Kent Magazine Winter 21/22 by University of Kent

University of Kent

MAGAZINE 2021/22 Cover story: Up and Atom – Las Vegas and the Bomb

ABDULRAZAK GURNAH Nobel Prize Laureate We are delighted that our alumnus and Emeritus Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah has won the Nobel Prize for Literature 2021. The Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Prize to Professor Gurnah for ‘his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.’ His stories, some of which were first drafted in our very own Templeman Library, have touched millions worldwide and shine a light on human experiences that are so often ignored. Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in 1948 in Tanzania. He is the author of ten highly acclaimed novels including Memory of Departure, Pilgrim's Way, Dottie and Paradise, which was shortlisted for the 1994 Man Booker Prize. The theme of the refugee’s disruption runs throughout his work, reflecting his own cross-continental journey. Until his recent retirement, he was Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at Kent’s School of English, having completed his PhD here in 1982. Visit kent.ac.uk/abdulrazakgurnah to discover what his students and fellow staff have said about his colossal impact.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

CONTENTS

4 8 10 12 15 18 20

University news Cover feature: Las Vegas and the Bomb Feature: The Jane Irons Scholarship programme Feature: Using research to clean up our acts Feature: The Walk with Amal / Signature Research Themes Photo memories of Kent Former staff profile: Mike Wilkins MBE

26 28

Alumni Q&A: Lisa Pan Feature: Sustainability on the Canterbury campus 32 Alumni Q&A: Sam Holden 34 Staff profile: Ants Galt 36 Graduate interview: Pako Lekoko 38 Alumni feature: Keeping busy with Bernard Bibby 42 Student profile: Mahnoor Aziz Rear cover Canterbury’s parkland campus

linkedin.com/groups/1945/ youtube.com/user/UniversityofKent

kent.ac.uk/alumni

Like what we’ve done with the place? We’d love to hear your feedback on the magazine. Simply email us on alumni@kent.ac.uk This magazine is also available online at kent.ac.uk/alumni

Editorial Board Editor: Christopher Wenham Designer: Lesley Farr Principal photography: Matt Wilson Editorial team: Tim Farrow-House, Gary Hughes, Tim Davies, Andrea Shieber Illustrations by Go Vicinity Creative

Special thanks to: Rhys Higgins, Alex Perkins, Karen Baxter, Olivia Miller, Sam Wood, Dr Philip Pothen, Dr Simone Kraemer, Dr Des Laffey, Laura Kimpton, Mary Langford, Hilary Edridge, Dr John Wills, Professor Shane Weller, Basma Taysir El Doukhi, Emily Mason, Chris Wright, Pako Lekoko, Ants Galt, Bernard Bibby, Mike Wilkins, Kalia Yiannakis, Dr John Stolz, Zulfikaur Wajid-Hasan & the Bestway Foundation.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

UNIVERSITY NEWS Growing Kent and Medway The University of Kent is excited to be part of the innovative Growing Kent and Medway project, which officially launched at the Fruit Focus event on 21 July. Led by horticultural and agricultural research institution NIAB EMR, the project will strengthen the competitiveness of Britain’s horticulture, food and drink industries thanks to government funding provided through UK Research and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund. The University is receiving £3.14m of the project’s funding to develop a multi-disciplinary research and training programme to improve the region’s Agri-Tech capabilities by collaborating alongside Kent businesses.

Unfinished Business Kent Business School (KBS) launched a free Zoom webinar series in 2021 for business leaders, with expert insights from a range of disciplines discussing the leading trends at the forefront of the business world. Featuring roundtable expert discussions with KBS academics, current and former students and guests from the world of enterprise, the ‘Unfinished Business’ webinar series is available on YouTube via: tinyurl.com/KBSUnfinishedBusiness

The future of Parkinson’s care Thousands of people live with Parkinson’s in the UK but for many, the right treatment is out of reach. We’re determined to change that by establishing the world’s first integrated therapy centre offering comprehensive support to those that need it most, while advocating for new treatments that could give hope to so many worldwide.

The Parkinson's Centre for Integrated Therapy will be delivered through a new partnership between national charity Parkinson’s Care and Support UK and the University of Kent. We have launched a fundraising campaign to secure the £600,000 needed to make our vision a reality. Find out more and support the campaign: kent.ac.uk/parkinsons

Kent Business School was also selected earlier in the year as one of only 33 UK business schools to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as part of the Government’s £520 million Help to Grow scheme. Help to Grow is the Government’s flagship business recovery programme announced in the March Budget, designed with the goal for businesses to experience greater productivity and become more resilient and sustainable as they contribute to inclusive economic growth.

IN BRIEF Here Dead We Lie

Up in the sky

Public Engagement Award

Academics from Kent’s School of History and School of Arts have led the curation of a new photo exhibition on the Western Front military cemeteries and battlefields of World War One. ‘Here Dead We Lie‘ is an immersive exhibition which combines photography with an evocative, poetic soundscape.

The Airspace Tribunal’s Berlin hearing in June 2021, established by academics from the School of Arts and Kent Law School, heard expert testimony and lived-experience witness accounts concerning a proposed new human right to live without physical or psychological threat from above.

The School of Physical Sciences (SPS) has been awarded the Silver Engage Watermark by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), in recognition of its commitment to public engagement. The Engage Watermark is an award granted to institutions to recognise their strategic support for public engagement.

The wheels on the battle bus… The University welcomed the Zero Carbon Tour’s Battle Bus to its Canterbury campus for an SME sustainability workshop on 2 September 2021. During the Net Zero Carbon Essentials Workshop, representatives from regional SMEs learned how to set a credible net zero target.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

Medway: Creative City

A historic place Research by the Centre for Heritage has highlighted the importance of heritage for Kent, revealing the county as home to some of the leading heritage examples in the UK. This report provides insights for tourism and business development according to county heritage.

On behalf of its partners Medway Council and Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the University’s Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries (iCCi) has announced the development of an innovative new creative space for Medway. With construction planned for 2024, the development will result in the conversion of the Homes England-owned Police Section House – a Grade II listed Scheduled Ancient Monument at The Historic Dockyard – into a new 21st Century creative industries’ accelerator space known as The Docking Station. This new development will become a high-quality international creative digital hub that provides cutting edge technologies, performance and training opportunities.

Professor David Gill, Honorary Professor in the Centre for Heritage, and PhD student Peter Matthews have produced the report, Kent: State of the Historic Environment (2021), analysing data issued in the Royal Society of Arts Heritage Index (2020). The report identifies how the public engages with heritage. In Kent, an estimated 55% of the population visited a museum or gallery at least once in 12 months; whilst Canterbury had a participation rate of 79%.

A flagship building designed to inspire future development in the region and beyond, the Docking Station will place creative and cultural industries at the heart of the regeneration plans for the last remaining undeveloped part of the former Dockyard site.

The report also highlights the potential to develop heritage along the Thames estuary, with Medway noted as a key contributor. This will inform strategy to better use the heritage assets in the area.

Generation Genome Filming is well underway for Generation Genome, a six-part TV documentary series designed for school-age students. Based on work at the School of Biosciences, the series will feature Professor Darren Griffin and recent graduate Ogo Anokwuru as presenters. The project is a joint venture between the University and KMTV, the local TV channel covering Kent and Medway. Supported by the BFI’s Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), this series aims to engage young people, particularly those from economically deprived and culturally diverse backgrounds, with cutting edge science, placing them at the centre of a debate about genetics and the impact it will have on their future. The series will be completed and released to schools across the country in 2022.

IN BRIEF Virtual rehearsals Researchers at Kent have developed an online platform to bring performing artists together remotely to rehearse and create mixed reality improvisational performance. The platform, called ‘Virtual Director’, provides a shared virtual 3D environment to connect performers who cannot rehearse face-to-face.

The sixteenth-century afterlife of Anne Boleyn

Conspiracies and theories thereof

Speaking the same language

As a Master’s student in Kent’s Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS), Kate McCaffrey recently received national media attention thanks to her highly intriguing research discovery that reveals a whole new dimension to the history of Anne Boleyn. Read more at: kateemccaffrey.wordpress.com

Professor Karen Douglas from the School of Psychology has been awarded a European Research Council Advanced Grant of 2.5 million Euros for a five-year project examining when and how conspiracy theories affect the decisions and wellbeing of individuals and society.

The Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics launched the Language Mentoring Scheme in 2020, to provide A-Level pupils across Kent the opportunity of speaking-practice virtual discussions with the University’s language course students.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

UNIVERSITY NEWS Guidelines for AI from the 18th Century Research from the University of Kent and Aalto University, Finland, has concluded with four key guidelines for how society should view and utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI), based on fictional scenarios in 18th Century literature. The paper, ‘Embodiment in 18th Century Depictions of HumanMachine Co-Creativity’, notes that AI is viewed broadly as a tool to enhance creativity, but is actually developed to such sophistication that the AI can become co-creator to the final product. Whilst this is evident in modern computer software, ideas about creative AI feature in many books from the past, particularly in works of fiction, drama and poetry. The 18th Century was the period of the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment across Europe, and many advances were made in the development of ‘automata’ and other robotic systems. The literature of the time reflects this with such broadmindedness that it still highly relevant in our own AI-dominated world.

