Kent Magazine - June 2010 - University of Kent

KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | June 2010 | No 5

DICE: a pioneering institution Ancient and modern

Welcome Dear colleagues, At the time of writing, the new coalition government is finding its feet, and any implications for higher education in the UK are as yet unknown. What is certain though is that we are to face significant cutbacks in public funding over the next few years. However, here at Kent we are committed to maintaining excellence in the provision of both teaching and research. We should also be mindful of the considerable increased funding that we have had over the last 12 years and must continue to use that effectively.

We should also be grateful for the donations that we receive especially from our alumni and friends. The donation from the Colyer-Fergusson Trust will give us a wonderful opportunity to provide better facilities for those of our staff, students and friends who are active musicians and for all, both within and outside the University, who come to listen.

I recently met with many of our alumni in Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China, and I would particularly like to thank those alumni in Hong Kong who have generously funded scholarships for students from both Hong Kong and China. We are pleased that major donations have been received so that we can continue funding these studentships at previous levels. I am also pleased to announce that we have just been awarded a new scholarship by the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, which will offer a student from Hong Kong or mainland China the opportunity to undertake postgraduate study at the School of Arts.

As we go to press, most students are immersed in their exams and our thoughts are with them, particularly those final-year students who will shortly graduate in ceremonies in Canterbury and Rochester. It is a difficult time for those starting on their careers, but all the evidence still points to the fact that those who have degree-level qualifications are more likely to be employed than those who do not. Our Careers Advisory Service (CAS) not only offers a range of information, advice and guidance services to all students at the University, it also provides careers advice to alumni for up to three years after graduation. Alumni can also access the online vacancies database.

Despite the difficult climate, the University continues to develop its portfolio for the future, and this September the Fine Art department moves new provision to the Medway campus, with plans to move into the Fitted Rigging Store, a scheduled building at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, which is being specially converted. We have also just received the news that Kent has maintained its strong position in The Complete University Guide 2011, published in The Independent.

I want to end by thanking all staff, alumni and our members of Council who continue to support the University and its many activities. But above all, I look forward to meeting both our graduands when they take part in the congregations in July, and our alumni at the many excellent events that are held worldwide.

Professor Julia Goodfellow, CBE Vice-Chancellor

3 News 6 Feature: Ancient and modern 9 Profile 10 DICE: a pioneering institution 12 Music matters 13 Kent Union, Sports 14 Feature: Creative growth 17 Enterprise 18 Research 20 Kent in Europe 21 What’s on, In memoriam 22 Kent in the News, Who’s what where 24 ArtsFest Special thanks to: Lesley Farr and Chris Lancaster, University Design & Print Centre Photographs by Robert Berry, Nick Ellwood, Spencer Scott, Lesley Farr, Simon Jarratt

News

KENT We have set up a readers’ panel for staff. Please get in touch if you would like to become a member. We are keen to have your feedback and letters are welcome from all our readers.

Simply email the editorial team at kentmagazine@kent.ac.uk KENT is also available online at www.kent.ac.uk/campusonline/ kentmagazine Editorial team: Posie Bogan, Media & Communications Manger; Colette O’Reilly, Publications Officer; Fiona Jones, Alumni Relations Officer; Karen Baxter, Media Assistant, Communications and Development Office, University of Kent.

Next issue: the deadline for the next issue is 5 July, with a publication date of 28 July.

School of Arts building wins RIBA award The University’s new School of Arts building has won a prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Award.

The building – named after Derek Jarman, one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century – was chosen as one of just nine finalists in the south-east for the much-prized and long-running awards which celebrate the best examples of new architecture across the UK and Europe.

The winners were announced in each RIBA region on 20 May. The building’s architects are London-based Hawkins/Brown.

ICONS 2010 The University was proud to host the ICONS 2010 International Conference of Nigerian Students on its Canterbury campus on the weekend of 17-18 April. Kent’s own Nigerian students, the International Office and the XN Foundation (set up to empower and support Nigerian youth) welcomed over 200 Nigerian students from across the UK, as well as a number of distinguished speakers and guests.

The theme for the conference, Networking for Development, allowed for a diverse programme covering topics such as immigration, adjusting to western etiquettes, finding funding for your

research, and opportunities for Nigerian graduates and professionals.

On Saturday evening delegates enjoyed a Nigerian dinner, after which the Annual ICONS awards were presented. The evening continued with entertainment provided by the delegates, and a London-based Nigerian DJ. The conference was a great success with delegates impressed by the professionalism and warmth of the welcome they received from Kent staff and students. Please see www.kent.ac.uk/international/news/ icons_2010.html for further details of the conference.

Cover story DICE: a pioneering institution

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News

C4EO knowledge review

Kent Professor awarded Leadership Trust Foundation Fellowship

On 25 March, the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services (C4EO) published its knowledge review entitled ‘Effective practice to protect children living in “highly resistant” families’.

Professor David Shemmings, Chair of Social Work and Deputy Head of School for SSPSSR, contributed to this major review, working alongside colleagues from the National Children’s Bureau, one of the core partners in the C4EO consortium.

Professor Dennis Tourish, Deputy Director of Research at Kent Business School, has been appointed one of the founding fellows of the Leadership Trust Foundation.

The Foundation is an educational charitable trust, dedicated to the development and enhancement of leadership. To celebrate its 35th anniversary it founded the Fellowship of the Leadership Trust Foundation, recognising the achievements of a small number of people who have worked with the Trust or made a significant contribution to the study of leadership over the years.

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The focus of the review was working with vulnerable children in families that are resistant to change, and it indicates a number of recommendations to help practitioners work more effectively with such families.

Kent graduate takes centre stage at Barbican Kristin Fredricksson, who studied for an MA in Practice as Research Drama at the University between 2008 and 2009, will be performing in her own stage show, Everything Must Go at London’s Barbican Centre between 16 and 26 June. Kristin’s show is part of BITE, one of the UK’s leading theatre festivals.

