Congratulations to Professor Shane Weller, who has been appointed as our new Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation.

Shane was educated at the universities of Oxford and Yale, and worked for some years in the publishing industry before pursuing a career in academia. His first teaching post was at the University of Oxford. He joined the University of Kent in 2005, was promoted to a professorship in Comparative Literature in 2010, and from 2013 to 2019 was Head of the School of European Culture and Languages. In 2020, he was appointed Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation at Kent, and in that capacity oversaw the University’s submission to REF2021.

His own field of research is the history of ideas, with a particular focus on modern European literature and culture. He has published nine books in that area, as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. His two most recent books – The Idea of Europe: A Critical History and Samuel Beckett and Cultural Nationalism – were both published by Cambridge University Press in 2021.

On his appointment to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation at Kent, Shane says:

‘Over the past year, I have learned so much about the exciting and innovative work being undertaken by Kent’s researchers. I am absolutely delighted to have been given this opportunity to work with colleagues across the institution to take forward the University’s ambitious plans for research and innovation.

‘I believe strongly in the importance of a people-centred research culture, and in the contribution to be made by everyone in the research and innovation ecosystem. I have been particularly impressed by the engagement of Kent’s researchers with both regional and global challenges, and their commitment to bringing cultural, social and economic benefits to wider communities. The richness and diversity of Kent’s research and innovation is truly impressive.

‘In my capacity as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, I will do my very best to support, champion and reward Kent’s research community, and to help it to achieve the national and international recognition that it deserves.’

The Constructing Excellence SECBE Virtual Summit and Awards took place on Thursday 1 July and the University of Kent was announced as winner of the Client of the Year category.

These awards recognise and celebrate the very best companies, collaborations and projects from across the London & South-East region. The nomination, submitted by Willmott Dixon, demonstrated their collaboration with the Estates Department on the construction of Sibson, Kennedy and Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS), and highlighted these key elements:

• The delivery of three vital education facilities that not only fostered cross-faculty learning but took on lessons learned from each building to improve the delivery of the next.
• Exemplary collaboration between the client, contractor, and the whole supply chain.
• 74% of the total spend on local supply chain partners, bringing real wealth to the region.

Mark Ashmore, Project Manager in Estates, described how he felt when the result was announced, “It is brilliant that Kent has finally been recognised for its contribution to the construction industry as a great client.  This is an award that all of the Estates Department should be proud of, as it takes contributions from everyone to deliver successful project after successful project.”

As a category winner, Kent will automatically go through to the Constructing Excellence National Awards, which will be judged alongside other regions over the summer.

Please read the full SECBE Awards 2021 finalist – University of Kent blog post.

The Centre for the Study of Higher Education congratulates the following colleagues who applied for Senior Fellowship of Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) through the Route to Recognition for Experienced Staff (RRES), and successfully gained national recognition for their leadership, excellence, expertise and commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning.

• Phil Anthony – E Learning
• Sarah Brown – Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
• Adetutu Popoola – Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS)
• May Seitanidi – Kent Business School
• Madeleine Wyatt – Kent Business School

As a University community, we will be able to adapt well to what comes next – that’s among the positive responses we’ve had to our recent Future of Work staff survey.

The aim of the survey was to capture the best parts of what’s happened over the past year and find out how the University can support us in future. Staff working on campus and/or at home were asked to share their experiences of work since March 2020.

You told us that:

• You’re proud of how teams had pulled together to find viable and productive ways of operating during the pandemic
• If working on campus, you stressed the importance of being able to engage and collaborate with colleagues, as well as disconnecting from work on leaving campus
• If working at home, you appreciated having less distractions, and being able to devote more time to personal health and wellbeing and exercise
• You also gave a thumbs-up for Microsoft Teams changing how we work, highlighting stronger collaboration between Canterbury and Medway colleagues since connecting virtually
• And many of you voiced your appreciation for colleagues who have continued providing essential services, as well as praising technical support and communications.