On the origin of Covid-19 Research led by Dr David Roberts at the University’s School of Anthropology and Conservation has found that the first case of Covid-19 likely arose between early October and mid-November 2019 in China, with the most likely date of origin being 17 November 2019. The origins of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic remain unclear. The first officially identified case occurred in early December 2019. Yet, this research published by PLOS Pathogens supports growing evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic arose sooner and grew more rapidly than officially reported. Dr Roberts, alongside Dr Jeremy Rossman (Honorary Senior Lecturer in Virology at Kent’s School of Biosciences and President of Research-Aid Networks, Chicago) and Dr Ivan Jarić (Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences), used a statistical modelling technique previously utilised in conservation science to establish this finding.

Life after the pandemic for people with learning disabilities Written in easy-read style: Dr Jill Bradshaw has been leading on gaining information from family carers and paid support staff of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and Dr Nick Gore is part of the wider research team. The study has just completed the final wave of data collection. Dr Bradshaw said: ‘Although for many people, life has been returning to normal, less than a third of people with learning disabilities were going back to all the places that they used to go to before the pandemic. One third of people were still paying for services that they were not getting. Nearly half of people with more severe and profound learning disabilities were getting less support than they were getting before the pandemic. One in five people with profound and multiple learning disabilities were still shielding.’

IN BRIEF This Old House

What if…?

Climate inequality

Architects, civil servants, historians and politicians participated in a virtual discussion ‘How to rebuild the Houses of Parliament’ on 12 May 2021. Chaired by Henrik Schoenefeldt, Professor of Sustainable Architecture, it examined the environmental principles of the Houses of Parliament’s design, addressing if it remains fit for purpose.

The University worked with the KM Media Group on a series of articles addressing counter-history questions such as ‘What if Archbishop Thomas Becket of Canterbury hadn’t been murdered?’ The breadth of topics in the ‘What If?’ highlighted the great variety and relevance of the county of Kent in the nation’s history.

Francesca Laura Cavallo, Research Associate in the School of Arts and Kent’s Centre for Indigenous and Settlers Colonial Studies, curated an online festival with the Barbican to highlight the issue of climate inequality in Brazil, in the context of the UN’s COP26 conference.

The continued decline of the western chimpanzee New research led by the School of Anthropology and Conservation‘s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) has found that the habitats of West African (western) chimpanzees are threatened due to inadequate legislative protection from human development.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

Shields for the frontline Technicians at Kent have won a Papin Prize, the UK’s only awards dedicated to celebrating technical excellence and innovation in higher education and research.

Adverse childhood experiences Nicola Shaughnessy, Professor of Performance in the School of Arts, and a team of postdoctoral researchers from the University of Kent are collaborating on the Attune Project, a new £3.9M research programme led by the universities of Oxford and Falmouth. The Attune Project will bring together diverse creative-arts, digital and health experts to investigate how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect adolescents’ mental health, with the aim of developing new approaches to intervention and prevention.

The Kent Technical Services Covid-19 PPE Response Team has been recognised for playing a significant role in the community response to Covid-19, producing 4,990 3D printed face shields for frontline care services providers in the Kent region and the NHS. The materials for Pilgrims Hospices’ 3D shields were donated by Ashford Lions Club, with funding they received from Kent County Council. Santander Universities UK gave the project a financial boost by funding 3D printers and materials.

The Kent team will lead on one of the project’s research themes of neurodiversity, investigating the impact of ACEs for neurodivergent young people. The team will also contribute to research on the role of place in relation to ACEs, working with refugee community groups to explore their experiences through creative workshops. Children who suffer multiple ACEs which include abuse, neglect, loss events, poverty, discrimination, racism, and relational problems at home are much more likely to develop multiple social and developmental problems, including mental health difficulties as young adults.

A window into architecture Students from Kent School of Architecture & Planning (KSAP) took over vacant shops and windows in Canterbury city centre for their public end of year show, Projection, from 25 June to 23 July 2021. Exhibits in the form of drawings, plans and video were projected onto the shopfronts, reoccupying the spaces left behind by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some exhibits were extended through audio, transforming windows into speakers and projecting sound onto the street. The premise of this year’s show was to provide students with the opportunity to have their work seen by large and diverse audiences beyond the University, and to gain experience engaging with the public. It was also an opportunity for the School to demonstrate how architectural intervention can help in addressing the current economic situation, to a public that may not normally have contact with contemporary architectural design.

Successful start marks an exciting future The Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) opened in September 2020 and ran its first year during a global pandemic with many staff working on the front line for the NHS. The past 18+ months have demonstrated the best of our community as our NHS colleagues and the wider community have united. During this period the need for a resilient medical workforce was never more apparent and small acts of care and kindness have inspired our community to join forces. Our medical students and staff helped build online communities to support each other, while our staff volunteered to offer vital support to NHS and local hospitals and many worked on the front line. The tremendous support of our friends and the benefactor community has made a huge difference. KMMS is growing and thriving – its benefits will be felt throughout our local community and we feel proud and excited to be at the heart of this major new provision.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

Illustration by Go Vicinity Creative

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

Throughout the 1950s, the US military conducted over one hundred atmospheric nuclear tests on continental soil. At Nevada Test Site (NTS), radioactive mushroom clouds loomed high above the scorched desert. In retrospect, it is easy to dismiss America’s atmospheric testing in the fifties as a woeful instance of Cold War sabre rattling, designed to intimidate the Soviet Union but with little scientific or military justification. However, each test entailed a wide range of civilian, scientific and military experiments designed to further understanding of radiation, as well as prepare the nation for the grim eventuality of nuclear war. The format of the experiments varied greatly and included placing automobiles at a range of distances from ground zero to judge their survivability (leading to the civil defense pamphlet ‘4 Wheels to Survival’), exposing tinned food to high levels of radiation (with post-explosion taste testing!), and caged pigs being immolated to predict human skin damage. Troops themselves fell prey to a marked fascination with atomic experimentalism, becoming ad-hoc guinea pigs on the atomic battlefield. The US Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA), tasked to ensure the nation survived atomic attack, even constructed fake townscapes at NTS in 1953 and 1955. Its ‘survival towns’ (dubbed

Doom Towns by the press) were only made possible by corporate donation, with the department store JC Penney proudly dressing mannequin denizens in the latest fashions, with the proviso that future clothing styles might be shaped by their ability to afford some protection from radiation. Living close to such experimentalism in the 1950s carried significant risk. At settlements such as Saint George, Utah, 135 miles east of ground zero, ‘downwinders’ suffered a range of health maladies due to westerly winds carrying radiation toward them. However, at Las Vegas, just 65 miles south of the test site, the story proves quite different. Most atomic blasts could be seen from Sin City, but the radioactive clouds stayed at a safe distance. Meanwhile, Las Vegas entrepreneurs annexed the nuclear age for their own commercial agenda.

Thanks largely to mob money, big name shows, and new ‘themed’ casinos, Las Vegas in the 1950s was a booming city. Initial wariness over military activities at Nevada Test Site dissipated thanks to a combination of official reassurance, employment prospects, and business opportunities. Locals quickly adjusted to living in a new ‘Atomic City.’ At the Flamingo casino hotel, journalists formed the Ancient and Honorable Society of Atom Bomb Watchers in April 1952, pledging to “keep forever the secrets” of the A-Bomb, as well as their own evening activities in Sin City, with a group password of ‘cimota’ (or ‘atomic’ backwards). Meanwhile, tourists flocked to Vegas not just for the prize fights and gambling opportunities, but to watch the “atomic firework display” go off at sunset from the relative safety of the hotel poolside. Casinos such as Binion’s Horseshoe held ‘atomic pool parties’ whereby guests partied into the night, then raised their glasses as a mushroom cloud ascended in the distance. Sin City appropriated the bomb for its own thriving entertainment culture, transforming the test series into an unlikely vehicle for profit and popular amusement. Although the exact origin is unknown, Atomic Liquors on Fremont Street was certainly one of the first places to sell the atomic cocktail,

a mix of vodka, brandy, sherry, champagne and dry ice, while the Flamingo Casino’s beauty parlor provided mushroom-type hairstyles. In May 1952, Las Vegas dancer Candyce King became the first in a series of ‘atomic pin-ups’ when she entertained troops at the Last Frontier and gained the epithet ‘Miss Atomic Blast.’ Photographed at the Sands Hotel in May 1957, Lee Merlin celebrated the 1957 Plumbbob series, the peak of atmospheric testing, by sporting a swimsuit with a giant fluffy cotton mushroom cloud (the design of the modern bikini owes its inspiration to the atomic bomb). Such sexualization of the bomb suited masculinized military culture of the day; it also downplayed the significant dangers. However, by the time of the 1957 test series, nuclear tourism in Vegas had already begun to wane. Reading local newspapers from the time reveals a marked rise in skepticism over assurances of public safety by the US military. Las Vegans were fast falling out of love with all things atomic. Their rejection of the bomb was part of a broader shift in attitude toward nuclear testing. Within a few years, the United States and Soviet Union had signed a treaty banning all above-ground atomic explosions. The radiation and the cocktails nonetheless lingered.