Everything Must Go has already achieved wide critical acclaim, winning the Total Theatre Award for devised performance in 2009, and the Arches Brick Award at the Edinburgh Festival in the same year.

Kent reaches out Two recent initiatives undertaken by the School of Biosciences and the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science have aimed to inspire and widen the horizons of local school pupils and others in the community.

Students and researchers from Biosciences were involved in a local programme of National Science and Engineering Week activities, designed to help bring science to the public.

Pupils from local primary schools were treated to a series of colourful, interactive and thoughtprovoking activities at the Sustaining the Earth exhibition. During an action-packed visit, pupils collected and identified microscopic pond life,

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Top music producer proves a hit 2

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constructed a seasonal food chain, and conducted an experiment illustrating how microorganisms can be used to clear up toxic waste.

The activities were developed and run by postgraduate students from the School. Dr Dan Lloyd, Director of the MSc in Science, Communication and Society, said: ‘Our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees emphasise the importance of communicating science, and the responsibility that scientists have to make their work accessible to all. This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the work of our talented students and staff, and to talk face to face with people, young and old, about what science can bring to us all.’

The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science invited 20 gifted young mathematicians from across the county to attend a series of maths masterclasses. The workshops were part of a Royal Institution of Great Britain scheme to encourage young mathematicians and brought together pupils aged 12-14.

The highly interactive sessions introduced students to aspects of maths which are not usually covered in the school curriculum, and were extremely well-received by the participants.

The pupils were awarded certificates from the Royal Institution of Great Britain at the last class of the six-week series.

Maggie Rodford, who has worked as music producer, co-ordinator and supervisor on a wide range of hit film scores, including Atonement and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, delivered a special seminar to students from the Department of Music and Audio at Medway. She discussed her various roles in bringing music to Hollywood blockbusters.

As managing director of the Air-Edel Group, she is also responsible for the development and management of a large number of major composers from film and television, including John Powell (Green Zone), Patrick Doyle (Sleuth) and Christian Henson (Top Gear).

Clive Arundell, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Music and Audio, said: ‘Maggie’s whole career is illuminating. She proves how crucial it is to have a range of technical skills, and offered a glimpse of what sort of careers can be achieved by our students.’

Kent Hospitality awarded IiP Gold Following a recent reaccreditation assessment for Investors in People, staff in Kent Hospitality were thrilled to learn they had been awarded Gold status – the highest level of award.

40,000 UK enterprises, with a combined workforce of 7.5 million, are registered with IiP, and only 1% of these achieve Gold status. Kent Hospitality is the first enterprise in Kent to do so.

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Having been continuously recognised as an IiP organisation for the last 10 years, Kent Hospitality believes it has benefited in a number of ways, including: lower employee turnover than the sector average; continuing reduction in absenteeism to levels below that of the public sector; increased levels of staff satisfaction, as shown by surveys conducted in 2007 and 2010.

In thanking the department’s staff, Simon Westerman (Director of Commercial Services) said the achievement of the Gold standard would not have been possible without contributions from all Kent Hospitality staff.

Successes for Kent students Kent students Sam Gardner (School of Arts), Ryan Laird (School of Physical Sciences), Michael Carter (School of Computing) and Christopher Choy (School of History) all had cause for celebration earlier this year.

Drama student Sam made it through to the semifinals of the Chortle Student Comedy Awards 2010. This year saw a record number of participants in the Awards, inspired by the success of previous winners who have gone on to make their mark on TV and radio.

PhD student Ryan was shortlisted for a Sir Arthur Clarke award. Known as the space equivalent of the Oscars, the awards provide recognition for those who have worked for the advancement of space exploration.

Computer Science student Michael Carter was awarded the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (Kent Branch) prize for the best performance in Stage 1 Computing for 2008-09 academic year.

The BCS is a chartered body which represents professionals working in IT and computing in the UK. It promotes wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice, and has over 70,000 members.

Finally, War Studies student Christopher was awarded first prize in a national essay competition run by The Society for Army Historical Research. The Society launched the essay competition, which was open to all university undergraduates and sixth-form students, to encourage interest in military research.

Congratulations to all.

Kent student volunteers to create Penny Spider Stage Spiders, a student-run children’s theatre company at the University, is holding a ‘penny mile fundraiser’ to help support a volunteering trip to Africa. The students aim to collect 79,278 pennies, the number required to make one mile.

They will lay them out in the shape of a spider on Saturday, 5 June.

Money raised will enable six student volunteers to teach in South Africa and Mozambique this summer. The group will hold drama workshops in schools and orphanages where the current ratio is one teacher to every 74 pupils.

Donations can be made now in selected outlets on the University’s Canterbury campus, including Essentials, Mungos, KBar and Origins.

Kent Child Development Unit launched Kent’s School of Psychology has launched its new Kent Child Development Unit (KCDU) with a call for parents and children to get involved.

Based at a vibrant new child- and parent-friendly facility at Keynes College on the Canterbury campus, KCDU will study child development from the age of 18 months through to school age and beyond.

The key questions it aims to answer include: how do children learn their first language; how do children decide who to learn from; why and when do they learn from their peers; and how do young children learn conversational conventions?

Kent Child Development Unit launched Top music producer proves a hit Kent graduate takes centre stage at Barbican Sports scholars land double honours

Masterchefs!

A team of Kent Hospitality chefs from across campus recently took part in The University Caterers’ Organisation (TUCO) Chefs’ Challenge and was delighted to win the award for best main course. Teams from universities throughout the UK competed and the challenge was to cook a four-course meal in two hours, made up of a vegetarian amuse bouche, a starter using pasta, a main course using Gressingham duck breast and a dessert using pear and chocolate. Kent’s winning dish was a duck breast with its own faggot accompanied by a fresh fig and vanilla chutney. You can sample some of our chefs’ award-winning food at the Beagle restaurant in Darwin (ring the Conference Office on 8000 to make a booking).

