Taking part in our ‘Return to Campus’ series is Helen Holland (Head of Planning and Space Management) and Jenny Martine (Interior Services & Signage Manager), who tell us all about the work of the Planning and Space Management (P&SM) team to ensure a safe return to campus for us all.

Members of the P&SM team – Helen Holland, Sophie Pearson, Karen Weatherley, Jenny Martine and Pete Hayes – look after space management, planning and data, property leasing, as well as Interior Services covering removals, furniture and signage.

Helen Holland explains: ‘In preparation for enabling restricted access, our team has been busy working with stakeholders from all divisions, schools and professional services departments to determine maximum capacities and develop one-way systems (where possible) to enable social distancing around buildings on the Canterbury and Medway campuses. This is all part of making the campuses Covid-19 secure.

‘Once the one-way systems have been designed and reviewed by the team to check signage quantities are sufficient, these are then passed to the Design and Print Centre for printing. We have created a schedule of all buildings and a rolling programme of signage installation to ensure all buildings are ready for the start of term.

‘Due to the varying size of the buildings, it can take from one day to a whole week to install all signage as every route has to be rechecked to make sure there are no clashes and it’s easy for people to navigate. We are working closely with HR and the Safety, Health and Environment Unit to enable some staff (whose critical work cannot be done at home) to return to their offices or labs as soon as the buildings are ready.

‘This is a huge undertaking as we have approximately 96 non-residential buildings across the Canterbury and Medway campus. The project is not just limited to our team within Estates, as colleagues from our Estates Administration, Environment and Sustainability, Projects, Customer Services, Logistics and Postal teams are all helping with installing signage.’

Jenny Martine says: ‘The process of installing the signs has been a mammoth job from weeks of pre-sticking the posters in advance (thanks to Waste and Cleaning for their support on this task!) to testing routes in each building and laying out all the posters to ensure the routes flow.

‘Myself and my team  – Pete Hayes, Karen Weatherley, Emma Grove, George Baker, Emily Mashford, and Catherine Morris – have each clocked up an average of 16,000 steps per day and can be seen wheeling our signage-filled suitcase around campus from one building to another.

‘We won’t mention the blisters and the night terrors of falling down posters, but all in all it has been a fantastic team effort and camaraderie. If the social rules change…we have already booked our annual leave!’

Find out more about the services the Estates department provide.

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Head of the Department of Religious Studies, interviews Gaye Morris. Chris and Gaye collaborated about 15 years ago on a book called Theology and Film, and talk about their rationale in writing it and the relationship between the Christian and the secular world.

Gaye also shares some fascinating anecdotes, including a story about meeting The Terminator series’ Linda Hamilton on a plane and getting three autographs from Lauren Bacall at a European film festival.

Gaye also talks about the time she thought Santa was talking to her as a child, watching Elvis movies at the military base in Germany where her father was posted, being a “Beatlemaniac” and meeting ‘The Zombies’ in a hotel swimming pool.

She reveals why she left the Southern Baptists for Roman Catholicism and is now an ordained Unitarian Universalist, and also talks about working in Yorkshire, the relationship between nostalgia and gas-lighting, and why serendipity is her keyword.

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Dr Ian Stone on Friday 10 July 2020.

Dr Stone was appointed Administrative Assistant in the Academic Division of the Registry in May 1978. He was then appointed Assistant Registrar in 1982 and by 1985 was Senior Assistant Registrar and Faculty Administrator for the Natural Sciences Faculty. In 1990 Dr Stone moved to the new Research Grants and Contracts Office, as Head, and worked there until he took early retirement in the mid-1990s.

Dr Stone then moved to the Isle of Man and, a scholar of polar studies, became Emeritus Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, being editor of the journal Polar Record for over ten years and publishing more than 60 articles.

Many University colleagues have expressed their sadness at Dr Stone’s death and have looked back with happy memories at a greatly esteemed and entertaining colleague, a very supportive manager and someone who was always ready for a competitive game of squash.

Dr Jeremy Ovenden, former Director of Planning and Student Information, writes: ‘Ian was one of those real characters that you are privileged to come across in your working life. Always entertaining, he delighted his colleagues with his little eccentricities and headed up a happy and motivated office. Yet beneath that exterior was an intelligent, knowledgeable and caring individual and I was grateful for his guidance on many occasions. He will be missed.’

Dr Stone will be remembered with immense fondness. The University expresses its condolences to his family.

One of the perks of living and working in Kent is access to lots of outdoor space. From beaches to scenic parks and historic buildings, this county has it all!

Make the most of the sizzling summer sunshine and enjoy our Top 10 outdoors activities on offer across the county.

