Since last month’s update we are pleased to confirm the release of new features and functionality which are now live and available to staff and student users of KentVision.

The release has introduced standardised and streamlined processes across the student lifecycle that will improve the experience for both staff and students.

Some examples of this include:

• Functionality to enable finance colleagues to create and approve manual scholarship awards for the previous academic year.
• Enhanced congregations’ functionality to enable colleagues to sort through to review and update transcripts more efficiently and effectively – reducing the administration burden on staff.
• Introduced functionality to export intermitted student data – enabling improved data analysis.
• Various amendments to approximately 20 system screens (e.g., student support, Individual Learning Plans, PGR Management, Advisors) to ensure a student’s legal name is updated to display their preferred name – improving student wellbeing.
• Introduced functionality to display extended assignment due dates to academic colleagues when approved via Extenuating Circumstances. In addition, the self-certification period for extenuating circumstances has been updated and amended to seven days.
• Automated processes and communications for intermission and withdrawals via email text updates.
• Successfully implemented the data integration processes between KentVision and the CRM.

This release is the culmination of hard work, and we commend everyone involved for their work – including the KentVision Project Team, IS colleagues, and the users of the system dedicating time to ensure improvements are realised.

Next Steps

• Technology and process improvements to continue such as Change of Circumstances and Core Record functionality to enable bulk updates to records (e.g., bulk course changes).
• Work continues to integrate the student attendance data from Moodle into KentVision – ensuring reporting of student attendance is fit for purpose and meets our compliance requirements.
• Business readiness activities, including transition plans and training and communications.
• We are pleased to announce the first of our scheduled KentVision Drop-In Sessions (6 Dec 2022 – 10.00-12.00 – Rutherford N4.N1). Come along and bring any KentVision related questions to our friendly training team in-person. It is a good opportunity to address your queries and demonstrate functionality side by side. Tea, coffee, and snacks will be provided!

Having joined the University as the new Head of the Data Protection/Data Protection Office (DPO) in May 2022, this is the first of my termly data protection newsletters. I hope you find the updates and news stories useful!

Sharing personal data in an emergency – a guide for universities and colleges

On the 22 September, during our Welcome Week, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published a timely reminder of how we can legitimately use personal data to support our students in an emergency situation:

“The new academic year in HE and FE is approaching, which is a good opportunity to remind everyone in universities and colleges that they should not hesitate to share students’ personal data to prevent serious harm to the physical or mental wellbeing of a student in an emergency situation, or protect a life. Data protection law allows this, and you won’t get into trouble if you share information with someone who is in a position to help a student at risk.” Blog: Sharing personal data in an emergency – a guide for universities and colleges | ICO

Updated Data Protection Policies

The University’s data protection, data breach and data subject rights policies have been updated to reflect current data protection requirements and safeguards.

Please read the policies so that you are confident that you are using data lawfully in your role.

These policies help you do the right thing when you are:

• using personal data
• responding to requests for personal data
• reporting a data breach or data security incident
• contracting with other organisations who use personal data on the University’s behalf
• handling particularly sensitive data such as allegations or reports of criminal activities.

Mandatory Data Protection Training

All staff are required to complete mandatory training modules including one that covers data protection, freedom of information and records management during their induction.

To ensure that knowledge of data protection is maintained, all staff are required to retake this module every two years. This will provide you with the confidence that you are processing personal data in a secure and legally compliant way; and allows the University to demonstrate that it is complying with its legal requirement to only have trained staff processing personal data.

If you haven’t revisited this module in the past two years, please do log on as soon as possible and complete it.

New Communication Channels

Finally, we are excited to announce the launch of our new Assurance and Data Protection webpages and SharePoint site. This should be your first port of call for anything data protection, freedom of information or records management related. Do check them out and let us know what you think!

If you have any questions not answered on the Assurance and Data Protection sites, or if you need further support and guidance please do get in touch with the team by emailing dataprotection@kent.ac.uk.

Laura Pullin
Head of Data Protection / Data Protection Officer (DPO)

We are pleased to announce the first of our scheduled KentVision Drop-In Sessions, will be taking place on Tuesday 6 December from 10.00 – 12.00 at Rutherford N4.N1.