You also mentioned some of the difficulties and challenges you’ve faced over the last year:

• Concerns about long-term digital engagement leading to poor mental health and isolation for some
• Missing seeing colleagues in person, catching up informally and sharing ideas and insights
• The effort involved in overcoming the challenges of engaging with students in an online setting
• Needing time to prepare resources after the sudden switch to online teaching
• Inadequate set-up for working at home longer-term
• Too much screen time and experiencing ‘Zoom fatigue’

What happens next

Your feedback (anonymised and non-attributable) is now informing discussions at EG and the JSNCC about how we work in the future and the infrastructure and support we will need.

Follow-up work is already underway across the University, with key stakeholders incorporating feedback from the survey into their planning for 2021/22. This includes education, student experience, technology, space planning, staff training and development, and further opportunities for collaborative working.

Find out more

Fuller feedback from the survey is available now on our HR webpages. You can also learn more about the survey, as well as our new Hybrid Working Scheme and plans for major changes in HR services at Kent, at our next Staff Webchat on Thursday 15 July 

We are delighted to announce this year’s winners of the University Research and Innovation Prize competition.

The annual prizes were designed to celebrate the achievements of academic and professional services staff across a range of areas – especially activities that have had a transformative effect, created new knowledge, benefited a particular community and/or supported others in the research and innovation ecosystem.

Working alongside KMTV, there will be a prize-giving event taking place online from 13.00 – 14.00 Thursday 15 July where 7 awards will be handed out to staff in recognition of their accomplishments at the University. This will be streamed from the Uni YouTube and Facebook accounts.

This year’s winners are as follows:

Starting Research Prize

For research staff who are less than 7 years from PhD completion and with a research track record that shows great promise. Permanent academic staff, fellows and researchers may apply.

Joint Winners: Jim Everett (HSS) and Rasa Mikelyte (LSSJ)
Honourable mentions: Ed Kirton-Darling (LSSJ), Flora Renz (LSSJ), and Emma Veale (NatSci)

Consolidator Research Prize

For research staff who are 7–12 years from PhD completion and with a track record showing outstanding research talent.

Winner: Jennifer Hiscock (NatSci)
Honourable mentions: Marina Ezcurra (NatSci) and Joy Zhang (LSSJ)

Advanced Research Prize

For research staff with more than 12 years from PhD completion and leaders in their field, demonstrating significant achievement in the last 10 years.

Winner: Sophia Labadi (Arts & Hums)
Honourable mention: Anastasios Tsaousis (NatSci)

Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Prize

 For research staff who have made a significant contribution to the innovation and enterprise activities at the University, through collaboration with industry and knowledge exchange.

Winner: Alessia Buscanio and Colin Robinson (NatSci)
Honourable mention: Robert Fish and Joseph Tzanopoulos (HSS)

Technician of the Year Prize

 For technical staff who have made a significant contribution to research and innovation activities at the University.

Winner: Philip Robinson (LSSJ)

Professional Services Support of the Year Prize

For professional services staff who have made a significant contribution to support research and innovation activities at the University.

Joint Winners: Jess Day (RIS) and Alexandra Leduc-Pagel (HSS)
Honourable mention: Jessica Cockell (KBS)

The 2021 Kent Research and Innovation Community Prize

 In addition to the above prizes, and in recognition of the exceptionally challenging year that staff have faced as a result of the pandemic, this special award was purposefully designed for any Kent staff member who has provided invaluable support to assist colleagues, students or the wider community in research and innovation activities over the past academic year.

Winner: Catherine Robinson (KBS)
Honourable mentions: Kathleen Quinlan (Education) and the Research Design Services team (LSSJ)

From Simone Davies, Director of MORA: 

As we head into Confirmation and Clearing I wanted to give you an update on how important this will be for us this year, the approach we will be taking and how you can help make Clearing 2021 a success. 

