Staff
KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | July 2013
Orchid discovery Employability success
Welcome Dear colleagues, I am delighted to say proudly that the University is now a top-20 UK institution following the publication of the Guardian newspaper’s University Guide for 2014 (see opposite). This is the result of excellent work on the part of colleagues across the institution, supporting students’ academic progress together with the wider student experience. At Kent we continue to produce leading research alongside our supportive and enriching student experience; our students enjoy their time and our research-led teaching prepares them for their future. Thank you all for your continued contribution to this success. What the University does to enhance the student experience is ever more important and you will read in KENT staff magazine examples of the innovative activities which the University offers to our students (see p6). The Employability Points Scheme goes from strength to strength with around 2,500 participants, up a quarter on last year, and 111 businesses involved. The Scheme is highly valued by our students, and part of a rich package of extra-curricular support available at Kent. The University’s staff and students form a valuable part of the local community, whether at Canterbury, Medway or Tonbridge, or at our European centres. This year, students clocked up over 100,000 hours of volunteering. This is a great achievement, and just one of the many ways in which the University enriches life in Kent and beyond. Our commitment to the wider, non-academic community was also demonstrated in June with the launch of the University’s strategy for Public Engagement with Research (p4). This approach, backed up by targeted funding, will ensure a better structured way to support academic colleagues to achieve positive transformational change for their research. As a very successful academic year comes to an end, I wish you all the very best for the summer and look forward to working with you in the coming academic year.
Professor Dame Julia M Goodfellow Vice-Chancellor
3 News 6 Feature: Employability success 8 Research 10 Enterprise 11 Feature: Teaching methods 12 Staff profile 13 Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity 14 Feature: A day in the life of 15 Environment 16 Feature: Gulbenkian 17 Sport 18 Kent in the News/Books 19 People 20 What’s on Special thanks to: Lesley Farr, University Design & Print Centre. Photographs by Cognitive Media, Alastair Fyfe Photography Ltd, Simon Jarrett, Martin Motes and Matt Wilson.
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KENT We have set up a new group for staff to have their say on all aspects of internal communications, including KENT staff magazine. If you would like to become a member, please get in touch with us via communications@kent.ac.uk. KENT staff magazine is also available online at www.kent.ac.uk/campusonline/kentmagazine. Please email communications@kent.ac.uk if you would prefer not to receive a printed copy. Editorial team: Wendy Raeside (Editor), Karen Baxter and colleagues in Corporate Communications, University of Kent. To contact us or submit a story, email kentmagazine@kent.ac.uk.
Next issue: the deadline for the next issue is 6 September with a publication date of 30 September 2013.
Kent enters top 20 of UK universities The Guardian University Guide 2014 has placed the University among the top 20 universities in the UK. Kent’s 20th position in the 2014 Guide represents a rise of two places from the previous year and is a continuation of the University’s general upward trend in league table rankings. The Guardian University Guide also highlights Kent’s strength across a broad range of subject areas, with 42% of its 31 subjects measured appearing in the top 10 nationally. Kent’s other league table positions include 28th out of 124 UK institutions in the Complete University Guide 2014 and 28th in the Sunday Times League Table 2013. It was placed third for
overall satisfaction in the most recent National Student Survey (2012). Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow said: ‘This result represents investment, over a number of years by all colleagues, in a range of areas which have combined to such spectacular success. It also reflects the dedication and expertise of our staff who work hard to ensure that we provide the best possible student experience. ‘The Guardian league table also highlights yet again our reputation for high quality research-led teaching. I would like to thank all those who have helped make Kent one of the best universities in the UK.’
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Staff
KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | July 2013
RIBA National Award for Kent’s Music Building The University’s Colyer-Fergusson Music Building has won a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) National Award 2013.
Orchid discovery Employability success
Cover story Kent research helps identify a new species of orchid in Komodo (p8).
It is one of only two buildings in the south east to win a 2013 RIBA National Award for architectural excellence and one of 43 to win nationally. It will now go forward for RIBA’s top award, the Stirling Prize, with the shortlist being announced on 18 July.
Designed by Tim Ronalds Architects, the £8 million Colyer-Fergusson Music Building is notable for its wide range of innovative design features. These include a purpose-built, flexible performance space; outstanding, adjustable acoustics; fully retractable seating for up to 500 audience members; external live broadcast provision; and five practice rooms. The building also features a variety of social and office spaces.
Continued overleaf
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Funded entirely from philanthropic donations, the Colyer-Fergusson Music Building was made possible with a generous donation from the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, a legacy from Sir James Colyer-Fergusson, donations from over 200 other individual donors, and a contribution from the Higher Education Funding Council’s Matched Funding Scheme. Professor Keith Mander, the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for physical resources and arts policy, said: ‘The University is the custodian and nurturer of exceptional extracurricular musical talent which students bring while studying for degrees in subjects other than music. The Colyer-Fergusson Building has raised the standard of the University’s music-making to new levels and provided many more opportunities for students to rehearse and perform. The University is delighted that the building’s architectural distinction has also been recognised.’
Students break record for volunteering hours Over 103,950 hours of volunteering have been logged by Kent students during 2012/13 – the largest total ever recorded in one year at the University. The number surpasses last year’s total by over 20,000 hours and was achieved by students at Canterbury and Medway campuses. More than 50 local organisations benefit from the free time donated by Kent students who go ‘above and beyond’ for the local community. Organisations involved include Barnardo’s, Kent Police, Challenging Behaviour Foundation, Strood Community Project, Medway Youth Offending Team and Caring Hands in the Community. The record-breaking total was announced at annual awards ceremonies at Canterbury and Medway. Over 800 students were recognised for the support they give to organisations through their volunteering activities, receiving Gold +, Gold, Silver or Bronze prizes, depending on the amount of hours they give. The Kent Student Certificate for Volunteering (KSCV) scheme also includes a Platinum module presented to students who gain recognition for their volunteering hours in the form of degree credits.
