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 22 February – Friday 26 February webinars are as follows:

Monday 22 February 2021 – ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link.

Tuesday 23 February 2021 -‘Updates to Care first Lifestyle’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 24 February 2021 – ‘How making small changes to your diet & exercise can have a positive impact on your wellbeing’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 25 February 2021 – ‘How the pandemic could affect the way organisations do business’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 26 February 2021 – ‘Keeping optimistic during the Pandemic’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

This week’s staff web chat focused on the financial impact of Covid-19 on the University as well as the ongoing work to deliver our Financial Improvement Programme.

As I have previously mentioned, we have made significant progress in addressing our underlying deficit. My thanks go to you all for the hard work that has been done in support of this.

As a result, we have now secured funding from our lenders through until 2024 which will provide greater stability into the future, enabling us to manage cash flow volatility and move to a sustainable financial position over this period. However, this is contingent on the continued delivery of our financial improvements and move away from a deficit operating position.

You will be aware that Covid-19 has had a considerable impact on our commercial income. Combined with Brexit and associated changes to the fee status of EU students, this creates uncertainty with regard to overall student recruitment as well. Despite improvements to our marketing activity, we are at risk of falling behind our revised targets, especially overseas and postgraduate taught. This means that, in the short term, we continue to face considerable financial risks.

While we have made allowances for Covid-related income loss in our financial forecasts, the situation remains highly volatile. If any income drop is greater than we have contingency planned for, we may have to make additional savings.

We will do everything we can to avoid further losses. Over the coming months, we will continue to monitor our income risks so that we can respond quickly if looks like we won’t be able to meet our financial forecasts. We will continue to keep you updated and in touch as the situation develops. We are committed to being as open and transparent as possible about our financial position.

Our priority is still to deliver our improvement plan, increase our income and provide the stability we need to deliver the best possible teaching, research & innovation and student experience and continue to deliver regional, national and international impact through our work.

I am convinced that, if we continue to work together to overcome the short-term challenges presented by Covid-19, we have a very promising future here at Kent.

Thank you again for your continued work to support this. If you were unable to attend the web chat, please do view the recording which is now available online,

With my very best wishes to you and your families,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

Students’ return to campus

The Government is expected to publish its latest guidance on 22 February 2021 concerning students’ return to face-to-face teaching. We anticipate that the guidance will cover how institutions should prioritise particular students’ return and how the regular testing programme should be managed on campus. At this stage, we know that the Government is likely to recommend a phased return which may centre on those subjects needing access to specialist equipment and final year students.

We know that many of our students are keen to return to campus. However, it is important that we manage expectations and ensure they do not make firm travel plans until all information is available to them. This is particularly important for any students needing to travel from other countries as the Government has announced strict new regulations concerning travel into the UK.

Our priority has been, and will continue to be, the safety of our community and ensuring we can adhere to social distancing regulations on campus. Divisions are currently working on their plans for teaching for the remainder of the academic year; these plans include requesting timetabled events where students require access to specialist equipment or spaces. Further information will be available once the Government guidance has been published.

Update on the Covid-19 Hardship Fund

The University has received £588,000 of hardship funding from the Office for Students to support students disadvantaged through the effects of Covid-19. Most of the funding is to be prioritised for “rent related hardship” and must be dispersed to students by the end of March 2021. Working in partnership with Kent Union, we have launched a scheme to support disadvantaged students who can apply to the Covid-19 Hardship Fund for a one-off payment. In phase 1, students can apply for a £500 award using a simple online form and, if successful, will receive their money in 10 working days. As of 17 February, over 1,000 students have applied to the scheme, a large percentage of the 1,200 applications that it will be possible to fund. Once that funding has been allocated, a second phase will open later in the term.

The University continues to support students in hardship in a variety of different ways, with 271 laptops distributed and 41 currently on loan to students needing technical support to study effectively. Any students needing financial support can contact the Financial Aid team, or Kent Union’s Advice Service (Canterbury) or GKSU’s Advice Centre (Medway) for more information.

Article from Brenda Brunsdon, Occupational Health and Wellbeing Team Manager

This week is Random Acts of Kindness Week and Wednesday, 17 February, is celebrated as Random Acts of Kindness Day. The strapline this year is ‘Explore the Good and Make Kindness the Norm’.

