went on sale from Friday 7 August, and full details can be found online at www.thegulbenkian.co.uk

Dr Laura Bailey, Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics, recently spoke to Kent Online for an article titled How the ‘Covid-19 pandemic created new words and phrases including covidiot, furlough and support bubbles’.

This new vocabulary has helped us to better understand and make sense of the change and disruption to our everyday lives. From social distancing to self-isolation the coronavirus pandemic has led to an explosion of new words and phrases.

Laura said: “Anything that people are going to talk about that either introduces new things or behaviours or concepts you need new terms for. We already had the word ‘quarantine’. You can still use it in the sense of bringing an animal in from another country – it has to be quarantined for four weeks. But we know when we are talking about quarantine now we are talking about the two weeks of staying inside your own house if you develop symptoms.”

Dr Bailey also commented on the suggestion language could be weaponised in times of emergency with war metaphors such as “on the frontline” coined by politicians.

As we enjoy the balmy days of a long, hot summer, now is the perfect time to get outdoors, roll out a blanket and enjoy a picnic or two!

While we all love the staple snacks of sandwiches and sausage rolls, these top 10 seasonal recipes are sure to make your picnic spread just that bit tastier…

Savoury delights

1. Italian pinwheels

As well as being quick and simple to make, these delicious appetisers are a fun addition to your picnic basket.

2. Healthier potato salad

Swap most of the mayonnaise for yoghurt and crème fraiche and add mustard and chives to enjoy this healthy take on a potato salad.

3. Tomato-Manchego Tartlets

These miniature finger-foods look stunning and make for the perfect picnic snack.

4. Chicken, ham & asparagus picnic pie

The combination of these three ingredients make this a great picnic show-stopper. It may take a while to create, but it’s well worth the effort!

Sweet treats

5. Lemon and blueberry bars

Gooey on the inside and crunchy on the out, these bars are so moreish you won’t be able to pick just one from the picnic basket!

6. Mini chocolate chip sandwich cookies

Not your average sandwich, these sweet and mouth-watering treats will be a hit with all your family and friends.

8. Apple hand pies

Everyone will love the convenience of helping themselves to these individual grab-and-go minis, instead of cutting up a whole pie. No cutlery needed here!

8. Vegan lemon-baked donuts

These fluffy and light donuts are not only delicious, but quick and simple to make, and perfect for enjoying outdoors.

And something to drink…

9. Watermelon cooler

Get in your five-a-day with this simple to make beverage. On a warm summer’s day, it will go down well with the whole family.

10. Dogwood Punch

This adults-only combo of strawberry lemonade and sparkling rosé is the perfect, refreshing drink for relaxing while the kids play in the sunshine.

Can you think of any Top 10 summer ideas? If so, please send them to stories@kent.ac.uk

As our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services and provide useful advice and support.

Their weekly webinars continue this week (Monday 17 – Friday 21 August) and are as follows:

Monday 17 August 2020 –  ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 14.00-14.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 18 August 2020 – ‘Loneliness during COVID-19’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 19 August 2020 – ‘Dealing with feelings of anger & frustration’
Time: 11.00-11.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 20 August 2020 – ‘Managing Survivor Guilt during COVID-19’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 21 August 2020 – ‘Tips for Employers and Leaders’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Vicky Annis, Head of Physiotherapy at Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic, was part of a four-person relay team swimming across the English Channel on Friday 7 August .

The team – named ‘A Doctor, Teacher, Princess and Frog Go Swimming’ – began their challenge at 1.30am, leaving from Samphire Hoe beach and 11.32 hours later (to be ratified) arrived close to Le Gris Nez in France .

Vicky Annis swimming the Channel

Vicky describes how she has prepared for a trek of a lifetime during lockdown:  ‘Most of my swimming preparation has been completed at Tankerton and Kingsdown with support from friends and family swimming with me and kayaking. It has been a welcome distraction from the difficulties in the world and every time you get to the shore, there are slightly different conditions which has made it so much fun; whether it is a calm day or windy with the waves and tide to contend with.’

She adds: ‘The English Channel is such a remarkable waterway with so many historical events and tales. Living in Kent, and having always been a swimmer, this challenge was one not to miss!’

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic has been raising funds for the NHS Charities by offering free initial online consultations. Vicky chose charity for her relay channel swim and you can still show your support by donating via this JustGiving link.

Would you like to develop your skills and confidence in providing consultancy to businesses?

If you are an academic who is considering working on a consultancy project or a seasoned academic looking to enhance you consultancy skills, the School of Computing’s KITC in collaboration with the Enabling Innovation: Research to Application (EIRA) Project are hosting an online training event on Thursday 17 September 2020 10.00, that will introduce a range of consultancy tools to help you achieve a successful consultancy project.

Over several years the KITC, the University of Kent’s student staffed IT Consultancy, have developed a framework for delivering successful consultancy projects for business clients. In this 60 minute webinar Jason Marshall, the KITC Business Manager, will provide an overview of the KITC consultancy framework and introduce you to some of the design thinking tools that the KITC use to deliver successful consultancy projects.

To help you consider how you could use and adapt these tools Jason will present a case study to illustrate how the KITC has used the framework to deliver consultancy projects.

Academics at any stage of their career are welcome.

To register please visit Eventbrite 

For more information contact the EIRA team on eirakent@kent.ac.uk

A new online learning resource is now available for both new and returning students.

Available in Moodle, the Online Learning at Kent: A Guide to Successful Study Online module has been created by the University’s E-Learning team to help students get the very best out of online learning. The module has been designed as the student-focused companion to the staff module Digitally Enhanced Education – A Guide to Teaching Online which has been very well received.

Many of our students will be unfamiliar with online learning and may be anxious about how their modules will be delivered in the coming academic year. All current students will be familiar with Moodle and KentPlayer, but may wish to know what the online experience will be like and how these, and other, tools will be used to support online delivery.

The Online Learning at Kent module is designed to help with this transition and to enable all students to familiarise themselves with both the technologies that they will use as part of their studies and the types of online and interactive activities they are likely experience. More importantly, it will enable students to be able to do the right things to gain the most benefit from online learning.

The module is not solely focused on technology; there is an emphasis on digital accessibility and how students can engage with resources to suit their needs and use the available content their own way. The module highlights how to stay safe and work smart online, and features contributions from various parts of the University, including Student Support and Wellbeing, Information Services, Kent Union and the Library.

The transition to online is challenging for both staff and students and so it is hoped that, regardless of discipline or stage, this module will support all of our students so that they can be successful in their studies and make the most of this unique experience.

All students will see the Online Learning at Kent module in their modules list on Moodle 2020.