Each year, the University awards a number of prizes to individual staff or teams for outstanding work in teaching and/or learning support. For 2023, colleagues are encouraged to submitted applications which address three criteria:

• Excellence in Teaching or Supporting Learning
• Dissemination and Influence
• Above and Beyond Expectations of Normal Operation.

Prizes will be at the University level, and will include both Academic and Learning Support categories. Individuals or teams can apply from all divisions and professional services teams.

The panel will be chaired by Professor Richard Reece (DVC Education & Student Experience) and will meet in April 2023. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the Learning and Teaching Conference in June 2023.

The call for applications for the 2023 prizes is now open. The closing date for applications is Thursday 6 April 2023. Please fill out the application form.

This year the University of Kent is applying for University of Sanctuary status. As part of the City of Sanctuary movement, the Universities of Sanctuary network aims to ‘make Higher Education institutions places of safety, solidarity and empowerment for people seeking sanctuary’.

To help ensure that the University’s application process is properly reflective and self-critical, the Migration and Movement SRT is continuing its series of seminars that address the question ‘What is Sanctuary?’

Speakers from a range of disciplines, career stages and backgrounds consider what sanctuary means and entails. Contributions are a mix of academic talks and reflections on lived experience.

All sessions are online. Everybody is invited to join the conversation.

What Is Sanctuary 3, 16.00-17.00, Wednesday 8 March 

Rachel Larkin, Lecturer in Social Work (SSPSSR) 

Sanctuary: A place or a feeling? This presentation will explore sanctuary as a relational affective space, drawing on data from research with migrant young women in the UK. Using psycho-social and affect theory, it will consider the role of emotion in both the attempt to create sanctuary and the experience of seeking it.

Matthew Whittle, Lecturer in Postcolonial Literature (School of English) 

In this talk I’ll be looking at Walton Ford’s painting ‘Sanctuary’ (1998) as a jumping off point to discuss the relationship between forced migration and colonialism. The context of the painting is the Congo region and the privileging of eco-tourism over human life. It invites a contrast between forms of sanctuary relating to the forced movement and precarity of animals and humans in (neo)colonial contexts.

Join Zoom meeting:
Topic: What Is Sanctuary 3
Time: Mar 8, 2023 04:00 PM London 
Meeting ID: 831 8572 4134
Passcode: 657680 

What Is Sanctuary 4, 16.00-17.00, Wednesday 29 March 

David Roberts, Reader in Biodiversity Conservation (School of Anthropology and Conservation) 

What is a refuge in conservation and ecology?During the process of extinction, the last individual of a species has to have occurred at a specific location at a specific time. This, however, does not mean the location contributed significantly to its persistence (i.e. that it was a refuge) as its persistence could merely be the result of chance, that this individual at this location was the last of its kind. Understanding why populations persist in the face of adversity is fundamental to conservation and ecology. There are numerous definitions of what constitutes a refuge, with most incorporating some form of spatial and temporal isolation from the cause of, or resistance to, disturbance. However, use of the term refuge is often imprecise, has been used interchangeably with other terms such as relic population and biogeographic nodes, and is often based on unsubstantiated statements. Here we look how the term refuge is applied in ecology and its application to some famous extinctions and environmental events.

Jonathan Rock Rokem, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography (School of Anthropology and Conservation) 

Mounting violent borders and rising inequalities bring new global challenges and opportunities facing the enablement of migrant arrival and settlement. This talk brings to light differences in migrant access to public urban resources across the socio-economic and ethnic profile of three major cities. Comparing Stockholm, Berlin and London, the research investigates spatial inequality and urban segregation, and shows how this can affect migrant mobility and accessibly to public urban resources. Taken together, this is argued to have an impact on newly arriving people’s participation in diverse urban societies.

Fateh Shaban, Academic Fellow in Human Geography (School of Anthropology and Conservation) 

The Syrian civil war, which began with a revolution in 2011, has led to a vacuum in higher education in north-western Syria. Some universities in the area have continued to provide tertiary education, whilst others have emerged since. However, higher education in northern Syria faces significant challenges due to the war and the conditions it has generated, most notably the lack of infrastructure, neglect by international support, the interference of armed forces, and other problems associated with war conditions. This paper will consider the urgent needs faced by the higher education sector in north-western Syria, the most pressing of which are financial support, unification of the sector, attaining accreditation, and building relationships at the international level.

