Staff
KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | April 2014
Gravity success Centre for Parenting Culture Studies
Welcome Dear colleagues,
The last three months have been busy for all of us. Looking back, I think I can identify a number of themes that have occupied my own time and go some way to defining what makes Kent distinctive.
The first of these is diversity. In February, I addressed the Aurora Leadership Foundation: a scheme aimed at enabling a wider range of women to think of themselves as leaders, and to help them develop the skills they need – and a scheme, incidentally, that is flourishing in this University. It was, I think, the first time I have spoken to such a large all-women gathering! Then, I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, celebrating one of the pioneers of crystallography, Kathleen Lonsdale. These events brought home to me the importance we attach as an institution to equality and diversity, ensuring that everyone makes full use of their talents.
The second theme is internationalisation. In March, I went to the magnificent surroundings of the Hôtel de Charost, the British Ambassador’s Residence in Paris, to attend a lecture for our French alumni. By the time you read this, I will just have returned from a visit to the Far East where I was able to celebrate the successes of our Malaysian and Hong Kong alumni. Over 50 short years, we have built up an incredible network across the globe – a network growing each year. And, back at home, we have just seen the other side of globalisation: Worldfest (p15) highlighted the breath-taking range of cultures represented at this University.
The third theme is the pursuit of excellence. During the spring term, I accompanied students and staff from the Tizard Centre to Buckingham Palace where they received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize (p3). Glynis Murphy becoming an Academician in the Social Sciences (p15) is further evidence of the University’s growing stature. Promoting excellence for our staff and students is really why we are here. It goes wider than academic achievement: in May we look forward to the new Kent Student Awards (p5), which will reflect broader contributions made to the University. Looking further forward, there will be many more opportunities to celebrate our excellence – from the graduation ceremonies in July, to exciting work across our estate and events to mark our 50th anniversary (p12).
Good wishes to you all for the summer term.
Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow Vice-Chancellor
3 News 6 Feature: Centre for Parenting Culture Studies 8 Research 10 Staff profile 11 Human Resources 12 Feature: 50th anniversary 13 Enterprise 14 Kent in the news/Sport 15 People/Worldfest 16 What’s on Special thanks to: Lesley Farr, University Design & Print Centre. Photographs by Gerardo Calia, Jason Dodd, European Southern Observatory, Simon Jarrett, Simon Tollington and Matt Wilson.
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KENT To have your say on all aspects of internal communications, including KENT Staff magazine, please contact communications@kent.ac.uk. Editorial team: Wendy Raeside (Editor), Karen Baxter and colleagues in Corporate Communications, University of Kent. To contact us or submit a story, email kentmagazine@kent.ac.uk. Next issue: the deadline for the next issue is 7 July with a publication date of 29 July 2014. Online version KENT Staff magazine is also available online at www.kent.ac.uk/ campusonline/kentmagazine/ The online version contains additional media, as indicated in the icons below. Please email communications@kent.ac.uk if you would prefer not to receive a printed copy.
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Kent receives Queen’s Anniversary Prize at Buckingham Palace Representatives of the University and its Tizard Centre were presented with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 27 February. The Prize, the University’s second in six years, was for the work of the Tizard Centre – part of the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research – and its contribution to improving the lives of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and their families.
Attending the presentation by the Queen were: Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow; Tony Quigley, Chair of the University’s Finance and Resources Committee; Professor Glynis Murphy and Professor Peter McGill, Co-Directors of the Tizard Centre; Dr Jill Bradshaw, Lecturer in Learning Disability; research staff Aida Malovic, Lisa Richardson and Agnes Turnpenny; and PhD students Rebecca Hardiman and Precious N Sango.
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are awarded, within the honours system, for exceptional
www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/ qap_buckingham_palace/2014
Kent at top of Best University Workplace Survey
Of the 150 institutions, Kent was placed second in the category ‘I would like to recommend working at my university’ and fifth for ‘My university offers a fair deal to its employees in terms of working conditions and benefits’.
flickr.com/photos/universityofkent/
Staff
KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | April 2014
Gravity success Centre for Parenting Culture Studies
Cover story Kent graduates’ part in Gravity’s Oscar success (p4). Gravity on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™ and DVD. Out Now. ©2014 Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
contributions by institutions in the higher and further education sectors.
Employees of the University are among those to have given the most positive responses about their workplace in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) Best University Workplace Survey. In the inaugural survey, which took place over the course of several months in 2013, more than 4,500 higher education staff from 150 institutions across the UK completed the THE’s online questionnaire.
Since its foundation in 1965, the University has become one of the largest employers in the region with more than 3,000 academic and professional services staff. http://bit.ly/1pUsdEz
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News
Engagement Centre for WWI community research
the ‘universe’ – which in most scenes are the only elements not computer-generated.
The University is to host one of five new national Engagement Centres being established to support community World War One (WWI) research projects.
Masters in Computer Animation graduates James Harmer, Guo Kun Pan, James Parsons, and Bernard Wicksteed are also credited for their work on the film. Alongside Liam Russell and El Suliman, these graduates progressed from the undergraduate programme at Kent.