Dr John Wills is a scholar in US cultural and environmental history and the author of six books. He is currently writing a monograph on nuclear testing for University of Kansas Press. His research and teaching interests bridge several disciplines, most notably history, sociology, cultural studies and game studies. www.kent.ac.uk/ american-studies

Images courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

CONSTANTLY QUESTIONING, CONSTANTLY LEARNING Solving the problems of cancer drug delivery and drug efficacy – how one Kent scholar hopes to benefit humankind by providing better treatments for people diagnosed with cancer. Chandni Manwani was born in Mumbai on the western coast of India. At an early age she was already developing an investigative mind and a passion for research. A self-confessed nerd who loves science memes, she admits to sometimes having difficulty controlling her laughter in serious situations. “In a parallel universe”, she says, “I might have been a dog whisperer or an airplane pilot.” But now, thanks to the School of Biosciences’ acclaimed research programme, and the generous support of a remarkable local philanthropist, Chandni has embarked on a mission to change the world. She is working in an exciting new area of Cancer Research and Drug Discovery: investigating the uses of Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs), which can work as novel enhancers of cancer treatment. SSAs are an exciting new class of molecule which were invented at Kent by Dr Jen Hiscock, who along with Professor Michelle Garrett, is one of Chandni’s PhD supervisors. “I truly believe my project has the potential to make a difference in the world,” says Chandni. “Cancer is one of the biggest threats to humanity. Although we have made great progress in diagnosing and treating various subtypes, the increasing cases and poor survival rates of cancer have raised many relevant questions and I’m hoping my work will help answer them. It can have a huge impact in the clinical setting, helping doctors make better treatment strategies for their patients.”

Chandni’s PhD project is part of The Jane Irons Scholarship programme established to fund PhD students in the School of Biosciences by philanthropist Dr John Stolz, in memory of his late wife, Jane Irons. “It is a pleasure to be able to support this work,” says Dr Stolz. “Fundamental research is often neglected in favour of research that provides more immediate and obvious benefits. However, we need to recognise that the modern world is based on research that, at the time, appeared to have no apparent nor obvious application. My late wife and I built our business in scientific publishing and communications and I am grateful for the opportunity to, in a small way, encourage fundamental science.”

“Global advancements in disease treatments have always fascinated me. Science turns ‘I don’t know’ into ‘I don’t know yet’ and I haven’t found anything more empowering than that! When I’m constantly questioning, I’m constantly learning. It is a profession where I get to grow daily.” Chandni Manwani

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

The worm-bug: a new model to study how gut microbes affect the brain Another ground-breaking area of research benefiting from John Stolz’ support for the School of Biosciences is being carried out by PhD Scholar Nathan Dennis under the supervision of Dr Marina Ezcurra (neuroscience, microbiome) and Dr Campbell Gourlay (mitochondrial biology). Their exciting research is leading to an understanding of how the gut microbiome (community of microbes in the gut) can impact on brain function, behaviour and brain disorders. The project aims to develop new models to determine the mechanisms of interactions between the microbiome and the brain. Historically, neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders have been viewed as driven by defects in brain processes. However, thanks to the work of this team we are now starting to understand that the nervous system is affected by the metabolic and immune state of the body. “Developing new tools to study the gut microbiome-brain axis in a laboratory setting will enable us to establish causative links and mechanisms,” explains Dr Marina Ezcurra, “by which microorganisms can alter the host nervous system and find microbiome-based strategies to improve health.”

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

USING RESEARCH to clean up our acts

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

A team of psychologists led by Professor Dominic Abrams, Dr Tim Hopthrow and Dr Fanny Lalot found that using carefully worded road signage can decrease the number of drivers leaving engines idling during queues at crossing barriers. The research, which was funded by Canterbury City Council following a successful grant bid to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), observed 6,049 drivers’ engines idling at the St Dunstan’s and St Stephen’s level crossings in Canterbury, Kent. The researchers tested the effects of three intervention signs fixed to lampposts, which amplified existing signs to request drivers to switch off their engines. These were: • ‘Join other responsible drivers in Canterbury. Turn off your engine when the barriers are down’ (Social norm messaging). • ‘Turn off your engine when the barriers are down. You will improve air quality in the area’ (Outcome efficacy messaging). • ‘Think about your actions. When the barriers are down please turn off your engine’ (Selfregulation messaging). Professor Abrams said: The social norm and outcome efficacy messages successfully increased the proportion of drivers who turned off their engines, by 42% and 25%, respectively. This reduction in vehicle idling significantly reduced concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter (PM2.5) two metres above ground level. The presence of larger numbers of other drivers boosted the impact of the social norm road signage. These findings demonstrate that drivers may feel a stronger urge to conform to the norm of turning their engines off when those ahead of them in traffic do too. This reduces harmful emissions when it is most urgent to do so. This research, published by the Journal of Environmental Psychology, is the first of its kind to show that behavioural change induced by persuasive messages translates into observable changes in air quality and pollutant concentration levels. As a result of the research, Canterbury City Council has installed permanent road signage at the St Dunstan’s, St Stephen’s and Sturry railway level crossings.

“People have many creative ideas about how to improve air quality, but how do we know which will work? This research used a scientific method that enabled us to design effective messages to change people’s behaviour, improving the air quality for themselves and others. Just as importantly, we have also discovered types of messages that do not work so well. This approach should also work when planning ways to encourage other behaviours that can improve air quality, health and quality of the environment.”

Kelly Haynes, Environmental Health Officer – Air Quality at Canterbury City Council, said: “Improving air quality in the district is a major focus of the council and research like this is vital to that work. “The results clearly show the right messages in the right locations can be really effective in reducing the number of people leaving their engines running which is one of the main contributors to poor air quality in our city. “These signs are just one of many things we’re doing to tackle air quality including the introduction of a new hybrid car club in Canterbury and plans to install more electric vehicle charging points across the district.” The research paper ‘Cleaning up our acts: Psychological interventions to reduce engine idling and improve air quality’ is published by the Journal of Environmental Psychology. https://tinyurl.com/cleaning-up-our-acts

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

WALKING TOWARDS A BETTER WORLD 15

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

The Walk with Amal Little Amal joined us on our Canterbury campus on Thursday 21 October 2021 following a procession from Canterbury Cathedral involving art, music and performances put together by local schoolchildren. Walking up past the Templeman Library and across the lawn to our Registry building, Cornwallis and the Gulbenkian, students, staff and the wider public came together in a powerful statement of solidarity with displaced children worldwide. Amal was also welcomed by a giant red fox, named Amber, built and operated by Kent students under the supervision of alumnus, Peter Morton of Half a String and Sam Westbury, our Drama Workshop Manager. The day concluded with an evening of storytelling and performance hosted by the Refugee Tales project in the Gulbenkian Theatre.

Little Amal set out from Turkey’s Syrian border in July; along the way, she passed through Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. Kent PhD student Basma Taysir El Doukhi, a Palestinian Stateless refugee and former occupant of the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidieh in southern Lebanon wrote about the visit of Little Amal: “Little Amal’s Walk will help shed light on the millions of displaced refugee children around the world and is an opportunity for all of us to learn, reflect and show solidarity with them. Each one of us has a role to support, seek knowledge, and contribute positively to shift the narratives about refugees and other marginalized groups, as well as working to create a better world for everyone and bring about positive change. “According to Save The Children, seventy-two million children – 17% of the 426 million children living in conflict areas, globally; or one in six – are living near armed groups that perpetrate sexual violence against them. Children who live in conflict zones are also at the highest risk of experiencing violence, psychological stress, hunger, loss of education, and lacking basic resources.

“As a refugee and a humanitarian professional who worked with and supported children in conflict zones and protracted displacement, I believe that small actions can lead to a bigger difference and change in their lives. I therefore encourage as many people as possible to listen to the message Little Amal is carrying, as it is one that can help end the suffering of so many children and their families.”

The only UK university to host a leg of The Walk, Kent was invited to participate because of its reputation for and prominent role in working towards a better future for detainees and refugees, including through the work of the Migration and Movement Signature Research Theme.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

Signature Research Themes Signature Research Themes are a key part of the University’s strategy to further develop its global research and innovation profile. They bring together a wide range of ideas and approaches through cross-disciplinary collaboration, and they enhance excellent practices and activities, highlighting the cutting-edge research and innovation undertaken by staff at Kent, working closely with external stakeholders. The academic leads for the Themes Task and Finish Group were Dr Tim Hopthrow, Professor Dan Mulvihill and Professor Catherine Richardson, alongside colleagues from the Office for Scholarly Communication.