Come along and bring any KentVision related questions to our friendly training team in-person. It is a good opportunity to address your queries and demonstrate functionality side by side.

Tea, coffee, and snacks will be provided!

As Rutherford is notoriously difficult to navigate, an envoy will be waiting to take you up to N4.N1 in the main entrance just before 10.00.

Are you interested in sustainability and trying to make a difference at Kent? Get involved with FutureProof, our response to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

FutureProof aims to inspire individuals, departments and the whole University community to take action in ensuring that our estate, our curriculum and our students are ready for the future.

How does FutureProof Work?

The Sustainability Team works with departments to identify a key individual who can act as the department’s Sustainability Champion. Or if you are interested in being a Sustainability Champion you can contact the Sustainability Team directly. The Sustainability Champions are key to the project’s success, therefore training is at the heart of the project.

A series of workshops will run throughout the year on key issues such as climate change, resource use, supply chains and food. There will also be skills workshops that focus on communication, leadership, marketing, systems thinking and problem solving. For these skills workshops, sustainability will be used as the theme, however, these skills are transferable to a wide variety of workplace needs for staff.

Kelda McCabe, Business Information Officer, says “As a Sustainability Champion, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with colleagues I wouldn’t ordinarily work with, on projects I wouldn’t ordinarily hear about. It’s opened up all sorts of doors at the University. There are so many opportunities to get involved in a way that suits your interests and time.

Being part of a group of people who care about the world and our impact on it has made the world of difference to how I feel about the climate crisis and the future of our planet. It’s a wonderful space to learn, to hear good news stories, to be motivated into action.”

Next FutureProof workshop: Urban agriculture, resilience and community. What can we learn from the Cubans about crisis and sustainability?

Join us on 1 December at 12:30 for our first FutureProof guest talk by Sustainability Champion Dr William Rowlandson. William will be drawing from his own expertise of Cuba and how sustainability projects rose from crisis in this hour-long, creative, practice-based workshop.

“Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Cuba entered a period of economic crisis, in which citizens suffered a catastrophic loss of essential goods – from foodstuffs to medicine and machinery. The sudden loss of oil imports led to an energy crisis that paralysed the nation, radically reducing electricity production, transport, industry and agriculture. In response to these shortages, communities across Cuba initiated projects and activities to provide the basic requirements for surviving the sudden decarbonised economy.

These projects – such as urban organic farming, vermiculture (worms!), seed-swaps, community composting, local markets, street kitchens (paladares), repair and reuse of goods and materials, energy-saving cooking methods, and transport sharing – were initially community-conceived and led, pursued without state approval, arising not out of a desire to achieve sustainability goals, but out of urgent necessity. With the success of these projects and the consequent alleviation of food scarcity and poor nutrition, the Cuban state provided resources and expertise and passed legislation to sustain the communities and the projects.”

In this creative, practice-based workshop, we will consider this historical (and ongoing) context with lots of open discussion. Refreshments will be provided, and please feel free to bring your lunch along with you.

How to get involved

If you’re interested in becoming a Sustainability Champion, or attending the next FutureProof event, please email The Sustainability Team sustainability@kent.ac.uk who will send you the event invite.

You can also check out the ‘Twin your toilet’ initiative. To encourage more people to report faults, the Estates department has pledged to sponsor a toilet through the ‘Twin your Toilet’ scheme for the first 10 toilets to be reported. If you report a faulty toilet you can even nominate your favourite toilet to be twinned!

The Division of Natural Sciences in collaboration with Student Success, is delighted to welcome inspirational speaker Lara Lalemi for her talk ‘Surprise Yourself’. Hear about her journey being BAME in STEM, and gain practical tips about embarking on a scientific career and creating your own space in the STEM community.  

This FREE to attend event is open to all students and staff, and will be taking place on Microsoft Teams, on Wednesday 23 November from 14:00 – 15:00.  

Ever since Lara was young, she had a dream that she could change the world around her but over time this aspirational voice dulled. Lara became more and more convinced that what she wanted wasn’t possible because she told herself she didn’t have the skills to succeed and no one like her was doing it. In this talk, Lara will explore how often the person stopping us from achieving our goals is us because we are afraid to take the first step and fail, or rule ourselves out completely. Everything Lara is doing now, she never thought she was capable of doing and in this talk Lara will explore her growth journey to where she is today, lessons she has learnt and future goals to change the STEM field for the better.  