Kent’s Professor Mark Connelly, one of the UK’s leading experts on WWI, will head the new Engagement Centre at Kent, to be known as ‘Gateways to the First World War’. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in conjunction with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the centres will connect academic and public histories of WWI as part of the commemoration of the war’s centenary. Kent’s centre – along with those hosted by the universities of Birmingham, Hertfordshire, Nottingham and Queen’s University Belfast – will provide UK-wide support for community groups funded by a range of HLF programmes, particularly its new £6m ‘First World War: Then and Now’ community grants scheme. The centres also form part of the First World War Centenary Partnership, led by the Imperial War Museums, and will complement other AHRC activities, including the BBC’s ‘World War One at Home’ project. http://bit.ly/QHXMoZ
Graduates congratulated for Gravity Oscar success The University has offered congratulations to a number of its graduates who contributed to the work which helped secure a ‘Best Visual Effects’ Oscar for the film Gravity. The graduates, who studied at the School of Engineering and Digital Arts (EDA) for degrees in Multimedia, Technology and Design, all work for London-based visual effects company Framestore, which produced almost 80% of what appears on screen during the film. Liam Russell, Christopher Johnston, Steve Hardy, El Suliman, Adam Ward and Mark Millena contributed to the ground-breaking postproduction work, including realistically inserting Sandra Bullock and George Clooney faces into
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www.framestore.com/work/gravity
Social Sciences teaching to benefit from Q-Step centres Social science graduates at the University are to benefit from a new £19.5m nationally-funded network designed to promote a step-change in quantitative social science training. Launched at the Royal Society, London, on 17 March, this network of Q-step Centres, based at 15 universities across the UK, will provide additional staff and resources to create new teaching methods across the social sciences. Kent’s share of the funding will enable it to create new degree programmes as well as provide innovative quantitative teaching methods, including the use of new technology and placements. Q-step at Kent is co-ordinated by its School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research and involves the School of Politics and International Relations, Kent Law School and Kent Business School. It is funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Lord Young praises University’s enterprising approach Lord Young of Graffham, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Enterprise, praised the University’s strategy of promoting student enterprise when he visited its business school. Lord Young was at Kent Business School on 12 February to launch its annual Enterprise Day and deliver a speech on Government policy on enterprise for young people. Current students and graduates, as well as members of the regional business community,
attended the Canterbury campus event and heard Lord Young praise the University’s strategy of making modules on enterprise and business available to all undergraduates.
Respiratory Clinic supports GB Boxing The University’s Respiratory Clinic, based at Medway Park, has been selected to screen the entire GB Boxing team. Following the success of work undertaken by Dr John Dickinson from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences in advance of the 2012 Olympic Games, the latest project involves indepth analysis and screening of GB Boxers for exercise-induced asthma (EIA). The research is providing information to athletes and the team’s coaches to help reduce respiratory issues occurring during their training and competition. The initial screening took place throughout March at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. It is likely to extend to support the athletes throughout 2014 and into the run-up to the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
Students ‘rebuild’ St Augustine’s Abbey Technology that is normally used to visualise architectural proposals is being used by Kent students to ‘rebuild’ St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury. The project, which is being undertaken by students on the MA in Architectural Visualisation in collaboration with English Heritage, will ‘rebuild’ the Abbey to its former glory prior to its dissolution by King Henry VIII in the 1530s. The virtual model is designed to be fully navigable, enabling audiences to experience the restored Abbey complete with student interpretations of the interior spaces and decoration. The project presents new challenges to the students, who ordinarily can rely on accurate architect’s drawings as a source of information, since most of the Abbey and outer buildings have been destroyed and little evidence remains of large parts of the site. The MA is offered and jointly taught by Kent School of Architecture and the School of Engineering and Digital Arts.
News 1 Respiratory Clinic is screening GB Boxing team 2 Conor Diggin with Sky News’ Stuart Ramsay 3 The Lupino
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The first stage of the St Augustine’s Abbey project is due to be completed by spring 2014, with additional work and detailing to follow.
The event also saw Neil Dunwoodie, Executive Producer Sky News, present first-year journalism student Conor Diggin with the 2014 Sky News Bob Friend Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is among the most prestigious prizes available to an undergraduate student of journalism in the UK.
The Lupino, which will be predominantly used by School of Arts’ film students, has state-of-the-art digital projection and sound, and has been created to provide an intimate atmosphere for film viewing. It is hoped the Lupino will also host a calendar of events and screenings by invitation.
The lecture and scholarship were established in 2009 in memory of Bob Friend, who was the original face of Sky News as well as a longserving BBC journalist. The scholarship is awarded to a student who has demonstrated outstanding academic and professional merit and shows great potential for a career in journalism. Conor Diggin receives £3,500 towards his tuition fees and is guaranteed a fullyfunded four-week placement at Sky News.
Kent Student Awards nominations are in!
Marking 450th anniversary of Christopher Marlowe’s birth The University played a key part in a series of events to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the birth of Canterbury-born playwright Christopher Marlowe. Collaborating with the Marlowe Theatre, the Marlowe Society and Fourth Monkey Theatre Company, the ‘Marlowe450’ series (12-28 March) included a number of performances and talks taking place across Canterbury, as well as a symposium held at the Canterbury campus. www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/ Marlowe450/2014
University honours acclaimed film director with new cinema
Journalism students learn from Sky News Chief Correspondent
The University has opened a new 62-seat cinema on Canterbury campus named after the pioneering female film director Ida Lupino.
Students in the Centre for Journalism were introduced to the highly rewarding but often dangerous world of Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay during the Centre’s annual Bob Friend Memorial lecture on 27 February.
The Lupino was launched on International Women’s Day (7 March) at an event celebrating some of the world’s most acclaimed female film directors, including Claire Denis, Agnes Varda, Kathryn Bigelow and Jane Campion.
Arriving from Moscow only hours before the lecture and immediately capturing the audience’s attention with his accounts of being under fire and held against his will in difficult situations, Stuart Ramsay stressed the duty of conflict reporters to ‘bear witness’ in wars, crises and disaster zones. He described his job as a ‘privilege’, albeit one that involves experiences which are difficult to handle.
The event was attended by members of the Kent Arts Network, based at the University and connecting representatives from museums, galleries and other arts and culture organisations, locally, nationally and internationally. The event also welcomed Clio Barnard, Reader in Film at the University’s School of Arts, whose latest film, The Selfish Giant, received a BAFTA nomination.