Following an inclusive development process, the chosen themes are: Environment, Food Systems and Natural Resources; Future Human; and Migration and Movement.

By bringing the innovative and vibrant ideas in these areas together across our collective research communities, the themes will help the University to enhance its research and innovation profile nationally and internationally, attracting income, boosting engagement, speaking more clearly to potential students and ensuring our work impacts positively across our communities. Many strong proposals were submitted by academics from across the University for the Signature Research Themes. Each of these proposals was an important reflection of the innovative and impactful research taking place across the institution. The themes will be dynamic, and plans are also in train to support the development of future submissions.

1 2 3 4

Huge crowds gathered in Canterbury to welcome Little Amal Amal meeting students, staff and the community on campus Little Amal and Amber Amber, operated by Kent students

A shortlist of Themes was presented to a University audience during a special online selection event on 15 September 2020. The successful themes were selected by a panel comprising University representatives from academic schools and professional services, as well as external experts from academia, industry, and research councils. Environment, Food Systems and Natural Resources will deliver truly integrative and impactful research at the intersections between

these three dynamic fields. Understanding such interdependences will involve close partnerships with local, national and global stakeholders from research, private, policy and practice sectors to, in turn, inform a more sustainable future. Future Human will explore the use of science and technology for human enhancement. Only a true transdisciplinary approach can fully understand the opportunities, limits, challenges, and risks to society of using scientific and technological advancement to restore or improve performance/function and overcome the current limits of body and mind. Migration and Movement is a high-impact theme linking Kent’s location as a borderland to global priorities (eg, the UN Global Compact 2018). No existing team has tackled the major problem in existing research: the separation between disciplinary languages, methodologies and data-sets in which human movement is analysed. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, members of the team will intervene on existing policy frameworks, while generating new ways of representing migration and movement. Learn more at https://research.kent.ac.uk/signature-themes

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

MEMORIES OF KENT Earlier this year we asked our alumni to send us their favourite photos from their time at Kent. They answered with hundreds of snapshots of student life from 1965 to the present day; thank you to everyone who has sent photos in so far. We’ve selected one from each decade of the 1960s to 2010s to share below. If you’d like to view more or send your own, please visit: www.kent.ac.uk/alumni/reunions

1960s “The UKC basketball team playing within the East Kent Basketball Association, while students are watching – 1968 Tournament. This UKC team won the Canterbury cup 1968-69.” Photo from Eitan Rehan

1970s

“This was taken in about June 1973. A group of friends who are shown here with three of their cars in Giles Lane car park. Note the lack of buildings (and a lot of the Library) in the background.” Photo from Bob Eager

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

1990s “Race of the Classics UKC Team c.1993. Dutch-run Tall Ships boat race from Amsterdam to Ramsgate.” Photo from Fiona Sadek

2000s

“We said that if we passed everything we would jump into the water at the end of the academic year. We passed everything but finally we were happy just to pretend it :)” Photo from Ana Ferreras Martinez

1980s

2010s

“Tina Jackson's birthday party – Saralee, Tina, me.”

“MSc Business Analytics class of 2019/2020 party after finishing first term!”

Photo from Karol Steele (née Ryan)

Photo from Chonnikan Chiwitsophon

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FORMER STAFF FEATURE

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

Mike Wilkins MBE

“When I was asked to be Director of Sport I was so proud. My upbringing began from the largest pre-fabricated council housing estates in Europe, my mother and father worked in a tailoring factory, I left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications, started work as a butcher and now I was being offered Director of Sport, which went so well I was awarded an MBE – what a journey!”

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FORMER STAFF FEATURE

Ahead of the annual Football Reunion in September 2021, Rhys Higgins from the Alumni Engagement Team caught up with our former Director of Sport, Mike Wilkins MBE. Mike grew up in Leeds with a passion for football, rugby league and cricket. The former Director of Sport’s sporting break arose when he was 17, while working as a butcher. He signed pro for Bradford City; a Bradford City Programme profile on Mike in March 1959 recorded that he had scored 29 goals in 31 games with two months of the season still to go. The following season, Mike sustained a serious knee injury ending his professional career at the young age of 19. Mike loved to play football and made his way back through non-league. During a spell for Canterbury City his knee injury finally overcame him, and he was forced to stop playing at the age of 28. However, he continued coaching and while working with Brett Sports he decided to visit the University of Kent and ask the Director of Sport, George Popplewell, if he could train the team there. This is where his love affair with Kent would begin.

“In 1971 the University advertised a job for a part time sports hall assistant. I applied for it and George Popplewell and his wife Elaine, who was Assistant Director, were magnificent for me. They gave me an opportunity, considering I was a butcher with an injured knee. They gave me a career.” Mike’s first taste of university football was in 1971 when he was asked to coach the first team. “I couldn’t believe what a shambles it was. I took a session and thought the better players were in the second team. At the end of the season, I stopped, and because I’d been involved in Rugby League I took over the University rugby team.

1 2

York City team, 1961 – Mike is seated with the ball at his feet Bradford City team. Mike is second from right on the back row 2

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

“Then in 1974 the football club came asked me again if I’d take them. I agreed but only if I had total control. I must select the team, captains and the players must train, or they would not be selected. At first it was difficult because the students had got used to picking their own team and not training. They would say, ‘I can’t play this week, I’ve got a party. I’ll be back next week’. I was like, ‘No you won’t!’ It took two seasons to get all my ideas across.” Mike was able to rise through the University ranks and after holding the positions of Senior Sports Hall Assistant (1978) and Assistant Director (1984), he became Director of Sport in 1992. “I started at the bottom with little education. Mr Popplewell encouraged me to do all my coaching courses and I found that because my education was so poor, I struggled to do the theory papers. I went back to night school to do two O levels, in English and Sociology, as well as working full time. Then I did a diploma in Recreational Management followed by a sixyear part time degree, achieving a BA in Social

Science. In all I spent ten years studying, but throughout I never stopped running the football club during that period. It was hard work.”

nearly all the Premier League teams have them. The early ones were sand based and the sand that came in was river sand from Holland.”

Mike played a pivotal role in developing the sports facilities at the University and thanks to his expertise and enthusiasm, Kent became the first university in England to have a synthetic pitch.

Whilst working at the University, Mike was asked by the FA to set up a Kent County FA Coaching Association. He is an FA ‘A’ Licence coach.

“When the University wanted to build the Park Wood housing on the football fields, they had to seek permission from Sport England. They had a ruling that you could not change the use of football fields unless you enhanced your facilities. The University agreed to purchase a synthetic pitch and I went for the best. “I also got a great financial deal because I was playing companies up against each other. The companies wanted to use the Kent synthetic pitch as a selling point for them to break into the university sector. “I went to Holland to inspect Desso pitches, which at the time were the best pitches. Now

One of Mike’s tasks was to try to bring top coaches to the Association. ‘‘I was really lucky to bring in Ron Greenwood, previously West Ham and at the time the England Manager. My role was to pick Ron up from the train and take him for a bite to eat. I was lucky enough to have a one-to-one with the England Manager. For any aspiring coach it was brilliant to be with the best.” Mike also coached in the US, spending the summers of 1976-83 coaching at soccer schools. Coaches were employed from all over the world and that led to some great discussions on coaching. Conversely, Mike thought the FA were very nationalistic at the time and did not appreciate the views of other countries.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FORMER STAFF FEATURE

“I had 10 years coaching in America and I learned more there than I did on any FA course. In those days American children weren’t brought up kicking a ball. It was the first place I’d ever been though, where every player had a ball each and they all worked at their own pace. In all my coaching from then on, I always insisted on a ball each.” While there, Mike worked with Walter Chyzowych, the US National team coach, and Hubert Vogelsinger, who managed the Boston Minute Men and coached Portuguese star, Eusebio. In 1989 Mike was asked to set up a Centre of Excellence for Millwall, before moving to Chelsea where he worked from 1991 to 2001. After leaving Chelsea Mike went to work for Gillingham FC from 2001 to 2014. He spent a total of 25 years working in professional football youth departments. The ten years Mike was working for Chelsea were, in his opinion, during the major turning point at the club. Those initial changes were made by Glenn Hoddle – he revolutionised Chelsea Football club. 1

The Premier League Academy rules then changed stipulating that players had to live a one-hour drive time from the main Academy. As Canterbury was outside the time limit, unfortunately Mike had to close the Chelsea Centre down. In 2001 Mike started coaching the Gillingham Youth System until 2014. He was 72 years old when he stopped coaching! Mike explained that he loves football and wanted to help young players in Kent, but his first love was always the University of Kent Football Club. “I was working full time at the Sports Centre, coaching the professional clubs’ academies, taking the football club at the University and I was married with a young child. It was quite a busy time to say the least.” Mike led the University football team to 30 trophies in his 27 years and helped the team reach three BUCS finals in 7 years (1979, 1984 and 1986). For a university like Kent to reach three national finals was a major achievement.

