Academics and students at a university in Ecuador have been inspired to employ new interdisciplinary research methods and seek greater international collaboration following a visit by Kent Law School Senior Lecturer Dr Luis Eslava.

Dr Eslava was visiting the Universidad del Azuay, in Cuenca, where he delivered a presentation to students at the Faculty of Juridical Sciences on Kent’s distinctive critical approach to studying and teaching law. He also delivered a lecture to academics from across the university, had informal conversations with researchers and met with key Faculty and Law School staff.

During his visit, Dr Eslava ran a three-day workshop on ethnographic research methods and interdisciplinary perspectives for academics. The workshop on ‘Global (Dis)order and Critical Thought: Ethnography, History and Law’ included a short fieldwork exercise held in the city centre and was attended by staff from the schools of economics, medicine, engineering, psychology, architecture and law.

Faculty of Law Vice Dean Dr Sebastián López Hidalgo said that whilst critical approaches to law are beginning to be employed across the curriculum and in research projects at the Universidad del Azuay, interdisciplinary methodologies are still new: ‘Our institution is pursuing the professionalisation of faculty, and is particularly interested in creating international networks to put researchers in contact with experienced academics all over the world. In this context, Dr Eslava’s visit was a great opportunity to support junior faculty members in positioning their perspectives and methodologies.’

Dr Eslava has research expertise in international law. He is,Co-Director of the Centre for Critical International Law (CeCIL) at Kent, a Senior Fellow at Melbourne Law School in Australia and an International Professor at Universidad Externado do Colombia. He also serves as a core faculty member of the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School.

Following on from their very popular 2016 production of Pride & Prejudice, the University of Kent Players are proud to present Sense & Sensibility at the Gulbenkian Theatre from 6-8 September.

The University of Kent Players is largely made up of current and former members of staff, so come along and support them in this lively production of a much-loved Jane Austen classic. A fun evening is guaranteed to be had by all!

Tickets are on sale now either from the Gulbenkian box office. 

£12 adults

£10 concessions

Did you know ALL Kent staff and students can get Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation treatments for ONLY £10!?

The Sports Ready Clinic based in Medway Park is a student run clinic offering assessments, treatments, rehabilitation and injury prevention to ALL University of Kent staff and students and offer 50% DISCOUNT. And School of Sport and Exercise Sciences get access for FREE!

So whether you’re suffering with an annoying everyday niggle, struggling to start or progress your training or wanting to prevent injuries get in touch, were here to help.

 To book an appointment, please contact sportinjury@kent.ac.uk and we can get you booked in!

 To keep up to date with the latest events and offers, follow @SRCKent on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or visit our website for more information.

The University’s 2018 European Summer Schools, at its postgraduate centres in Paris and Brussels, have reported another successful year.

Launched in 2013, the two-week summer school programme is built on Kent’s specialist knowledge and international reputation as the UK’s European university by offering a number of undergraduate students and external applicants the opportunity to participate in academic sessions and cultural activities in these two world-renowned European capitals.

This year, students at the University’s Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS) explored the theme of ‘Europe and the World’, which drew upon the academic strengths of the school. Within this context, various sub-themes were also covered; these included migration and the refugee response, the European Union’s (EU) relationship with emerging powers, and its response to the global economic crisis. Students participated in a series of guest lectures, seminars and debates delivered by academics, policy-makers, diplomats and European civil servants.

 Students at Kent’s Paris School of Arts and Culture, located in historic Montparnasse, explored the theme of ‘Revolutions’. This allowed them to gain a greater understanding of how French culture has long been at the centre of innovation in the fields of architecture, film, literature, art and philosophy

 Students spent two weeks in Paris in an interdisciplinary environment, attending seminars given by expert academics from Kent and visiting important sites and museums related to the programme. These included the Pompidou Centre, the Picasso Museum and the Jardin des Plantes.

Sophie Punt, Summer School Co-ordinator at the University, described this year as ‘one of the best to date with more students than ever before signing up’. It was successful in many respects she said but ‘overall this year’s schools have provided students with not only enhanced intercultural and analytical skills, but also provided them with an opportunity to see Europe and its role in the world from a range of different perspectives’. Looking ahead we are hoping to run a summer school at our Rome centre for 2019 which will draw on the expertise in Arts and History-based studies in the eternal city.

We would like to extend our thanks to the generous supporters of the schools including the Student Projects Fund for their generous contribution towards the scholarships.

The University attended the Advance HE’s Charters Awards Ceremony on 17 July at the new Swansea University’s Bay Campus in Swansea, Wales, together with 120 colleagues across the Higher Education sector in the UK.

 With these awards, Advance HE’s Athena SWAN Charter and Race Equality Charter recognises and celebrates the commitment and hard work that’s being done at the Institutions and Departments in advancing good practices in these fields.

Kent was successful in renewing its Institutional Athena SWAN Bronze award.The redacted version of the submission can be accessed here.

In addition to the Institutional Award, three of our Schools got their departmental awards; the School of Mathematics, Statistics, and Actuarial Science collected their Athena SWAN Silver award. SMSAS is the first department at the University of Kent to hold a Silver award. The School of History collected their Athena SWAN Bronze award. The School of History is the first department in the Faculty of Humanities at Kent to hold an Athena SWAN award.

The Athena SWAN Team also collected the Medway School of Pharmacy’s Athena SWAN Bronze. The Athena SWAN Team and the University of Kent know from experience that these awards are not a given and that getting an award is just the beginning. However, we would like to take this moment to celebrate the success, but also acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to do in advancing Gender Equality and in creating a fair work environment for all.