Over the last few weeks, students, staff and members of the public have been nominating students they think have done something amazing at Kent. Overall, there have been over 200 nominations for the Kent Student Awards, in the categories of Outstanding Contribution to Arts and Culture; Best Community Spirit; Outstanding Contribution to Sport Development; Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year; Environmental Champion; Outstanding Contribution to Media and Communications; Outstanding International/Multicultural Initiative of the Year; Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity; and Outstanding Contribution to College Life. Judges are now shortlisting the top three students in each category. Shortlisted students will be invited to the gala dinner hosted by the Vice-Chancellor on 31 May, where the winners will be announced. One student will also be chosen as ‘Student of the Year’ from the category winners. The shortlist of award-winners will be available on the Kent Student Awards webpages from 12 May. www.kent.ac.uk/studentawards
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Feature
Successful start for parenting research centre
A Kent research centre exploring all aspects of parenting culture is marking a highly successful first three years. The Centre for Parenting Culture Studies (CPCS) was founded in January 2011 by Reader in Social Policy Dr Ellie Lee – a passionate critic of scaremongering about risks to children – and Charlotte Faircloth (then a Research Fellow in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research – SSPSSR).
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“science”, can somehow solve social problems. This parental determinism has fuelled the rise of the so-called “parenting expert” and the politicising of parent-child relationships and weakening of bonds between generations.’
Aims of Centre
Ellie (above right) says: ‘I joined Kent in 2004 and started working with Professor Frank Furedi on the perception of risk and its fundamental influence on how people bring up their children. Our initial research focused on the tension mothers feel when they formula feed, but we realised there were many other parenting issues and concerns to explore and so the research centre was created.
Among the new Centre’s aims were to: inspire a genuine interdisciplinary research agenda on contemporary parenting culture; provide an interdisciplinary forum for informed discussion; consider ways practices such as infant feeding are influenced; and to bring together researchers (including early-career stage), parenting organisations and policy-makers from Britain and abroad to inform the public on this issue.
‘We wanted to know why the minutiae of how parents raise their children – how they feed them, talk to them, play with them or discipline them – have become routine sources of public debate and policy-making. What we have seen over the past decade or so has been the growth of a new belief system that suggests that “good parenting”, based very often on dubious
Ellie is based in SSPSSR, but works alongside colleagues from Law, Psychology and across the University, including Professor Furedi, Dr Charlotte Faircloth, Dr Jan Macvarish, and Jennie Bristow. Their research and findings over the last three years have been highlighted in a new book on parenting culture (see far right).
KENT Magazine
Ellie says: ‘Our concept of “parenting culture” has been adopted and used by others working in various disciplines who have similar interests to ours, and who often get in touch to discuss their work and ideas for collaboration. We are contacted by colleagues at various career stages, as well as by a wider public, including journalists, professionals, third sector organisations and individual members of the public.’
Key achievements Key achievements by the Centre since 2011 include: • Publications on issues from Parenting in Global Perspective: Negotiating ideologies of kinship, self and politics to Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust: The Jimmy Savile Scandal and Child-rearing in an Age of Risk. • Visits and exchanges including a visit in spring 2013 by CPCS’s first Visiting Fellow Joan Wolf. During her visit, she delivered an open lecture which attracted a large audience and significant media coverage. • Teaching including a new module on ‘The Family, Parenting Culture and Parenting Policy’, as part of a Master’s degree within SSPSSR.
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• Seminars including CPCS Forums, a twicetermly opportunity for staff and students to meet and discuss ideas. Members of the Centre have also been invited to present their research to seminars at other institutions including the universities of Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Manchester. • Conferences focusing on, for example, ‘Feeding Children in the New Parenting Culture’, ‘The Uses and Abuses of Biology: Neuroscience, Parenting and Family Policy in Britain’ and ‘Gender, Equality and Intimacy: (Un)comfortable Bedfellows?’. Members of the Centre have also presented their research at annual conferences of organisations including the British Sociological Association, American Anthropological Association and European Association for Social Anthropology. • Grants have included £97,416 from the Economic and Social Research Council for a study into ‘Assessing Child Welfare under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: the new law’ and £300,268 (50% to Kent) from the Leverhulme Trust for ‘Parenting: Gender, Intimacy and Equality’. • Media coverage for the Centre has also been significant over the past three years, with mentions on national radio and TV including BBC Radio 4, Channel 4 News, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky News, national press from The Sun to the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times and more specialist publications including Medical Xpress and Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care.
What’s next Looking ahead, the Centre is planning to build on its impressive start and open up new avenues for research on, for example, the social history of parental determinism, the problem of generations, and differences and similarities in the development of parenting culture worldwide. Ellie adds: ‘We are pleased with what we have achieved over recent years. We hope, however, we can go much further in encouraging searching questions to be asked about the ways our culture restricts and limits parents, and other adults, from taking on responsibility for developing the next generation. ‘Most of all, we hope we can encourage others who have the opportunity to do so to use the tools and insights of sociology and other disciplines to bring the study of parenting culture to bear on intellectual life and public debate more widely.’ Find out more about the Centre at: http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/ parentingculturestudies/
New book on parenting culture Parenting Culture Studies, published by Palgrave MacMillan in March 2014, highlights the way that “good parenting” has come to be seen as a panacea for social problems. Featuring the research findings of four members of the University’s Centre for Parenting Culture Studies (CPCS) – Ellie Lee, Jennie Bristow, Dr Charlotte Faircloth and Dr Jan Macvarish – the book has key chapters covering the intensification of parenting, the rise of the parenting expert, the politicising of parent-child relationships, and the weakening of bonds between parents. It also contains five essays detailing contemporary obsessions with different aspects of parenting, including drinking and pregnancy, attachment theory, neuroscience and family policy, fathering and “helicopter parenting”. http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/ parentingculturestudies/resources/ cpcs-book-parenting-culture-studies/
‘My previous career was as a journalist, but I was keen to research issues in more depth. I began working with Ellie Lee on infant feeding, followed by research with Frank Furedi on intergenerational relations, and from there was inspired to begin my PhD on the problem of generations in the present day. I have gained an incredible amount of insight and support both from my colleagues at Kent and the wider network of CPCS associates, and I am very excited about our work going forward.’ Jennie Bristow
‘As a Master’s student in Political Sociology, I gained valuable insights from the module ‘The Family, Parenting Culture and Parenting Policy’ – convened by Dr Ellie Lee. I was particularly interested in the impact and implications of wider societal trends – such as the expanding remit of state intervention and consequent blurring of the boundary between the public and private spheres, and the privileging of expertise that prompts recourse to scientific evidence to justify policy decisions.’ Alicia Liddle
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Research
Study uncovers new approach to autism Kent research has revealed that autistic children who take part in drama and performance-based activities may demonstrate improved communication levels and interpersonal interaction. The ‘Imagining Autism’ research project involved children with autism engaging in a series of interactive sensory environments such as ‘outer space’, ‘under the sea’ and ‘the Arctic’. Each environment was designed for them to encounter a range of stimuli and respond to triggers created through lighting, sound, physical action and puppetry. Using trained performers in each of the environments, the work aimed to promote communication, socialisation, playful interaction, and creative engagement, encouraging the children involved to find new ways of connecting with the world around them. The research found changes in children’s behaviour, including changes in several areas identified as deficits in autism, such as social interaction and emotion recognition. The severity of autistic symptoms displayed by the children, which were rated by their parents and teaching staff, were also found to decrease significantly. All of the children who took part in the research showed at least some improvements on at least one of the measures used to monitor change during the research, with over three quarters of them showing changes to more than one. Furthermore, just under one third of children who took part in the project showed significant changes on a measure of social interaction. Substantial changes in children’s behaviour at home were also reported by some families. The research was conducted in special needs schools across Kent, including one residential school run by the National Autistic Society (NAS). The practical methods used in the project are currently being trialled at all NAS schools across the UK and are also being developed into training programmes for teachers, care workers, families, arts practitioners, and health professionals.
