Office 365 has been renamed Microsoft 365, and some new tools and features are available.

Video sharing, Forms and new features in Teams

Stream, available from Wed 24 June, offers video recording, Teams meetings recording, online video storage and sharing. Any recordings you make in Teams will automatically save into Stream with a link from your Teams channel.

Forms now available: use it to quickly build simple forms and short online polls.

Teams improvements:

• See up to 9 people at once on the screen (49 people view is coming later this year)
• You can upload your own background image: see the branding web pages for a choice of Kent images you could use
• If you record a Teams meeting, all participants are emailed a link to the video

Skype for Business will go in July

Skype for Business will be retired from use at the University in July 2020. Microsoft plan to withdraw the service, as Microsoft Teams offers the same chat and screen sharing functionality with much more. We’ll send a reminder in July.

Directory (Delve) tips

To find someone’s Kent username, look in the Outlook Address Book when creating a new email. The username is under a field called Alias. You can search for people in Delve by username.

To easily view directory information within Teams, add the Who app in Teams.

Check email accessibility in Outlook online

When composing an email from outlook.office365.com, in the top menu (to the right of the Send/Attach links) click the ellipses … , then click Check for accessibility issues.

Help and support

If you have any questions about any of the Microsoft 365 tools:

• Join a drop-in session. Save this link in your calendar: Wed 1 July 10.00-11.00: weekly drop-in
• Use our Microsoft 365 guides and Microsoft 365 FAQs
• Contact us via online chat, call 01227 82 4888 or email helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

The E-Learning Team are delighted to announce the launch of the Digitally Enhanced Education – A Guide to Teaching Online course. The course has been put together by the E-Learning Team, with contributions from academic colleagues, students, Information Services, the Library and Student Support and Wellbeing.

This course has been designed to help academic colleagues from around the institution to transition part or all of their teaching online. We would encourage all academic colleagues to engage with this course and to make use of the materials we have provided.

The course is divided into themes and topics and, whilst there is a natural pathway through the course, the individual sections can be viewed and undertaken in isolation, in any sequence and at a time of your choosing.  All staff have been automatically enrolled, so you can access it straight away. Live webinars will be provided to supplement this course and will be advertised in the coming weeks.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please do feel free to get in touch via elearning@kent.ac.uk

As the Covid-19 situation is progressing and the Government guidance continues to change as lockdown restrictions are eased, individuals may be feeling anxious about going out and whether it safe to do so. Mental Health support during times like these are paramount, which is why Care First have worked hard  to ensure their services remain available 24/7 throughout the pandemic to provide emotional and practical support and ensure they have every aspect of your overall wellbeing covered.

 Care First are still providing webinars for you to sign up to, here’s the schedule for w/c 22 June:

Monday 22 June 2020 –‘‘How Care first services link together to support your overall wellbeing’

Time:  14.00 -14.30 – To register click on this Go webinar link

Tuesday 23 June 2020 – ‘Top Tips for writing a C.V’

Time: 13.00 – 13.30 – To register click on this Go to webinar link 

Wednesday 24 June 2020  – ‘The Psychological impact of COVID-19’

Time: 14.00 – 14.45 – To register click on this Go to webinar link 

Thursday 25 June 2020 – ‘Social Media, safeguarding and young people’

Time: 11.00 -11.30 – To register click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 26 June 2020 –  ‘Top tips for a ‘fitter’ financial
future following lockdown’

Time: 12.00 – 12.45 – To register click on this Go webinar link 

Don’t suffer in silence. Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic is available for any of your aches and pains with our free initial online consultations.

Some may think that an online consultation is not worthwhile due to the lack of manual therapy, but there are still lots of benefits to be gained from them. Here is a list of some of the injuries and problems we have been able to help people with:

•       Shoulder and neck pain due to different work station positions

•       Elbow and wrist pain due to extra gardening time

•       Elbow and wrist pain due to more computer work

•       Patella tendon flare ups due to increased running volumes in lock down

•       Marathon runners concerned about how to maintain fitness

•       Shin splints and medial tibial stress syndrome

Not all injuries have been treatable through online consultations, however, using assessment tools in different ways has helped narrow down a potential diagnosis such as an ACL tear, meniscal tear and FAI and led to referrals and scans to the appropriate people.

Vicky helped me with my shoulder pain and repetitive strain by asking questions around the topic and learning that it also related to my neck. With the help of the exercises she gave me, plus a follow-up appointment, I have a toolkit to ward off these problems in future.