2 1 2 3 4 5

3 The 1979 1st XI. After playing Exeter. A diving header! The cup-winning team of 1984. Mike is seen back left Mike delivering a presentation at the 2007 Football Reunion Players at the 2019 Football Reunion

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

A favourite memory from Mike’s time as Director of Kent Sport “When we had the cricket pavilion built, our cricket club played a team called Lashings. Lashings had a multimillionaire owner and used to have West Indian players playing for them. When we played them they had the great Brian Lara, Richie Richardson, Junior Murray, Jimmy Adams and Stuart Williams. “John Shepherd, ex-Kent and a West Indian International invited me to have tea with this elite squad, six West Indian Internationals and me! “I went into the dressing room with these wonderful players. Brian Lara at the time was the best batter in the world and I felt privileged to listen to their stories.”

He retired from his post as Director of Sport at the University of Kent in 2007 and received some amazing news the day that he left. Back in 2005 Mike had applied for funding for a brand-new sports pavilion, which had been turned down, but with Graham Holmes, Assistant Director, he put together a new application. Mike learned that Kent had been awarded funding of £897,000 from the Football Foundation, which was one of highest grants ever given at the time. It’s thanks to Mike and Graham that we have a pavilion here today that so many students, staff and alumni continue to enjoy. Mike’s legacy continues at the University through his organisation of an annual football reunion which has been held since 2007. The event involves a 5-a-side tournament, followed by a presentation from Mike, and dinner. “When I ran the football club, at the end of the season, I organised a football dinner. When I retired from the University, I was asked by a lot of the footballers to continue the football dinners. I ran the first reunion in 2007 and 85 people came. On that particular day, I had been told that I had been awarded an MBE, so we announced it to everyone there and it was absolutely great. “I’m hoping we can expand the reunion so that anyone who played for the University can come back and join in. The idea behind it all is to return with friends and the people they used to play with. What is really interesting is that it’s like they’ve never been away. Everyone’s reminiscing. In some cases, they haven’t seen each other for 30-40 years but you wouldn’t think that. It’s incredible. I also like the idea that it’s a family occasion too and many ex-players return with family and friends.” The football reunion returned this year on Saturday 11 September 2021, as the tradition continued for a 14th year! Make sure to keep in touch with the Alumni Team for information about the 2022 Alumni Football Reunion.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

ALUMNI PROFILE

QA &

Lisa Pan is President and CoFounder of Photon Lens and an experienced angel investor and tech entrepreneur. In 2013, she accompanied the former British Prime Minister on a visit to China, representing the Chinese entrepreneur community. She founded CMC Fund and Koala Funds in 2014, and she led the acquisition of one of the UK’s largest gaming companies, Jagex Limited, in 2016, where she served as the Chairman and Board Director. Over four years, she doubled the profit of the company and successfully sold the company in 2020. In 2020, Lisa established the 'Lisa Pan Marketing and Technology Scholarship' to support MSc Marketing students in Kent Business School.

WITH LISA PAN Woolf, 2011-12: MBA

Her personal angel investment portfolio includes Tian Hai Wei (Landun) Listed, Vancl (one of the largest online retailers in China), Rekoo, Tiao.net (sold to Shanda), Lexun, TGBus, ANTVR, Shadow Creator, Topode (a top decentralized logistics platform company in China), City Curator, Box Centric, and Wonderhood Studio (founded by former Chanel CEO David Abraham). She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, and an MBA from Kent Business School. What do you do? I am an investor and have specialised in high technology companies, particularly gaming, AI, AR and VR. I am also very interested in the music industry and would like to help Western artists to build their fanbase in Asian markets and also, in the same way, bring Asian artists to Western markets. This idea of connecting East and West was something that I developed in gaming markets and I am now trying to use it in the music industry.

What (or who) inspires you? I want to be successful as an entrepreneur and in everything I do. My early inspiration came from my first job as a TV presenter in China when I interviewed the leading entrepreneurs at the time in China, the founders of firms such as Xiaomi, Tencent and so on. I interviewed all of them. I was inspired by how their success had changed and improved people’s lives and I wanted to do the same as an entrepreneur. What do you work towards in your free time? First of all, time with my children and their development is my number one priority. I feel passionately that children should be encouraged to be stronger, independent and not spoilt. We should make sure they spend time outdoors doing things, even playing tennis when it is really hot! I also have many hobbies. I love music and I play lots of sports. I get up at 6am and play tennis for an hour. I usually have meetings till 2pm and then go to the gym or swim for an hour. I make sure that I recharge my batteries to deal with the stresses of life.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

What's the proudest achievement in your working life? My proudest moment was making Rekoo, where I was CFO and angel investor, the first gaming company in Tech City London. This was announced in 2013 and got the attention of Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Another major achievement was the 2016 acquisition of Jagex, a UK gaming company, which I was involved with. It was sold 4 years later and had doubled its EBITA under my management. Name the one career ambition you want to realise before you retire? I want to build unicorn companies. I have mainly been an investor but I now want to focus on companies and build them. I love music and want to connect the expertise I have developed in gaming and the fusion between Western and Eastern culture and bring that to the music sector.

As an alumna you have recently established a philanthropic scholarship for the MSc Marketing – can you tell us a little more about that and your motivation to support students at Kent? I was talking to one of my lecturers from Kent, who is also a friend, Dr Des Laffey, and wanted to know how I could help this generation of students, who have suffered so much disruption through Covid-19. The scholarship is my way of giving something back to Kent, where I have so many happy memories, and helping someone to change their life through having the same opportunity to study that I had. The scholarship is focused around Marketing and Technology because that is where my expertise lies and I believe will offer many opportunities to the successful scholar.

Do you have a funny memory from your time at Kent? When I arrived in Kent I got a Mini Cooper. I went to a car wash and didn’t realise I had chosen the self-wash option where I had to do it myself. I had never done this before, and never will again! What is the one thing you believe that you will never concede, no matter how much people argue with you? I will always believe that globalisation can be successful. In these difficult times it is easy to become insular but I really believe that globalisation can bring prosperity and bridge the gaps between East and West. We should focus on the benefits of globalisation and make sure that we address the problems that arise, being particularly aware of climate change, so everyone benefits, now and in the future.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FROM THE GROUND UP: SUSTAINABILITY ON THE CANTERBURY CAMPUS Terry the Terrapin Terrapins, like Terry, are an invasive species. They are widespread across mainland Europe, yet no native freshwater terrapins have been found in the UK for around 7,000 years, due to suspected climatic changes and possible anthropogenic factors. They have been popular pets in western society for decades, typically imported as coin-sized hatchlings from the USA and more recently South Asia. However, they grow too large for the typical domestic aquarium and present owners with a dilemma of how to cope with a large adult when fully grown. For this reason, many have been illegally released into UK freshwater habitats such as ponds, lakes and canals. Enter Terry, pictured, who was first sighted in Keynes Duck Pond, before being spotted crossing the road. Terry was helped to the Upper Eliot Pond in the woods behind the Venue – a kindly act for the terrapin but one which had consequences for the great crested newts and their larvae which Terry had new access to as a food source. The great crested newt is a protected species which is present in several ponds on the Canterbury campus. While they are not uncommon in the south-east of England, they have suffered dramatic declines over the last 60 years, due to development and agricultural changes. Terry the terrapin will soon have a new home – a specialist rescue centre – so the great crested newts which reside in the Upper Eliot Pond can survive and thrive in the absence of their reptilian invader.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

Life on the Canterbury campus A rogue terrapin and the great crested newts are just two of the many species found on our 300-acre Canterbury campus. This complex ecosystem is managed, from a human point of view, by the University’s Landscape and Grounds Team and the Sustainability Team who regularly collaborate with the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology and a number of other departments.

Together with their colleagues, and under pressure from the climate crisis facing us all, their work is shaping a new campus. They are inspired and guided by developments and research in environmental science, underpinned by a desire to create an environment which benefits everyone – balancing the needs of students, staff and the local community with those of the wildlife which populates the campus.

These changes have contributed to a steady return of songbirds to campus. To support this, the grounds team avoid hedge cutting during the breeding season for nesting birds. This has a visible consequence for people on campus – the hedges grow large and are less neat. However, when understood as an intentional choice, the appearance of these hedges is a small sacrifice for the sound of bird song and increased diversity and abundance of species in our communal outside spaces.