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Principal Investigator Professor Nicola Shaughnessy of the School of Arts, said: ‘Imagining Autism has been an extremely exciting collaboration producing a number of really interesting outcomes and new discussions between arts and science research. We are delighted that the extremely positive responses to the work from all involved with the project have been endorsed by statistical results.’ Unlike previous drama-based interventions, the study employed a variety of assessment techniques, undertaken by psychologists of the University’s Tizard Centre and School of Psychology. These included both formal, psychological research tools, such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale, alongside feedback from teachers and families whose children took part in the project. The methods used were developed by Professor Shaughnessy and co-investigator Dr Melissa Trimingham (School of Arts) – a drama and puppetry specialist who also designed the environments used in the project. The evaluation of the intervention was led by Dr Julie BeadleBrown (Tizard Centre) and Dr David Wilkinson (School of Psychology).
Anatomy of an asteroid revealed for first time Research at the University has revealed the complexity of the inside of an asteroid for the first time, helping to shed light on what happens when collisions occur in the Solar System and providing clues on how planets form. Using telescope facilities around the world, the research has found first evidence that asteroids can have a highly varied internal structure. By making extremely precise measurements the team of astronomers, led by Dr Stephen Lowry of the University’s Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, found that different parts of a near-Earth asteroid – called Itokawa – have different densities. The team obtained telescope images from 2001 to 2013 and, after applying very detailed analysis, Dr Lowry and colleagues measured the speed Itokawa spins and how its spin rate is changing over time. They combined these delicate observations with new theoretical work on how asteroids radiate heat. Along with knowledge of the asteroid’s shape, this provided the space scientists with a unique opportunity to explore its interior, revealing the complexity within its core and secrets about its formation. www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/ Anatomy_of_an_asteroid/2014
Research
Impact of invasive parrots
Leading role in Big Data project
A new research network aiming to understand the problems caused by parrots that have invaded cities has been launched by the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE).
The University has been positioned at the forefront of the UK’s Big Data network with the Government’s announcement that it will play a key regional role in a new Data Research Centre for Smart Analytics.
Comprising researchers from Kent, Imperial College London, and other UK partners, alongside scientists from Europe and beyond, the four-year research network – PARROTNET – will provide opportunities for researchers to discuss and explore the invasion dynamics, risks to agriculture, and societal problems posed by what are known as invasive parrots. PARROTNET aims to better understand why species such as parrots are highly successful invaders. It will explore ways to monitor and predict the various impacts – including economic and ecological – of these species across Europe, and the means to mitigate them. The network will also create a virtual European Monitoring Centre, based at Kent, for all invasive parrot species, making results available to the public and helping to inform policy. Dr Jim Groombridge, Reader in Biodiversity Conservation from DICE and Chair of PARROTNET, said: ‘The rose-ringed parakeet is listed among the top 100 worst alien species in Europe, and since the 1970s has rapidly established itself in over 100 cities across the continent and beyond, with recent evidence of explosive population growth in some regions of Europe. Given the extent of this problem, we expect that our findings will be of interest to both policy-makers and the general public.’
Kent will be working with the universities of East Anglia and Essex – which is leading the £5m Centre – as part of the Economic and Social Research Council-funded, five-year Big Data project, announced by Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts MP, on 6 February. The three universities together form the Eastern Academic Research Consortium (ARC), which is developing partnerships with business and local government. Big data is the term used for a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using traditional data processing applications. Operating as part of the national Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN), the Data Research Centres will make data – routinely collected by business and local government organisations – accessible for academic research in the social sciences, while safeguarding individuals’ identities. Kent data and analytics experts – including Professor Andrew Fearne and Dr Shaomin Wu (Kent Business School) and Professor Julien Forder (Personal Social Services Research Unit in SSPSSR) – will have access to valuable data collected and stored at the new Centre, based at the Essex Business School.