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KENT Magazine
Dockyard becomes hub of art and creativity A full-sized conservatory, a ‘crashed’ car and the hull of a ship were among large-scale installations featuring in a new exhibition by Kent students at the Chatham Historic Dockyard. Titled ‘Joining the Docks’, the Fine Art Degree Show was officially opened on 25 May by Victoria Pomery, Director of the Turner Contemporary, Margate. 1
Kent recognised by European Commission for researcher development The University’s commitment to recruit, develop and retain high calibre research staff has been recognised with the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award. The award focuses on Kent’s implementation of specific actions, which deliver commitments to research excellence, set out by the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment. The award will be increasingly expected by the Research Council UK (RCUK) and EU funders, as well as research collaborators and job applicants. The award also recognises how Kent is engaging with research staff across all three faculties to identify key areas for improvement. The University will show a continued commitment to researcher development via a cross-Faculty Working Group, chaired by the University’s Director of Research Services and its Head of Organisational Development. Kent is one of seven UK universities recognised with the award in 2013. The awards were announced by Vitae – the UK organisation which champions researcher excellence in higher education – at the ‘HR strategies for researchers: future directions and good practice across Europe’ event in London in May. Find out more about the Kent initiative at: www.kent.ac.uk/human-resources/excellencein research/index.html
Alongside pieces from Fine Art students, the exhibition, open to members of the public, also featured works by students from the Music and Audio Arts, and Creative Events, Design and Production courses. You can find out more about Joining the Docks at www.joiningthedocks.co.uk
Kent reinforces commitment to public engagement with research A panel event reinforced the University’s commitment to public engagement with the wide range of research conducted at its campuses and centres. Hosted by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, alongside keynote speaker, Matthew Dodd – Head of Speech, Programming and Presentation at BBC Radio 3 – the event took place at the Canterbury campus on 12 June. Among those attending were other senior members of the University including Pro-ViceChancellor for Research Professor John Baldock and more than 100 staff and invited guests. Public engagement describes the many ways the University connects its research activities to the general public, ranging from public talks and exhibitions to press and social media activities. With a long tradition of public engagement through numerous events, activities and exhibitions, the University has now pledged a formalised commitment to encourage further collaboration between its researchers and the public. To find out more, visit: www.kent.ac.uk/ publicengagement/launch.html
News 1 Joining the Docks exhibition 2 Ancient Rome animation
The renovation included the introduction of land drainage behind the parapet and wing walls, as well as the careful dismantling, rebuilding, repair and repointing of the brickwork. A new approach footpath and fencing has also been provided to make the site more accessible. The renovations, which have cost in excess of £50,000, have been funded by the University and co-ordinated by its Estates Department. The University has worked closely with Canterbury City Council, structural engineers, ecologists, local support groups and the main contractor, to complete the work.
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YouTube animation reaches 10,000 hits in first 24 hours
Cartoon archive among top 100 websites worth preserving
The second animation in a series of educational cartoons on Ancient Rome by Ray Laurence, Professor of Roman History and Archaeology, has launched on YouTube to over 10,000 hits in the first 24 hours after release.
The website of the British Cartoon Archive (BCA) at the University has been chosen by library curators and other experts from the Capturing the Digital Universe project as one of the top 100 UK websites worth preserving for future generations.
Titled Four Sisters in Rome, the cartoon follows Professor Laurence’s first animation – A Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome – which has been watched by over 190,000 people to date. Four Sisters in Rome focuses on what life was like for young girls in the city almost 2,000 years ago and seeks to respond to a demand for knowledge of the role of the young in the city at that time. You can view the cartoon at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQMgLxVxsrw
University congratulates Kent Union award-winners Volunteering, local community work and sign-ups to a crucial donor register were just a handful of activities recognised at a special awards ceremony held at the University on 15 May. The Kent Union Awards 2013 celebrates the achievements of its students for the outstanding work they undertake while members of Kent Union (KU) clubs and societies. The event also recognises the contributions of the University’s staff and among winners this year were: Best Teacher – Govinda Clayton (Politics and International Relations); Fantastic Feedback – Peter Klappa (Biosciences); Best Supervision – Kate O’Brien (SSPSSR); and Professional Services – Jo Dunn (Psychology).
The BCA site was chosen as it is ‘a voluminous and essential resource into social and political history’ and ‘essential reading for future generations researching our life and times in 2013’. Launched in April, the Capturing the Digital Universe project is the result of new powers to archive the entire UK web having been awarded to the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford, Cambridge University Library and Trinity College Dublin.
New lease of life for Northern Portal of Crab and Winkle Line The University has completed significant restoration works to the Northern Portal of the Tyler Hill Tunnel, part of the original route of the Crab and Winkle Railway Line that linked Canterbury and Whitstable. The Grade II-listed portals and tunnel, which run south under the main part of the Canterbury campus, are steeped in local locomotive history, including association to pioneering engineers such as George Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Kent filmmaker in Cannes spotlight A film by Clio Barnard, Reader in Film at Kent, was chosen as one of only two films to represent the UK in the Directors’ Fortnight line-up at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in May. Titled The Selfish Giant, the film is an adaption of Oscar Wilde’s famous short story of the same name. Now set in a housing estate in Bradford, it tells the tale of two outcast teenage boys who get caught up in the world of copper theft. The Selfish Giant follows Clio Barnard’s critically acclaimed debut feature, The Arbor (2010) which won several awards.
Cathedral Library treasures opened up to public A collaboration between Canterbury Cathedral and Kent’s Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies has enabled the public to view for the first time some of the many treasures stored within the Cathedral Library’s archives. The ‘Picture This’ collaboration features a monthly online post of a carefully selected image from one of the Library’s books with an accompanying descriptive article written by a student or researcher at the University. Published at http://canterburycathedral.org/conservation/library/picture-this/, these articles hope to provide a fascinating commentary on the symbolism of medieval art, as well as an explanation and understanding of hidden language that can give an insight into the workings of the medieval mind.
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Employability – a Kent success-story Ninety three per cent of Kent’s graduates are in work or further study six months after they graduate. This is thanks to the commitment of our staff to make sure Kent students have the necessary knowledge and skills to thrive in employment. Allie White, for KENT staff magazine, outlines some of the ways the University is helping our students gain the best jobs. The Employability Points Scheme, Global Skills Award and Careers and Employability Service Moodle Award are just three of the innovative schemes available to students at Kent. They can also gain new skills and valuable work experience through Kent Union’s Jobshop. 1
With University support, students can sign-up as an ambassador, peer mentor or School/Faculty representative, or learn languages from Arabic to Mandarin. They are then able to keep track of their work-related experience, and reflect on the skills they’ve learnt, through MyFolio or Kent Union’s Employability and Volunteering toolkit. Kent continues to enhance the employability support it provides to students with the introduction of new services, including drop-in sessions at Templeman Library, an employability blog and bursary scheme for short-term unpaid work experiences. The Careers and Employability Service is currently preparing for the biggest employability event Kent has seen – Employability Week. From 4 – 8 November 2013, we will welcome hundreds of international, as well as local, employers to Kent. The event will not only provide students with the chance to find out more about the opportunities after university, but will enable staff to network with employers on campus too.
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Paris and Brussels Summer School Scholarships Another new initiative in 2013 is a Summer School Scholarship for 50 of our students to study in Paris and Brussels as part of Kent’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. The successful students, who were chosen from more than 400 applicants, started their Summer School at the end of May. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Hughes describes the Summer School as ‘an excellent opportunity for our students to enhance their CV, gain valuable skills and have a lot of fun at the same time’. She adds: ‘With centres in Brussels and Paris, Kent is in an ideal position to provide our students with an international study experience that is intellectually and culturally enriching.’
Pride in our student successes The University’s commitment to employability is reflected in the success of our alumni. In the recent Employability Points Rewards Ceremony (see right) Physics PhD student David Stibbards reflected on his experience with Coca-Cola Enterprises as part of the Employability Points Scheme. As a result of this work experience, David was chosen from 400 applicants for a graduate position at the global giant. Our students’ success is something we are very proud of at Kent, and we recently celebrated this in a campus-wide poster campaign. The campaign showcased amazing achievements by individuals and groups of students, including our student volunteers who logged over 100,000 hours last year and Kent alumni who worked on special effects and screenwriting for the latest James Bond film Skyfall. You can view the posters on Flickr: bit.ly/proudtobekent
Feature 1 2013 Summer School Scholars in Brussels 2 EP sponsors, Cristobal Sanchez and Jason Bushel from Santander Universites, with Kent’s Stephanie Barwick, Professor Alex Hughes and Carole Barron 3 Kent alumni contributed to the James Bond blockbuster Skyfall. Image courtesy of Sony/MGM/Eon
Leading employers support innovative Employability Points Scheme
A record number of nearly 2,500 students participated in this year’s EP scheme that serves to encourage, support and enhance the extracurricular personal and work-skills development of individual students through active engagement in a range of self-selected activities.