Sports scholars land double honours Two Kent students won gold medals at the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) national championships in March. Kimberley Hughes triumphed in karate, while Jason Plowman was awarded the top prize for trampolining.

Kimberley, 21, now has her sights fixed on the world university championships in July, where she hopes to compete for Great Britain, while Jason, 23, has ambitions to join Cirque du Soleil when he graduates in July. Kimberley and Jason have both received sports scholarships during the past three years.

Dr Abbot-Smith and the KCDU team would like as many parents and children as possible to get involved. ‘It’s really important that we have a wide range of volunteers across the age groups,’ she said. ‘Studies usually involve only a single visit, and parents are always encouraged to stay with their children. There is total confidentiality and should anyone wish to leave a study they may do so at any time. When the study is over, the child receives a KCDU Young Scientist certificate, a balloon and their choice of a small toy.’

All KCDU studies have received ethical clearance from the Faculty of Social Science Ethics Committee at the University, and its staff have been cleared by the Criminal Records Bureau to work with children. For further information see: www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/childdevelopmentunit or call 01227 827424.

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Feature

Ancient and modern University of Kent academics are using digital technology to increase access to many ancient and valuable documents, helping unlock the information they contain, writes David Clark

Stored away in the Canterbury Cathedral Archives is a treasure trove of rare and valuable historical documents. Some of them date as far back as the eighth century and there’s a wealth of material from the Middle Ages onwards. They include church and Cathedral records, parish registers, maps, personal archives and a huge variety of other local records and manuscripts.

Access to these often fragile documents, which have been filed at the Cathedral for centuries, has traditionally been limited. Now the first stage of an innovative project has been completed to make them much more accessible to the general public and to help specialist researchers to examine the information they contain.

The project, known as DocExplore, is being developed by Professor Michael Fairhurst, Dr Richard Guest and research assistant Dr Yiqing Liang from Kent’s School of Engineering and Digital Arts, together with Dr Catherine Richardson from the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies. They are being assisted by Dr Mark Bateson and Dr Malcolm Mercer at the Canterbury Cathedral Archives and are working in conjunction with researchers at the University of Rouen and the Bibliothèque de Rouen Archives.

The work carried out by this Anglo-French partnership is funded by the EU’s INTERREG IVA France (Manche)-England programme. It’s an initiative which enables different regions around

Europe to work together and share expertise on mutually beneficial social, economic and environmental projects.

Michael Fairhurst, Kent’s Professor of Computer Vision, explains that the idea for DocExplore grew naturally from the work he and his research group carries out at Kent. ‘Essentially, the Image and Information Engineering Group is involved with making computers work intelligently, particularly in relation to understanding visual input,’ he says.

‘We’re very keen on analysing images – medical images, for example – but we’ve also had a long-standing interest in using computers to automatically read handwritten documents.

That has got us into the area of more general electronic processing of documents, and one form of document is historical manuscripts.’

The Kent research team decided to investigate the possibility of electronically exploring the rich local store of manuscripts held at Canterbury Cathedral. As part of the process of making these documents accessible to everyone, they chose to use an advanced form of the touchscreen technology one might find at a tourist information centre or at an airport check-in desk.

‘In this case, we use this kind of technology to simulate, as much as possible, the experience of actually handling a document,’ explains Michael.

‘When you “pick up” a document electronically in this way, you can turn the pages and actually run your finger over them.

‘If your finger goes over an area of interest in the document that the archivist has pointed out, that area is automatically highlighted and you can

pull up a commentary about it. So you can explore a document, you get told things about it that are very interesting and you start to learn much more about it.’

It’s therefore a system that allows individuals not only to examine original historical documents but also to simultaneously access today’s insights into their purpose and meaning. ‘DocExplore allows an archivist, museum curator, historian or librarian to interact with the document, to say which parts they want highlighted and to input metadata,’ says Michael. ‘It can capture experts’ experience and knowledge and apply it directly to any historical document.’

Michael envisages three levels of user for DocExplore. The first would be a casual user, for example someone who is looking at a document as part of an interactive display at the Cathedral.

The second would be someone who might want to explore in more detail documents such as parish registers as part of a project to investigate their own family history. The third group would be academics and scholars who wanted to carry out a more advanced and detailed historical study of a particular document.

‘In its complete form, DocExplore will provide a wide range of interactive tools for document processing,’ he says. ‘Some will be very basic and general to help give easy, convenient, pleasurable and exciting access to everybody.

They will include text and images as well as sound and video resources. However, some will be much more sophisticated tools and will help the study of these documents in a way which perhaps is very difficult now.’

Continued overleaf

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Feature

Alumni profile

Sunny Jassal UKM2006 Law

These more sophisticated tools might, for example, help decipher particular words, offer complete transcripts or assist the automatic translation of a document. They could allow the user to date the paper by examining the watermark, to look at its texture or recognise the writer. Additionally, they could provide ways of understanding when and why particular documents have been annotated or altered by someone else at a later date and to provide links between different documents.

To establish the viability of DocExplore, the team have worked on documents that are relevant to both the UK and France. In particular, they have worked on processing one of the Cathedral Archives’ unique historical treasures, the handwritten diary of John Bargrave (1610-1680).

Bargrave, a former Canon of Canterbury Cathedral, had a great appetite for travel and not only toured the UK but also visited France, Italy and North Africa, and has left us detailed and fascinating notes on his travel experiences.

Michael says that working with this document has offered the opportunity for some valuable inter-faculty collaboration at Kent. ‘Catherine Richardson has added the important dimension of historical scholarship to the project and has given us very useful metadata on the Bargrave diary,’ he continues. ‘We’ve brought together very different areas of expertise in this work and it’s been refreshing to have that sort of link between academic disciplines.’

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Now that the one-year Scoping Study has been completed, the team has arrived at a basic working version of DocExplore which will hopefully be developed further at the next stage of the project.

In its current form, the DocExplore pilot system can only provide document access via computers based at a particular archive, museum or library. However, the next stage of the project will also consider how this may be adapted for delivery via the internet.