Canterbury

1. Cathedral to Coast Cycle Ride – Canterbury to Dover

Chart your own Pilgrim’s Progress on this 50-mile circular ride linking Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone. The route passes along leafy lanes and bridleways amid rolling hills, wide skies, woodland, country villages and hamlets.

2. Marlowe’s Canterbury Walk

This walk encourages you to explore the life of English poet and playwright, Christopher Marlowe. The route takes you on a journey around the heart of Canterbury, visiting places he would have known and offering an insight into his short life.

3. Kent Food Trails

Kent Food Trails are designed to encourage visitors and locals alike to discover new places and taste new dishes. You will meet fantastic food and drinks producers and farmers from all over Kent.

4. Via Francigena

If you fancy a real adventure then consider walking at least a segment of the Via Francigena. This ancient route starts at Canterbury Cathedral before passing through France, Switzerland, across the Alps and into Italy before finishing in Rome.

Medway

5. Fort Amherst

Fort Amherst is a free-to-visit historical site with 20 acres of green space all linked to the Great Lines Heritage Park. You will be able to explore tunnels, nature trails, ditches, ammunition magazines, cannons, soldiers’ quarters and fortifications.

6. The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Return to the ‘Age of Sail’ with a visit to Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, which built mighty ships that once mastered the world’s oceans. More recently, this lovely location has been a setting for popular TV shows, including The Crown and Call the Midwife.

7. Riverside Country Park

Covering 100 hectares alongside the Medway Estuary, Riverside is one of Medway’s beautiful country parks. Holder of a Green Flag Award, this haven for wildlife is the perfect spot for walking, running or cycling.

Whitstable

8. Crab & Winkle Way

This path takes its name from the railway line which ran between Canterbury and Whitstable from the 19th century. On the way to Whitstable, you’ll pass through the Blean, with its 13th century Church of St Cosmus and St Damian, and Blean Woods, a delightful RSPB nature reserve. The journey also takes you through Clowes Wood – one of the best places to hear the song of the Nightjar bird.

9. Spy Mission Trail

This self-guided family trail perfectly combines two things a day out with the kids should include – exploration and imagination! See the sights of Whitstable as you pretend to be spies and crack codes along this two-mile trail.

Dover to Deal

10. 3 Castles Walk

Starting at the White Cliffs Visitor Centre in Dover, amble along this beautiful coastline taking in three magnificent castles and a lighthouse as you head towards to Deal, enjoying its heritage and natural beauty along the way.

Picture from Canterbury City Council

Got an idea for a Top 10 feature? Let us know by emailing: stories@kent.ac.uk

As our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services, including helpline support and face-to-face counselling. During the pandemic, Care first has also provided weekly webinars to offer further support and advice.

Webinars taking place this week (Monday 3 – Friday 7 August) are as follows:

Monday 3 August 2020 –  ‘How Care first can support you and an update on our services’
Time: 14.00-15.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 4 August 2020 – ‘Activities you can still do this Summer’
Time: 15.00-15.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 5 August 2020 – ‘A users guide to wearing a face mask’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 6 August 2020 – ‘What are the benefits of Cycling?’
Time: 11.00-11.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 7 August 2020 – ‘Ways gratitude can boost happiness’
Time: 11.00-11.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Kent Hospitality and Estates Cleaning teams are merging under one management structure within Kent Hospitality from 1 August 2020.

This one larger team will be providing cleaning services across the entirety of the Canterbury campus moving forward.

Gary Sayles, Executive Manager: Housekeeping, Kent Hospitality is pleased to make the announcement, stating: ‘Leveraging Estates Cleaning extensive knowledge and experience with Hospitality’s award-winning Housekeeping team will ensure a consistent delivery of cleaning standards across the Canterbury campus.

‘Having a continuity in frequencies and style of service across all teaching and office spaces will provide a footprint for a consistent customer-centric service. Kent Hospitality’s aim is to provide an exceptional customer service experience to our students, staff and visitors with an underlying philosophy of delivering with Pride, Passion and Professionalism.’

Kevin Stuckey, Director of Commercial Services added: ‘By combining the cleaning resources of the two departments we expect to, over time, achieve economies of scale and flexibilities in staff deployment.’

Any queries or requirements relating to cleaning on the Canterbury campus can be directed to Hospitality Enquiries.

The cleaning arrangements at the Medway campus, which are carried out by an outside contractor, will continue to be managed by Estates.

Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, Professor of Latin American History in the Department of Modern Languages, has recently finished a project with the British Library that has made nearly 180 newspapers available online.