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Tesco and Enterprise Rent-a-Car are among the 111 leading companies and organisations who are engaged in Kent’s innovative Employability Points Scheme (EP) and offer work experience, internships and skills development sessions as prizes to Kent’s highest achieving EP students under this year’s scheme.
These include student mentoring, volunteering, part-time employment, international study and language study. Points are then awarded for each activity and at the end-of-year ceremony students with the highest points are presented with prizes such as training programmes, paid internships and vouchers, all of which are sponsored by organisations or companies.
In a Rewards Ceremony, sponsored by Santander Universities and held on 31 May in the new Colyer-Fergusson Music Hall, some of the highest-achieving students in the scheme were congratulated on their achievements.
At the ceremony, Professor Alex Hughes commented: ‘This scheme helps our students gain valuable experience and I’m delighted that so many leading employers continue to support
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it in this way. We rely on our partners and sponsors and the success of this evening demonstrates the extent to which they value our students.’ Cristobal Sanchez of Santander Universities said: ‘Santander believes education is the future. This initiative encourages enterprise and employability and as a bank we want to invest in that.’ Other sponsors include: Skanska, Merlin Entertainment Group, Kent County Council, Ruskin Air Management, Canterbury City Council, Canterbury Cathedral, aBode, the KM Group, Medway Council, Kent Police, the National Trust, Waterstones and Shepherd Neame. You can find out more about employability at Kent at: www.kent.ac.uk/employability
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Research
Kent-led research results in police probe into rendition flights
Revelations from a major Kent-led project have prompted Police Scotland to investigate the use of the country’s airports for rendition flights. The Rendition Project recently produced a new database that has tracked over 11,000 flights by more than 120 aircraft linked by past investigations to renditions. It also contains details of over 50 private companies contracted for or by the CIA in relation to rendition flights. The database is the latest addition to the Rendition Project, an online project designed to analyse the global system of rendition, secret detention and torture initiated by the USA. The new database enables users to search for, and visualise, underlying data contained within the Rendition Project via an interactive map showing rendition flights. Flight data underpinning the database is collated from more than 40 separate sources. Launched in May 2012, the Rendition Project is part of wider research to collate and analyse huge amounts of data on the global rendition system. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, it is led by Dr Ruth Blakeley, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Kent’s School of Politics and International Relations, and Dr Sam Raphael, Lecturer in Politics at Kingston University. They work closely with Reprieve, a UK-based legal action charity.
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University founder member of new academic health science network The University has been chosen by the NHS to be a founder member of a new Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) for Kent, Surrey and Sussex. NHS England announced on 23 May that it was establishing 15 new AHSNs, which would ‘have the potential to transform health and healthcare by putting innovation at the heart of the NHS’. The University will be closely involved in the development of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex AHSN as a founding member of the network’s transition board. Its academics will also become involved in collaborative projects with healthcare practitioners and other agencies once the network begins its work. Professor Peter Jeffries, Director of KentHealth, the University department that co-ordinates its regional health-related activities, said: ‘I am very pleased to confirm that the University is now playing a full role in the healthcare landscape across our region and look forward to Kent academics participating in the many activities that the new network will foster. The aim of the AHSN in bringing industry, healthcare practitioners and the universities together resonates perfectly with that of KentHealth.’
New Komodo orchid identified A new species of orchid has been identified on the South East Asian island of Komodo despite being wrongly named for the past 300 years. According to research by Dr Dave Roberts of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), the orchid – named Vanda perplexa – had originally been confused with other similar species but has only now been officially identified and described as an entirely new species. The orchid which has big round pink flowers, large stems and grows in trees, is from a group that is particularly popular with growers. Co-authored by Dr Roberts and Martin Motes, a world-renowned orchid grower, the findings have been published in a paper in Kew Bulletin, titled ‘Vanda perplexa (Orchidaceae): a new species from the Lesser Sunda Islands’. Dr Roberts said: ‘The mystery of Vanda perplexa began with the work of Georg Eberhard Rumphius, a blind German botanist. Rumphius described a number of species of orchids and it is under one of these, Vanda furva, that our new species has been masquerading. Over the subsequent 300 years, various species have been attributed to Rumphius’ Vanda furva, including this species, but it is only now that it has been officially described and given its own name.’
Research
charge on all aspects of an application including design, research methods, identifying suitable funding sources and involving patients and public in research design. For information about the support offered by the RDS SE, visit: http://www.rds-se.nihr.ac.uk
Assessing future tree and plant disease risks
Research Design Service South East – a helping hand for NHS research The NIHR Research Design Service South East team at CHSS (pictured above) donned coloured badges and showed their ‘helping hands’ to support a campaign to raise public awareness of NHS clinical research. International Clinical Trials Day on 20 May was a chance for NHS researchers around the country to promote a message from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) that it’s ‘OK to Ask’ about clinical research. Bridget Carpenter, Co-Director Business for the Research Design Service South East (RDS SE) said: ‘A recent poll showed that only 21% of patients and the public would feel confident about asking their doctor about clinical research opportunities. The NIHR OK to Ask campaign is a chance to change this, and we in the RDS SE work every day with NHS researchers to involve patients and the public both in the design and process of health and social care research.’ The RDS SE is part of a national service funded by the NIHR. It supports research teams to develop and submit high quality applied health and social care grant applications to NIHR and other national peer-reviewed funding programmes. It offers specialist advice free of
A new method for assessing the impacts and risks of potential future tree and plant pest and disease outbreaks has been developed by the University’s Professor Robert Fraser as one of the key recommendations of the Government report into biosecurity announced on 20 May. Robert Fraser, Professor of Agricultural Economics within the School of Economics, developed the new methodology as one of ten experts from leading universities sitting on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce. The Taskforce’s final report includes a recommendation to develop a ‘prioritised UK Plant Health Risk Register’ – which suggests use of a new ‘horizon-scanning’ methodology developed by Professor Fraser – as one of its key findings.
Recent research awards Dr Zaki Wahhaj (School of Economics), £372,450 from the Australian Agency for International Development for ‘The role of secondary schooling and gender norms in the long-term opportunities and choices of rural Bangladeshi women’. Professor Frank Wang (School of Computing) £261,484 from the European Commission to ‘Re-discover a periodic table of elementary circuit elements’. Professor Douglas MacMillan (School of Anthropology and Conservation), £171,317 from the Darwin Initiative for ‘Reviving socioecological landscapes for biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation’. Professor Dominic Abrams (School of Psychology), £100,796 from the European Commission for ‘Mobilising the Potential Of Active Ageing In Europe (MOPACT)’. Professor Katie Truss (Kent Business School), £74,323 from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for ‘Enhancing and embedding employee engagement in the NHS’.
Motivation for corporate philanthropy differs across company hierarchy
floor’ staff prioritise charitable causes with which they have a personal connection in order to provide enjoyable fundraising experiences that break the monotony of the working day.