In terms of context we are going to be more reliant on gaining students through Clearing this year than we were last year, confirmation has a shorter window and Clearing itself has been brought forward. Therefore we need to have simple but highly efficient processes for both confirmation and the issuing of Clearing offers. We also need to be cognisant of the fact that we are still operating during a pandemic. 

For us to succeed and to be in a position to welcome students to the university we need a lot of help and support from everyone; particularly around Clearing offer making, staffing the Hotline and making calls to prospective students.  

Last year we moved confirmation online and that was really successful – so we will be doing the same this year. We’ve streamlined the process a bit more which means there won’t be a need for double checking actions. For this to work effectively our tariff needs to be a simple as possible. We will again be working on a points-based tariff, whilst maintaining any grades that are mandatory. As in previous years, we will contact Divisions about any student who falls outside the pre-agreed tariff.  

During Clearing offer making will be immediate and managed, in the main, centrally, with follow-up calls being made by academics within the Divisions. We need to take an ‘all hands on-deck’ approach to Clearing. We are going to be delivering this almost all virtually and are working on a wide number of contingencies to ensure smooth delivery.   

 Last year, UCAS introduced Clearing Plus, this worked very well for some subjects and we are keen to replicate that success – to do that we need adequate resource and knowledge at a subject level. Divisional Marketing Managers (MREMs) will be coordinating this across Divisions 

 If you’re able to help, particularly on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 August, and you’re not already on a Clearing rota please get in touch with Laetitia Gullett via schoolsliaison@kent.ac.uk.

Full training will be given and, for anyone who hasn’t done it before, it is a really rewarding experience. You will have full support and supervisors are on hand to help at all times. 

Thank you for all your help and support with Clearing. 

Simone

Simone Davies | Director of MORA

Our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services and provide useful advice and support, including weekly webinars.

This week’s (Monday 5 July – Friday 9 July) webinars are as follows:

Monday 5 July 2021 – ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 6 July 2021 – ‘How talking therapy works’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 7 July 2021 – ‘Introducing healthy eating this summer’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 8 July 2021 – ‘COVID-19: Why it is still a good idea to socialise outside’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 9 July 2021 – ‘Top tips to boost your immunity’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

From Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chair of Covid-19 Silver Command

Following my email earlier in the week on the rise of student cases of Covid-19 on our Canterbury campus, I wanted to give you all a further update on what the latest picture is and what we can all do to continue to keep each other safe.

We have been liaising with the local Health Protection Team throughout the week to ensure we are doing all we can to maintain safety on campus. This includes helping students to travel home safely, many of whom have now done so, and supporting those who need to remain with us to self-isolate for a short period – thank you to all of you for everything you are doing to support this, across a wide range of departments and services.

Covid cases have been rising across the country, particularly among 18-24 year olds. With that in mind, colleagues should continue to work from home if they can to ensure we are doing our bit to minimise any further cases. Sticking to key safety guidance – including ‘Hands, Face, Space’ – remains hugely important for those working on campus or accessing campus facilities, and we continue to have measures in place to support social distancing across our campuses.

Testing is also a vital part of this if you are on campus at any time, with our asymptomatic testing centre remaining open for those that need it. Vaccination is also a key part of stopping the spread of Covid-19 and we encourage all of you to have the vaccine if offered – your manager will support you if you need to book either vaccination or testing during work time.

We will be reassessing all our safety measures on campus following the Government’s next review of their roadmap later this month. I will be in touch then, while we will also be able to update further on changes and how they affect you at our next Staff Webchat scheduled for Thursday 15 July, from 12.00-13.00. Sign-up details for this webchat will be available in next week’s staff newsletter.

Thank you once again to all of you for the tremendous effort across our campuses to keep infection rates low for the vast majority of the year, and for the way you have all pulled together to keep our students, and each other, safe.

With all best wishes,

Richard

Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chair of Covid-19 Silver Command

Kick start environmental conversations with your family this Plastic Free July with Gulbenkian’s family film screenings of Moana and Ponyo.

