Tag Archives: Publish on Site Editor

Testing out a theory

Students in class

Find out why Kent is a great place for postgraduate study

Open Day 6 July 2019, Canterbury

Whether you are thinking of returning to study to develop or change your career, or perhaps to pursue a subject purely for pleasure, we would like to invite you to ‘Coffee and Cake with the Dean’ to find out how we can help you to achieve your ambitions.

Professor Paul Allain is hosting the event in the Templeman Library, SR1, between 10.00 and 12.00  on Saturday 6 July and will be joined by current postgraduate students and staff from the Graduate School and Scholarships Unit to answer questions about studying at Kent and the wide range of opportunities on offer. In addition, the schools and centres will be available in the Sports Hall between 09.00 and 15.00 to discuss your particular academic discipline.

  • Kent has a £12m postgraduate scholarship fund and there are awards and discounts for alumni and new graduates.
  • We have a wide range of subjects, most of which are available full or part-time and some by distance and blended learning.
  • The event will cover all Kent’s programmes offered at our locations in Canterbury, Medway, Athens, Brussels, Paris and Rome.

Book today on our Courses webpages.

Everyone is welcome to attend so please share this invitation with your friends, family and colleagues, whether they are studying now or if they would like to return to study in the future.

Staff Guide May 2019

Our new Staff Guide – what do you think?

Our Staff Guide webpages were launched last December. And to mark their six-month anniversary, we’d like to hear what you like, and don’t like so much, about the new guide.

During June, we will be holding focus groups on the Staff Guide at our Canterbury and Medway campuses. They will be taking place on

  • Monday 10 June, 14.30-15.30 – Darwin Board Room, Canterbury
  • Thursday 13 June,  15.30-16.30 – Darwin Board Room, Canterbury
  • Wednesday 19 June, 14.30-15.30 – Medway Building (M2.04), Medway

The sessions will be led by Etienne Donzelot and Wendy Raeside from Corporate Communications who created the guide, with help from colleagues in other key teams such as WebDev and HR.

The Staff Guide aims to cover everything you need to know about working at Kent – with essential staff information in easy-to-search categories, such as:

  • Getting Started
  • Employment and Benefits
  • Professional and Personal Development
  • Day-to-Day Support
  • Teaching and Research
  • Safety and Wellbeing
  • On Campus

Although six months old, the Staff Guide is very much a work in progress and we are keen to hear your feedback so we ensure it works for you.

Sign-up for a focus group now – ideally by Friday 31 May – by emailing us at communications@kent.ac.uk with your preferred day, time and venue.

Cecilian Choir

A milestone for the University Cecilian Choir: Choral Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral

Congratulations to all the students, staff and alumni who were a part of the University Cecilian Choir‘s service of Choral Evensong, directed by Deputy Director of Music, Dan Harding, at Canterbury Cathedral yesterday.

Comprising students, staff and alumni from across the University community, it was the first time the Cecilian Choir has sung at Canterbury Cathedral, and as seasoned choral evensong singers will know, it’s quite a discipline to learn; the pointing and flexibility of psalm-singing, the need for security in delivering the unaccompanied Responses, and the constant having-to-be-on-your-toes throughout the service so you are ready for what comes next, with the right music in the right order, able to pluck the note of your chord from the intoned sentence from the Precentor. Not withstanding the additional challenge of singing in split formation across an extremely wide aisle in the Cathedral Quire, in mixed-voice arrangement without the security of singing amongst others of your voice-part. And all in front of an expectant congregation, fitting your contribution flawlessly into the well-oiled machinery of the Liturgy…

The Choir rose the occasion marvellously, particularly in Stanford’s Canticles in C and Elgar’s ‘Ave Verum Corpus,’ a heady blend of lyricism and stirring ensemble singing.

It was lovely to welcome back some former members of the Choir and University alumni to take part.

Film student

Students showcase their films in the Lupino cinema

Undergraduate and postgraduate students from the Department of Film will be showcasing their work in an afternoon screening at Lupino, the School of Arts student cinema, on Wednesday 29 May 2019. The event has been organised by Lawrence Jackson, Head of Film Practice, and will begin at 3pm.

The films to be screened include:

  • A Good Cigar by Sam Tornio, MA Film with Practice.
  • A Student in Sheep’s Clothing by Niall Hayes and Sam Murphy, Stage 1 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • First Flower by Jessica Bongi, Jessica Brito-Silva, and Lina Witow, Stage 1 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • Blue by Wassiq Ahmed, Marisol Bassino, and Massimiliano Folgheraiter, Stage 2 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • Cleft by Tatiana Hristova and Ana Tapia, Stage 2 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • Optimistic Station by Jake Andre, Elise Noakes and Adam Synyszyn, Stage 2 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • If Memory Serves by Yu Ai, Rachel Dodds, Ke Fang, and Kawita Nunthakunatip, Stage 3 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • How to Start a Cult by Natalia Abrol, Toby Barber, Rola Hafez, and Nimasu Namsaren, Stage 3 students on the BA (Hons) in Film.
  • Force of Change by Harry Nott, ​MA Film with Practice.

