Chris Morrison has proved his copyright credentials by winning an award for best dissertation on his Master’s degree course.

Chris, our Copyright, Software Licensing and IS Policy Manager, has graduated with a Master of Arts in UK, EU and US Copyright Law at King’s College London. He passed the course with distinction and was awarded The Dickson Poon School of Law Prize for best dissertation, at his graduation ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Chris’ dissertation, now available on the Kent Academic Repository was titled ‘Illustration for Instruction and the UK Higher Education Sector: Perceptions of risk and sources of authority’.

Chris said: ‘The dissertation is the culmination of my work and interest in copyright. At the end of my study, I realised that I knew a lot about the legal side of copyright but not so much about how it affects us in education. My dissertation aims to provide some clarity in this area.’

Chris has worked in copyright most of his working life – first for PRS for Music and then as Copyright Assurance Manager at the British Library. He joined Kent in 2015, becoming our first dedicated copyright manager.

At Kent, he has continued to champion all things copyright – for example, as a member of the Universities UK/GuildHE Copyright Negotiating and Advisory Committee, co-organising an annual ‘Icepops’ conference and co-authoring a regular blog on copyright.

He is currently finalising the Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy, the first of its kind among UK universities and regularly presents ‘Copyright the Card Game’ sessions for Kent colleagues. The next session is on Monday 23 March.

Chris remains a passionate advocate for the importance of copyright: ‘Copyright matters because everybody is a creator these days – but similarly everybody uses other people’s material. As an education institution, it is important that we do things the right way.’

The Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC) is the main forum for consideration and negotiation between the University and its staff. Its membership includes Management, Union, and Staff representatives who meet each term.

The second meeting of the academic year is due to take place on Thursday 5 March 2020. The Committee website contains links to all of the previous meeting minutes and forthcoming meeting papers, which can be accessed  on the JSNCC webpages.

If you would like to comment on any of the Agenda items (shown under the ‘Papers’ tab – March 2020), please contact your Representatives.

We are half way through our bookable offer of Crucial Conversations sessions this year. The objective of the course is to support leaders at Kent to achieve results through bold, courageous dialogue, with their teams and each other. To enable leaders to create a climate of mutual trust and respect and to provide tools, techniques and materials for participants to take away and apply to real-life leadership situations.

The next course is in Medway and takes place on Thursday 14 May and Thursday 28 May – you must be able to attend both days. We have workshops in Canterbury and Medway and as always, all staff are welcome to attend at either site.

This two-day programme is for academic and professional service leaders. The target audience is primarily Grades 9 &10. However, if you are operating in a Leadership role outside these grades and you feel it would be of benefit to you, please contact us before booking, by emailing LDev@kent.ac.uk

See Staff Connect for more information and to book.

Also, see our previous blog to read more about the session from a Trainers viewpoint.

Wednesday 26th February is Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday  marks the beginning of the season of Lent, which is observed by Christians across the world as a period of austerity and spiritual refreshment.

On Ash Wednesday traditional church services will be held in Eliot College Chapel at the following times: 12.30 (Church of England); and 13.30 (Catholic).

Each will last approx 30 minutes, and staff and students are welcome to attend

Our Employee Assistance Programme is live. To get support from them, counselling or advice, ring 0808 168 2143 or go to their website and enter the following details:

USERNAME: uokent |PASSWORD: university

If you would like to learn more about the Employee Assistance Programme or have specific questions, then please come along to one of the Awareness Sessions taking place on 26 February 2020. Times as follows:

10.30 until 11.00 with 15 minutes for questions
11.15 until 11.45 with 15 minutes for questions
12.00 until 12.30 with 15 minutes for questions
13.15 until 13.45 with 15 minutes for questions

All the sessions will be taking place in Darwin Conference Suite Three. They are just 30 minutes in duration so won’t take much time out of your day.

If you would like to attend one of the above sessions, please book a place via Staff Connect.

With the Easter holidays just around the corner, you may be worrying about how to keep your children active and entertained. With our EasterZone sports camp for children aged 5 to 14, you won’t need to worry. Led by qualified and DBS checked coaches and supported by sports supervisors, our sports camp will allow your children to make friends in a fun environment while introducing them to new sports including football, kwik cricket, tag rugby, hockey, and multi-sports.

