Tag Archives: Student Guide

Prestigious Inner Temple scholarship for Kent student

Kent Law student Andreas Malekos is one step closer to achieving his ambition of becoming a barrister after being awarded a prestigious scholarship of almost £20,000 by the Inner Temple.

The Inner Temple BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course) Scholarship of £19,700 will help support Andreas during his year of vocational training. The BPTC is designed to equip Andreas with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and competence to prepare for pupillage, the next stage in his professional training.

Andreas was interviewed at the Inner Temple, one of four Inns of Court that aspiring barristers are required to join, in March. After being taken to the Inn’s magnificent library, he was given half an hour to read an unreported case from a choice of three in his chosen area of law. He chose a criminal case involving psychoactive substances (legal highs), a topic he had studied in Public Law 2 the previous year.

He was then interviewed by a panel of four Inner Temple barristers, two of whom were Queen’s Counsel. Andreas said: ‘The panel members were incredibly charming and I immediately felt more at ease. I was first asked to analyse the case which I did by summarising the arguments made and the decision given. I was then asked for my opinion on the case – I criticised the judge for the lack of expert evidence referred to when reaching the decision that nitrous oxide (laughing gas) was not a medicinal substance.’

Andreas plans to begin his BPTC at City Law School in September. Although his main interests currently lie in both Criminal Law and Property Law, he says he is yet to come across an area of law that he doesn’t enjoy and will approach the BPTC with an open mind.

SMFA Fine Art students interviewed live on KMTV

School of Music and Fine Art students Olu Taiwo (MA Fine Art ) and Lynn Smith (BA Fine Art) were interviewed live on KMTV to talk about their 2018 degree shows.

Lynn Smith’s work explores nature and the spirit of place, investigating the landscape through sculpture, and using traditional craft within fine art.

Olu Taiwo’s work is concerned with memory – how we access and discard memories – experienced through his immersive art.

The 2018 Degree Shows, which feature work from graduating students studying Fine Art and Event and Experience Design, are open to the public every day from 10.00 to 17.00 until 26 May and are free to enter.

Find out more about the artists in the Fine Art Degree Show or book your ticket.

Kent to host festival on Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression

The Department of Religious Studies will host the Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression Workshop and Festival over the weekend of 2 and 3 June.

The two-day event is open to students, staff and members of the public, and the programme is as follows:

2 June 2018

Performing Blasphemy – a panel session chaired by award-winning director Shakila Mann. Other panelists include Christa Harris (director of documentary Inside Pussy Riot) and feminist activist Inna Shevchenk.

Blasphemy, Colonialism and the Politics of ‘World Religions’ – a panel session chaired by Yasmin Rehman from the End Violence Against Women Coalition and the Centre for Secular Space. Other panelists include writer and journalist Gita Sahgal and Professor Richard King from the Department of Religious Studies.

Sticks and Stones: Why Words Still Hurt – A talk by Maureen Freely from the University of Warwick.

Film screening: Stewart Lee’s 90s Comedian – A screening of Stewart Lee’s comedy performance 90s Comedian.

3 June 2018

Law, Blasphemy and Censorship – A panel session chaired by Professor Maria Drakopoulou of Kent Law School. Other panelists include Shakila Mann and Clara Connolly, lawyer and activist.

Speaking Out on Sexual Violence within Sikh Communities: An Interview with Gupreet Kaur Bhatti – Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti is a British Sikh writer who writes for stage, screen and radio. Her play Behzti [Dishonour] was controversially cancelled by the Birmingham Rep after violent protests. Her most recent play is Elephant. She will be interviewed by Sukhwant Dhaliwal.

Blasphemy and Comedy – A discussion with comedians Daphna Baram, Giacinto Palmieri, Ravi Holy and Sameena Zehra, chaired by Dr Shaun May of the School of Arts.

Stand-Up Blasphemy – A comedy session in the Gulbenkian, performed by Daphna Baram, Giacinto Palmieri, Ravi Holy and Sameena Zehra.

2018 Summer Schools

The dynamic and exciting range of summer schools at the University of Kent are back this July.

The summer schools are for students or professionals looking to enhance their knowledge on a subject they are passionate about. With more than 50 institutions across 20 different countries to choose from, why not get a taste of the Go Abroad experience this year?

Martina Saiu, an International Business undergraduate, attended an Intensive German Language Summer School in Vienna and gave the following testimonial:

“I am really glad I was offered the possibility of attending the summer school. It was a wonderful experience, which helped me to improve my skills, widen my horizons and open my mind to new cultures and lifestyles.”

Attending a summer school overseas is a great way to experience another culture, gain a global perspective, enhance your studies and make friends from around the world. Don’t leave it too late to apply!

Peer recognition for placement student Hubert Dziedziczak

Hubert Dziedziczak, a Computer Science (Networks) with a Year in Industry student, has won the Employee of the Quarter award while on placement at the Wates Group. The award formally recognises individuals who perform tasks far beyond their job description in helping the company achieve its objectives. Nominations are made by colleagues, with the employee with the most votes announced at quarterly team briefings.

Hubert said: “It was great to be recognized by my colleagues for all my hard work, and to see that people understood that I’m trying my best to push my year in industry to its boundaries in order to learn as much as I can.”