A new paper by Dr Beth Breeze, Director of the University’s Centre for Philanthropy, highlights a distinct difference in perspectives on corporate philanthropy between those at the bottom and the top of company hierarchy.
In her paper, titled ‘Corporate philanthropy on the shop floor: what drives employee fundraising?’, Dr Breeze presents findings from research carried out using observational methods and interviews in ten workplaces in south east England. It was undertaken for the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy (CGAP), which is a consortium of universities funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
In the first study of its kind, Dr Breeze found that board and senior managers emphasise the business case for corporate philanthropy – such as reputational benefits and strategic alignments with suitable charity brands. Conversely, ‘shop
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Enterprise
Strategic relationship creates innovation opportunities for Schools Dstl is a large organisation of researchers delivering research and advice to the Ministry of Defence and across wider government. It aims to maximise the impact of science and technology on UK defence and security. At present, around 60% of the approximately £400 million Defence Science and Technology Programme, managed through Dstl, is delivered by industry and academia. A joint networking event between Dstl and researchers at the University of Kent took place in 2010 to highlight clusters of activity across key science and technology areas in both organisations. At the event, Kent’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Denise Everitt and Dstl agreed to support joint working across both organisations. This has already resulted in £618,000 of innovation funding – directly from Dstl and via defence industry contractors – as well as other activities such as engagement with undergraduate and postgraduate students and pathways for research impact. Both organisations have dedicated resources to opening up access to Kent’s research expertise in areas, such as human capabilities, materials/energy and cyber security, where collaborative working could benefit the defence sector. It is already clear that the University offers a significant UK defence resource covering a wide range of capabilities of relevance to Dstl. The School of Physical Sciences, for example, has worked with Dstl on a study into metal-free fibre batteries, and is recognised as an approved supplier for research linked to the Materials and Structures, Science & Technology Centre (MASTSTC) within Dstl. Professor Jim Wilson, Principal Scientist at Dstl, has recently been appointed as a Visiting Professor at Kent, working on
electroactive polymer gels, novel materials for new battery configurations, and lecturing on electrochemistry applications. Professor Wilson said: ‘Working with Kent has provided Dstl with a range of new, innovative and exciting ideas demonstrating the truly highly creative environment across a range of disciplines spanning all faculties.’ The School of Psychology has developed a close relationship with members of the Human Systems Group at Dstl. Dr Tim Hopthrow, Director of Learning and Teaching within Psychology, said: ‘With the support of Kent Innovation and Enterprise and the School of Psychology, working with Dstl has become a key part of Psychology’s research and engagement strategy.’ Psychology has a full-time Dstl-funded research fellow, Amy Murphy, seconded to Dstl in Porton Down. In addition, the recent appointment of Dstl’s Laura Spear as an Honorary Research Fellow in Psychology at Kent will be invaluable in helping the School deliver research and advice to Dstl. Among current research projects within Psychology are ‘The use of mental simulation to improve influence’ (Dr Tim Hopthrow and Professor Dominic Abrams), ‘The science of apology’ (Dr Roger Giner-Sorolla), and ‘The impact of conspiracy theories’ (Dr Karen Douglas).
The relationship with Dstl has also promoted more interdisciplinary working between Schools and with external organisations. Dr Karen Douglas from Psychology has worked with Dr Jim Ang and Dr Farzin Deravi from the School of Engineering and Digital Arts on a project examining cultural differences in online behaviour. They have also been working with Roke Manor, which is contracted by Dstl, looking at social influence on Facebook. Farzin and Jim commented: ‘The project allows us to expand our research work in cyber behaviour, looking into how people are influenced online and how information spreads in social networks.’ Kate Gill, currently the Group Leader for the Air Vehicles Group in the Air and Weapons Systems Department of Dstl, has been appointed a Visiting Professor within the School of Engineering and Digital Arts. Kate has been a strong contributor to the Dstl systems skills development programme and will be delivering lectures, case studies and workshops at Kent on Systems Project Management. Other Schools engaged with Dstl include Sport and Exercise Sciences. For example, Professor Sam Marcora is working with Dstl on his research into reducing fatigue and improving the performance of endurance athletes. He said: ‘The Dstl project gave me the opportunity to apply my research to a different kind of “athlete”: the fighting soldier. By changing the way they train, the aim is to make soldiers more resistant to the mental fatigue that develops during prolonged operations. As a result, it should be easier to spot improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and avoid the horrific injuries and death they cause.’ Both the University and Dstl are looking for new links with academics that can provide valuable sources of expertise and advice. To explore this further, email Kent Innovation and Enterprise – enterprise@kent.ac.uk.
Kent and Dstl staff working together
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Student demand for ‘traditional teaching methods’ remains strong It has been widely reported by the media that the advent of massive open online courses (MOOCs) will spell the demise of traditional campus-based teaching methods. However, a recent study-aid pilot at the University reveals that there are aspects of traditional campus teaching that students continue to prize highly. Laurence Goldstein, Head of the School of European Culture and Languages, tells KENT staff magazine more about the study. Students within the University’s Faculty of Humanities are entitled to individual (one-to-one) short tutorial sessions for receiving feedback on their essays. When an essay is submitted, the teacher notes queries and points to be discussed in the subsequent tutorial. This is obviously more educationally valuable than written comments alone, because there is a realtime dialogue for which the student needs to prepare. However, some students find it inconvenient to travel to campus for a 15-minute feedback session that is not on their regular timetable. For this reason, the Faculty developed an option– tutorial by video link. Within this system, two ‘talking heads’ – student and tutor – occupy a relatively small screen area; the student’s essay is displayed in high resolution on both screens with scrolling under the tutor’s control. Electronic booking and queuing, with the possibility of recording the session, are all integrated with the University’s virtual learning environment.
I believe that the system offers great flexibility; student and teacher can be in different locations and the tutorial can be at any time convenient to both. I expected 100% enthusiastic uptake by students who, after all, regularly use technology in their academic and personal lives. It was therefore with some surprise that my colleagues and I discovered that, although the majority of students have now embraced videolinked individual tutorials (VLIT) and make use of it quite happily, a significant proportion favoured the old-fashioned method of face-to-face officebased feedback. A similar result was reported by Dr Mario Weick in the School of Psychology. This raised the question: what would explain a preference for office-based feedback over the convenience afforded by technology? I conducted an informal survey of staff and students but given that some of the reasons offered against VLIT did not stand up to scrutiny – for example, one respondent said: ‘I don’t want my tutor seeing inside my house’ – I consulted with colleagues in Psychology.
Among those who helped throw light on the question was doctoral student Lynsey Mahmood who pointed to some research that would indicate that perhaps the real underlying concern of the student quoted previously may have been that she did not want to see inside her teacher’s house, for glimpsing too much of the teacher’s domestic circumstances would make the relationship less formal. It would not be surprising if some students wanted to retain a somewhat more distant relation with the teacher. Of course, what is considered to be a comfortable distance will vary from student to student, and this is what makes a campus a perfect academic environment. It is home to a close-knit community where students and staff intermingle, but where a student can choose to interact with a teacher formally in seminar room or office, or informally over a cup of coffee. So, despite the media reports, it is unlikely that the rich variety of learning experiences offered by a good campus university will be displaced by an array of online resources.
