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

Following last week’s update, Canterbury has had confirmation of further cases of Covid-19 and in particular those linked to one of the new variants of concern.

Whilst the number of cases remains low, to ensure any spread is limited as quickly as possible, Public Health England (PHE) have launched an enhanced testing programme for everyone living, working or studying in either the CT1 or CT2 7 postcodes. This precautionary measure includes our Canterbury campus and the majority of the city.

We strongly encourage all of you living, working or studying in the target postcodes to play your part by getting one of these additional tests as soon as possible. As the enhanced testing is specifically to locate cases of the new variant, this includes those of you who have been regularly completing asymptomatic tests in recent weeks, even if you have recently tested negative.

What you need to do

PHE have requested that anyone living, working or studying in the target postcode areas should attend an enhanced testing centre between the 1-15 June.

Two mobile units will be situated in Keynes College and Darwin Car Parks from Tuesday onwards, and will be open to staff, students and members of the public from 09.00-19.00 daily. There will also be several enhanced testing units around the city, with more information on locations online.

After your test, you can resume your normal activities whilst awaiting your test result. If you receive a positive test result, please inform us immediately by emailing StaffWellbeing@kent.ac.uk. You can find out more about what to do following a positive test on our Coronavirus staff information pages.

Please note that you do not need to be tested if you have had Covid-19 in the last 90 days.

Staying safe on campus

While we have not been asked to make any changes to current activity on campus, the recent developments show how vital it is that we all continue to keep each other safe in the weeks ahead by sticking to the latest government guidelines and the NHS guide on how to avoid spreading the infection. Infection. We have also carried out additional health and safety checks on campus to ensure key areas such as the Templeman Library are as safe as possible.

Finally, we will all need to remember to continue to get tested twice a week and report all positive results even after the enhanced testing has finished. This can be done either at our on-campus asymptomatic test centres or by using one of our home-test kits. Find out more about Covid testing.

I’m proud of how everyone has come together to keep each other safe over the last year –all of us keeping that up and doing our bit during this additional step will be a key part of supporting our community, so I want to thank everyone in advance for their continued cooperation.

With best wishes,

Richard

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

From September 2021, a number of University staff will be able to choose where they work for part of the week.

Under our new Hybrid Working Scheme – open to all professional services staff on UK employment contracts – you can request to work off-campus for up to two days per week.

The new scheme underlines the benefits of hybrid working for both the University and our staff. We believe that giving you more choice and control over where you work helps build mutual trust, employee motivation and wellbeing, and can result in enhanced performance. 

How will it work

Staff who are contracted to work on four days per week or more will be able to apply to work remotely up to two days per week. Staff who work on fewer than four days can apply for one remote working day per week.

Applications will be assessed by your line manager, with oversight by the departmental director, in line with agreed criteria. This will take account of what is operationally viable for you in your role, service requirements and the overall needs of your team. We will be encouraging managers to facilitate hybrid working wherever operationally possible.

The Hybrid Working Scheme has been developed in consultation with a JSNCC Working Group and cross-section of other key stakeholders across the University. Documentation will be shared with JSNCC in mid-June and the scheme will be open for applications after that. 

Find out more

Further information on the new Hybrid Working Scheme, including FAQs, is available now on our HR pages.

An inter-disciplinary team of researchers from the Kent Buisness School, led by Prof Scaparra,
used analytics tools to analyse the impacts of flooding on urban road networks in Vietnam
and identify cost-efficient flood mitigation investments to minimise social and economic flood
impacts.

Building on lessons learned from projects in the UK with companies such as Port of Dover
and Eurostar, the team are currently working with researchers in 5 Southeast Asia countries
to build analytics capacity and address challenges in the areas of transport infrastructure
development, smart cities and disaster management.

Attend this event to find out more:

Analytics for Sustainability Event – WEDNESDAY 9 JUNE, 12.00-13.00 BST

• Virtual Interactive panel discussion
• Speakers: Prof. Maria Paola Scaparra, Dang Thu Phuong, Ngô Công Chính

For information and to register please visit the Eventbrite website.

Welcome to Trevor Pereira who joins as our new Director of Commercial and Facilities Management on 1 June.

Trevor brings with him a wealth of experience from senior leadership roles he has held at Intu, Heathrow Airport Ltd and BAA.  Within these roles he has successfully driven up commercial income and managed extensive property portfolios with responsibility for large numbers of staff across a number of operational areas.  With these skills and knowledge demonstrated of the HE sector and the University, Trevor will be a valuable addition to the University’s leadership team.