What is so special about being kind that it needs a specific day dedicated to it, let alone a whole week to celebrate it? Then again, isn’t being kind so natural that we shouldn’t need a campaign or special day to remind us of its importance in everyday life?

Kindness is a lot more important than we think. When we act with kindness towards others, do things to make their lives easier, go out of our way to bring them happiness, we do ourselves good as well. To quote Portia in Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’: ‘The quality of mercy….is twice blessed; it blesseth him who gives and him who takes’.

When a person gives or receives kindness, both individuals involved experience a release of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters. We get a dose of serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins. All of this lifts our mood, relieves pain, and physically helps heal any inflammation in our bodies. What’s even more amazing is that the positive effects that occur are also experienced by onlookers who see the act of kindness. It amounts to a cascade of positivity, happiness, and calmness.

There are many research studies that bear out these positive effects which come from practicing kindness. It only needs to be a few acts of kindness a week to make a difference. Some research has shown that extending this to engaging in loving kindness meditation can actually help a person live longer – see the BrainCraft YouTube video below.

Kindness has assumed an even greater emphasis over the pandemic crisis. Our worlds have been turned upside down by restrictions, illness, grief, and fear. Extending kindness to ourselves and those round us has never been more important. So, really make an effort to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day this year. If you’re struggling to think of what you can do, some of the links below have suggestions.  The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, who initiated this as a focus day some years ago, even has a Toolkit you can use, (link below).

It’s rare that something so easy to do is also so very good for us; it really is minimal effort for maximum gain.

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation Toolkit for 2021 Campaign ‘Explore the Good and Make Kindness the Norm’

‘Make Kindness the Norm’ Random Acts of Kindness Foundation Workplace Calendar 2021

Lifevestinside Kindness Cards on lifevestinside.com

‘35 Random Acts of Kindness You Can Do While Social Distancing’ on Waterford.org

‘Random Acts of Kindness’ and ‘Kindness Matters Guide’ on mentalhealth.org.uk

‘The Selfish Benefits of Kindness’ by BrainCraft on YouTube

‘The Science of Kindness’ by randomactsofkindness on YouTube

‘Official Song of LifeVestInside – Show You Care’ by lifevestinside on YouTube

‘Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor’ research publication by Curry OS, Rowland LA, Van Lissa CJ, Zlotowitz S, McAlaney J, Whitehouse H in J Exp Soc Psychol. 2018;76:320–9 via ScienceDirect.com

‘Happy People become Happier through Kindness: a Counting Kindnesses Intervention’ by Otake K, Shimai S, Tanaka-Matsumi J, Otsui K, Fredrickson BL. In J Happiness Stud. 2006;7(3):361–75. Via PubMed.gov

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 15 February – Friday 19 February webinars are as follows:

Monday 15 February 2021 – ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link.

Tuesday 16 February 2021 – ‘How Colleagues can support each other whilst Working from Home’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 17 February 2021 – ‘Ways to show Kindness during the pandemic’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 18 February 2021 – ‘Tips to avoid eye strain whilst Working from Home’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 19 February 2021 – ‘Mental Health advice for Older People’
Time: 13.00-13.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

The Graduate and Researcher College is delighted to announce that Dr Tim Hopthrow, Reader in Psychology, will be the GRC’s Deputy Dean from 1st April for 9 months. Professor Paul Allain will remain as Dean whilst seconded to REF Sub-Panel 33: Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies. He will continue to focus on the GRC’s new remit for supporting all academic staff who research with Dr Hopthrow focusing on Graduate Studies. Together and with the rest of the GRC team as well as Divisional and PSD colleagues they will be developing the GRC’s new strategy for approval in the autumn, recognising its new scope and updating its mission.

Dr Hopthrow has been Deputy Dean for the Social Sciences, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, a key figure in the development of the university’s Signature Research Themes, and has had extensive involvement in Graduate Studies, at Kent and beyond, in particular for our Social Science Consortium SeNSS.

Professor Shane Weller, who chaired the appointment panel, said “Tim comes with a wealth of leadership experience, and I very much look forward to working with him in this new capacity as the GRC focuses on its wider remit, supporting both our postgraduate community and our researchers throughout their career.”