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Staff profile
Etienne Donzelot Etienne studied Computer Science at Kent before joining the IT team here in 2006. In April, he was appointed Web Publishing Officer within Corporate Communications. What would be your perfect day? A brilliantly clear winter’s day, spent walking in the British countryside, all wrapped up, and ending in a cosy evening by the fire. What single thing would improve the quality of your life? Definitely more time. I would love more time to be able to trek around the world, visiting remote countries and learning about the local cultures. What is your favourite item of clothing, either now or in the past? My Icebreaker jumper. I bring it with me everywhere I go, it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever worn. It is made of wool and keeps you warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot. As an outdoor enthusiast, you can’t ask for more. What is your favourite TV/radio programme? Firefly by Joss Whedon. Cowboys in space, what’s not to like?!
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What country would you most like to visit? I would love to visit Australia. I’ve got some friends there who constantly tease me with photos of the places they’ve been to, like Uluru (Ayers Rock), so it would be marvellous to finally visit some of them. What was your first job? My first job was working in the Templeman Library as part of the IT & Library Support Desk while I was studying for my undergraduate degree in Computer Science. I made many friends there and learned many skills that I still use. How do you spend your time outside work? The majority of my time is spent outdoors. Since completing my Gold Award for Duke of Edinburgh, I’ve been increasingly active. Most of my time is spent either running or rock-climbing with Kent’s Mountaineering Society. But I’m always partial to a bit of cycling, swimming, or sailing when the opportunity arises! I’ve recently completed training courses in skiing and scuba diving, so I’m looking forward to doing more of those too. I’m just as comfortable, however, relaxing at home with my partner and a glass of wine.
What is your greatest achievement? Receiving my Gold Award for Duke of Edinburgh. I spent around two years working on completing the five key skills: physical, skill, volunteering, residential, and expedition. The last two of these skills involved a life-changing trip to South Africa and Mozambique. The trip consisted of spending three weeks in remote areas, teaching in a local school and hiking along the Mozambique coast. Not only did I learn about the local cultures and day-to-day life, but also a great deal about ecology and wilderness preservation. The most memorable experience was spending five days on foot out in the middle of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, with a sleeping bag and a guide. We camped under the stars with only the sounds of the animals around us. It was amazingly peaceful. How do you celebrate good news? In a very traditional French way: lots of food and lots of wine! What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? ‘Do what makes you happy and be yourself.’ I don’t see the point in hiding who I am or what I like to do just because there’s a possibility that someone out there may or may not agree with it. That just seems bonkers to me.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity
Athena Swan Bronze Award application In April 2013 the University submitted its application for a bronze Athena SWAN Award. Bronze awards demonstrate that an institution as a whole has a solid foundation of policies and practices to eliminate gender bias and supports an inclusive culture that values female staff. It shows commitment to the journey towards advancing women in SET (Science, Engineering and Technology); identification of the starting point and the resources needed; identification of who is leading and supporting the process; and the monitoring of progress. The submission was a collaborative effort between staff in the Faculty of Sciences and the HR team. The application includes an action plan which was prepared by the Kent Athena SWAN Working Group. It was produced with input from the institution at many levels internally and was also informed by the expertise of external consultants. The plan creation was led by the core Athena SWAN team and was circulated for input to the University Senior Management Team and all Heads of School in the Sciences Faculty. It was also heavily influenced by a report commissioned from Oxford Research and Policy staff who carried out a Sciences staff survey, the results of which informed the actions put forward. The action plan addresses issues specifically in relation to gender, but also aims to achieve broader outcomes tied to our overall aim of encouraging a diverse and inclusive culture within the institution and the Faculty of Science. We will be told in September about the results of our application. A staff post will be created to support the University and Schools in their individual applications for silver accreditation and a website is being developed to support the initiative. The annual Athena SWAN Awareness Day is open to all staff and will be held on 16 September 2013. Be sure to mark your calendar and watch for further details.
IDAHO Day The University marked International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) on 17 May with activities that included the flying of a rainbow flag on Templeman Library and a celebration including rainbow cupcakes and an address by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Mander to staff and students. The LGBT Staff Network successfully organised its first LGBT History Month activities in February this year and has achieved a great deal since it was formed to represent LGBT staff. These events will contribute to raising its profile even more. See http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/lgbtstaff/ or contact lgbtstaffnetwork@kent.ac.uk to find out more about the network.
Upcoming EDI Staff Network dates Be sure to get in touch with equalityanddiversity@kent.ac.uk if you are interested in attending any of the upcoming staff network meetings which are open to all staff: 19 June 2-4pm 26 June 2-4pm 3 July 12.30-2pm 23 October 12-2pm 6 November 12.30-2pm 13 November 2-4pm
LGBT Staff Network Disability Staff Network Women’s Network LGBT Staff Network Women’s Network Disability Staff Network
All network meeting dates will also appear in the upcoming University Calendar for 2013/14.
KENT Magazine
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Feature
A day in the life of a... sociolinguist It’s not every day that you find yourself in the company of a well-known comedian while filming for a primetime BBC TV programme… unless you’re Dr David Hornsby from the School of European Culture and Languages. As a sociolinguist in the English Language and Linguistics Department, David spends much of his time researching the relationship between language and society, and the causes of language change. These are questions which everyone has an opinion about, and fascinate the media, so in the course of his work he has undertaken a number of radio and newspaper interviews talking about the origins and development of British accents. His latest media appearance took place in April when he was asked by BBC1’s The One Show to be the ‘accent expert’ during an episode in their series with Alistair McGowan called ‘Alistair’s Accents’. He told Katie Scoggins for KENT staff magazine about his day’s filming.
8.30am I arrived smartly dressed for a day in front of the camera in east London – our first filming location for the day. The schedule consisted of me accompanying the film crew (a camera man/sound technician, and the producer/director) alongside TV funny man, Alistair McGowan, as we met people from East London and talked accents. The aim of this episode was to show how ‘down from London’ hop-pickers introduced Thames Estuary accents to younger generations, compared to the rural accents of their parents.
10.30am After sitting down with our first set of informants, organised by the BBC, we discussed their backgrounds and a little about them. This helped me get an idea on how they spoke and pick up on how their accents differed. We ended up getting a lovely contrast between Cockney speakers and
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younger Multicultural London English (MLE) speakers in Hackney. This told us that MLE is starting to displace Cockney in London, but interestingly Cockney is displacing the traditional Kent accents in our next location – Faversham.
2.30pm Moving further into Kent, our next stop was Jittermugs coffee shop on Faversham High Street. Here, we were to speak to one of the coffee shop’s waitresses, Charlotte, as well as an elderly gentleman, John. The BBC researchers warned me that John’s Kentish accent wasn’t particularly strong, and that we might not have much to work on. In fact, he was an ideal informant, offering a perfect contrast to Charlotte. He had some residual ‘rhoticity’, meaning he still pronounced the ‘r’ in words like horse, and there was evidence of a vowel chain shift, in which each of his vowels was displaced by one position from that of RP, or standard English pronunciation. So, the vowel in market (maakut for John) corresponded to a longer cat vowel for most south-east speakers, meaning the ‘a’ in Faversham was raised to ‘e’ (Feversham). This meant the Kent vowel had to raise too, to Kint in John’s speech. What, we wondered, happened to the vowel in been or seen? Fortunately, we had
our answer when John talked about the ‘Quin’s’ English, and places he’d sin and bin to visit! It was a pleasure to interview someone with so many interesting local features.