‘So far, we’ve just been exploring ideas while trying to get a specification for the system and looking at the nature of the tools,’ says Michael.

‘We’ve been talking to a range of specialists to find out what tools will be needed to make this a valuable system and to explore the technical framework within which it could work.

‘We’ve now used all of those results to formulate a more detailed bid for a project that would take about two and a half years to move from the idea to the implementation of a working system. We’re currently waiting to hear the outcome of that bid.’

If further funding is agreed, DocExplore will be further developed and refined. In its completed form it will make the Canterbury Cathedral archives accessible in a new and exciting way.

Furthermore, it could potentially be applied to documents in museums, libraries and archives around the world, thereby breathing new life into currently under-used but potentially fascinating historical resources.

The past few years have been momentous ones for Kent Law graduate Sunny Jassal. During this time he began an Access to Law course at MidKent College, before studying for his full degree at the University of Kent.

An active Law Clinic member while at Kent, Sunny founded the Medway branch of the Critical Lawyers’ Group and was vicepresident of the Medway Law Group. He also founded the Universities of Medway Asian Society, co-founded the Amnesty International Student Society and helped set up The Argument law journal. Sunny, 35, recently gained a place on the International Bar Association’s Legal Internship Programme.

As a mature student, what inspired you to enter the word of education?

When I reached my 30th birthday I reflected on my achievements and future goals. I have always had a thirst for knowledge, but had never found the right field. My family told me that I had a skill for debating and negotiating, so I thought Law would be an ideal occupation. MidKent College was offering free Access to Law courses – this was a fast track to a university education which didn’t cost anything. I had nothing to lose so I enrolled, and haven’t really looked back.

Why did you choose Medway for your studies?

Above all, I made lots of friends who I believe will be in my life until the very end. The list is endless.

I was offered places at other universities, but a chat with Ian Grigg-Spall (Academic Chair) convinced me that Kent was the appropriate choice. Being at Medway also meant that I did not have to relocate, and could continue working.

You have landed a placement on the International Bar Association’s Legal Internship Programme, working within the area of human rights. Tell us about this.

Throughout my degree the staff at Medway were absolutely superb. They understood my working situation and were supportive – if I was unable to attend a seminar in the morning, for example, they allowed me to attend an evening seminar.

What were the highlights of your time at university?

I have many memories that I cherish dearly.

Taking part in the first ever intercampus rowing race was an amazing experience. I learned about a sport I would never have tried if I had not attended university. The training was tough, especially during the winter months, but I made some good friends. We all knew that we were making history and were hoping that one day the race could be as big as the Oxford-Cambridge boat race!

Meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace as part of the delegation receiving the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher andFurther Education for the work of Kent Law Clinic is also a moment that I will treasure, alongside representing my first client for the Law Clinic.

The International Bar Association (IBA) is a leader in the field of international law. It has also created the Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), which has been conducting exciting work all over the world.

For example, IBAHRI has created the Independent Afghan Bar Association with the help of Afghan politicians and legal personnel, which will help to build a proper legal structure in Afghanistan.

Every week I learn about new laws from different countries. One of my tasks is to write a weekly brief on the current situation in Kenya regarding the creation of a new constitution. I also have to write a letter once a week to a head of state in a country that still applies the death penalty. I work directly under the Executive Director of the IBA who gives me work ad hoc – sometimes with extremely short deadlines! This work includes preparing briefs for him before he is interviewed by news organisations such as CBC or CNN about, for example, the Serbian submission of the Massacre of Srebrenica, or the ICC agreement to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of post-election violence in Kenya.

Is human rights something you want to be involved with in your career?

Definitely. It is an exciting area that encompasses all aspects of law. One day I could be working in criminal law, the next medical or media law, and there are some big violators of this area globally.

What are your plans for the future?

I had a break from study this year to earn and save some money to go towards my Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). However, so that my brain didn’t go stale from lack of legal stimulus, I decided to study for the New York Bar. This will give me an advantage when competing for a Pupillage, as I will be dual qualified. If all else fails, I can go to the USA to practice.

In September 2010 I will take my BPTC at the College of Law. Upon completion in 2011, I will take a Master’s in International Law of Human Rights and Criminal Justice at Utrecht University. I then hope to acquire a pupillage and eventually practice in an international law capacity with an emphasis on human rights and criminal law.

Finally, tell us something that most people don’t know about you.

I have completed three marathons and am now training to do my fourth in Berlin – not bad for a 35-year-old mature student!

Sunny was talking to Nick Ellwood.

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DICE

DICE: a pioneering institution The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), part of the School of Anthropology and Conservation, was established at Kent 20 years ago. From the beginning, DICE has pioneered a simple but groundbreaking approach: conserving nature through change on the ground and local involvement.

DICE’s mission • to break down the barriers between the natural and social sciences in conservation • to build capacity with a focus in the biodiversity rich developing countries • to focus on scientific research which informs practical implementation Biodiversity, the stunning variety of life on Earth, is being lost at an unprecedented rate. The extinction crisis, of which we have been hearing for some time, is truly upon us: Ebola is cutting a swathe through the remaining populations of gorillas, climate change is pushing the Cape Floral kingdom off the bottom of the continent,

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and the last iconic Yangtze River dolphin may well already be dead. The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, and there is global recognition that more must be done.

To meet this 2010 challenge and commemorate DICE’s first 20 years we are working to establish a Scholarship Fund for areas with critical conservation crises but few funding opportunities.

DICE has trained over 500 postgraduates from 80 countries, many of whom have won international awards for their outstanding contributions to conservation. Most of them

have returned to their home countries to run conservation projects or have moved into influential conservation roles across the world.

DICE aims to increase the number of international students it teaches every year. This year, for example, places were offered to excellent students from Haiti, Qatar, Mauritius, Sudan and China – all countries facing enormous threats to their biodiversity – but none could find funding. DICE aims to help these people to come to Kent. There can be few better, more sustainable or cost-effective ways to invest in long-term conservation than through scholarships.