In Moana, the daughter of a Polynesian Chief undertakes an oceanic odyssey to save her endangered isle from environmental devastation enlisting the aid of the legendary demigod Maui along the way. Moana and Maui’s quest to restore ecological balance and preserve traditional culture highlights how indigenous peoples are among those most impacted by global warming. Moana will be screened at Gulbenkian on Sunday 18 July at 15.00

Fantastic for younger children, Ponyo is a colourful story of a little boy who befriends a magical fish, who evolves into a young girl.  An environmentalist twist on the little mermaid tale from Studio Ghibli, touching on themes of pollution, global warming, personal responsibility and rising sea levels. Ponyo will be screened at Gulbenkian on Sunday 25 July at 15.00.

Tickets for family film screenings are £3.50 / Baby on laps(0-18months) +£1. For more information and tickets please visit www.thegulbenkian.co.uk or call 01227 769075.

Find out more about how you can join the global movement to reduce plastic pollution so we can have cleaner streets, oceans and communities on the Plastic Free July website.

The University is creating a new online space for staff information, as our new staff intranet, delivered through SharePoint Online. It will be the go-to place for staff information and news.  

Rather than one size fits all, you’ll be able to tailor the new intranet to what works best for you. Each Division and Department will have its own special space to share with its community, and staff will be able to choose much of the news they see depending on their interests. 

Using SharePoint Online as the basis of our new intranet will ensure compatibility with all our other Microsoft 365 tools, including Teams, OneDrive and other apps.  

What type of information will be on it? 

• University-wide news  
• University-wide resources  
• Departmental and divisional news, resources, events and information 
• Project information and document sharing  
• Specialist topic areas such as Copyright and Finance 

See how all the Staff Intranet will fit in with other Microsoft 365 tools 

It will replace the Staff Guide on the University website, and current SharePoint sites such as the departmental, divisional and project sites housed in SharePoint 2013. 

Why we’re changing things 

Our new staff intranet will offer the following benefits:  

• Simpler to find what you need – no need to search in numerous places online 
• Single source of accurate information 
• Easy to manage and update content through a simple interface  
• Keeps audience-specific content separate e.g. staff and student information 
• Let’s you tailor content that is relevant to you  

Timeframe for introduction

Divisions already have access to a SharePoint Online Communications hub site, and are putting in content useful for their own division.

July – October 2021 

• We’ll consult with your department / directorate to understand your needs and requirements for storing and sharing staff information. We’ll take this feedback into account when developing the service.
• We’ll pilot intranet sites with different business areas across the University. 
• Professional service directorates’ needs will be gathered over this period. 

November 2021 to 2022  

There will be a phased approach to the creation of intranet sites across academic divisions and professional service directorates. 

By September 2022 

Existing SharePoint 2013 sites will become ‘read only’. 

End 2022 

Work is expected to be completed by end 2022. SharePoint 2013 sites will need to close by then. 

Support 

We’ll offer training and guidance to support you in creating your new intranet presence and choosing the most appropriate place to store your content. There will be no automated transferring of information from SharePoint 2013 to the new intranet.  

You’ll need to plan in some time to review all your current staff-based content stored elsewhere eg SharePoint, Staff Guide, the Kent.ac.uk website. It will take time to review and scope your new intranet area. 

It is suggested that you identify a lead person for this work. We’ll be in touch to identify with you the best way to proceed.  

What should we call it? 

The new intranet is a first for the University and a unique opportunity to celebrate our staff community and everything that makes it special to work at Kent. 

We need a name for our new staff intranet and would welcome your suggestions. Head over to Yammer now and cast your vote on the options, or feel free to add your own!  

There will be a new SharePoint Online site published soon with all the information you will need about the staff intranet and how you will be supported in this change.  

For further information contact: Isobel Linthwaite, Collaboration Services Owner, through Teams or email.