Do you have any availability to help the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) with its Multiple Mini Interviews?

We are seeking support on the following dates at the University of Kent campus:

Tuesday 7 January 2020
Wednesday 8 January 2020
Thursday 9 January 2020

You would be supporting the selection process for the first cohort of medical students, joining KMMS, meeting some of the first students and getting an insight into how the Medical School selects doctors in training.

The sorts of things we need help with are: timekeeping (the multiple mini interview circuit consists of seven different stations with a specific amount of time for each station so good time keeping is crucial!), handing out of information to students, chaperoning students, directing people around the circuits and any general admin responsibilities.

These are three 12-hour days for KMMS staff so we would be incredibly grateful of your time and support!

We have created videos for our students about MMIs on our website (scroll to the bottom of the page) so you might like to watch them too.

Please get approval from your manager as needed.

To find out more, or to offer your time please email Mary Langford: mary.langford@kmms.ac.uk

Message from the Vice-Chancellor

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Richard Reece as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience). Richard, who is currently Associate Vice President for Teaching, Learning and Students at the University of Manchester, will be joining us on 30 March 2020.

Richard will bring a wealth of expertise and strong leadership to this key post. In his current role, he has been involved in the establishment, setting and monitoring of institutional strategic and operational priorities to provide students with the best possible environment for teaching and learning. He has also championed parity of esteem between teaching excellence and research excellence and has led a number of projects aimed at creating an inclusive teaching and learning environment.

As Professor of Molecular Biology, Richard is actively involved in the promotion of science and teaching through his work with learned societies and other organisations. Under the auspices of the Royal Society of Biology, Richard established, piloted and rolled-out the accreditation programme for biology undergraduate degrees in the UK. This accreditation was the first of its kind.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Christina Hughes for her ongoing work as interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience). Christina has agreed to remain with us until April which will allow for a seamless handover in this critical area.

Want to learn all about the history of the University of Kent and Gulbenkian arts centre?

As Gulbenkian celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, a youth-led project named Radical Roots and Dangerous Ideas (with support from Barbican Centre) delves into the archives of the theatre, where plenty of fun facts about its heritage is discovered.

To find out all about their fascinating finds take a look at their blog – Radical Roots and Dangerous Ideas: Archives and Gulbenkian’s Heritage https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/specialcollections/

A huge well done to all those who donated at the appeal at the University Carol Service, which raised £2,004 for the local homeless charity, Porchlight (including the Gift Aid element).

Revd Dr Stephen Laird FSA FHEA, University Chaplain and Honorary Lecturer says: ‘Thank you, Sasha, for doing the speech! And thanks to others for the high standard of their active contributions’

The University’s new Ethics Code is now available to read online. The Code – first published in May 2019 – was drafted by the Ethics Committee, a sub-committee of Council, and approved by both Senate and Council.

The Code applies to the University of Kent community – students, staff and members of Council – who are expected to adhere to, uphold and apply the Code during their day-to-day activities.

The Code aims to help community members make decisions where there are ethical implications. These are a common feature across all areas of University life – from staff members deciding whether to accept a gift from an external supplier, to behaviour and decisions taken during elections for student and staff committee posts. The Code also identifies how and where ethical concerns should be raised.

The Code has guidelines built around the following headings:

1 – Responsibility and accountability
2 – Integrity, honesty and transparency
3 – Academic freedom, critical thinking and intellectual creativity
4 – Equality, diversity and inclusivity
5 – Collegiality
6 – Sustainability
7 – Making a positive impact

Sarah Gibson, Chair of the University’s Ethics Committee and a lay member of the University’s Council, said: ‘We all face ethical decisions in our professional lives, and this Code provides a clear framework to help the University community identify and work through these issues. It demonstrates the University’s commitment to the highest standards of ethical behaviour in all aspects of university life.’

Membership of the Ethics Committee includes University representatives from the areas of research ethics and governance, fundraising, anti-bribery and corruption and international partnerships alongside lay members of Council and students.

Dr Rory Loughnane, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Studies, has won the 2019 The Calvin & Rose G Hoffman Prize for distinguished scholarly work on Christopher Marlowe.