‘Beautiful but sad’ music can help people feel better New research from psychologists at the universities of Kent and Limerick has found that music that is felt to be ‘beautiful but sad’ can help people feel better when they’re feeling blue. The research investigated the effects of what the researchers described as Self-Identified Sad Music (SISM) on people’s moods, paying particular attention to their reasons for choosing a particular piece of music when they were experiencing sadness – and the effect it had on them. The study identified a number of motives for sad people to select a particular piece of music they perceive as ‘sad’ but found that, in some cases, their goal in listening is not necessarily to enhance mood. In fact, choosing music identified as ‘beautiful’ was the only strategy that directly predicted mood enhancement. Dr Annemieke Van den Tol, Lecturer in Social Psychology at Kent’s School of Psychology, explained that the study found that among the factors influencing music choice were its memory triggers for a particular event or time; its perceived high aesthetic value – which involves selecting music that the person considers to be beautiful; and music that conveys a particular message. http://bit.ly/1g0OhXm
Recent research awards Dr Tracy Kivell (School of Anthropology and Conservation), £998,249 from the European Research Council for ‘GRASP: The evolution of the human hand: grasping trees and tools’. Professor Mark Smales (Centre for Molecular Processing), £654,400 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council for ‘Bioprocessing Network: BioProNET’. Professor Stephen Peckham (Centre for Health Services Studies), £601,438 from the Department of Health for ‘Policy Research Unit in Commissioning and Healthcare System (PRU Comm)’. Dr John Batchelor (School of Engineering and Digital Arts), £441,579 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for ‘Sustainable digital fabrication of low energy pervasive wireless sensors’.
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Staff profile
Sally Apokis Sally Apokis (far right) joined us in September as Chaplain caring for the three universities at Medway – Kent, Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church. She has been in educational chaplaincy for 17 years and is committed to using the arts as a way of engaging with both students and staff. Over the past few months, she has been working alongside GK Unions, staff and students to establish a ‘Get Crafty’ society led by students, as well as a Campus Remembrance Day Service, Holocaust Memorial Day prayers, International Women’s Day celebrations, the habit of offering ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) and a women’s lunch group with academic staff. What would be your perfect day? A day on the Greek island of Santorini. What single thing would improve the quality of your life? I feel blessed with my quality of life. I find the language of ‘quality of life’ ends up being aspirational and often unachievable. Being content and finding peace in the very stuff of life while working for justice, peace, reconciliation and equity for all – that is my hope. Which word or phrase do you use most? ‘You are amazing and your middle name is Grace!’ What is your favourite item of clothing, either now or in the past? My 1990s burgundy Doc Martins. I wore them from 1990 to 1996 while studying Theology parttime and birthing three babies and being an outreach worker in an Inner City Melbourne Parish. I think Jesus would have worn Docs! What is your favourite TV/radio programme? I have a major crush on the art historian Andrew Graham Dixon – he has the capacity to tenderly, viscerally and exquisitely create through film the embodiment of the topic he is exploring. I’m also a big fan of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) whose political analysis and current affairs shows are world-class in their objectivity, analysis and unemotive incisiveness.
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Which country would you most like to visit? My husband is Greek Australian, we are both ‘culture vultures’ and together with our three children we have been blessed to travel the world. The place I am most intrigued to visit is the furthest Outer Hebridean island of St Kilda. I lived in Melbourne near an area called St Kilda, the avante garde part of Melbourne, and was always curious about the origins of its name. My imagination has been captivated by learning of these hardiest of peoples, who lived for the most part a totally isolated socialist communitarian lifestyle on this devastatingly windswept island until 1930. What (if anything) would you like to change about yourself? Not an iota! We are blessed with the bodies we are born with. I am a part-time artist’s model and have learnt so much about the beauty of the human body and its form, shape, substance, line, contours through sitting in the art class. What was your earliest ambition? To be like my racy aunt (think 1960s Bond girl!). To drive a red MG, chew gum and live in a flat in South Yarra (a posh part of Melbourne). What was your first/worst job? My first job at 14 was in the local ‘Milk Bar’ (a corner store in Australia). That was fun – filling sweet bags – one for the bag, one for me! My worst job was working in a fresh fish van while at university and smelling like a fish for most of the week!
How do you spend your time outside work? I have a wee home and garden cottage business ‘Ladybird and Sage’ – http://ladybirdandsage. webs.com/ – with a philosophy of seasonal, home-grown, beautiful things I can source for free and make with love. I also enjoy creating beauty in nature (garden design), writing poetry/blogs/online discourse, travel, family and friends across the world. What are your greatest achievements? A cross-cultural marriage and my three beautiful children, establishing five chaplaincy services here in the UK and Australia, and offering people hope and a future. How do you celebrate good news? I broadcast it via Facebook, sing it from the mountain tops and with a glass of sparkly! What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? It came from a Catholic nun I saw for spiritual direction, bemoaning the guilt I felt at not being good at anything – ministry, mothering, being a wife etc. She told me in a dispassionate way ‘Darling, guilt is a WASTED emotion.’ If a nun can give that advice – how liberating – I’m a guilt-free zone now!!!
Human Resources
Learning and Development Awards 2014 Around 130 staff across the University celebrated their learning and teaching achievements at a ceremony on 11 February. Award-winners were congratulated on their hard work over the last year by Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor David Nightingale. He said: ‘There is a huge number of people involved and it takes a great deal of energy and commitment to ensure that the University is a learning institution for all of us. By striving to do things better, you are making the University a much better place to work – as proved by our recent recognition, in Times Higher Education, as an institution that staff most enjoy working for.’ Awards were presented at the ceremony in the following categories: • Continuing Professional Development (CPD) • Staff volunteering • Erasmus staff placements • University leadership programmes • Consistent excellence in customer service – presented to Martin Wead (Day Cleaner in Keynes College) • Health & Safety • Language Express • IT. The awards, in the Darwin Conference Suite on Canterbury campus, were followed by a buffet lunch, sponsored by Kent Hospitality. A full list of award-winners and photographs of the ceremony are available online: www.kent.ac.uk/hr-learninganddevelopment/ documents/local/awards/awards14.html
A star learner! HR Adviser Alison Whelan is a regular attendee at the annual Learning and Development awards ceremonies – and this year was no exception. Alison (below), who supports staff within the Academic Division and Estates, was presented with three awards at this year’s ceremony – for completion of her Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Postgraduate Diploma, the University’s LPPSM professional services leadership programme and the PRINCE2 Project Management course. Alison joined HR at Kent in a clerical role in 2005 after many years as a pub manager. ‘It was a complete change of career,’ she said, ‘so I started studying for the CIPD qualifications to improve my HR knowledge.’ Initially, Alison supported her CIPD study herself, but as she has progressed through the various modules over six years’ study, the University has helped with funding and time off for study and exams. ‘The length of the course and committing to that degree of study while working full-time was quite painful,’ Alison admitted. ‘But as I came into HR relatively late, I felt a sense of urgency that I had to go for it. If I wanted to progress in my university career, I needed to demonstrate that I had the skills, expertise and dedication to do it.’ Alison is now having a well-deserved break from work-related study, but has recently enrolled on a nutrition course. ‘I am not very good at just sitting – I need things to keep me occupied,’ she said. ‘That’s probably why I’ve attended an awards ceremony each year I’ve been at the University!’