– Sandra Virgo

During lockdown, there has been expanding waiting lists and having that referral letter written by a physiotherapist to send to the GP could help with being referred for a scan or further treatment.

The Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic is still offering free initial 20-minute online or telephone consultations with Vicky Annis, lead Physiotherapist. Consultations are open to all, whether you have used the clinic previously or not; and whether you are a student or staff member at the University of Kent or from the wider community. To book, please email: physio@kent.ac.uk.

Keynes college launched their Virtual Festival of Arts between the 15 May – 5 June, with the aim to engage with students, create something uplifting and feel a sense of community, in what has been a difficult time for us all.

The response was phenomenal, with over 90 students entering across the University, with the hope that sometime next academic year, they’ll be a post-lockdown major exhibition in Keynes. There were 3 overall winners, who won cash prizes and will have the opportunity for their creation to be permanently displayed in Keynes.

Here are the 3 main winners:

In FIRST place, we have Silvia-Raisa Simeria’s digital visualisation ‘Hometown’.

She describes her work: ‘my visualisation attempts to recreate a seer looking into a crystal ‘cube’. The cube can be seen to represent the fixed and rigid aspects of the lockdown. The inside creatively represents some of the activities that I feel the seer and all of us long for within lockdown’.

In SECOND place, is Katie Roger’s music composition ‘Nocturne in D flat’, which she composed during lockdown. This piece is soothing, emotive and beautifully executed – a mindful moment for us all.You can listen to this piece via this Facebook page.

Winning THIRD place, is Jess Patrick’s ‘Four Walls’, poetry combined with photography, which explores the isolation people are experiencing in lockdown.

She describes it as a shared experience that can and will be conquered. We particularly like how the piece tells a story of lockdown that may resonate with many of us, expressing frustrations, sadness and ultimately hope.

One of Bethany Chater’s (Masters Officer. & College Support Co-ordinator)  favourites, is this:

The sculpture, called ‘Let that sink in!’ is by Mila Morelli and it won a highly commended award of ‘Best Contemporary Sculpture’. The artist said: ‘Because no amount of hand-washing can remove the fear and uncertainty that currently bubbles beneath the surface of society.’

You can enjoy viewing all of the entries via the virtual gallery on Virtual Festival of Arts Instagram page.

The entries and announcements of the highly commended winners can also be viewed on the Keynes Facebook page.

The College Life Team is also proud to present their newsletter which went out to all Keynes students and Alumni, during lockdown. You can access all the issues here, and enjoy some delicious recipes, exercise regimes, and guess the year of the golden oldie photos!

Happy reading!

Message from Jane Higham, Director of Finance

As you will be aware from the Vice-Chancellor’s recent update, we expect a significant shortfall in our income as a result of the impact of COVID-19 which adds to our already challenging underlying financial position. If we do not take steps to mitigate this, the University will eventually run out of money and be unable to meet its commitments. As I have said before, we can all take steps to help the University through this difficult period and budget holders have a critical role to play through continuing to minimise spend.    

Most urgently, we need your support in ensuring we significantly reduce end-of-year outlay. In previous years we have seen an increase of up to £5m in spending as budget-end nears. This cannot happen this year and therefore any unspent budget for 19/20 must only be used where absolutely essential. Put simply,  as a result of the losses to our income brought about by the COVID pandemic, we cannot afford to spend as we have in the past and we need to conserve all financial resources to support our sustainability in the coming months.    

I appreciate budget holders will continue to get purchasing and expenditure requests from within their School or Department and encourage them to share this with staff as required to help respond In order to assist with our planning, it would be appreciated if budget holders could notify our Procurement team of any significant essential spend that they may be aware of that needs to be incurred between now and year-end, so that we can discuss this in good time.  Similarly, any queries relating to this can also be forwarded to the Procurement Team, who will be closely monitoring spend between now and the end of July.   

Thank you for your continued support with this.

As the Covid-19 lockdown eases, the University is drawing up plans for a phased staff return to campus.

At present, however, access remains limited to those doing essential work and the majority of staff will continue working from home.

If you’re working at home, don’t forget that there is plenty of support available. You can find detailed information on our coronavirus staff webpages, including:

• an HR guide to working from home and
• our new COPE Framework to help managers and staff agree working principles that work for them.

Kent Sport’s Stay Well @ Home webpages also contain plenty of tips, including inspiring blogs and access to free online physiotherapy and exercise classes.

Insurance checks

The University’s insurance extends to home workers, but it’s important to check with your own home insurer that home working does not invalidate your own policy.