DICE

Profile Akoi Kouadio E99 1962 – 2009 Akoi Kouadio began his career as a young Officer of the Ivorian Ministry of Water and Forests, serving as Assistant Director of the Azagny National Park. After four years at the Azagny Park, Akoi chose to pursue his true passion: the conservation of manatees.

The African Manatee is the least known of all the Sirenians – the unique group of manatees and dugongs that are the only herbivorous marine mammals in existence. Popularly known as the sea cow due to their cumbersome, cow-like appearance, they are in fact perfectly suited to their aquatic habitat. They are found in rivers, estuaries and coastal regions of West Africa and graze peacefully on water plants.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species lists the African Manatee as Vulnerable. Although it is illegal, the hunting of African manatees for their meat, skin, bones and oil has been significant, causing dramatic population decline in certain areas. Further threats include entanglement in fishing nets and habitat loss.

At the beginning of 1989, Akoi developed the Wildlife Conservation Society’s West African Manatee Conservation and Education Project in the coastal lagoons of Côte D’Ivoire close to Azagny. Over the next few years he conducted research and worked closely with leading experts to develop a manatee conservation project, including the establishment of an educational programme for the local fishing communities, sponsoring story-telling competitions and inspiring nature clubs. His work also continued in Azagny National Park, which

includes important populations of elephants, West African chimpanzees and pygmy hippopotamuses.

Akoi acted as Co-ordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Coastal Wetland and Biodiversity Conservation Project, based in Côte D’Ivoire, from 2003. While managing this project, Akoi was awarded his PhD by DICE in 2004.

Akoi sadly passed away in August 2009, in Côte D’Ivoire. Many of his colleagues recall his remarkable ability to build friendships across cultures and communities, making him a powerful and very effective environmental teacher and conservationist.

‘A truly dedicated individual, and a champion of conservation, Akoi will be missed tremendously,’ said John Robinson, the Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science at the WCS. ‘His death creates a void in the sphere of conservation of aquatic mammals, especially the West African manatee. The commitment he showed to conservation is unmatchable. The Wildlife Conservation Society has lost a great colleague.’

DICE Scholarships Appeal DICE aims to create a permanent endowment capable of awarding scholarships for our taught Master’s programmes. These would go to outstanding postgraduate students from regions where DICE believes increased capacity could make the greatest difference to conservation – particularly selected countries within in Africa, Asia and the Americas where no scholarship programmes are currently offered.

By making a donation to the DICE Scholarships Appeal you will be investing in the future of biodiversity.

For more information visit www.kent.ac.uk/dice

Dr Susanna Paisley, Director of Development for DICE, said: ‘Dr Akoi Kouadio was a true hero who epitomised DICE’s unique pragmatic approach. He returned home to Côte D’Ivoire after completing his PhD at DICE determined to develop solutions to the many threats the manatees face in West Africa. Akoi had an extraordinary talent for working closely with people from many backgrounds and his dedication as a conservationist was a real inspiration to all who met him.’

www.kent.ac.uk/dice/

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Music

Music matters Deputy Director of University Music Daniel Harding joined the University in May 2008. In March this year he launched a blog, Music Matters, reflecting on music-making at the University, as well as wider musical issues.

Mitesh Khatri

It gave me a release from the academic side of being at university, and provided me with the opportunity to continue doing something I had already been doing, and that I already enjoyed.

Since being at Kent, and partly because I was so heavily involved with music, I’ve never really looked back, I’ve continued to have lessons and sing with amateur groups, went on to do a postgraduate degree, and aim to make singing my career.

With the Colyer-Fergusson centre for Music Performance developing apace, in conjunction with the award-winning firm of Tim Ronalds Architects, alumni will be able to follow progress on the project and find out about plans for musicmaking in the new building in the Building the future: music at Kent column.

Music Matters is a great way of reflecting on all the aspects of music-making going on at Kent,’ says Daniel Harding. ‘With no dedicated facilities or performance space for music at the moment, rehearsals and concerts occur all over the campus wherever space can be found. There’s often a misconception that University musicians simply turn up on the day, run through repertoire, give the concert and then go home afterwards!

Hopefully the blog will capture some of the energy and enthusiasm surrounding all the efforts involved in music at Kent, and offer a snapshot each week of the various projects taking place.

‘I’d like to thank Mick Norman and Denys Andrianjafy for their guidance and support in setting up Music Matters; it would be a lesser beast without them!’

What was your most memorable musical experience at Kent ?

When were you at Kent?

2002 – 2005

What subject did you study?

Computer Systems Engineering

What occupation are you now engaged in?

Music – currently finishing my second year at the Birmingham Conservatoire. I’m hoping to stay in the music industry as either a teacher or, preferably, an opera singer.

Do you participate in any musical experiences now?

Yes, lots!

One highlight is the regular alumni feature, Was it good for you? which profiles some former students who were involved in music at Kent, from soloists to orchestral players, Chamber Choir members and conductors, and Music Society committee members. Mitesh Khatri (R02) was one of the recent alumni to be featured. Visit Dan’s blog at blogs.kent.ac.uk/music-matters/ to see the rest!

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What did you gain from your University music experience, and has this helped you in any way since leaving Kent?

How were you involved in music at Kent?

I sang with the University Chorus and Chamber Choir, both for three years. I was also assistant conductor to the Chamber Choir for one year. I was involved with the Music Society for all three years, and I also received a bursary for singing lessons for three years. I was also a member of a barbershop quartet, called Fortunes (or possibly FourTunes, I’m not sure which!).

In December 2003 we gave a performance of Carmina Burana in Eliot College, and I was the tenor soloist. That was my first solo experience with a full orchestra and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ll never forget it. There were also a number of Cathedral concerts in my final year, the University’s 40th anniversary. The ones that stick out are Verdi’s Requiem and Elgar’s Nimrod Variations. I have to also say that everyone I worked with was so friendly and it was all so much fun!