Welcome to our Interim HR Director Marion Fanthorpe joined us as Interim HR Director in March. She has a wealth of experience – working in HR and public service for over 20 years, most recently with Sussex Police. She has also had her own consultancy business and held a number of other interim jobs. As well as HR, Marion has a strong background in organisational development – with a particular interest in leadership development, and motivating and developing people by connecting them with the values and aims of the organisation. Marion is new to higher education and is finding it fascinating, but believes it faces many similar challenges to other organisations which have to find new ways of doing things with less funding. However, she says she is impressed with how forward looking and open to new ideas people at the University are. Her priorities, during her six-month interim appointment, are to bring a level of coordination and focus to the work of HR at Kent. ‘My overall aim,’ she says, ‘is to keep the momentum going on key projects and to prepare the ground for a future appointment.’ She adds: ‘I’m really enjoying it so far and have had a great first few weeks – everyone’s very open and friendly and Kent has a real collegiate feel.’ Marion is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and holds a Level 7 Executive Coaching qualification with the Institute of Leadership Management.
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Feature
50th anniversary celebrations
1965-2015 THE UK’S EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY
As the countdown clock ticks down the days until 1 October 2014 and the official opening ceremony for our 50th anniversary year, the exciting programme of special projects and events to mark this significant milestone in the University’s history keeps getting bigger and better. We have had a tremendous response from past and present students and staff, as well as members of the local community, who want to celebrate with us. All will have the opportunity to join us during the calendar of events commencing in October and running throughout 2015. All of Kent’s campuses in the UK and its centres across Europe will be fully involved in the celebrations. A charity trans-campus cycle ride will see a team of staff cycling between the University’s campuses and centres, including Paris, Brussels, and Rome. This is one of many fundraising events and volunteering activities which will support local charities. The School of History, staff within the Templeman Library and a group of student volunteers are busy gathering memories and photographs from Kent’s past. These projects will showcase the University’s heritage in public exhibitions and commemorative history books. Throughout the anniversary year, there will be musical performances and concerts, a series of exciting projects from Schools including art exhibitions, and Kent Union will attempt a Guinness World Record. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Mander said: ‘We are delighted to be able to confirm a dedicated programme of events to celebrate our 50th anniversary. ‘The array of different activities taking place will not only offer a whole host of people the chance of being involved, but also provide an opportunity to reflect on the success and achievements of the past 50 years and plan for the next 50. We’re looking forward to each of the projects getting underway as the official start of our anniversary approaches.’
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Campus2campus For the University of Kent Athletics and Cross Country Club, the adventure starts on 13 June 2014 when 12 runners begin a 200-mile marathon from the Canterbury campus to its Paris centre. We hope you will support them on their journey which will raise awareness of the University’s 50th anniversary year, showcase Kent sports and raise money for the Kent charity Pilgrims Hospices. You can follow the team’s progress on Twitter: @campus2campus14.
Share your memories We continue to capture your memories of Kent, see your photos of your time here, and hear more about what Kent means to you. Please contact us to share your memories or get in touch with us about any aspect of our 50th anniversary celebrations. Email: 50years@kent.ac.uk /unikent50
Diary dates • • • • • •
Opening Ceremony 1 October 2014 Foundation Day 20 November 2014 Congregations 19 and 21 November 2014 Worldfest March 2015 Congregations 7 and 13-17 July 2015 Alumni Reunion Weekend 4-6 September 2015
@UniKent50
Enterprise
University celebrates innovation and enterprise at annual awards
The high value placed on innovation and enterprise by the University has been celebrated at an awards evening to recognise the success of its academics and partner businesses and organisations. The Innovation Awards 2014 ceremony saw prizes being presented in four award categories by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, who spoke of the University’s many achievements in innovation and enterprise, and the impact they have had on individuals, the region and society. Held at the Canterbury Innovation Centre at the Canterbury campus on 5 March, the event was attended by staff, students and guests representing organisations and businesses that collaborate with the University. The Lord Mayor of Canterbury Heather Taylor, and the Chair of the University’s Council John Simmonds were also present.
Carole Barron, the University’s Director of Innovation and Enterprise, said: ‘Our annual Innovation Awards continue to go from strength to strength. The standard of entries this year was the highest we’ve seen and reflect the focus on innovation within all areas of University activity.’
Award-winners The ICE (Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise) Award, for an individual or organisation that has provided an outstanding contribution to the University’s innovation and enterprise agenda: DSTL (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory) and Dr Tim Hopthrow, School of Psychology.
Reeves and Professor David Shemmings, Centre for Child Protection, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. Impact Through Knowledge Exchange, for academics for a project whose impact has been demonstrated: Oracle Inc and Professor Michael Kolling, School of Computing. Early Career Researcher, for an early career researcher who could demonstrate the mutual benefit of external engagement in innovation and enterprise in 2013: Dr Nick Gore, Tizard Centre, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.