5pm As we went back to Faversham rail station after we’d finished, one of the producers mentioned to Alastair that he felt this was one of the best and most opinion-forming of the accent pieces we’ve done so far. We were all delighted to find three really distinct accents within 50 miles of each other. Overall, the day was a great success. The informants were amazingly good, and I found plenty of interesting material to work with. Dr Hornsby was accompanied by Press Officer Katie Scoggins during the filming for The One Show. More recently, Dr Jon Mills from the Centre for English and World Languages appeared in the Alistair’s Accents series discussing the Cornish accent. Colleagues who would like to engage with the media, including providing expert comment on a topical news story, should contact the University’s Press Office at pressoffice@kent.ac.uk or (82)3985.
Environment 1 Students from the School of Politics and International Relations collecting their Silver Award from Professor Alex Hughes
Staff and students making a Green Impact on campus Winners Gold Award Medway Student Services – Overall Winner Enrolment Management Services – Highly Commended Human Resources Research Services
Silver Vice-Chancellor’s Section Kent Innovation and Enterprise School of Politics and International Relations Centre for English and World Languages Finance Department School of Engineering and Digital Arts Rutherford Kitchen Gulbenkian Café Origins Bistro
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The University celebrated the culmination of the fourth successful year of its Green Impact programme on 15 April. More than 70 students and members of University staff from more than 25 teams, gathered to celebrate their achievements helping to make a real and positive shift towards environmentally responsible behaviour in the workplace. The University Green Impact teams progressed through online workbooks fulfilling criteria in three categories from Bronze through Silver to Gold. These covered a range of environmental categories from recycling to promoting sustainable transport and supporting local wildlife. Twenty six departments, Schools and catering outlets took part in the scheme this year with 166 staff directly involved in a Green Impact team. To date, over half the staff working for the University have been either directly or indirectly involved with Green Impact through their School or department. After just four years of taking part in Green Impact, this is an outstanding achievement that everyone at the University of Kent can be proud of. This year for the first time, students were formally involved in the scheme as Green Impact Project Assistants placed within staff teams to support them as they implemented change. Twenty one students were involved in various ways, including training recognised by the NUS in Sustainability,
Behaviour Change and Environmental Auditing. Many more students were informally involved through being part of their Schools’ internal Green Impact team. The awards ceremony took place in the Darwin Conference Suite and was followed by an impressive buffet lunch prepared by our chefs using local, seasonal and sustainable produce, from Kentish Corker sausages to rhubarb brulée. It was hosted by the Green Impact project team of Environmental Co-ordinator Catherine Morris and Sustainable Behaviour Assistant Alex Metcalfe, with words on carbon management and sustainability at the University from Assistant Director of Estates Nick Swinford. The awards were presented by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Hughes. Each team was presented with a bespoke award crafted from a repurposed slate tile taken from a demolished house in Wales.
Bronze Development Office Kent Sport Undergraduate Office School of European Culture and Languages Kent Business School Admin Safety, Health and Environment Unit School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science Darwin Kitchen Keynes Catering – Highly Commended
Working Towards Information Services Facilities Management School of Economics
Special Awards Best New Team: Judith Broom (School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science) Sustainability in the Catering Sector: Mark Finch (Rutherford Kitchen) Best Student Engagement: Govinda Clayton (School of Politics and International Relations)
Green Impact 2013/14 will launch for its fifth year during the autumn term. For more information on the project or to get involved, please contact greenimpact@kent.ac.uk. KENT Magazine
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Feature
Gulbenkian’s youth revolution Gulbenkian is more than an arts venue. It is fast becoming a centre of artistic opportunity through its commitment to supporting and investing in young people. In summer 2012, Gulbenkian launched a collaboration with the University’s School of Arts and Wide Eyed Theatre (made up of Kent graduates) to start a youth theatre. The youth theatre is now approaching its first birthday and has proved an exciting and popular project with 100 places taken up by local under-18s. Gulbenkian has recently been classed as an Arts Award Centre, with all senior staff arts award-trained and able to offer local schools and young people accredited awards up to silver level, working with Wide Eyed Theatre. Additional investment is helping to provide 10 places on the arts award scheme and youth theatre for disadvantaged young people, who may otherwise struggle to engage with the arts. Gulbenkian is also home to ART31, a Kent County Council pilot project to encourage young people to take part in creative cultural activities appropriate to their age. Under ART31, a group
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of 14- to 21-year-olds recently took over Gulbenkian – planning, booking and contracting events, managing front-of-house, working backstage and compering some of the events. They even taped over Director Liz Moran’s nameplate and replaced it with their own!
‘ART31 is an incredibly inspiring and creative group of young people and we all felt so privileged to work with them on their festival. Gulbenkian has very exciting times ahead with ART31 taking the lead and shaping our future.’ Liz Moran, Director Earlier this year, Gulbenkian secured funding from Kent County Council to employ a Youth Arts Apprentice. George Etheridge joined the Gulbenkian in May and will play a key role in the drive to involve more young people in the arts. He described it as a ‘fantastic opportunity’ that he is ‘determined to make the most of’.
The Gulbenkian programme has been reviewed to emphasise working with young people in collaboration with new partners. These include South East Dance on MOKO Mix and Kent Dancing weekend in September 2013, specialists in performances for two- to four-yearolds Oily Cart, and Catherine Wheels Theatre Company who will be bringing their new works, Mr & Mrs Moon and White, to Canterbury next season. Find out more at www.thegulbenkian.co.uk, or chat to one of our team face-to-face or on the phone: 01227 769075.
Sport
Kent Sport’s £4.8 million development is complete positive, and we got started straight away with a fitness test. Much to my relief, it wasn’t the scary bleep test that I remembered from school, but lots of questions about my typical exercise habits, diet, and some starting body measurements.
With the completion of a significant upgrade at Kent Sport as part of its commitment to fitness and wellbeing, an array of brand new and refurbished facilities is now available to members at the Canterbury campus. This includes a major expansion of the Fitness Suite with three distinct areas for general fitness, wellness and rehabilitation, and highperformance training, creating a unique workout experience. Fitness and dance classes are now held in the new, larger studio, with enhanced lighting and sound. The studio can be split into two for smaller, more intimate sessions. There are classes to suit all interests, from Boxercise® to Spinning® and Yoga. Along with the new Indoor Tennis and Netball Centre, a third large sports hall has been added, providing the opportunity for a wide range of activities such as badminton, basketball and table tennis. Kent Sport members can also enjoy two squash courts, outdoor grass pitches, 3G and astro pitches and cricket pitches and practice nets. Director of Kent Sport Graham Holmes said: ‘Our new facilities are superb, and I am delighted to be able to provide first-class sporting
opportunities on campus and I encourage everyone to join in and enjoy all that Kent Sport can now offer.’ Additional developments coming soon include the introduction of online class bookings; and a new physiotherapy clinic integrated into the Fitness Suite allowing a seamless service, from acute injury right back to full fitness. For further details visit www.kent.ac.uk/sports; and to keep up to date with the latest offers, information and photos, like Kent Sport on Facebook at www.facebook.com/unikentsports
Fit for the Beach Psychology Lecturer Dr Heather J Ferguson was selected for this tough and results-orientated fitness programme in May and describes her experience here: ‘I’m now in my third week of the Fit for the Beach training programme – and it’s going great! After the sports team contacted me to say that I’d won one of the places, I was invited in to meet my personal trainer – Liz. She was very friendly and
‘My first personal trainer session was a revelation, as Liz mixed up cardio with weights and toning machines, and we worked through intervals of harder and harder exercises that “loaded” specific muscle groups. We do interval sprints on the treadmill and spinner, climb the Washington monument on the vertical climber (a killer!), “tone and firm” on the cross-trainer, race on the rowing machines, and mix in squats, situps, and reps with weight. My favourite thing is that all these activities involve an element of competition for me to go further, beat my own times, and push harder – which keeps me motivated! I feel that I’ve already learnt so much, and will definitely be sticking with these changes to my exercise routine.’ If you are interested in a fitness or nutrition consultation or a tailored exercise programme, please contact Kent Sport reception on 01227 823623 or email sportsenquiries@kent.ac.uk.