What advice would you give to current musical students at the University?

Don’t underestimate what you can get from people like Susan Wanless (Director of University Music), both on a musical and a personal level.

She’s put her heart and soul into music-making at Kent and she does a terrific job. It’s not easy to find such a variety of musical opportunities outside university life. If you want to try your hand at something musical or if there’s a chance to do something you’ve always wanted to do but never been able to, then Kent’s the place to do it.

Because Kent doesn’t have its own music degree or department, anyone can get involved with projects and productions, and people do it for fun and to enjoy it, not to prove themselves. Everyone worked together, and had a great time doing it.

So just dive in and see what you can find!

Kent Union

President wins second term Earlier this year students at Kent re-elected Helen Wood as President of Kent Union. Here she explains why she chose to stand again and looks forward to the year ahead.

The past year as President of Kent Union has gone really fast. The wake-up call for the end of my term in office came when the nominations for the new officer positions for 2010-11 opened in late February. At that point I realised that I was not ready to leave as I had too much left to do.

I found running a re-election campaign a lot easier than running my first campaign. I was able to reflect on what had worked well, what students want from their students’ union and how the Higher Education sector is changing throughout the UK. Combining all these things I drew up a set of manifesto pledges that I believe will really deliver for students. They included greater support for international students, protecting student’s rights in community housing legislation and looking into launching a letting shop run by Kent Union.

The problem with being part of a sabbatical team that changes every year is that you don’t see the projects that you have worked so hard on completed and this was another reason why I decided to re-run for President. I wanted to see the Venue refurbishment project completed; make clear progress on a Kent Union democracy review; and ensure that the change in governance arrangements and registering as a charity is completed.

In addition to these projects, during my year in office I ran a successful transport campaign, and sexual health awareness and crime awareness campaigns with our Vice-President (Welfare). These campaigns need to be run annually to be effective, and with my re-election they will be. I have learnt a lot through my year in office and am ready to use this experience to better represent students and am pleased that the membership thought the same.

I could not have asked for a better start to my working life. In some ways this year’s and next year’s experience is better than my degree.

Although there are many ups and downs in this job – it is not all roses – I would never swap my

role. I can confidently say that as well as wanting to finish what I started and seeing projects run for the second time, working for Kent Union is a great privilege. The sabbatical officers and many volunteers are lucky enough to work with talented staff members who make you feel involved in the Union from your first day. I know that I will treasure my experiences at Kent Union for a long time.

There is not a lot left to say, apart from roll on next year!

Sports Race for Life 27 June 2010 at 11am Sign up for amazing moments and take part in Race for Life 2010 here at the University of Kent on Sunday 27 June 2010. Enter now and be one of 1800 women who will walk, jog or run 5k to help Cancer Research UK smash their fundraising target of £95,000. Have a great day out with your family and friends and help more people beat cancer.

For further details and to enter, please visit www.raceforlife.org.

Don’t forget… SummerZone As mentioned in the last issue of Kent, the Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Department’s week-long summer camps, SummerZone, will return in August. The camps run from Monday 16

August to Friday 20 August and from Monday 23 August to Friday 27 August. They are run by double Olympian Mel Clewlow and offer week- or day-long fun and learning for children aged five-12years.

Packed with activities including: football, kwik cricket, rugby, hockey and tennis, the camps start at 9am and finish at 3pm daily. The kids are supervised by qualified and CRB-checked instructors. SummerZone costs just £109 per week or £30 for a day (per person). There are also discounts for friends and family, two-week bookings and University of Kent staff bookings.

We offer early drop-off, late pick-ups and lunch options, all of which are excellent value.

To book, or for further information, email sportsenquiries@kent.ac.uk or call 01227 827673, or visit www.kent.ac.uk/sports/summerzone

Participants in last year’s Race for Life

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Feature

Creative growth As the University’s School of Arts launches its first major festival in June, KENT magazine reflects on what is rapidly becoming one of the leading university art departments.

These are exciting times for the School of Arts.

This year marked the completion of the brand new state-of-the-art Jarman building, which houses the School on the Canterbury campus. It includes a range of first-class facilities such as drama and film studios, computing and editing suites, and a large art gallery. The building, which has recently won a prestigious RIBA Award, has already been a huge success with staff and students, as it brings together drama, film and art, promoting interdisciplinary teaching and research.

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To celebrate this new stage in the School’s development, it is staging a three-day festival showcasing the work of its staff and students.

This unique festival will run between 14 and 16 June and will feature a range of innovative events, from live art, film screenings and installations to theatre, exhibitions, physical performances and puppet shows. (See www.kent.ac.uk/arts for more information.)

Dr Nicola Shaughnessy, Acting Head of School, describes the festival as an opportunity for the public to see the work of many award-winning

students and companies before they go onto the wider national and international stage. As she puts it, it’s ‘a wonderful opportunity to see our future stars’.

The School, which has departments at Canterbury and Medway, has in the past year received high praise across a number of national surveys. The Good University Guide 2010 rated Kent as 6th in the UK for Art and Design, The Complete University Guide 2009 rated Drama 7th nationally, and the National Student Survey ranked Film in the top 4, with Drama also placed

Feature

in the top 20. In addition individual students and members of staff have won awards across the range of disciplines housed in the School.

According to Professor Paul Allain, Head of Drama and Theatre Studies: ‘We have a commitment to ensuring drama students are creating professional practice that is at the forefront of the discipline, inspired by the best in European theatre. Our students are continuing to infiltrate and shape both commercial and fringe theatre and performance across the world.’

There’s no better example of this than Kristin Fredricksson, who last year graduated in MA Practice as Research, and took the Edinburgh Fringe by storm with a moving tribute to her father. The show, based on her MA performance Everything Must Go, received the Total Theatre Award in 2009 for the best devised piece, as well as the Arches Brick Award offered to the best emergent artist. Everything Must Go is touring nationally and internationally this year, and will culminate in a two-week run at London’s Barbican Centre.