The Innovation Award, to recognise the contribution of University staff members, whether academic or professional services staff, who have developed innovative projects: Dr Jane KENT Magazine
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Kent in the news
Kent experts continue to feature strongly in international, national and regional news coverage. There have been contributions from, among others, the schools of Psychology; Biosciences; History; Anthropology and Conservation; Arts; and Politics and International Relations. Research findings, from Dr Annemieke Van den Tol, of the School of Psychology, that music that is felt to be ‘beautiful but sad’ can help people feel better when they’re blue (p9), appeared globally in news stories. Among the international news organisations running the story were the Hindustan Times, Oman Observer and the Malay Mail. UK national coverage included Mail Online and the Belfast Telegraph.
Featuring on BBC Radio 4 on 20 February was Professor Darren Griffin of the School of Biosciences. Professor Griffin appeared on the Today programme to discuss the implications for scientists carrying out genetic studies. Also featuring on BBC Radio 4, on the In Our Time programme, hosted by Melvyn Bragg, was Dr Charlotte Sleigh of the University’s School of History. Dr Sleigh discussed Social Darwinism as part of a panel discussion. Research from DICE, part of the University’s School of Anthropology and Conservation, featured on BBC South East on 3 March in an item focusing on a new research network, PARROTNET (p9), led by Dr Jim Groombridge with colleagues from countries across Europe.
The University’s pioneering Imagining Autism project (p8) was featured in a special news item on ITV Meridian on 20 March. The study, undertaken collaboratively by the School of Arts, Tizard Centre and School of Psychology, has investigated using drama and performancebased activity to see if children with autism can be helped to communicate more effectively. Professor Elena Korosteleva, one of the University’s leading international relations experts, has also been in demand from the media for comment on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. Among other coverage, she was interviewed by 15 different BBC regional radio stations over a two-hour period on 24 March.
Sport More people more active, more often I am delighted to report on the success of Kent Sport in this latest academic year. This follows completion of our most recent phase of the longterm plan for development of sports facilities and services with the aim of getting more people more active, more often. Although we planned for increases in numbers and footfall, the success of this development has exceeded our expectations. Kent Sport now has almost 7,500 student members, made up of a combination (roughly a third each) of: Kent Sport individual members, Kent Sport Inter College and Inter Mural Clubs/Events, and Students Union Sports Clubs (Team Kent). Student footfall between September 2013 and March 2014 has been unprecedented. We have seen 390,000 individual ‘booked’ student visits to Kent Sport facilities, which will obviously increase over the rest of the year. The demand for space and additional services is increasing as student expectations continue to rise, and more people become aware of the need to maintain or improve their health and wellbeing. School leavers are becoming more discerning as they often come from very well-
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equipped schools in terms of sports. There is greater pressure to expand and improve sports facilities, and clearly more to do. We are working hard to ensure the next phases of developments meet those expectations. This will help reinforce Kent’s strategic aims, particularly in relation to the student experience. It is an exciting time to be at Kent and I relish the challenges ahead. Graham Holmes Director, Kent Sport
Ultimate Karate Fighter’s Boot Camp The University is proud to announce the Ultimate Karate Fighter’s Boot Camp will be hosted by Kent Sport from 31 July to 2 August. This event is led by Wayne Otto OBE 5th Dan, who is ninetimes World Champion, nine-times European Champion, 18-times English Champion and a Kent alumnus. Also at the event will be Elisa Au Fonseca 5th Dan, three-times World Champion, four-times Pan American Champion, World Games Silver and Bronze Medalist and World Combat Games Silver Medalist. Alex Biamonti 5th Dan, six-times
World Champion, 19-times European Champion and 11-times French Champion, will also attend. The Boot Camp is for athletes with experience at regional, national or international level competitions, and will teach fitness and conditioning, training drills and routines, attacking and defensive techniques, fighting scenarios and strategies and more. For further details and to book your place visit www.kent.ac.uk/sports/karatecamp and email ukfbootcamp@gmail.com.
Book now for SummerZone SummerZone is the University’s affordable oneto two-week long summer sports camp for fiveto 12-year-olds, run by double Olympian Mel Clewlow. The energetic camp is packed with football, Kwik cricket, rugby, hockey, tennis and other activities and is led by qualified instructors. This year’s SummerZone takes place from Monday 11 to Friday 15 August and Monday 18 to Friday 22 August 2014, from 9am to 3pm with early drop-off, late pick-ups, day passes and discounts available. Bookings are being accepted now; for full details and the booking form visit www.kent.ac.uk/summerzone or call 01227 823623.
People
Congratulations Academy of Social Sciences award
AUA Co-ordinator appointment
Professor Glynis Murphy, Co-Director of the Tizard Centre at the University, is one of 28 social scientists to have recently been conferred the award of Academician by the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS).
Linda Lough, Faculty Administration Manager for Sciences, has been appointed as the Southern Regional Network Co-ordinator for the Association of University Administrators (AUA). As part of this role, Linda will engage with all the AUA members across the Southern region.
AcSS is the national Academy of academics, learned societies and practitioners in the social sciences. It has over 900 individual Academicians, who are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors. They are awarded this status after a peer group has reviewed the standing and impact of their work. Glynis Murphy was recognised for her work on intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Book Prize for Senior Law Lecturer Dr Emilie Cloatre, Senior Lecturer in Law at the Kent Law School (KLS), has been awarded the Hart Socio-Legal Book Prize 2014 for her book, Pills for the Poorest: An Exploration of TRIPS and Access to Medication in Sub-Saharan Africa. Awarded by the Socio-Legal Studies Association in recognition of outstanding socio-legal scholarship, the prize is the third to be won by an academic from KLS in consecutive years.
Silver award for Kent chefs
International Student Travel Award Jakob Deller, a PhD researcher from the School of Physical Sciences, has been named as a recipient of the Pierazzo International Student Travel Award 2014 for his research to demonstrate what happens when asteroids hit one another in space. Jakob Deller – who is currently on placement at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany – will be presented with his award at the 2014 International Department of Planetary Sciences American Astronomical Society (AAS) conference in Tucson, USA, in November 2014.