Initially, Trevor will be based in the Estates Department but will spend his time working with Estates and Commercial Services colleagues across the two areas.

He will also be working closely with Peter Pentecost and Richard Bradford to ensure a robust handover of Estates and Commercial Services matters, as well as with Jane Higham on the development of the longer term Commercial and Facilities Strategy.

After a turbulent year we’re delighted that our facilities are once again open, and that means our popular summer half-price membership offer will return on 1 June!

And what’s more, we’ve introduced new prices for this year, so there has never been a better time to take out a Kent Sport membership:

• University of Kent staff – £13 per month
• New price for University of Kent students and Juniors* –  £18 per month
• New offer for alumni and public – £37 per month and includes a plus one

Your Premium Plus membership provides access to modern sport and fitness facilities on the Canterbury campus, including:

Access to the gym for cardio and resistance/weights sessions A full timetable of fitness and dance classes A wide range of indoor and outdoor sports Our brand-new Indoor Tennis and Events Arena, featuring four acrylic tennis courts Social sports sessions with our Let’s Play team.

Once you’ve purchased your membership, you’ll need to create an online account in order to book sessions and activities. Social distancing measures are in place throughout our facilities. Please review our Coronavirus webpage for more detail.

You can purchase your membership by visiting the Sports Centre and The Pavilion receptions. Summer offer is available for purchase from 1 June to 20 August 2021 inclusive and is for use for one month from the purchase date. Membership terms and conditions can be found at kent.ac.uk/sports/membership.

*To apply for the junior rate, you must be in full-time education or aged 16 to 18 years old. Proof of full-time education (student card, etc.) will be required when purchasing a Junior membership.

Colleagues are invited to an online workshop on Climate & Energy being staged by the 3i University Network (comprising Ghent University, KU Leuven, University of Lille and the University of Kent) on 16 June, from 14.00 -16.00.

The workshop, chaired by Simon Barnes, Funding & Partnership Development Manager at Kent, will provide an opportunity to explore the theme of Climate and Energy and discuss areas for future joint research collaboration.

You can register for the workshop via this Workshop Climate Energy link.

Other workshops

The workshop is one of four online thematic sessions being organised this term by the 3i University Network. Each session will bring together researchers around a particular theme, enabling them to meet, present lines of research and strengths at each partner institution and sketch a plan for future collaboration.

Other workshops taking place are:

• Workshop on Community and Well-Being, coordinated by University of Lille, 11 June, 13.00 – 15.00. Registration link
• Workshop on Marine and Maritime Challenges, coordinated by Université of Ghent, 15 June, 14.00 – 15.30 Registration link
• Workshop on Nutrition and Health, coordinated by KU Leuven, 11 June, 9.00 – 11.00. Registration link

About the 3i University Network

The Interregional Internationalisation Initiative (3i) University Network was launched with a Memorandum of Understanding in 2020.

The Network was created to intensify collaboration opportunities and utilise the combined strengths of research, academic and professional training, administration and infrastructure to find solutions for common problems and challenges facing these regions.

Find out more on the 3i University Network webpages

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 31 May – Friday 4 June ) webinars are as follows:

Monday 31 May 2021 – BANK HOLIDAY

Tuesday 1 June 2021 – ‘Introducing the new Care first Zest’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 2 June 2021 – ‘Coping with stress’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 3 June 2021 – ‘‘How can Care first support you?’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 4 June 2021 – ‘Coping with uncertainty’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

In this series of seminars, members of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Kent showcase new long-form research outputs addressing a range of issues in research and practice in higher education (HE).

We celebrate a new edited book on the practice of leadership in HE (Jarrett & Newton eds, 2020), an edited special issue introducing signature assessment and signature feedback (Pitt & Quinlan, 2021), a monograph on embodied research methods (Leigh & Brown, 2021) and an edited collection on decolonising the university (Thomas & Jivraj, eds 2020). Each seminar will provide a taster, pulling out key concepts or main take-away points from the work that will be of interest to higher education researchers and/or practitioners.

For full details on each of these events please visit the CSHE events webpage.

Leadership in HE: Lessons from Other Sectors

17 June 2021 13.00 – 14.00 BST – Sign up via Eventbrite

Kendall Jarrett and Stephen Newton present:

Jarrett, K. & Newton, S. (eds) (2020). The practice of leadership in higher education: Real-world perspectives on becoming, being, and leaving. Abingdon: Routledge.

