Colleagues are invited to attend the CSHE Seminar on Thursday 24 October,13.00-14.00, in Grimond Seminar Room 1. The seminar titled ‘Exploring students’ experiences of race through interdisciplinary collaboration in higher education’ is presented by Dr Sonya Sharma, Kingston University London.

In this seminar Dr Sonya Sharma will address an interdisciplinary and collaborative four-year project, Taking Race Live, that explored lived experiences of race among second-year students. Utilizing qualitative methods to evaluate the project each year, she draws on students’ voices to address their experiences of race, partnering with interdisciplinary peers, and learning about each other. Attention is given to how this was done through engaging with the arts and embodied practices found within drama, dance and music.

To register to attend please complete the online booking form.

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Chris Deacy, Head of the Department of Religious Studies, interviews Martin Bloomfield, who is currently studying towards a PhD in Philosophy at the University of York.

Martin explains why Lampeter was a ‘collection of caricatures’, and we also find out about the range of schools he attended when he was young. The pair talk about how Martin (and his native York) have changed over the years, studying in Lampeter, seeing Bad Manners at Gassy Jacks in Cardiff, the karate and fencing societies he was involved with, why going to university helped him to discover who he was, how he did (and did not) stand for Parliament in 1992, being a floating voter, the days when ‘Top of the Pops’ was the gold standard, the time when Radio 1 didn’t play Status Quo, why Martin chooses the sweet over the bitter, being tested quite late for dyslexia, how happiness is not just about smiling, what advice he would give his 15 year old self, and why Martin has a synchronic view of time.

The Estates Department has been collaborating with Kent Union to create a new outdoor space called Giles Courtyard.  This area, located next to the Wellbeing Services at Keynes College, is designed to support wellbeing and encourage people to take a break away from studying and working.

The creation of Giles Courtyard involved consultation with key stakeholders including Kent Union, Student Wellbeing and Counselling Service, Keynes Master’s Office and the Sustainability Team, to ensure that the plans would support biodiversity as well as people.  To meet this requirement, Landscape & Grounds Management reviewed the existing large Japonicas, keeping the larger trees to retain height and valuable nesting, foraging and perching opportunities for birds.  This has led to increased light exposure to the garden, allowing a greater diversity of plant species to grow and invertebrates to thrive in this space.  Staff and students will now have the opportunity to grow their own herbs and produce in the new raised beds and can contact sustainability@kent.ac.uk for more details about how to do this.

The space for quiet conversations has been encouraged by installing screened off seating areas, surrounded by fragrant plants.  This provides a secluded room-like feel to the garden as well as encouraging a wide range of plant species.

This is one of a number of projects Estates is assisting Kent Union with to improve outdoor spaces with emphasis on wellbeing, and has been driven by the feedback gathered by Kent Union relating to improvements students would like to see. To find out more about these projects, or other work the Landscape & Grounds Management team are working on, follow them on Twitter @UniKentGrounds

If you get an email from a University of Kent supplier, external agent or a named contact that you usually work with, always follow the steps below.

Some of our known suppliers and external contacts are currently being impersonated, and the fraudulent emails we’re seeing can be very convincing. Business contact lists are being hacked to make fake emails look legitimate,

• If there’s an attached invoice or document that you weren’t expecting, don’t preview it or open it. Contact the supplier separately from the email to check legitimacy.
• If offered a link to sign into your account, don’t click the link. Go to their website using a web browser to sign in.
• If the email gives you their new banking details, phone a known contact to check legitimacy.
• Check the sender email address: double-click on it to see it in full. Does it look right?

All staff need to always take this cautious approach.

• If in doubt about a supplier email, contact procurement@kent.ac.uk
• If in doubt about any email, ask IT helpdesk to check it out for you.

More email security advice from the University

1 October 2018 saw the launch of the University’s first ever sustainable food strategy, which provides a road map for increasing the sustainability of our food offering from field to fork and beyond. The strategy supports the University’s overall response to the climate crisis and meets ever increasing demand for more sustainable options across our campuses’ menus.

Now a year on into improving the sustainability of the food served across campus, the Sustainable Food Steering Group would like to share some of the key achievements that have been accomplished in the strategy’s first year. The combined efforts of all those involved were highlighted in the People and Planet University League table with the points received in the sustainable food section, alongside engagement and education, giving Kent a boost up league from 101 to 40^th.