Join Zoom Meeting:
Topic: What is Sanctuary 4
Time: Mar 29, 2023 04:00 PM London
Meeting ID: 858 9353 1278
Passcode: 953000  

What Is Sanctuary 5, 16.00-17.00, Wednesday 5 April 

Sian Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Law (Kent Law School)  

This talk will consider forms of sanctuary provided by religious groups in ancient times and the significance or otherwise of that to present day ideas of sanctuary. Building on this, the talk will address the cities of sanctuary movement in the USA, in particular the refusal to implement (repressive) federal immigration laws.

Hayley Gibson, Lecturer in Law (Kent Law School) 

Constituting Sanctuary: Theorising law and refusal. Aside from its connotations of mercy and kindness, the phenomenon of sanctuary often elicits a jurisprudential discourse concerning the conflict between two normative or legal regimes: one claims sanctuary from the reach of the law; and at the same time there is some force, uniquely capable of providing a space in which the law may be refused, which runs contrary to the monopoly on force that is definitive of sovereignty and, by extension, State law. This paper aims to think through the jurisprudential implications of this unique territory-within-State-territory, in which law is not suspended, but refused. It will draw on the work of Jacques Ranciere in conceptualising the territory of sanctuary as an aesthetic realm in which the ‘part of no part’ is made manifest; and in doing so, it shall consider what the significance of this unique space might be for the concepts of human rights and citizenship. 

Reda Mahajar, Doctoral Researcher in International Relations (Brussels School of International Relations) 

In this talk, I will illustrate my experience as a refugee pursuing my lifelong dream of a PhD research project against all the odds of war, danger and displacement in Syria and Lebanon. Born and raised as a refugee in Syria, I became a refugee again in Lebanon from 2013 to 2018. However, my life changed when I came to the Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent, in Sept 2018.

Join zoom meeting:
Topic: What is Sanctuary 5
Time: Apr 5, 2023 04:00 PM London
Meeting ID: 893 1719 8474
Passcode: 680916 

This week saw the fourth VC Cup event take place, with The Cube. This was an event based on the original TV show, in which contestants completed a series of challenges without losing all their lives.

For this event, teams met for a social evening at the Pavilion Café Bar, where they took on five different challenges. Following a tense first round, teams headed off to Woody’s common room for the second half of the evening, where teams were able to grab a refreshment before playing three additional challenges, this time earning lives when victorious.

By the final there were two teams standing strong, DoNATS and Kent Union. To determine the evening’s victor and winner of the prestigious Cube trophy, teams competed in the final event, a series of ‘Ball flick’ challenges, which saw team members tasked with flicking balls from their stands in order, by colour and in the fastest time. After a tough and close three rounds, DoNATS finally took the win, leaving Kent Union relegated to 2nd place.

Despite failing to reach the semi-finals, teams Liquorice All Sports, Campus Sporting Exploits and Living La Vida Mocha remain at the top of the leaderboard, with just two points separating them. The heroes of this event though must be Kent Union, who had yet to reach the top five in any of the VC Cup tournaments to date! They clearly found their calling here, working well as a team and using their individual strengths to reach an epic final. This had propelled the team to 9th position overall, with several events still to come!

If you’re curious about the upcoming VC Cup events, check out the information webpage!

Come along and attend the Canterbury for Ukraine fundraising dinner on Thursday 16 March 2023 at Darwin College.

The evening will include welcome drinks, a three-course meal, live music, a bar and auction. All proceeds will go to Canterbury for Ukraine.

The evening will begin with welcome drinks at 6.30pm and tickets will include a three-course meal, a glass of wine at the table, live music, a bar and a live auction will be held in aid of Canterbury for Ukraine’s (C4U) extraordinary and vital work.

Through the enormous generosity and dedication of the local community, including local businesses,C4U provides a wide range of much-needed services to support the growing number of Ukrainians coming to Canterbury and surrounding areas as a result of the devastating and illegal war in Ukraine.

Please do join us in support of this invaluable and inspiring work.

Tickets cost £50 each or £450 for a table for ten

To book please go to: C4Udinner.eventbrite.co.uk

We are looking for volunteers to make the event as welcoming and accessible as possible on both nights. If you’d like to volunteer, contact info@eea.org.uk for more information.

We are delighted to invite Kent staff to the annual online ‘Kent Global Showcase’ event which will be held on Wednesday 22 Feb from 10.00 – 12.00. The Global Showcase will be opened by Professor Richard Reece, DVC Education and Student Experience who holds EG responsibility for Internationalisation. 