Chefs Rob Grimer and Eris Hoxha (left), based in the Beagle Restaurant, Darwin, have won the silver award in the 2014 TUCO Chefs’ Challenge. The chefs were tasked with producing a threecourse meal for two from a mystery box of ingredients, so there was no opportunity to practise beforehand. Twenty-one other universities took part in the competition and the gold award was won by Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Green Impact awards ‘Treemendous’ prizes were in store for Green Impact award-winners at Kent on 7 April. Each of the winning teams received a tree – birch, evergreen oak, English oak, European hornbeam, horse chestnut or beech – to replace those lost at the University in the recent storms. Full details of the awards will follow in the July issue of KENT Staff magazine.
All the fun of Worldfest
Hundreds of staff and students attended a variety of Worldfest events at the Canterbury and Medway campuses from 17 to 23 March.
The success of Worldfest week was made possible by the hard work of staff and students in organising celebratory activities and events.
Worldfest is all about celebrating diversity and multiculturalism at Kent. Celebrations this year included the Hindu spring festival of Holi and St Patrick’s Day activities. Staff and students were also able to sample food from across the world, learn dance from different cultures and listen to a diverse mix of live music at the ‘Big Tent Event’ on 20 March.
Worldfest is now embedded throughout the annual University calendar. Other events included ‘Europe Day’ (9 April) and, still to come, a Eurovision party in May. And we have already started planning for our biggest ever Worldfest celebration for Kent’s 50th anniversary next year! www.kent.ac.uk/worldfest
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What’s on
Music Sunday 8 June – Sunday 15 June, Summer Music. Watch out for all the exciting events in the Colyer-Fergusson Hall and foyer, around campus and beyond to celebrate our year of musicmaking at the University – including a Big Band Gala, concerts by the University Chamber and Cecilian Choirs, and daily lunchtime concert. The grand finale will be a sunny (we hope!), summery Sunday afternoon concert, including the University’s Concert Band, Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, and cream teas! Friday 27 June, Colyer-Fergusson Hall, 7.30pm, A Piano! Malcolm Binns has had a distinguished career as a solo pianist, both in the UK and internationally, playing frequently for the BBC and at the Proms, including three ‘Last Nights’. This concert will include works by Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann, as well as a new piece specially composed for him by John McCabe. Organised by the Former Staff Association in aid of the University of Kent Music Fund.
Gulbenkian Theatre Friday 25 April – Sunday 27 April, times vary, Watershed Productions present the BBC Worldwide and Polka Theatre production of Charlie and Lola’s Best Bestest Play. Stars of the hit BBC TV series and books by Lauren Child are brought to life by a magical mix of puppets, live action and music. Suitable for ages 3+. Wednesday 30 April, 7.30pm, Alex Gwyther in association with Theatre Bench present Our Friends, The Enemy. Private James Boyce tells the story of events during the Christmas Truce on the Western Front in 1914. Saturday 3 May, 7.30pm, Broken. Motionhouse’s brand new production examines our precarious relationship with the Earth, submerging highly athletic dance within intricate digital imagery and original music. Monday 12 May, 7.30pm, House and Snuff Box Theatre, in collaboration with Richard Jordan Productions, present Bitch Boxer by Charlotte Josephine, the story of 21-year-old Chloe’s bid for a title at London 2012.
Thursday 15 May, 7.30pm, Our Fathers, a new play about fatherhood by internationally acclaimed and award-winning theatre group Babakas. Friday 16 May – Sunday 18 May, times vary, 1001 Nights, a Transport/Unicorn production, devised and directed by Douglas Rintoul. This collection of the greatest folk tales ever told is reimagined by Shahrazad – a lively young girl who is torn between her old home in the East and her new life in England. Monday 26 May, 8.30pm/start 9pm, Gulbenkian Café, The Bills. Known the world over for their exquisite songcraft, superb arrangements and dynamic live performances, The Bills feature an all-star line-up of talent from Canada’s west coast. Friday 6 June, 7.30pm, Les Enfants Terribles Theatre Company presents Ernest & The Pale Moon. Inspired by the works of Poe and Hitchcock, Ernest is a spine-chilling tale of obsession and murder from the team behind the multi award-winning show, The Trench. Sunday 22 June, 3pm, Constellations. Multiaward winning international company Aracaladanza consistently delights audiences throughout Europe with their extraordinarily magical dance theatre made especially for children and families. Suitable for 4+. Sunday 29 June, 7.30pm, YolanDa Brown, double MOBO Award Winning Saxophonist and widely regarded as the emerging ‘voice’ of mainstream jazz in the UK.
Gulbenkian Film Friday 25 – Sun 27 April, Half a Yellow Sun (tbc). Tuesday 29 April, Stranger by the Lake (18). Tuesday 29 April, Exhibition on Screen: Munch 150 (recorded). Venue: Theatre. Friday 2 – Sunday 4 May, Only Lovers Left Alive (tbc). Friday 2 – Sunday 4 and Tuesday 6 May, Yves Saint Laurent (15). Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May, Labor Day (12A). Friday 9 – Sunday 11,Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15 May, The Double (15). Saturday 10 May, Muppets Most Wanted (U). Saturday 17 – Sunday 18 and Tuesday 20 May, Noah (tbc). Friday 23 and Sunday 25 May – Thursday 29 May, The Lunchbox (PG). Thursday 12 June, NT Live: A Small Family Business (live). Wednesday 18 June, 6.30pm, Berliner Philharmoniker (live). Sunday, 22 June, 2pm, Opera De Paris: La Traviata (recorded). Sunday 20 July, 5.30pm, Glyndebourne: Don Giovanni ( recorded).
Wednesday 2 July and Thursday 14 August, 7pm for 7.30pm start, Interactive Theatre International presents Faulty Towers The Dining Experience. Only one third of this two-hour show is scripted, so anything can happen as audiences take their seats in the ‘Fawlty Towers’ restaurant. Sunday 6 July, 9pm, doors 8.30pm, Café Live: Kolektif Istanbul, based on musical variance of Eastern Europe in the sense of traditional Turkish repertories.
University Events Calendar To find out more about these and other events across the University, click on: www.kent.ac.uk/calendar