The aim of the project was to protect and archive valuable cultural materials which have important stories to tell about Peru and nearby provinces that would be lost if they not digitised and conserved. Despite the country’s long history of centralism, these newspapers hold the memory of regions outside the largest cities and showcase the thriving intellectual communities they fostered.

Natalia says: “This was a great, but very challenging project. It took an extremely long time to come to fruition and at every turn it seemed like the difficulties were insurmountable. But after much work and determination, we can now see the results online and the response has been overwhelming. To provide an online source at the time of the pandemic has been a compensation for all the delays faced.”

Below is a two page spread about the project that came out in the Peruvian press on Sunday 26 July:

At Kent Sport we are working hard to get the Sports Centre ready for reopening.

From Monday 17 August, the Sports Centre facilities including the gym, fitness classes, sports halls and Physiotherapy Clinic will reopen. While we’re excited to welcome you back, we have put in additional safety measures including pre-booking for all activities. We will be updating our website and social media channels over the next few days with more details on the reopening.

The Sports Centre facilities will reopen on Monday 17 August.

The Pavilion facilities will reopen on Monday 24 August.

For more information on opening hours, rules and FAQs please read the Kent Sport blog.

We’ve missed you and can’t wait to welcome you back!!

In the second instalment of our ‘Return to Campus’ series, Richard Cottam, Head of Facilities Management tells us about the multitude of services and functions the Facilities Management (FM) team (within Estates) has been covering throughout the lockdown period, both on and off campus.

Richard explains: ‘The majority of FM staff are unable to do their job remotely, so most have been working a reduced number of days each week to a roster. They have been busy supporting essential services and, more recently, preparing the campus for occupancy in September.’

Examples include:

Postal Services – This team has maintained a minimal presence on campus throughout, ensuring all incoming mail is managed and sending out any business essential post. The team has also been supporting colleagues in Recruitment & Marketing with the creation and supply of several student offer packs.

Waste and Cleaning – With a small team initially supporting ongoing essential services such as Security, most cleaning staff are now back at work preparing buildings for re-occupancy and developing an effective Covid-19 cleaning programme.

Stores – A small team of two has been working remotely throughout lockdown and has been incredibly busy sourcing best value supply chains for the multitude of Covid-19 related products, needed to maintain a secure environment. The team has also purchased and is rolling out hand sanitiser dispensers across campus.

Administration – The whole team has been working remotely and has quickly adapted to the new technology supporting meetings using M365 Teams. Some admin staff have also been on campus and helped with the huge task of installing the social isolation and one-way signage across the campus.

Medway FM – The team supporting Medway has also been on campus, in limited numbers, preparing the campus for re-occupancy.

Landscape and Grounds Management – Have you ever not cut your grass for four months? No, we couldn’t wait that long either! So that we don’t return to a partial jungle in September, the team has been working to a roster with half of the workforce on campus, keeping on top of the spring and summer growth.

Find out more about the services the Estates department provide.

In our next Return to Campus feature, we’ll look at the work of the Planning and Space Management team.

The Global Officers Leadership Development (GOLD) Programme has celebrated another successful year which ended with our celebration event and certificate presentation taking place online.

The programme, led by Kent’s Dean for Internationalisation Dr Anthony Manning and International Partnerships, is a co-curricular venture which provides a framework of activities for globally minded undergraduate students at Kent to develop their leadership skills, global citizenship and cultural awareness.

This year’s cohort made an impact through their role in leading the various Global Hangouts that took place, leading the way with a green marketing strategy for Worldfest, introducing a speed-friending event for new international students and participating in our first Erasmus+ virtual exchange programme. Participants also took part in various workshops including Talking Cultures, event management, explored the concept of curriculum internationalisation and looked at their own cultural intelligence (CQ). Other activities they supported included orientation for new exchange students, the S Group Conference and provided campus tours for some of our international partners and visitors.

Students who have completed the programme have said that it has helped to increase their own cultural awareness, enhance their employability and given them the opportunity to meet a range of people from diverse backgrounds.

The Gold Programme was a highlight of my time at Kent. The team leading the programme listened to all of our ideas and supported us throughout the year. I developed many transferable skills, gave back to the student community, and made many new friends.
Melissa Couvet, LLB English and French Law

I thoroughly enjoyed my participation in the GOLD programme, not only do I think that it has allowed me to develop skills that have strengthened my employability, I also found the programme to be an important avenue for expression during an intense final year of study. I would recommend the GOLD programme to any student that is interested in further developing themselves personally and professionally.
Leo Harris, BA History and Spanish

Many of this year’s cohort were final year students and we wish them all the best for the future after their graduation.