University property and equipment continues to be insured while temporarily removed from campus but reasonable precautions should be taken to prevent any loss or damage. Reports of loss or damage, or any insurance-related enquiries, should be directed to our Insurance office: insurance@kent.ac.uk

Further information is available on our coronavirus staff webpages.

I know there has been a lot going on over the last week or so as we come to the end of exams, move into marking and then exam boards. Doing all of this remotely is not straightforward when people are working in a range of difficult circumstances. In addition, I am conscious that many colleagues are involved in work to re-open the campus and that is also challenging to ensure it is done appropriately and safely. This work does however remain on schedule.

As lockdown continues to ease, we are confident that, despite the inevitable restrictions, we will be able to offer our students a rounded, albeit different, student experience. However, we are conscious that the impact of Covid-19 has been particularly hard on our final-year students. The class of 2020 will inevitably face a very different world to the one they might have imagined entering into as a graduate at the start of the year. We have just launched a campaign highlighting the support and guidance available to all our graduates through the Careers and Employability Service, as well as highlighting a range of postgraduate opportunities. Given the pressure our students have been under, it was great to hear about our fourth-year Modern Language students conducting online tutoring sessions, engaging sixth-form students in language exercises and conversation in French, German, Italian and Spanish!

We have much to be proud of across the University, but as I noted last week we have issues to address as well in relation to creating a genuinely inclusive and welcoming campus for staff and students. This week I was invited to take part in an online student forum organised by Kent Union. Entitled ‘My Campus is Racist – In Conversations’, this was an opportunity to listen to our students about the challenges they face on a daily basis. We have work to do to address the concerns and challenges they raised and my thanks to those colleagues who are already working hard on this across the institution to enable us to do better.

I send my good wishes to you, your families and friends and look forward to the time when we can be back on our campuses once more.

Yours sincerely,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Update from Denise Everitt, Project Sponsor and Chief Operating Officer

As you know, we will shortly be sharing proposed team structures with affected professional services staff both centrally and in Divisions. It has been a long process to reach this point and I know how difficult this uncertainty has been for everyone. Thank you all for your patience with this – as I hope you will understand, it has been important to take this time to make sure we propose a University structure that lets us build for the future while reflecting our current financial situation.

Consultation Start Dates 

Consultation will begin for staff in affected teams in each area as follows:

• W/C 22 June: HR: Phase 1 (Staff savings activity)
• W/C 29 June: Engagement; International Programmes; IS (Leadership only)
• W/C 6 July: Student Services; Outreach & Widening Participation
• W/C 13 July: Professional services staff in Academic Divisions; Research & Innovation Services; Strategic Planning; Graduate & Researcher College; Education; Digital & Lifelong Learning
• W/C 20 July: Finance: Phase 1

In most areas this will start with group presentations, which will booked by area shortly. Any teams in the above areas which are unaffected by the proposed changes will be also be contacted to confirm that this is the case.

Consultation in the following areas will take place when current strategic priorities are complete: Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions teams (by November 2020); HR: Phase 2 (Devolution) (by July 2021); and Finance: Phase 2 (by July 2021). Alongside this, consultation with Technical Services staff in the Divisions of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences; Natural Sciences; and Arts and Humanities will take place by November 2020. Any staff in these areas that are placed at risk of redundancy as a result of O4S proposed changes will still be eligible to apply for KVSS during their own period of consultation.

Consultation Timeline 

Within 24 hours of their group presentation, affected staff will be contacted individually to confirm what the proposed structure will mean for them and their options as a result. This will be sent via email. Individual consultation will then take place for 30 days within a 60-day window before the structures are finalised.

Once all affected staff have been contacted, the proposed new structures will be shared across the University on Monday 27 July so that staff can see how wider changes will relate to their own areas.

Selection and recruitment to roles will largely take place in August and September, with new structures operational from the 1 November 2020.

Support and Advice 

This will be a very unsettling time for professional service colleagues, with some having to make difficult choices at what I know is already an especially busy and difficult time. As I’m sure everyone appreciates, we will all need to be understanding of this and recognise the additional pressure that people will be under in the coming weeks.

We will shortly share detailed information on the Organising for Success staff webpages on how consultation will work and what support will be available to staff throughout. Ahead of this, please do also make sure to discuss any concerns you have about this with your manager, HR representative or via the confidential Employee Assistance Programme at any time. You may also wish to seek advice from your elected staff or Trades Union representative.

Can I thank you all for your forbearance and continued commitment to the University over the last couple of years, and I hope that we can soon move to a new structure that will provide both professional and agile support for the University’s activities moving forward.

Denise

Denise Everitt | Chief Operating Officer