Lara Lalemi is a London-born researcher with a passion for bringing new, innovative and progressive practices to more than just one of her environments. Drawn to the world of environmental research and climate change, upon receiving her undergraduate degree Lara took to completing a Doctorate in Aerosol Chemistry at the University of Bristol, where she is currently writing her PhD on the properties which affect the growth of clouds. As the CEO of Creative Tuition Collective  meanwhile, Lara is striving to increase accessibility and opportunities in STEM for young people from all walks of life.

Creative Tuition Collective offers young people from marginalised groups free and inclusive STEM tuition, skills workshops and professional mental health support groups, and as the CEO Lara leads change-making conversations and assists with organising undergraduate courses. Lara does not just want to increase the number of marginalised students entering the STEM field however, but to create a better environment for them when they get there. In her consultancy work, Lara therefore explores how the scientific community can begin to address the inequalities within it through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and decolonisation training courses. By creating spaces that integrate supportive mentoring, curriculum diversity, and interdisciplinary work, she hopes to foster sustainable social mobility for young people through the use of science and technology.   

Book your free place online.

Jamie Beddard graduated from Kent in 1991 with a Sociology Degree. Now he is coming back 30 years later as the writer of Delicate, a dance-circus production that come to Gulbenkian on Fri 2 Dec.

Jamie explained to us just how this happened:

“I recently returned to Canterbury and Whitstable for the first time in 30 odd years in search of some old haunts and friends, I was delighted to find both. So now I cannot believe I am back so soon, and Delicate is being presented at The Gulbenkian. I have not been back on campus since completing my Sociology degree in 1991. My college, Rutherford, was only one of four, and I used to roam the campus on my rusting tricycle. Whilst I did not excel at sociology or studying I grew up, became independent and met many lifelong friends. I only have fond memories of my time at Kent and it was instrumental on the journey I am still on today.

After leaving Kent I became a hopeless Youth Worker in Kilburn, before the BBC came knocking. They were making a film which required disabled actors and somehow got hold of my name. Acting had never been on my radar, and my main interest was visiting the iconic BBC building at White City.

To my utter astonishment I was offered the role in the film ‘Skalligrigg’ and a new career suddenly beckoned. Cut to 30 years later I’m returning with the play Delicate (Writer, Co-director). By complete chance the last gig of the tour that started in the Arctic Circle is ending at the Gulbenkian. For me personally there is a beautiful synergy about this.”

You can see Delicate by Extraordinary Bodies at Gulbenkian on Fri 2 Dec, 19.30.  More information can be found on the events website.

 Find out more about Jamie.

The Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) congratulates the following colleagues who have successful gained Senior Fellowship or Fellowship of AdvanceHE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) through the Route to Recognition for Experienced Staff (RRES).

Senior Fellowship

• Caroline Challans – International Programmes
• Marian Duggan – School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
• Samantha Evans –  Kent Business School
• Epameinondas Katsikas – Kent Business School
• Bridget Ng’andu – School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
• Zita Stone – Kent Business School
• Kirsti Taylor – Global and Lifelong Learning
• Johanne Thompson – Kent Law School

Fellowship

• Nidal Acac – Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) / University of Kent PhD student
• Luisa Dumbleton – International Programmes
• Ahmed Halil – Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara)
• Sameena Hoda – International Programmes

AdvanceHE Fellowship or Senior Fellowship status confers national recognition for holders’ expertise and commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning, and demonstrates that their practice is aligned to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF).

The Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) provides urgent assistance to academics who are in immediate danger, forced into exile, or who choose to continue working in their home country despite serious risk. The Centre for the Study of Higher Education is pleased to work with Cara to assist displaced Syrian academics in gaining Fellowship recognition through AdvanceHE.

University of Kent staff members who are interested in applying for the RRES should complete the expression of interest form on the CSHE website.

Gulbenkian’s Christmas Season 2022 is a scrumptiously festive selection box of treats! From merry music gigs, festive family events to comedy nights full of Christmas cheer, Gulbenkian has Christmas all wrapped up this December!