Growth Chris Wright is the Landscape and Grounds Supervisor. His team of ten (down from 30 in years gone by) is responsible for the maintenance of the University’s natural spaces – everything from grass-cutting, bed and shrub maintenance, to woodland and pond management and looking after memorial trees and benches. Emily Mason, the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator, supports sustainability projects across our campuses and provides expertise on specific sustainability topics like biodiversity management and behaviour change solutions.

The focus of their aesthetic principle is the natural, sustainable and wild. One example is the mowing of grass. Chris explains: “Around buildings and paths we continue to cut the grass short. But areas further away we allow to grow. This provides a habitat for caterpillars and butterflies, and other insects.” In other central campus locations, the grass is allowed to grow marginally longer than previously – enabling daisies, buttercups and dandelions to flourish, which are inviting for pollinators. The planters in Jarman plaza and the flowerbeds outside the Colyer-Fergusson have been planted with an allium bulb mix. In bloom they look stunning and bring a splash of colour to a busy area – purple plants are also particularly attractive to pollinators such as bees and butterflies. On the library lawn new benches have been installed that create a new place to sit and act as hibernacula for invertebrates.

Regrowth The practice of coppicing is the traditional woodland management technique of repeatedly felling trees at the base and allowing them to regrow. The primary goal for coppicing at Kent is to improve the health of our trees and create additional benefits for other wildlife. Coppicing is a human intervention that partly simulates the act of retrenching (when trees naturally drop their branches to extend their life), which helps our trees live longer within the woodlands.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

By removing sections of canopy, the amount of light that can reach the woodland floor increases. Previously dormant in the seed bank in the soil, other species of vegetation are afforded the chance to grow and increase the diversity of that area. This increase in vegetation increases the amount of habitat and forage opportunities for insects, birds and mammals. Emily Mason describes the process at Kent: “When we coppice we do not clear fell the sections; instead we ensure that very mature trees are left in place. Species such as oak and ash are left and we leave a proportion of ivy, holly and bramble to ensure there is cover and forage for other species.” “We also leave any newly emerging vegetation and any deadwood we find, which is useful for insects. While coppicing we also take the opportunity to remove any invasive vegetation from the area and collect any litter we uncover. Removing even three species of tree which dominate an area can provide an opportunity for 40 species of vegetation to take their place.”

In other locations on campus, new trees are being planted. Fifty-two trees have been planted on the southern slopes as mitigation for those cut down to make way for the new Indoor Tennis and Events Arena, and the Pears Building, home to the Kent and Medway Medical School on Kent’s Canterbury campus.

Connections and the future Other plans for the future include ‘rivers’ of vegetation which will create corridors connecting previously isolated habitats and will ensure the central campus environments reflect the nature of the campus as a whole. A new walking trail has been installed on the campus, starting near the Senate Building and ending at the Kent Community Oasis Garden. The trail features 17 points, each corresponding to one of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The true legacy of the work of our landscape & grounds and sustainability teams will not be seen for many years to come, and will require a commitment from everyone – individuals, departments and the whole University community – to ensure that our campuses, our curriculum and our students are ready for the future. But in the meantime, their contributions to the campus are available for everyone to enjoy. For more information about the University’s sustainability work and to follow the latest projects and developments on both of our campuses, please visit www.kent.ac.uk/sustainability

In 2018 the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox, signed the SDG Accord as an agreement to incorporate the UN’s SDGs into everything we do: from our leadership, operations and engagement to the teaching curriculum we deliver. Following the SDG Trail will enable students and staff to familiarise themselves with the goals while exploring some of the open green spaces on campus.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

ALUMNI PROFILE

Sam Holden came to the University of Kent in 2007 to study Forensic Science. He joined the Poker Society and soon became a professional poker player, travelling the world and winning tournaments for four years. During his time playing poker, he developed an interest in philosophy and came back to Kent for a BA and then an MA in Philosophy, graduating from the MA in 2019. After graduating, he worked from home for a sports statistics company, before settling on a new project to invest in: The Monument pub in Canterbury.

What is it about Kent that brought you back? It was Canterbury in particular for me. I moved to London for two years when I was playing poker and the country is just more my place. I love the sense of community, being in a small city and having everything I want within walking distance. And if I do want to go to a gig, for example, being so close to London is really convenient.

More recently I restarted the Philosophy Society when I went back for my Philosophy undergraduate. And we had an unofficial postgraduate philosophy society during my Master’s from which we put together a quiz team. I’ve always been really keen on the social element of academia – particularly in something like philosophy – I get a lot out of informally talking about the work.

The city and the University are positive places to be, everyone working together. The campus itself is a beautiful spot, on top of the hill; it has always attracted me here.

What are your favourite places on campus and off campus (which may now be the Monument!)? Off campus: a shout-out for Bramley’s Bar in town as well. On campus: back in the day Ruby Tuesdays in Origins was my scene! And particularly when I was a postgraduate, sitting out on the hill overlooking the city in the summer was really enjoyable. I also spent a lot of time in the Gulbenkian.

Which societies were you part of while at Kent? The Poker Society was a big deal for me because it ended up forming a big part of my life. I met a lot of good friends there with similar interests.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

QA &

WITH SAM HOLDEN Rutherford, 2007-10: Forensic Science Eliot, 2014-17: Philosophy Woolf, 2018-19: MA in Philosophy

What areas of philosophy particularly appeal to you? The beauty of doing philosophy was that it was so varied so I had a lot of different interests. But I'm really interested in social epistemology: that is to say, how knowledge or beliefs are acquired in social situations, for example through group decision-making or expert testimony. That’s what I wrote my dissertation on for my Master’s. And then also quite different to that is an interest in existentialism, trying to come to terms with whether there's any meaning in our existence. I found that very helpful to be honest – it’s good therapy!

In some ways with the pub I’d like to replicate that sense of community from the departments and societies at Kent. Somewhere that isn’t too rowdy and that is comfortable, with a lot of books. What do you know now, that you wish you knew while you were at Kent? After graduating, it’s important to continue pursuing interests outside of work, as you did while at university. ‘What's the most trivial hill you're willing to die on?’ Knowledge is overrated.

Why did you decide to buy the Monument, and what are your plans for it? I was looking for my next career and I wanted to establish and maintain somewhere in the community. The location is perfect for me, between the University and on the way into town, maybe as a stop for a quick drink on the way down to the train station.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

STAFF PROFILE

ANTS GALT, AKA Stan the Scan Man Library Assistant

“The reason why I started doing the scanning more than other people was just because the scanner was sat on my desk. It’s heavy and a lot of effort to move it!” Ants Galt, or ‘Stan the Scan Man’ depending on who you ask, is a Library Assistant in Information Services, based in the Templeman Library. Ants works as part of a team which developed a new collaborative workflow to tackle the problems raised by remote and hybrid working during the Covid-19 pandemic. One function of the team is the scanning of books to supplement the core reading lists for modules. These scans are provided to students via Moodle as accessible PDF files. For the rights to do this, the University pays for a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA). Subject to certain checks and

permissions, this allows the scanning of up to 10% of a book, or one chapter, whichever is greater, to make it available for students. CLA scanning is one of the services that supported distance learning before March 2020. But during the pandemic, restrictions at times made it harder, or impossible, for students to visit the library and borrow books. As such, the spotlight turned to online resources to support socially distanced teaching and learning. More academics and module convenors, in response to their students saying: “I’m not on campus, how do I get this resource?” would send a request for it. The team followed the CLA Procedure, and if possible, the document would be uploaded to Moodle for students to access. During summer 2020, the requests for scans doubled: enter Scan Man.

“With Covid-19, we did a vast amount more of in-house scans than we had done previously. Matthew Seales, my colleague, predominantly did the background work and let me know which books needed scanning. “My standard day was to come into the office with that list of requests and go around and find the books on the shelves… in a very empty library. I would find maybe ten books first thing in the morning, purely because I couldn’t carry more than that! I’d take them back to my desk, work through the scans, and drop them back into the processing system. They had to be quarantined before they could go back on the shelves. “Probably on an average day I was doing 15-20 requests. Those requests can vary from one or two pages to 100 pages, and sometimes even more – depending on chapter size and the size of the books involved.”

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

Scanning, though, is not the extent of Ants’ role: “It's not like I'm some sort of automaton just constantly going: ‘Book. Scan. Book. Scan.’”

Coming to Kent Ants joined the University of Kent in January 2019. After leaving school at 16, he worked at Natwest for a couple of weeks short of 36 years. “I took voluntary redundancy and had no idea what I was going to do. I just felt it was the time to leave and to try and do something else. All I knew was that I didn’t want to do banking anymore.”

Other duties include one or two financial tasks, because of his background; document delivery, where the team arranges to borrow books from other libraries, when requested by students or staff; and the initial checking of newly purchased books when they arrive.

After a couple of months’ break, he took a job as Exams Assistant at Canterbury College, assisting students who needed access arrangements for their exams – a role he found particularly satisfying. Then a friend told him there was a job vacancy in the Templeman Library. “I wanted to work for the University because of its reputation as a good employer. My wife, Lucy, also works at Kent, so it felt right. She is Café Supervisor at J’s Tea Bar in Jennison. We get to see each other during the day – I’ll walk past the café on my lunchtime stroll and wave – and when possible, we travel in together.”