Rutherford Kitchen has changed it produce supplier meaning fruit and vegetables are now being sourced from local growers. This mean that the menu in Rutherford can be adapted by the chefs regularly to reflect the seasons and share the best of southern produce.

Kent Union have been working hard to support the Sustainable Food Strategy and were instrumental in pushing for reusable water bottles and coffee cups to be made more available and visible. All staff members can claim a water bottle at any Kent Hospitality outlet, and students that moved into accommodation on campus received a free water bottle and coffee cup. Bed and board students also received a reusable food container that can be traded in for a clean one each time they use it at bed and board outlets.

Kent Hospitality released new menus across their Canterbury and Medway outlets, increasing their vegan options available. Their efforts have been recognised by PETA, who have included the University of Kent on their list of 20 Most Vegan-Friendly Universities. In addition to this, many of the new vegan and vegetation items replaced red meat items that were previously on the menus as part of an effort to reduce carbon and water intensive food items from our offering.

All fish served in meals across our outlets is now Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified. This ensures that no fish we serve is on the ‘fish to avoid list’ for species of conservation concern, and that we have full traceability on where that fish came from.

K Bar have gone disposable coffee cup free, meaning all customers are encouraged to drink in or have their reusable cup at the ready.

The Gulbenkian are taking part in FutureProof and their project, ‘Project Zero,’ aims to eliminate as much waste as possible from their operations. So far they have:

• removed all single use plastic bottles in the café, saving over 30000 plastic bottles since August 2018,
• switched to re-usable plastic pint and half pint cups which significantly reduced their single use plastic cup buying,
• partnered with ‘Too Good To Go’ and each month sell around 70 bags of food, which would normally be thrown away,
• sent their milk bottle caps (around 300 caps a week) to a company that reuse the plastic

The waste team have begun a food waste trial with six outlets across the University with the waste being sent to an anaerobic digestion facility in Essex, where they produce bio fertilisers for farmers and other growers.

The sustainable food steering group will continue to share our progress against the strategy so please keep an eye on updates in each of the outlets and on campus online.

For more information please email sustainability@kent.ac.uk

Want to have a break from your routine and try something new? The term 1 Let’s Play timetable includes netball, basketball, badminton, running, This Girl Can Lift, Beginners hockey and touch tennis. Why not get active, have fun, meet friends and join us for any of the sessions?

This is your chance to give these activities a go! Sessions are free to staff and student Kent Sport Premium Plus and Premium members; or pay £2 per person per session with Plus and Pay to Play membership. Kent Sport membership benefits and prices are available on the website.

“My life in Kent would definitely have been different without Let’s Play. I never thought playing sports would be that amusing; but now I actually fall in love with it, especially badminton. Let’s Play is very enjoyable and carefree as it is all about having fun. I like the variety of sports provided which enables me to try out different things and learn new skills. It is also nice to make new friends during the activities and have fun together.” Karen – Let’s Play participant.

For more information about the activities visit the Let’s Play webpage. Or pop into the University of Kent Sports Centre and pick up our Active Kent activities booklet. To keep up to date, follow @LetsPlayKent on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

See you at the next session!

Great news! We now offer Reflexology at Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic!

We are currently offering taster sessions at £20 for 30 minutes from Monday 14 October to Friday 1 November.

What is Reflexology?

Reflexology is non-invasive, complementary therapy and is a thousand-year-old practice that focuses on massaging the acupressure points in the feet or hands to relieve stress, illness, pain and stimulate mental, emotional, physical healing and well-being in all the body systems.  It builds stress resistance and rejuvenates by stimulating meridians, circulation and the nerve systems by flushing and detoxing.

How does Reflexology work?

Each area of the foot, hand, eye, face and ear connects via nerves and electromagnetic energy (chi) channels (“meridians”) to a particular body organ and system. By massaging that area, it stimulates and flushes that area.

The benefits of Reflexology:

•  Stress relief
• Relaxation
• Hormone balance
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Balance immune system
• Lower blood pressure
• Support digestive system
• Respiratory disorders (asthma)
• Sinusitis
• Menopause

For more information or to book in, please call us on 01227 824375 or contact physio@kent.ac.uk.