Online bookings are now being taken. Spaces can either be booked for individual days or the full four days. The closing date for applications is Friday 20 March 2020.

Prices:

EasterZone 2020 runs from Monday 6 to Thursday 9 April, from 9.00 to 15.00 daily.

University staff / student discount: One day £30, one week (four days) £100

Non University staff / student: One day £35, one week (four days) £120

Late pick-up (per child, per day): £10

Late pick-ups are available from 15.00 to 17.00 nd include staff-led fun games and creative activities. If you have any questions please email sportsenquiries@kent.ac.uk or call 01227 816391.

Millie Knight is a woman full of ambition. Becoming visually impaired at a young age, she knows no boundaries when it comes to excelling on the slopes.

Just before Christmas, Millie and her ski guide Brett Wild took home seven out of eight Gold medals at a World Cup in Mammoth, California. Feeling on top her game, she went into 2020 ready to ski. Unfortunately, on her way to Gatwick, she was involved in a rear-end collision and suffered severe whiplash. Being who Millie is, she powered through and was still able to make her flight to Switzerland – ready for the World Cup.

Despite her injuries, Millie skied for six days straight even though she was experiencing throbbing headaches and pain in her neck. Due to illness, Millie’s guide wasn’t able to attend her first race so her reserve guide, Katie, came out. They had one day of skiing then raced the next day.

“By the second run, my neck had totally seized up and I was experiencing terrible shooting pains down my arm, but still placed fourth. My neck was extremely sore, so I asked to see a physio the moment I finished racing. As soon as the physio took one look at me, I was rushed to hospital with a suspected broken neck.”

Luckily, Millie was okay and was off to Slovenia, ready for her next challenge – ‘GS’ aka Giant Slalom – the second slowest slope with top speeds of 70km/h. By this point, her guide Brett was well enough to ski with her. Millie received Bronze, Gold and Silver respectively for her races.

The fun doesn’t stop there. Millie’s next move is to take part in the British National Championships in France and after that, she’s off to Norway for the next World Cup and Sweden for the World Cup Finals. We have no doubt Millie will do incredible things and all  this competition is helping Millie achieve the ultimate goal of partaking in the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Kent Sport congratulates Millie for her successes and is proud to have her part of the team. Find out more about the Kent Sport scholarship programme and for more information about Millie, see her profile.

If you’d like to get active at Kent, come and chat with our friendly team or pick up a copy of Active Kent from the Sport Centre.

You have spent your time at Kent working with fantastic volunteers so why not nominate them for a Kent Student Award. Tell us who has made the most outstanding contribution to the student experience so they can be rewarded accordingly.

You can nominate a Kent student or group of students for one of the 9 awards. Winners will receive a brick in the ‘Footsteps Path’ and recognition of the achievement on their Higher Education Achievement Report.

Finalists will be invited to a garden party on the Canterbury campus on Friday 29 May, when the winners will be announced.

Nominations are open until Sunday 22 March. You can nominate someone by clicking on the link here.

 Updated web pages have been published for staff with information and resources relating to industrial action. The staff web pages have been updated ahead of strike action scheduled to

take place by members of the University and College Union (UCU) between 24 February and 17 March.

The 14 days of planned action are:
24 February – 26 February
2 March – 5 March
9 March – 13 March
16 March – 17 March

The web pages include links to the industrial action pay policy, FAQs, information about the background to the action and what Kent is doing. They also include instructions for staff to report their participation in the action.

Dedicated web pages for students about industrial action have also been updated, providing up-to-date information about the planned strike action and answers to frequently asked questions.

The new strike dates in February follow a previous period of strike action which began on 25 November 2019 and lasted eight continual days, ending on 4 December 2019.  At Kent, the industrial action relates to the continued dispute regarding the national pay award. Some other institutions are also taking action over changes to the USS pension scheme.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and UCU have been in negotiations in an attempt to find a resolution to these national disputes. As part of those discussions, UCEA have made a series of proposals that seek to resolve the pay and conditions dispute following consultation with members including Kent. More information about the proposal can be found in the recent UCEA leaflet.