“Back in 2020, I wanted to get into the office a couple of days a week, once we had everything logistically in place. There was no pressure to do so but it was useful for my weekly tasks.”

The nickname

“It was nice to know the scanning I was doing was very important and I understood that it was something that needed to be done.”

“‘Stan’ is an anagram of Ants: when I find myself talking about something remarkably boring, which is normally weather- or cricketrelated, Lucy will roll her eyes, look at me and say, ‘Thanks for that, Stan.’ Stan the Scan Man rhymed, so it stuck.”

The number of books scanned by the team ready for the 21/22 academic year was 568. Stan the Scan Man indeed!

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

STUDENT PROFILE

A conversation with PAKO LEKOKO Pako Lekoko came to the University of Kent to study a BSc in Actuarial Science with a Year in Industry in 2015. After graduating, she enrolled on the KBS MSc Business Analytics programme with the aim of getting back into the management consulting industry.

Why did you choose to study in the UK? The UK has the reputation of the best place to be if you want to get the best education. So I'm like: “OK, I am definitely going to the UK – I am going to get the best education in the world!” And why did you choose to study at the University of Kent? There were a number of reasons for choosing to come to Kent. One: it is warmer in Kent than some other parts of the UK. And two: the fact that there are beaches around, as I wanted to live close to the sea. I have lived in a landlocked country – Botswana – all my life! Another reason is that the Actuarial Science programme at the University is one of the best in the UK. I thought, if I'm going to be doing such a hard subject I want it to be in one of the best institutions that offers the best programme. Also, the University of Kent offered a year in industry, and that was a big factor for me because I wanted to get some experience and actually know what it is I would potentially be doing after graduating. I had never been to Canterbury before choosing it. I had a friend who came to the University who I spoke to so I could find out more. The fact that she is my friend and was at Kent did not sway my decision. It was about the

programme. It was about the environment – I didn’t want a busy place like London. I wanted somewhere a bit more peaceful, where I could look out and see trees.

From those experiences, I knew that each place and culture is different, so having a ready template of expectations would have probably been useless.

What was your experience like, studying in a country so far from home? When I’m in a new place, I soak it up. I love being in new environments. We’re often told, “Oh, you’re going to a new place, you’re going to be so homesick”, but my approach is if you’re somewhere new, find out what it’s like, take it all in. If you spend all your time thinking about somewhere else then you’re probably going to miss it. You steer where you stare. So, embrace being present in the environment that you’re in.

Did you travel to other parts of the UK during your time here? I travelled to Liverpool, Manchester, London, Leeds, Birmingham, Reading, Edinburgh, and Dunblane, where a friend was doing their placement. One thing I learnt during my time exploring the UK – there are so many Batswana in the UK!

I was very surprised when I arrived in the UK at how pedestrians are respected! That was one of the first things I noticed and I was like: “The cars are going to stop for me? I can cross? Are you sure? OK!” I didn’t come with any preconceived notions. I’d travelled before coming to the UK – South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and China. I went to China on a cultural exchange programme in high school for a month. It was fun, it was different and I ate so many new foods.

How was your undergraduate degree at Kent? In first year, it was quite relaxed! I lived in Wincheap and had the smallest room in a fourbedroom house. I hated that, but I made it work! In second year I lived with a group of friends. Then I went on my year in industry. My placement was at Deloitte; I did eight months with them in Botswana, one week in South Africa and two months in Leeds. On returning for my final year, I at least knew what on earth I was doing! Because of my year in industry, I was shaping up to be the kind of professional that I wanted to be. The house I lived in in my final year was so much fun! I was living with some of my closest friends from university. It was great. We were all together and it was like a little family.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

How was your time as a postgraduate? In one word – amazing. During my postgraduate programme, I became more of me than I ever was before. To a large extent, I feel like the programme was created specifically for me because it delivered the content I signed up for and catered for exactly the way I learn best – practical learning that was mostly assessed through coursework.

their strengths and highlights them as great candidates for a specific job. We also proofread and edit documents, as well as offer training in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more coming up. People can find us on Facebook and Instagram @zaidi_bw. We should be launching our website soon and automating some of our services to allow people to access them at their own convenience.

In addition to what happened in the lecture and seminar rooms, it felt like everything outside of them conspired to bring me into a greater, more self-aware, fearless, and confident version of myself. I would not trade that period in my life for any other. Doing it was one of the best decisions of my life.

I was also largely focused on leading the mentorship programme I founded, The Runway, which prepares Batswana students to live and learn away from home and then return with much to contribute. It is a fully fledged society that has over 80 members, is successfully running various programmes and continuously holds development workshops for different skills.

What have you been up to since graduating, and what’s next? Oh man, a lot! Immediately after finishing my dissertation, I revived an old business I had and gave it a major facelift. I maintained the name, Zaidi, changed the branding and the whole mandate of the business. Zaidi now helps university-level students with essay, dissertation and report writing coaching. We also provide employability services to customers such as helping them create and edit CVs, cover letters, job applications and LinkedIn profiles in a way that accentuates

A little over three months after submitting my dissertation, I was headhunted by a Management Consulting firm in Botswana called Growth Matrix Solutions, a relatively small company that packs a major punch in providing diverse business solutions by leveraging technology.

Science, Analytics and everything around it. The company was very intentional about giving me the working conditions I asked for, allowing me maximum flexibility and support to become the professional I want to be. I will easily say that they gave me the type of working experience I had been praying for. In bringing me onboard, I had, and still have, the privilege of creating my own job description, which continues to be very flexible based on available opportunities and what I want to get involved in. In less than six months, I have worked with a client that is the biggest contributor to the Botswana economy, Debswana, and went from being a junior consultant to a senior member of the team with my own admin assistant and am getting ready to blaze new trails for the organisation by leading the creation of a new service capability within the company. I am both nervous and excited about this. What’s next? Continue to have fun while pushing the limits of life, taking risks that my spirit agrees with, and expect it all to be very rewarding in every way possible.

At this time, I was not looking for employment and had decided to use my skills to be a freelance consultant that specialised in Data

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

ALUMNI FEATURE

Keeping busy with BERNARD BIBBY In the limelight At the beginning of March 2020, we met with Bernard Bibby (Eliot, 1993-95: Electronic Engineering) at his house in Sittingbourne. Bernard, in addition to being a Kent alumnus, is a retired sound engineer and qualified electrician, charity ambassador and fundraiser, and an extra in film and television. And since the age of 71 he has been taking dance classes; this led to him becoming a media sensation, with the story of his ballet dancing being shared nationally and internationally.

In 2015, after the passing of his wife, Celia Bibby (an alumna herself – Keynes, 1980-83: Social Psychology), Bernard joined a ballet class in Rochester to keep active and social. “Celia was a very positive, outgoing person. And so the first thing I did was to sell the television set and cancel my TV licence. I know I will get to a point where my body will give up and I'm going to have to sit around. But for now, I like being out with people.”

The ballet class proved to be good exercise, great fun and an opportunity to have a laugh with the rest of his classmates. When exam season approached, the teacher, Clare, asked the class if they would like to take the Royal Academy of Dance Grade One exam. Bernard signed up for it as it meant another class and another hour’s exercise each week. Results from the exam arrived and the unperturbed Bernard was handed a piece of paper with his result. Unbeknown to Bernard,

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

his classmates were filming as he looked down to see the result: PASS – BRONZE AWARD. The moment, caught on camera, was uploaded to the internet and picked up by the BBC. Weeks of interviews and media appearances followed, including local media outlets, ITV Meridian, BBC Breakfast, the Times, and Metro. His moment in the spotlight was shared further afield by the NY Post, an English-speaking radio station in Spain, in Vietnam and all across the internet. The initial rush had passed and life seemed to be returning to normal when the phone rang again. It was the production company who were making The Russell Howard Hour for Sky One; they wanted to feature Bernard in the ‘Good Deeds’ section of the programme. “So they came down here and spent the day to film me doing all sorts of things. They came back on a Saturday and had me walking up

and down the high street waving at everybody. And then I was invited to London to what was the old BBC television centre for the recording of the show.” “Now it's calmed down a bit, I can get back to normal living, like being untidy. For a man living on his own this house has never been so tidy, I can assure you. It's not natural!”

Bernard agreed to the conditions and Celia said yes. He was working for Jennings Vox at Dartford (most notably of AC15 and AC30 amplifiers fame), making sound systems for musicians and bands including The Shadows, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. In the evenings and at weekends he repaired electrical appliances and rewired houses to raise the extra money for the Bibbys’ own home.