Another Kent graduate, Georgina Rae, now works in Cape Town, project managing the new Athol Fugard Theatre. Georgina was quick to point out that what she learned on the UK’s first Master’s-level programme in Creative Producing was invaluable. ‘Without the knowledge and experience passed to us from Dermot O’Brien and the guest lecturers, I know I would not be

here,’ she said. Paul Allain said: ‘Many of our staff are themselves professional practitioners, with Gary McCann most notably having recent success with a transfer of his stage design for The Pitmen Painters to Broadway, and an upcoming design for the famous Market Theatre of Johannesburg.’

As well as individual successes, students past and present have also formed companies which have already begun to make their mark, such as the Little Bulb theatre company and Accidental Collective, which provides entertainment at corporate and private events, as well as educational workshops and schemes.

Paul Allain has also received an International Research Network Leverhulme Grant for furthering staff and research links with the Moscow Art Theatre School, in a two-year project which began in September 2008. This will build on Drama’s successful student exchange, which is now in its fifth year, and will be part of the European Theatre Research Network’s activities.

This September will also see a symposium with the Royal Shakespeare Company on the subject of movement training for actors. These collaborations follow on from his British Grotowski project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which included exhibitions at the National Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre.

The School of Arts is also involved in a range of high-impact projects in educational, community and corporate contexts. This year these have included an interdisciplinary project at the University between Drama, the Tizard Centre and Psychology on autism research, as well as collaborations with Anthropology and Psychology on drama in the workplace.

Lecturers Sian Stevenson and Jayne Thompson work with individuals who suffer from dementia, and their carers. Their performance, Moving Memory, is presented as part of the forthcoming Slipstream festival.

In collaboration with the Gulbenkian Theatre, the School has launched a pioneering scheme for Kent graduates interested in establishing professional theatre companies within the region.

As part of the scheme two companies are offered residencies, one based in the Gulbenkian Theatre and one in the School of Arts. The successful companies can take advantage of office facilities and rehearsal space, as well as mentoring in administration, marketing, business management and funding, as the aim of the scheme is to support their development into professional, autonomous arts organisations.

Among the Jarman Building’s most impressive features is Studio 3 Gallery, the University’s first dedicated gallery space – which, according to its curator, Dr Ben Thomas, ‘has elevated the exhibition culture on campus to another level’.

Continued overleaf

The School of Arts ranks as one of the two best departments in the country for the quality of the research of its staff. Thirty-five per cent of the School’s research has been recognised as world-class (4*) in relation to its originality, significance and rigour, and a further 35 per cent as internationally excellent (3*). This places research at the School of Arts among the very best in the country, with both the published research and practice-as-research elements of the submission being recognised as outstanding.

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Feature

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, The Art of Lithography, was based on loans from two significant private collections, and attracted national press attention. It will transfer to the Strang Print Room at University College London, beginning a regular exchange of exhibitions with one of the capital’s principal collections of the graphic arts. The current exhibition, Krikey!

Kentemporary Prints, is the work of History & Philosophy of Art students who negotiated the loan of works by Frank Auerbach, Peter Blake and Tracey Emin from prominent art dealers – something that would have been inconceivable when the visual arts were displayed in stairwells and corridors.

Dr Thomas added: ‘The gallery enables the School to build on existing strengths like the Kent Print Collection and its partnership with Canterbury museums, and to provide a regular and eclectic schedule of museum-standard exhibitions of art to the Canterbury campus.’

Film Studies has been taught at Kent for over 30 years, in which time it has undergone numerous changes to its identity. As course director Dr Peter Stanfield summed up: ‘Filmmaking modules have been part of the programme for the past decade, but with the arrival from New

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Zealand of Virginia Pitts in January to work alongside Sarah Turner and Clio Barnard, and with the new facilities in the Jarman Building, we can boast of human and material resources that are the envy of every other Film Studies course in the country.’

All three filmmakers are award winners. Sarah’s latest film Perestroika was featured in last year’s London Film Festival, Clio’s film The Arbor recently won the New York Tribeca award for best new documentary filmmaker, and Virginia’s films have been shown at numerous international festivals including Berlin and Montreal.

One of the School’s most exciting developments is its expansion at Medway. This September, the Fine Art department is moving to our Medway campus and in 2011 will move to the Fitted Rigging Store, a scheduled building being converted to purpose built studio, workshop and exhibiting space in Chatham’s Historic Dockyard.

The School will also increase its portfolio of courses at Medway to include Dance and Physical Theatre and is currently strengthening its links with the wider community. Year 1 students are currently working at Medway’s Fuse Festival in a stewarding capacity, while Year 2

students are working with the theatre Periplum on their highly regarded production 1000 Revolutions, a journey through cafes, bars and homes in Gillingham.

The Department of Music and Audio – currently offering two undergraduate programmes at Medway in Music Technology and Audio Design and Production, as well as postgraduate research degrees – is also undergoing a major period of growth and investment. In the next two years, it plans to increase its range of courses, and to expand its academic team. This summer, it will host a conference, Interactivity and the Audio Arts.

The new Jarman Building, with its light, adaptable and well-designed spaces, could be seen as the embodiment of Kent’s School of Arts – progressive, successful and wide-ranging. Its expansion at Medway can only serve to further establish it as a cultural force, not just in the region, but at a national and international level.

Enterprise

KBS student wins ideas competition New employment scheme on offer to Kent graduates The University has obtained £160,000 of funding, from the Higher Education Funding Council for Europe (HEFCE), to place 100 Kent graduates into the region’s businesses.

The Graduate Internship Scheme, launched in February, provides businesses with the opportunity to employ a graduate, part-funding their employment for a fixed period of up to three months. The scheme will contribute to economic growth in the Kent region, and help our graduates to gain valuable work experience.