SummerZone If you are wondering how you will keep the children busy in the summer holidays, Kent Sport has the answer. SummerZone is the University’s affordable one- to two-week-long summer sports camp for five- to 12-year-olds, run by double Olympian Mel Clewlow. SummerZone is packed with football, Kwik Cricket, rugby, hockey, tennis and other activities and is led by qualified instructors. The energetic camp runs from Monday 12 – Friday 16 August and Monday 19 – Friday 23 August, from 9am to 3pm with early drop-off, late pick-ups, day passes and discounts available. For full details and bookings, visit www.kent.ac.uk/summerzone, email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk or call 01227 823623.
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Kent in the news
Books The Science Myth – God, Society, The Self, and What We Will Never Know
Dr Dominique Chu, IFF Books Lecturer in Computer Science Dr Dominique Chu provides fresh insights into the relationship between science and society, as well as shedding light on topical aspects of modern life. His new book challenges the commonly held view that science or the ‘scientific method’ is somehow a privileged or more reliable way to generate knowledge than other human activities.
The University continues to receive significant local, regional, national and international press coverage (beating the universities of Warwick, Surrey and Sussex in a recent benchmarking exercise). This includes regional coverage for its league table achievements, as well as the Colyer-Fergusson Music Building winning a RIBA national award. Other recent local/regional coverage included: BBC South East interviews with Professor Richard Whitman (Politics & IR) and Professor Tim Luckhurst (Journalism); and ITV Meridian News interviews with Dr Julio Hernandez-Castro (Computing), Dr Anne Logan (SSPSSR) and Dr John Batchelor (Engineering & Digital Arts). Head of Careers and Employability Tim Reed spoke to BBC Radio Kent about career changes and options, while Debbie Kemp (Kent Business School) and Professor Roger Vickerman (Economics) gave interviews on, respectively, KBS’s role in the Medway High Street Shopping Survey and its subsequent work with local retailers, and the 20th anniversary of the Channel Tunnel. Kent was represented nationally by SSPSSR’s Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, who appeared on BBC R4’s Thinking Allowed, Dr Jennifer Fleetwood (BBC Radio 5 Live), Dr Dawn Lyon (Guardian), Dr Beth Breeze (BBC Daily Politics Show) and Dr Ellie Lee, who spoke to various media on parenting issues. Others to receive national media coverage included Dr Oliver Double (Arts), Dr Michael Collins (English) and Dr Feargal Cochrane (History).
Dr Chu describes science as a social system and explains how fashions, beliefs and fads can shape the ‘science of the day’ as much as experimental data does. The book also discusses how a belief in science can influence and constrain decisions; sometimes even preventing new and effective solutions to real-work problems. The book concludes boldly that there are no rules to science, and hence there is no such thing as the ‘scientific method’. Britain had Talent: A History of Variety Theatre
Oliver Double, Palgrave Macmillan Britain’s long love affair with variety theatre is due to its combination of the personality of performers, the rapport they enjoy with the audience, their skills, and a touch of novelty according to a new book by Head of Drama Dr Olly Double. In the first major academic work to examine British variety theatre, Dr Double’s book offers an analysis of variety theatre and its place in British culture during the 20th century as it continues its reprieve in the latest television series of Britain’s Got Talent. The book’s publication coincided with an exhibition in the Gulbenkian Theatre of variety memorabilia collected during Dr Double’s research. Britain’s Quest For a Role – A Diplomatic Memoir from Europe to the UN
David Hannay (I.B.Tauris) International appearances included: SSPSSR’s Dr Adam Burgess, who gave interviews on the popularity of flu masks in Japan; Psychology’s Dr Zara Bergstrom, for her research on incriminating memories; Psychology’s Dr Karen Douglas and Dr Robbie Sutton on conspiracy theories; and Michael Hollington (English) on Dickens and Dostoevsky. The University also received extensive coverage, including a Guardian cover story, for updates to the Rendition Project, co-led by Dr Ruth Blakeley (Politics & IR).
Campus maps update Corporate Communications and IS, in conjunction with Timetabling, are pleased to announce that the new campus maps system is now live at www.kent.ac.uk/maps/ The new maps offer significant improvements over the old formats, with information on teaching rooms across all Kent campuses and DisabledGo (www.disabledgo.com/en/org/ university-of-kent) details for key Kent facilities in the UK. We are currently considering several potential extensions, including integration with Google Street view (www.kent. ac.uk/accommodation/virtualtour/) and Hospitality's virtual tours (www.kent.ac.uk/conferences/virtualtour/index.html). Feedback on any aspects of the new maps is welcome via communications@kent.ac.uk.
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These memoirs by leading diplomat, and member of the University Council, David Hannay, provide fascinating frontline information and insights into Britain’s complex relations with Washington and Europe. From his early career in the Middle East to his role as a top diplomat, Lord Hannay presents a detailed and authoritative narrative of British foreign policy in the second half of the 20th century. A key player in European policy-making, he was directly involved in bringing about the UK’s entry into the European Community, as well as being closely involved in the Annan plan while he was the UK’s Special Representative in Cyprus. Lord Hannay illuminates vital themes in the early relationship between Britain and the EU that are increasingly relevant today: British membership, EU enlargement and Britain’s contribution to the European budget.
People
Appointments and awards Welcome to… Professor James Carley, Professor of the History of the Book (School of History); Professor Amanda Kessaris, Professor of Law (Kent Law School); Dr Seán Molloy, Reader in International Relations (School of Politics and International Relations); Professor Colin Robinson, Professor of Biosciences (School of Biosciences); Professor Dermot Walsh, Professor of Law (Kent Law School); and Dr David Williams, Reader in Psychology (School of Psychology).
Congratulations to… Dr David Haney, of the School of Architecture, has been awarded a prestigious book prize by the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH). Dr Haney was awarded the Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award 2013 at a ceremony in
April for his book When Modern Was Green: Life and work of landscape architect Leberecht Migge. Dr Haney’s book is the result of five years’ PhD research undertaken while he was living in Berlin, and is the first major biographical study of the German landscape architect. Dr Nicola Barker, of Kent Law School, has won the annual SLSA-Hart Socio-Legal Book Prize for her book, Not The Marrying Kind: A Feminist Critique of Same-Sex Marriage. The book provides a comprehensive exploration of the same-sex marriage debates in several countries, including Australia, Canada, South Africa, the UK and the United States. It was judged to be the most outstanding piece of socio-legal scholarship published in the UK during the 12 months prior to 30 September 2012. Dr Barker received the prize at the Socio-Legal Studies Association’s (SLSA) annual conference in March.