Schedule:

Home Alone (PG)  Sun 4 Dec, 15.00

Under The Frozen Moon  Tue 6 – Wed 21 Dec, Times Vary

Funny Rabbit Comedy Club: NJambi McGrath & Keith Farnan Fri 9 Dec, 20.00

Christmas Cornucopia  Sat 10 Dec, 19.30

Harriet Kemsley: Honeysuckle Island  Sat 10 Dec 20.00

The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) Sat 10 Dec, 15.00

ROH: The Nutcracker (U) Thu 8, 7.15pm & Sun 11 Dec, 14.00

Frozen Sing-Along (PG)  Sun 11 Dec, 10.30

Elf (PG) Tue 13 Dec, 19.00

The Polar Express (U)  Sat 17 Dec, 10.30

Relaxed Screening: The Grinch (2018) (U)  Sat 17 Dec, 15.00

Arthur Christmas (U)  Sun 18 Dec, 10.30

It’s a Wonderful Life (U)  Sun 18 Dec, 16.00

Join us throughout December (Tuesday 6 – Wednesday 21) for our magically festive theatre show Under The Frozen Moon. Award-winning Half a String presents a winter show perfect for ages 3 and above. In this heart-warming tale, a young girl sets out on a quest to confront the dragon under the ice who has hoarded all of the fires and lights for himself. With lively poetry, transforming sets, atmospheric live music and exciting puppetry; Under the Frozen Moon brings to life a beautiful world of ice and adventure.

We’re decking the halls and singing merrily on high with incredibly merry music gigs this December including the University Chorus and Orchestra’s Christmas Cornucopia as part of the ten-year anniversary of Colyer-Fergusson on Saturday 10 December.  Folk in the Barn bring us The Albion Christmas Band, who are back with more Christmas music, humorous stories and spine-tingling ballads on Saturday 17 December. Plus, the University of Kent Big Band returns with its annual festive cracker of a Christmas gig, Christmas Swing-Along! featuring season classics and big band swing on Wednesday 14 December.

There’ll be hohohos aplenty at our Funny Rabbit Comedy Club on Friday 9 December, featuring NJambi McGrath & Keith Farnan. We also have Canterbury’s own Harriet Kemsley with her new stand up show Honeysuckle Island on Saturday 10 December.

Snuggle up in our cinema and be enchanted by our incredible screenings this December. Cheer on pint-sized hero, Kevin as he runs rings around two would-be burglars in this Christmas caper full of pranks and booby-traps galore as Home Alone kicks off our Christmas season on Friday 4 December. Be wrapped up in the world of old Hollywood as we screen the evergreen classic It’s a Wonderful Life on Sunday 18 December.

Rediscover the childlike wonder of the season with Christmas family film favourites including Aardman Animations’ Arthur Christmas on Sunday 18 December, the joyous and anarchic take on the icon Charles Dickens’ tale The Muppet Christmas Carol on Saturday 10 December, and The Polar Express stops by our screen on Saturday 17 December. Let yourself go once again with Disney’s Frozen Sing-Along which skates onto our screen on Sunday 11 December.

Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the inspiring and opulent Royal Opera House’s The Nutcracker. Experience one of the most enduring and enchanting versions of the age-old tale The Nutcracker. Follow a young girl’s journey as an enchanted present leads her on a wonderful Christmas adventure in this beautiful classical ballet, danced to Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score. It will be screened live at Gulbenkian Arts Centre on Thursday 8 December and Sunday 11 December.

This year the University Carol Service takes place on Monday 12 December in Canterbury Cathedral at 7.30pm (please note that the start time is 30 mins earlier than in recent years).

The event will feature the University Chamber Choir and Kent Gospel Choir. There will be plenty of well known Christmas carols for everyone to sing and you will hear traditional readings which will be read by staff and students representing various roles and groups from across the University.

Admission is by free ticket only, and staff may request up to 4 tickets.

Please email Revd Dr Stephen Laird s.c.e.laird@kent.ac.uk with your ticket requests as soon as possible and by 4 December at the latest.

Please note that you will be given the option of accessing e-tickets; or of receiving printed tickets via internal mail. This year’s appeal is for Porchlight, Canterbury’s homelessness charity.