{"id":1354,"date":"2025-12-19T09:37:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T09:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/?p=1354"},"modified":"2025-12-19T09:37:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T09:37:26","slug":"vice-chancellors-christmas-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/2025\/12\/19\/vice-chancellors-christmas-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Vice-Chancellor’s Christmas message\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear\u00a0Students,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we head into the Christmas break, I want to say a huge thank\u00a0you for everything\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0brought to the University this year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This academic year marks the start of our 60th Anniversary celebrations, running through to July 2026.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0been a great chance to reflect on how far\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0come and how\u00a0you\u00a0continue to shape our future. Keep an eye on\u00a0our\u00a0<\/span>60th website<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for events and ways to get involved.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We continue to focus on making education open and welcoming to everyone. This year we were awarded\u00a0<\/span>University of Sanctuary status<\/span><\/b><\/a>, recognising our commitment to supporting all members of our community, and we received national recognition for our work widening participation in higher education.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our fantastic graduation ceremonies are an opportunity to\u202fcelebrate with\u202fyou all and\u00a0we are so proud of\u00a0you. This summer,\u202fthe first cohort of students from<\/span>\u202f<\/span>Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS)<\/span>\u202f<\/span>graduated.\u202fKMMS was\u202festablished\u202fto\u202fopen access\u202fto medical education for students\u202fregardless of their background,\u202fand\u202fto help\u202faddress the shortage of GPs and hospital clinicians in region.\u00a0We are pleased to say many will be\u00a0staying in the region as new doctors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also began our new\u00a0<\/span>education modernisation programme<\/span><\/b>, designed to make learning more student-centred. This includes a more student-friendly timetable, refreshed courses, varied assessment, inclusive learning practices and a stronger focus on employability and future skills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve\u202falso seen powerful research\u202fand innovation\u202fimpact, from breakthroughs in breast cancer diagnostic imaging, and\u202fexploring new applications for hop extracts in healthcare,<\/span>\u202f<\/span>to understanding\u202f<\/span>Generation FOMO<\/span><\/a>,\u202fto innovative work supporting more sustainable travel through the Port of Dover, and so much more.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0also been a big year in Medway, with exciting progress on the\u00a0<\/span>Docking Station<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0project, including new facilities, community work and investment to help young people access digital creative careers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking ahead, our collaboration with the\u00a0<\/span>University of Greenwich<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0is an exciting next step, helping strengthen the student experience and employability while supporting both universities\u2019 long-term future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope you get a well-earned rest over the holidays, and I look forward to 2026.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Season\u2019s Greetings,<\/span>
\nGeorge<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear\u00a0Students,\u00a0 As we head into the Christmas break, I want to say a huge thank\u00a0you for everything\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0brought to the University this year.\u00a0\u00a0 This academic year … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78153,"featured_media":1355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[312383],"tags":[15508],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1356,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354\/revisions\/1356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}