The title of Dr Loughnane’s winning entry was ‘Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Traces of Authorship’. His essay investigated the authorship and early publication history of the Henry VI play cycle. It builds upon his earlier research into the canon and chronology of Shakespeare’s works for the New Oxford Shakespeare (2016-17).

Dr Loughnane has recently been appointed as General Editor of a new Collected Works of Christopher Marlowe for Oxford University Press, an international editorial project that will be primarily based at the University of Kent. On this project, he will be collaborating closely with colleagues in the School of English, Professor Catherine Richardson and Dr Sarah Dustagheer, as well as a team of over 20 international scholars.

On receiving the 2019 Hoffman Prize, Dr Loughnane said: ‘I am deeply honoured to receive this prize, and grateful to all those involved in its adjudication. I would like to thank especially my colleagues on the New Oxford Shakespeare and Marlowe projects.’

Now in its 30th year, the Hoffman Prize was established by a bequest of the late Calvin Hoffman. The prize is highly competitive and open to Marlowe scholars the world over.

Find out more about the prize on the Marlowe Society’s website.

Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt and the Kent School of Architecture and Planning (KSAP) hosted an event at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on Thursday 5 December to launch the new film by Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt, titled Restoring the Palace of Westminster.

The film, based on Dr Schoenefeldt’s research project Between Heritage and Sustainability for the Restoration and Renewal Programme was followed by a panel debate led by KSAP Head of School, Professor Gerald Adler, ‘Can Victorian architecture be sustainable?’

Panel guests included:

-Hannah Parham, member of the Historic Building Consultancy team at Donald Insall Associates
-Edonis Jesus, BIM4Heritage
-Sebastian MacMillan, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
-Richard Lorch, Editor-in-chief, Building and Cities
-Fionn Stephenson, Chair in Sustainable Design (University of Sheffield)
-Henrik Schoenefeldt, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture (University of Kent)
-Adam Watrobski, Principal Architect at Houses of Parliament

The event was live streamed on YouTube and is available to watch online.

About the Kent School of Architecture and Planning: 

With its innovative programmes, studio-based teaching, professional links and excellent facilities, KASP creates an inspirational learning environment. Students benefit from one of the most advanced learning environments in the UK. As well as a creative studio culture, they gain experience in using the latest facilities and equipment, which prepares them to work in the industry or further study.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and what better time to get into the festive spirit and do something charitable?

A research group at Kent, led by Professor David Wilkinson, has pioneered and shown the amazing potential benefits of therapeutic neurostimulation. This is a technique to stimulate the brain from the outside (i.e. no surgery), using tested devices developed in our laboratory.

In order to raise £165,000 to establish a free service for those with neurodisabilities to receive experimental neurostimulation, please buy these wonderful charity season’s greetings cards and help them get a step closer to achieving their vision.

The cards, which feature a snowy view of the cathedral from campus and a snowy sheep, are available for a suggested donation of £3.50 for a pack of 10 or three packs for £9 from the School of Psychology Reception, G22 in Rutherford Annexe or by contacting K.A.Barnsdale-65@kent.ac.uk. All proceeds will go towards supporting this vital research.

Carbasse Implant and Dental Centre, a family run dental practice based in Whitstable, has kindly sponsored charity season’s greetings cards to sell in aid of our World of Discovery Campaign.

The Practice Manager at Carbasse Implant and Dental Centre said “I have personal experience of the impact a brain injury can have on an individual and their family. As soon as I heard about this groundbreaking research I knew I wanted to get involved to potentially help change the lives of those living with neuro-disabilities.“

For more information about the campaign please visit https://giving.kent.ac.uk/discovery/neurostimulation.

For more information about Carbasse Implant and Dental Centre please visit https://carbassedental.co.uk/

Our Adverse Weather Policy has been updated and reissued to clarify pay arrangements for staff during periods of severe weather conditions when the University may not be able to operate normally.

The policy includes advice on additional payments to recognise the efforts of ‘essential services’ staff who may have to come to work when others cannot.

A copy of the updated Policy can be found on the HR webpages.