For full details, please see the page here:
www.kent.ac.uk/arts/newsandevents/calendar.html?eid=37852

 

International Symposium: Cities Against Nationalism?

The Cities against Nationalism? one-day international symposium, hosted by Kent Interdisciplinary Centre for Spatial Studies (KISS) and the School of Anthropology and Conservation, aims at investigating the relatively under-theorised research field of urban geopolitics and nationalism.

Given the recent resurgence of ethnic and territorial nationalism, the symposium will explore the rising tensions between national and urban regimes, with particular reference to the plight of minorities and immigrants. The discussion generated by the symposium aims to make a contribution to the theorisation of both nationalism and urban studies.

The event is free and open to all. You can find out more via this article on the SAC News and Event blog.

For the Public Keynote Lecture, please register on the Eventbrite page.

If interested in attending the symposium sessions, please contact Dr Jonathan Rock Rokem by email jr645@kent.ac.uk

Lifebuoy

First Reponders’ Training

First Responders’ Training sessions, delivered by EKRCC (East Kent Rape Crisis Centre), are taking place on the following dates:

Designed for Campus Security Staff, College Masters and Sexual Responders

  • Tuesday 12 June and Wednesday 13 June 9:30-12:30

Designed for Harassment Contacts, general frontline staff who come into contact with students

  • Wednesday 10 July and Thursday 11 July 9:30-12:30

Please book your place by logging onto Staff Connect.

Logo of a mouth

LGBTQ+ interview participants wanted for a chat about queer life in 2019

The University of Kent’s LGBT+ Staff Network is looking to publish Gay as in Happy, a collection of interviews and personal stories that focus on LGBTQ+ members of staff, students, and the wider community.

We want to provide a positive outlook on coming out and on being queer in a predominantly straight world. Why? Because it is crucial to live in hope and to know that a fulfilled life as a queer person is possible (and, dare we say it, desirable). Sharing positive stories gives us hope and allows us to imagine happy endings for ourselves and for our loved ones. Thus, hope becomes a radical act. Because to imagine a better life is an important step towards creating a better life.

In order to make this happen, come and speak to us! We are looking for contributors who want to share their positive experiences about coming out and being out. Each interviewee will have an illustration done by Jadine Ingram and the interview recording and/or transcript will be archived at The Templeman Library. We will be doing interviews on campus on 5, 6 and 12 June. If you’re interested in getting involved please email lgbtqbook @kent.ac.uk, or drop us a line if you’d like to know more.

Music performance

Summer Music Week: Friday 31 May – Saturday 8 June

The University Music department launches its annual Summer Music Week on Friday 31 May, a nine-day festival bidding a musical farewell to the end of the academic year at the University.

Showcasing many students and staff across the University, alumni and members of the local community, the celebrations kick off this Friday night as the University Chamber Choir and Consort performs in the historic and sonorous acoustics of the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral. The festival also sees the University Big Band playing at the Deal Memorial Bandstand on Sunday 2 June; the University Rock Choir in action on Monday 3 June; a recital by University Music Scholars; the usual farewell performances from the Concert and Big Bands; the premiere of a new work exploring the meeting-point between music and science, ‘Between Worlds,’ by composer/violinst Anna Phoebe written for the Chamber Choir and String Sinfonia; all culminating with the Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Choir in ‘Music for a Summer’s Day’ on Saturday 8 June, complete with cream tea on the Registry lawn.

Find out about all that’s coming up, including many free events, online here and download the brochure. Come and be part of a final, musical farewell!

At the beach

Would you like more holiday time?

The University is offering a one-off opportunity for staff to purchase one week (pro rata for part-time staff) of additional leave which can be taken between July 2019 and June 2020.

The cost of buying the leave is the same as the reduction in salary would be for taking unpaid leave, but the advantage is that the cost is deducted from salary over 12 months, thereby spreading the cost throughout the year. Pension contributions are not affected.

The facility is available to professional service staff in grades 1 to 10 and professional and senior management staff, holding full-time or part-time contracts of employment either on an open-ended or fixed-term basis. Unfortunately, due to either contractual or operational constraints, some groups of staff are excluded from applying for this facility.

Full details of the facility can be found on the HR webpages.

This facility is mutually beneficial to both staff and the University by providing additional flexibility for employees whilst generating savings for the University through the deduction of salary.

Applications to purchase the additional leave, and requests to book the leave, are made through Staff Connect. Guidance on how to do this is available via Staff Connect. Scroll down to Additional Leave (purchased).

Chairs on the beach

Pre-Retirement workshop – new date added

We have added another Pre-Retirement workshop on 25 June, from 09.00 to 16.30. The course is open to members of staff planning ahead for retirement; aimed at age 50+. The workshop aims to give participants knowledgeable advice in regards to all aspects of planning for retirement, looking at areas such as finance, health and lifestyle, through a full day’s agenda.

Booking is now open via Staff Connect.