This year’s Showcase Event will focus on the cross-institutional development of our Global Engagement Strategy and its vision, values and objectives. The event will be co-hosted by Dr Anthony Manning, Dean for Global and Lifelong Learning and Professor Jeremy Carrette, Dean for Europe.  

During the event you’ll be introduced to key colleagues across the institution, so that you can learn more about how to gain support and draw on good practice from relevant professional services and divisional colleagues. This will include focus on International Recruitment, International Partnerships and examples of engagement with education and research activities. We will also be joined at the event by student representatives from our Global Officers Leadership Development Programme and members of our new International Student Advisory Board. 

The event will end in a Q&A session, giving you a chance to ask how we can support you in your work more specifically or provide a channel for the sharing of your own insights and expertise. 

Sign up now for the Kent Global Showcase event.

Later this term, we will extend the Global Showcase to include an in-person ‘round table’ event, which will be held on Wednesday 8 March from 10.00 – 11.30 in Sibson SR2. This event will give Kent staff an opportunity for a deeper dive into the main objectives of Global Engagement Strategy and the opportunities and challenges in your context. 

Please sign up for the Round Table event.

Help us choose our next Honorary Graduates by nominating someone by 20 February 2023!

Honorary Degrees recognise the exceptional contributions made by individuals and is one of Higher Education’s most significant accolades. We particularly welcome nominations that reflect our key values and demonstrate our commitment to knowledge.

All staff and students can submit a nomination for Honorary Doctorates. When nominating someone, it’s important to think about the relation they have to the University. Maybe they are from Kent, have achieved academic distinction or have been an inspirational figure who has made an exceptional contribution to society.

To see the full criteria, take a look at the Honorary Degree Kent Community page.

Over the years, we have had a range of incredible Honorary Graduates. Just in 2022, we had Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage, Britain’s fastest woman Dina Asher-Smith and Nobel Laureate for Literature and Kent emeritus professor Abdulrazak Gurnah just to name a few.

To nominate someone, fill out this form by 20 February 2023.

Congratulations to Dr Alexandra Moores, Dr Emma Hargreaves and Candis Roberts for their work on the Pre-Arrival Hub, which used the LearnSci Direct Virtual Learning Environment. Focusing on two core themes –  Digital Connectivity and Sense of Belonging – the hub helps to ensure success and engagement from the start of a student’s Kent journey.

The aim of the Pre-Arrival hub was to introduce students to the format and style of the VLE Moodle pages which students would be using in their day to day student life. Research has shown that the jump from sixth form/college to university is not always an easy transition for students. 

As well as the changes associated with moving away from home and a shift to independent learning, some students face extra anxiety if they weren’t taught essential course material before starting their degree.

The Division of Natural Sciences produced the Pre-Arrival Hub to support this transition by including numeracy skills worksheets by LearnSci. 81 incoming students attempted these worksheets alerting the team to potential gaps in prior learning and identifying support opportunities.

The Student Handbook was also accessible via the platform enabling students to be well informed before arrivals and feel part of a community within the Division. This student success project has developed interventions and activities to help support ongoing work in closing attainment gaps between certain cohorts of students.

The judges said:

‘Early student engagement is so beneficial to student wellbeing and belonging in higher education and their academic progress, it allows you to hit the ground running. This is a fantastic innovation and a great use of LearnSci’s Direct platform.’

Candis Roberts said:

‘I am so proud of what we achieved with this Student Success initiative. A huge thank you to Alex and Emma for their work and to Learn sci for recognising and supporting supporting our ambitions to help students transition into higher education and building a sense of belonging #studentsuccess’

Congratulations to the team and their continued dedication to the Student Success and Experience at the University of Kent. 

Richard joined the University of Kent in 2007 as part of the Telecoms Team as the Deputy Supervisor, in the Estates Department until its recent relocation as part of Information Services.

Richard was a valued member of the team, and was someone you could count on at work – even trudging his way up the hill to the campus any time there was thick snow and ice on the ground to make sure that the University switchboard would open on time.

Everyone who knew Richard, knew him as a person who was always willing to help and was never too busy to help others with their issues. Nothing was too much trouble and if he did not know the answer, he would find the answer.

Richard had a great, dry sense of humour and loved sharing jokes with his friends at work.  He also loved playing golf and was a passionate Sheffield United Football Club fan.

He was a great friend and colleague to many on campus and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

A just giving site has been set up to have a memorial bench in Richard’s memory on Canterbury campus https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/richard-simpson2

There is a web stream of his funeral on Friday 10 February. If you would like to attend, please email Richard Charley at R.G.Charley@kent.ac.uk for the link to join online.