This seminar aims to heighten attendees’ awareness of what higher education can learn from the leadership practices of colleagues in other sectors. Select passages from the book will be read and informally discussed with consideration given to the experience of leadership in HE at three stages of the leadership cycle.

Signature Assessment and Feedback Practices in the Disciplines

24 June 2021 9.30 – 10.30 BST – Sign up via Eventbrite

Edd Pitt and Kathleen M. Quinlan (Eds) present a special issue (2021, issue 2) of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy, and Practice

In this seminar, we draw lessons from across the papers in this special issue to propose and illustrate key elements of signature assessment and signature feedback practices.

Applying Embodied Inquiry Research Methods to HE Research

1 July 2021 13.00 – 14.00 BST – Sign up via Eventbrite

Jennifer Leigh and Nicole Brown present:

Leigh, J. & Brown, N. (2021). Embodied inquiry: Research methods. London: Bloomsbury.

In this seminar, Jennifer Leigh and Nicole Brown will discuss why and how we use our bodies to research, what an embodied approach brings to a research project, and the kinds of considerations that need to be taken into account to research in this way.

Decolonising the University: Engaging students and activists in HE inquiry for change

8 July 2021 13.00 – 14.00 BST – Sign up via Eventbrite

Dave S.P. Thomas presents:

Thomas, D.S.P. & Jivraj, S. (eds), (2020). Towards decolonising the university: A Kaleidoscope for empowered action. Oxford: Counterpress.

Dave S.P. Thomas, a doctoral student in HE himself, will provide insights on how to co-produce knowledge with BAME students, researchers, activists, and practitioners to advance both knowledge and systemic change.

Article from Kent Hospitality

Kent’s Commercial Services team were pleased to receive accreditation from Cycling UK last week designating our guest accommodation as cycle friendly for tourists. The accreditation recognises measures such as secure cycle shelters, areas for washing and drying clothes, flexible catering options, available repair kits and cycle hire information that have been put in place to facilitate individual and group guests on cycling holidays/visits.

The Conferences and Events team are used to welcoming B&B guests and groups into the 4*- 5* Visit England graded campus accommodation every spring and summer for holidays, and Event Co-Ordinator Rachel Walmesley said:

“We are very excited to have achieved this accreditation. We already have some regular cycling groups that stay every year in Turing College which is predominantly our cyclist friendly accommodation. We hope that this accreditation along with our existing offer of free sports access to all B&B guests will encourage more cycling individual and group guests from within the UK and overseas.”

Enjoy one of the many cycle routes located on the doorstep of campus this summer.

The University of Kent’s Cycle Friendly Places accommodation accreditation will be valid until June 2023. To find out more about our holiday accommodation for individuals and groups visit: www.kent.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/holidays

Article from Bryony Dutta | Knowledge Exchange Framework Coordinator

Kent’s Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Team will be touring the University’s Divisions with a deep dive webinar into the What, Why and When of the Knowledge Exchange Framework and Kent’s inaugural results.

 The Knowledge Exchange Framework (now the third pillar of University assessment alongside the REF and the TEF) produced strong results for Kent, but what do these results mean, both now and in the future, and where do they place us nationally?

Carole Barron, Director of Knowledge Exchange and Innovation, and the Knowledge Exchange Co-ordinator, Bryony Dutta, will be answering these key questions for your Division, with an introduction to the Knowledge Exchange Framework and an in depth analysis of the results. There will also be the opportunity to pose your questions in a dedicated Q&A.

Look out for your calendar invitation in your divisional communications for the webinars taking place on the following dates:

• Human & Social Sciences: Tuesday 15 June, 11.00 – 12.00.
• Natural Sciences: Friday 18 June, 13.00 – 14.00.
• Computing, Engineering & Mathematical Sciences (CEMS): Wednesday 23 June, 13.00 – 14.00
• Law, Society and Social Justice: Tuesday 29 June, 11.30 – 12.30
• Kent Business School : Wednesday 7 July, 12.00 – 13.00
• Arts & Humanities: Date tbc

Knowledge exchange and public engagement cover all activities engaging non-academic audiences in or with your research, and getting involved can deliver significant benefits to you, your research partners and to wider society.  To find out more about the Knowledge Exchange Framework, visit our website or watch our ‘Introduction to Knowledge Exchange’ webinar.