Obituary Jenny Harries Jenny Harries lived with her husband in Chartham Hatch, a small village just outside Canterbury, surrounded by the woodlands and open Kentish countryside that she loved so much. Jenny was an active person with a great many interests, including walking, gardening, wildlife and local history. In 2007, Jenny was one of the authors of a book entitled Chartham Hatch – From Village School to Village Hall, and went on to produce a DVD Chartham Hatch – A Kentish Village – Seven Stories. Jenny was very active in the Chartham Hatch community; she was treasurer of the village hall, and a member of the local drama group and gardening club. Jenny was always busy supporting the village and organising fundraising events such as quiz nights, open days and exhibitions. Jenny was equally industrious at work where she was a vital hub in the School of Engineering and Digital Arts. As well as holding the key post of PA to the Head of School, Jenny was responsible for several important functions, such as managing the graduation prize-giving ceremonies, exam paper preparation, workload allocation, co-ordinating research publications and grant applications. Jenny was a dedicated, hard-working member of the School and supported staff and students in so many ways. Jenny also took a leading role in the less formal activities in the School; she was treasurer of the Tea Bar, arranged the Christmas lunch, and departmental fundraising events for charity such as cake sales and musical evenings.
First graduates in Applied Professional Practice BA/BSc and Professional Practice MSc The Centre for Professional Practice is delighted to announce that the first cohorts of the Applied Professional Practice BA/BSc and Professional Practice MSc will be graduating at the July Congregations. These individuals, including several members of University of Kent staff, made it over the finish line after a concerted effort.
Jenny Harries died suddenly on 7 April. She leaves a husband, Norton, and a daughter Josie. Professor Sarah Spurgeon, Head of the School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Head of Centre Debbie Reed said: ‘Balancing a part-time degree and a full working schedule is not an easy task, and this achievement truly demonstrates an outstanding commitment by these individuals to the development of their own professional practice. We will be proudly cheering for them on graduation day, congratulations to all.’ If you are interested in studying for a Professional Practice MSc, please contact cppmedway@kent.ac.uk. We are recruiting now for the October 2013 intake. KENT Magazine
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What’s on
Music Saturday 14 September, Colyer-Fergusson Hall, 7.30pm, John Harle & Festival Chamber Orchestra in Summer Timbre! Conductor Anthony Halstead, Leader Jeremy Ovenden. A programme of wonderful summer music with the world’s leading classical saxophonist, John Harle, including Glazunov’s bewitching Saxophone Concerto and Chick Corea’s Children’s Songs. John is also a talented composer, and has recently won the 2013 Ivor Novello Award for his score for Lucian Freud – Painted Life (BBC2) and we are very pleased he will be playing Interpretation of Dreams from this score. The FCO will also perform Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite for Small Orchestra, Donizetti’s Concertino for Cor Anglais & Orchestra and Schubert’s Symphony No. 5.
Gulbenkian Theatre Saturday 10 August, 11am–5pm, bOunce Gulbenkian’s Family Day. Join us for a fantastic family day at the Gulbenkian. Enjoy and get involved with all activities showing throughout the day including Pop-Up Tent’s Tea Time, Little Cauliflower’s The Machine, Boogie Woogie Baby – daytime disco, ART31 and others. A range of fun and free activities available throughout the day with family picnics, healthy snacks and a special family friendly menu available at the Café. Monday 26 – Friday 30 August 10am-4pm, Wide Eyed Theatre invite you to come and help us explore and be creative at Playschool – a five-day summer ‘school’ for 11- to 21-year-olds. Develop skills including acting, writing, set design, technical theatre and movement. £75 for the week. Saturday 31 August, 11am, 1pm and 3pm, The PoetryJoe Show. Join the star of Cbeebie’s Rhyme Rocket, performer, writer and poet, in his light-up, pop-up world of fabulous foods, beastly bugs and peculiar pets. Friday 6 September, 7.30pm, ZoieLogic Dance Theatre in Echo, with five male dancers exploring the theme of lost innocence, against a stunning set and original score by awardwinning Ivan Stott.
Saturday 7 September, 7.30pm, Absent made Present/The Bespoke Residency. Award-winning choreographer Freddie Opoku-Addaie brings exceptional and surprising dance into the heart of the community with a unique dance happening in Canterbury. Sunday 8 September 3-5pm, The Big Tea Dance Ball. With live music and a dash of glamour, join our ballroom hosts who will guide you through the steps so you’ll be jiving and waltzing in no time! Friday 20 September, 7.30pm, Live Nation & MHA in association with United Agents present Stewart Francis, Craig Campbell & Glenn Wool in The Lumberjacks. Following a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Festival, the Canadian comedians hit the road to each perform their own set, side by side. Suitable for ages 16+. Saturday 21 September, 2pm and 4.30pm, Sunday 22 September, 11am and 2.30pm, Tall Stories presents The Snail and the Whale. A tiny snail longs to see the world, so she hitches a lift on the tail of a humpback whale. But when the whale gets beached, how will the tiny snail save him? Suitable for ages 4+. Sunday 22 September, 7.30pm, Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble, one of the world’s most inspirational jazz groups. Monday 30 September, 7.30pm, Steve Williamson, saxophonist with Union Dance in Music Movement Oracle. The work evokes and encompasses a broad palette of musical and movement styles, ranging from the contemporary and complex jazz forms to the dynamic modern hip-hop and dub step. Funded by Arts Council England.
Gulbenkian Cinema Sunday, 14 July, Globe On Screen: Henry V. Friday 19 – Sunday 21 and Tuesday 23 – Wednesday 24 July, Behind the Candelabra (15). Saturday 20 July, Macbeth live from Manchester International Festival. Monday 22 July, Royal Opera House: Rigoletto (recorded). Thursday 25 July, Glyndebourne: Hippolyte et Aricie (live opera).
Friday 26 – Sunday 28 and Tuesday 30 July – Thursday 1 August, Before Midnight (15). Monday 29 July, Royal Opera House: Macbeth Opera (recorded). Friday 2 – Sunday 4 August, Summer In February (15). Friday 2 – Sunday 4 August, Much Ado About Nothing (12A). Monday 5 August, Royal Opera House: La Fille Mal Gardee (recorded). Friday 9 – Thursday 15 August, Monsters University (UTBC). Sunday 11 August, Globe On Screen: The Taming of The Shrew. Thursday 22 August, Great Expectations (recorded). Sunday 25 August, Glyndebourne Billy Budd (recorded).
For a full listing of events across the University, see www.kent.ac.uk/calendar/
Important reminder The University is currently working on a project to decommission the Student Portal. The project, led by Corporate Communications, was initiated by students saying how they were confused by all the different systems and would prefer a more streamlined approach. Please tell new students, and those returning in September, to go to the Student Guide, www.kent.ac.uk/student, from now on. Also, please remove any references to the Portal on your webpages and in publications, including induction materials.