Hubert is the fifth computing student from Kent to do a year in industry with The Wates Group and another student will be joining the group in the summer. The School of Computing sends more than 100 students on placements every year. The School has strong links with industry in Kent, nationally and internationally and has two dedicated placement officers who help students secure roles. The Industrial placement programme is available to all undergraduates and taught Master’s students in the School.

Hubert’s award follows the success of Jordan Norris, another Year in Industry student who won an employee award for going ‘above and beyond’ during his placement year.

SMFA Postgraduate Presentations Wednesday 23 May

The annual School of Music and Fine Art (SMFA) Postgraduate Presentations take place on Wednesday 23 May in the Galvanising Shop Performance Space at Medway campus.

The Postgraduate Presentations are an excellent opportunity for SMFA to celebrate the successes of our postgraduates and the contribution they make to the life, work and academic community of the school.

The day will run from 10.30am until approximately 3pm and includes a range of presentations from students studying Music and Fine Art MA and PhD programmes, as well as a participatory tour of a Fine Art Degree showpiece from a MA Fine Art student.

There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions after each presentation and a lunch will be provided for presenters and the audience at which further discussion can take place.

If you would like to attend contact the SMFA postgraduate team or visit the SMFA Facebook page.

Participants needed for study on biofeedback of eating behaviour

Researchers from the School of Engineering and Digital Arts are seeking participants to take part in a study relating to biofeedback of eating behaviour.

This study aims to investigate the interaction of users with biosensor driven feedback during the consumption of a small meal. Participants are required to take part in a single study session lasting no more than 60 minutes.

You will be asked to consume a selection of free food during the session, including pizza, jam sandwiches, yoghurt, apples and water. In return, you will receive a £10 Amazon e-voucher on the successful completion of the study session.

If you would like to learn more or volunteer to take part in the study complete the online form or email Ben Nicholls.

Survivors’ Forum Friday 18 May

Silke Grygier, founder of the Not The Only One Project, will be facilitating the next Survivor Forum from 18.30-20.30 on Friday 18 May in Rutherford Ext 12.

The main aim of this format is to create a safe space for survivors of sexual abuse to come together, meet others, share experiences, and discuss the issues and themes which affect them. The experience of being in a space with other survivors, can be hugely empowering for survivors and can alleviate common feelings of shame, stigma, and isolation, and foster experiences of connection and feeling understood.

In the Survivors’ Collective, Silke has facilitated forums on themes such as ‘access to healthcare’, ‘media representation’, ‘our experience in education & the workplace’, and workshops such as ‘speaking out’, ‘connecting to our body’, as well as a ‘giving testimony session’ where survivors had the opportunity to tell their story.

Not The Only One is a project designed to reach out to university students who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). As a group, CSA survivors are often invisible, not only to society, but also to each other, and suffer stigma and isolation. At the same time, survivors tend to experience great difficulties especially in young adulthood, and are often left with a lack of understanding and support. Through workshops, presentations, info-stalls, support groups, open forums, and therapeutic support this project aims to raise awareness, create spaces for survivors to come together, and offer specialist support.

Further Survivor Forums will take place on the following dates:

15 June (Rutherford Ext 12)
20 July (Grimond Seminar 2)

You can find out more about Not The Only One here. You can also contact Debbie Worthington, Student EDI Officer for further information.

Dr Xiaofan Amy Li awarded travel fund

Dr Xiaofan Amy Li, Lecturer in Comparative Literature, has been awarded the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation travel fund by the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS).

The funding will allow Amy to undertake research trips to sinological libraries within the UK. She will use this opportunity to consult scholarship on classical Chinese literature and its translation history, to complete a book manuscript she is co-authoring with colleagues at the University of Oxford.

The book is provisionally entitled Translation and Literature in East Asia: Between Visibility and Invisibility. It will ask: What specific problems do the translation and circulation of Chinese-script-based literature pose? What does translation render visible and invisible, especially if we compare various modern translations of classical Chinese literature into modern vernacular Chinese (baihua), modern Japanese, English, and French? Finally, do literary translational practices in pre-modern East Asia say something about a world literature before (rather than in) the global age?

Employee award for placement student Jordan Norris

Jordan Norris, a Computer Science with a Year in Industry student, has won an employee award for exceptional contribution during his industrial placement.

Jordan is working at Zest The Agency as part of his degree and was given the quarterly ‘Besty Zesty’ award, after being nominated by his colleagues.

He said: “I was presented with the Besty Zesty statue, engraved with ‘Award Winning Effort’ and a cash bonus. When given the award, it was announced that the decision was unanimous and that I received it for the exceptional effort and contribution I had made to recent projects – DS Virgin Racing’s Season 4 updates to their website and Zest The Agency’s own website rebuild – especially noting that the Zest site was coded single-handedly and largely out of office hours.

“I had been putting in lots of late nights and long days in order to meet the strict deadlines of such a big client (DS Virgin Racing), so it was warming to be shown such appreciation, and I was proud to have made such a good impression as a relatively new member of the company.”

The School of Computing sends over 100 students on placements every year. The School has strong links with industry in Kent, nationally and internationally and has two dedicated placement officers who help students secure roles. The Industrial placement programme is available to all undergraduates and taught Master’s students in the School.