The first light of day Bernard was born in Bexley, Kent and spent the first 21 years of his life there. He left school at 15: “I escaped secondary modern school. I didn’t have a qualification to my name, never passed anything. The bronze award for ballet was the first thing I ever won.” When he proposed to Celia, he was given two conditions: that they did not move in with inlaws and that they wouldn’t rent a house – only buy.

“Today it doesn't sound a lot of money, but I raised the two hundred quid deposit on a £2,000 bungalow. We got married and moved into our brand-new home.” “Our first baby, Elizabeth, came along. It was a two-bedroom bungalow. We sort of logically said, well, we've got to move. So we looked around all over the place, and ended up with this old building in Sittingbourne just across the park from Borden Grammar School.”

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

ALUMNI FEATURE

“But it was a wreck of a place when we moved in. We had to take off the outside walls because they were soaking wet. We put a new roof on, installed all the central heating, all the plumbing, all the electrics. That, to me, is just what you do.” A new career opportunity arose and Bernard hit the road and took to the skies, doing sales and marketing for Electro-Voice. He supplied audio and related communication products to UK and European broadcasting and recording studios, and entertainment companies.

The light of his life Celia attended night school to add maths and science to her eight O levels from school. After completing another course at a technical college in Rochester, she applied to the University of Kent at Canterbury and enrolled on a three-year BA Social Psychology course. She graduated in 1983 and started a business in relaxation therapy. She wrote a book, The Business of Learning to Relax: Stress Management for the New Millennium and worked with companies in the City of London to adopt her approach. “She had an illness which mucked up life a bit, so she decided that she'd have a complete change of direction and she went and did a Master’s course at Birmingham.” An antibiotic which was given to Celia to treat an infection had caused anaphylaxis. At this point, Bernard was running a building facilities company, which had started with him doing odd jobs for people after leaving the travelling sales job. He built the company to the point where he had 20 subcontractors working for him and was accepting contracts for local school refurbishments. “The minute Celia went down with the illness, she never worked again. And that led to me walking away from the business and just handing it over to the boys, which meant the house went. We lost everything that we'd built up from scratch. It can happen to anybody; it’s nothing unusual.”

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

“Perhaps because I didn’t come in and try and act like ‘the Dad’, they just treated me as one of the boys.” “I was late one night coming into this last lecture at six o'clock. I came in and thought have I come to the wrong place? All the lights were out. And there everyone was with one cake, one candle and then they turn the lights on – it was my 50th birthday. Even the lecturer was hiding round the corner.” Life, and Celia’s health, meant Bernard was not able to finish his degree, but he is happy to have had the experience. Bernard and Celia spent time volunteering and fundraising for a number of charities, including Demelza Children’s Hospice, Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, and Help for Heroes. For one project they set up a community radio station for the 28 days leading up to Christmas, specifically to raise money for Demelza and the air ambulance. Another charity at the time had brought children over from Chernobyl. Bernard invited them all for a Christmas party at the radio station, and even arranged for the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK to call to wish them a Merry Christmas.

In the 90s Bernard came to the University of Kent to study Electrical Engineering – to formally gain a qualification in a subject he had worked in and around since leaving school. “I went up there on an open day and said: ‘Look: I'm an old man, I've practically been in electronics all my life. But going for job interviews, they all want bits of paper. Experience doesn't mean anything now.’ And so I thought well, let's see if I can get that bit of paper.” A mature student with a wife and two teenage children, Bernard drove in every day. He was welcomed by his fellow students, many of whom were only just older than his own children.

“I don't worry about titles. They're what people hide behind. My attitude is that if you don't ask somebody a question it’s the same as a ‘no’, but if you do ask, they might just say ‘yes’.” In January 2015, Celia passed away: “She never made 70 and that wasn’t right. She gave a lot to the community. And when it happens, you go through things. You have to sort things out.”

Spotlight It was at this point that Bernard sold the television set and started ballet. He has also been working as an extra in film and television. With no TV, he has never seen himself in any of the parts! “I've watched people in the business and they have been so busy watching themselves, they've modified their behaviour. I'm too old to modify myself – I'm me.”

He has been an extra for a number of productions, his first being Christopher Robin with Ewan McGregor, which entailed five days’ filming down at Dover. Bernard did one day's filming with The Nevers (HBO), released in 2021: “It’s a Victorian science-fiction thing. There were bodies walking around with big cuts in their head and all stitched up. And I was in the secret pub, they called it, and the camera's behind me. That was good fun. I'll have a go at anything for a laugh.” This is in addition to his ambassadorial work for the dedicated male cancer charity, Orchid. He has delivered talks at a number of organisations and sports clubs throughout Kent. “My opening line is, ‘I'm a bit like a politician: I go around the county, talking a load of balls’. The women roar with laughter, but the blokes are a little bit hesitant. And I explain that all the tests and checks they’re unsure about could save their lives.”

Lights. Webcam. Action. Then came the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic. “All the things I set up to keep myself busy just stopped.” Life had changed. His ballet class had moved to Zoom, so the visits to cafés with his fellow dancers for a chat and something to eat stopped. The cancer awareness talks stopped and the work as an extra was initially reduced. However, since the easing of restrictions in summer 2021, classes have resumed and Bernard has a talk about male cancer scheduled for a local Round Table Association. “I’m ticking over, seeing how things develop.” Combined with ballet, other fundraising and volunteering, and his work as an extra – Bernard Bibby is a busy man.

University of Kent Magazine | Winter 2021/22 | www.kent.ac.uk

FEATURE

MEET A BESTWAY FOUNDATION SCHOLAR MAHNOOR AZIZ Since childhood I always wanted to go abroad for my studies, but I never thought I’d be able to fulfil this dream. While studying in Pakistan for my Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, I got selected in a cultural exchange programme in the United States of America and from then on, I was unstoppable. Growing up and seeing London in pictures and movies, I knew I wanted to visit this place. One fine day, while I was filling out my Master’s applications, I came across the University of Kent. After going through the University’s website – I found the beautiful campus, amazing rating, and great subjects – I applied for the MSc, Advanced Computer Science programme. I was curious and had sleepless nights waiting for the response from the University. One morning I got the acceptance letter, but I was both happy and confused at the same time. I knew I wanted to go to this university, but how would I afford the expenses, fees, and everything else? I began my search for scholarships and learned about the Bestway Foundation Scholarship. When I read about the scholarship, it was an amazing opportunity. So, I went for it and applied but the thing that was bothering me was it would be highly competitive. I was at work when I got an email for interview. “What are the odds?” I thought to myself. Considering only six people will get this scholarship, I prepared for my interview. Two days later I received confirmation that I had been selected for this scholarship. The feeling was beyond explainable. My parents’ faces were full of joy and it took no time at all for them to say: “GO FOR IT AND FULFIL YOUR DREAM!” Now here comes the even harder part. It was peak of the pandemic, July 2020, and nobody knew what the future would hold or when international travel would resume. I was not sure if I’d be able to travel to the UK. The flights were banned, visa offices were closed and with no prospect of news, I was shattered but didn’t lose hope. After a month, finally it was announced that student visas would resume so I applied for the visa right away. Given the pandemic, I thought my visa processing would take months; ironically, I got it in ten days! The day

I received my visa, I resigned from my job and was about to begin the adventure. Pandemic travelling was crazy. It was a very long flight, and everybody was supposed to wear a mask. Nobody was allowed to sit beside another person and everyone feared anybody who would cough and would ask them to stay away from them. It was one hell of an experience. Once I landed in London, I said to myself that this is it, this is the beginning of my dream. I took accommodation in Woolf College, moved in super excited to start my journey as a Master's student only to find out that the term would be taught online. I wanted to attend physical classes but alas, pandemic was at its peak. Anyway, I took a chance and started studying online from my university accommodation. It was a different experience, but the teachers were amazing and considerate towards the students. I started to explore and took my first trip to Cambridge and London and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, after a month into moving to Canterbury the UK went into a nationwide lockdown. Unnecessary travel was not allowed so I started exploring campus and Canterbury and how amazing this small city is. It has the famous Cathedral, historic buildings, amazing city centre, good options for food, and Westgate Gardens which looks amazing in spring. Summer here in the UK was different. When it rained, I couldn’t understand why everyone would have gloomy faces as I found it a welcome difference from the heat of Pakistan! Even in the pandemic, in a lockdown, and at times the loneliness, I managed to get good grades and the University well-being support was an amazing help in such tough times. My experience in the UK is one full of adventures; from receiving the scholarship to the struggles getting a visa – and of course getting used to UK weather!

The Bestway Foundation is the charitable trust of the Bestway Group in the UK and Pakistan. It’s focused on the health and education sectors. The Bestway Foundation is proud partner of the University of Kent where it has established five dedicated annual scholarships for postgraduate students from Pakistan.

Your neck of the woods

Did you know that there are maybe 30,000-40,000 trees on our Canterbury campus, by our best estimate! Learn more about our parkland campus and sustainability practices on pages 28-31.