Business Ideas Competition winner Siinan Assaf with panel members Tom Wacher, Carole Barron and Paul Andrews

The University of Kent’s Business Ideas Competition took place in March. Students were invited to apply with their creative and enterprising ideas, after which eight finalists were chosen to present their idea to a panel of judges and respond to questions.

The panel, comprising Paul Andrews, Managing Director of Jobs in Kent, Tom Wacher, Corporate Manager with Reeves and Neylan, and Carole Barron, Director of Innovation and Enterprise at the University, awarded the first prize of £5000 to Sinan Assaf, who is studying for a Master’s at Kent Business School, for his web-based business concept. Sinan is a winner of previous enterprise competitions including the final-year project prize from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET); he was also part of the winning Prince’s Trust team for the University Million £ Makers Challenge.

Second place went to School of Computing student Liam Gooding for his digital fitness brand. Liam already runs Goodings Media, his start-up company based at the Kent Enterprise Hub. Buki Agoro also from the School of Computing was awarded third place for his business BayBuk, an efficient and effective webbased booking system for small businesses.

Buki intends to use his placement year to develop his business idea further under the Year in Business Start up Scheme (YIBSS).

The panel recommended that both Liam and Buki should apply for the University of Kent Small Grants fund for up to £2000, to help develop these business ideas further. For more information on student enterprise competitions and funding, speak to Tracy Crowther on 01227 823733, or visit www.kentroundone.co.uk

Summary of recent enterprise contracts School of Anthropology and Conservation, £4,012 Glenn Bowman, Patrick Mahoney/KORA Kent Business School £76,106 Andrew Fearne, Amanda Pyman, Pamela Yeow School of Computing/Kent IT Clinic £8,650 School of Electronics and Digital Arts, £322,578 Jim Ang, John Batchelor, Peter Lee, Nigel Simpson, Winston Waller

School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science £4,478 Owen Lyne School of Psychology, £331,604 Theresa Gannon, Letitia Slabu, Robbie Sutton SSPSSR/PSSRU, £62,450 Ann Netten, Nick Smith

The scheme focuses particularly on employment opportunities in the digital industries, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, professional and financial services, engineering construction, and businesses and organisations that work to address issues related to our ageing society.

Kent businesses have been signing up to the scheme for the past three months, and there is still time for graduates to register on the scheme. For more information and to apply for employment through the Graduate Internship Scheme, visit www.kent.ac.uk/enterprise/ student_placement/graduateinternships/ or call Kent Innovation & Enterprise on 01227 827376

Visit the Kent Enterprise Hub, your dedicated business support unit The University of Kent is re-launching the Kent Enterprise Hub, a facility primarily focused on supporting Kent graduates and academics in setting up start-up and spin-out companies.

The launch will take place on Monday 14 June and staff, students and alumni are invited to attend. It will be a great opportunity to view what is on offer and discuss your ideas with the Hub’s dedicated staff.

Please come along on Monday 14 June at 3pm, Kent Enterprise Hub, Biosciences Building (next to Sports Centre), Canterbury Campus.

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Research

Research at Kent leads towards new cancer treatment Research conducted and patented by Dr Mark Howard at the University’s School of Biosciences has led to the development of a new technique that will deliver cancer treatments directly to certain tumours.

One of the cancers this could have particular benefit in targeting is pancreatic cancer, which is currently very difficult to treat.

The technique, which was recently announced

by Cancer Research Technology (CRT) – Cancer Research UK’s (CRUK) commercialisation and development arm – involves cancer-targeting peptides (two or more linked amino acids) binding to a protein complex found in high levels on many tumour cells but absent in most normal tissues. By seeking out this protein and binding to it, the peptides can deliver cancer treatments directly to the site with increased precision and reduced side effects.

Aura Biosciences Inc, a US-based company that combines the expertise of leading US and European research institutions, has licensed the technique from CRT. Dr Howard’s role in this development involved identifying the shape of these peptides. He explained: ‘These peptides have a particular three-dimensional shape enabling them to specifically target this tumour associated protein in a more effective way than ever observed before. We were able to model different peptide shapes and see a clear link between shape and effectiveness of the peptide.’

Dr Phil L’Huillier, Director of Business Management at CRT, said: ‘These peptides have the potential to seek out and destroy cancer cells, leaving the surrounding areas unharmed.

‘We believe this technology could have particular strengths in delivering treatments for cancers that have limited treatment options, such as pancreatic and head and neck cancer. Crucially this targeted treatment could also reduce the side effects that are commonly associated with standard therapies. We look forward to the results of this programme with great interest.’

Dr Howard’s research was conducted in collaboration with Dr John Marshall at the Institute of Cancer, Queen Mary London, and Dr Danielle DiCara at CRUK.

Research awards list Some recent research awards Professor Peter Jeffries (School of Biosciences): £49,091 from East Malling Research for ‘Developing biocontrol methods’.

Professor Michael Fairhurst (School of Engineering and Digital Arts): £21,765 from Smart Sensors Ltd for ‘Strategies for optimising iris recognition for large-scale applications’.

Dr Maria Alfredsson (School of Physical Sciences): £72,490 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for ‘Computer modelling of nano-materials for lithium-ion batteries’.

Dr Simon Kirchin (School of European Culture and Languages): £8,500 from Mind Association for ‘Metaethics and everyday moral experience’.

Dr Kirsten Abbot-Smith (School of Psychology): £78,442 from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for ‘The role of the agent in sentence comprehension by preschool children’.

Dr Sofia Stathi (School of Psychology): £7,407 from the British Academy for ‘Raising awareness and reducing the social stigma of the homeless’.

Dr Howard explained that this technology also has potential within tumour imaging and therapy for efficient identification and eradication of cancers.

Model of an integrin molecule with a small peptide (bottom right)

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KENT Magazine

Research

Power leads to less accurate time predictions Power leads to greater errors in forecasts, according to new research led by social psychologist Dr Mario Weick at Kent (pictured above, left).

The research shows that when people feel powerful they become more optimistic and less accurate in predicting the completion time of forthcoming tasks. The research examined for the first time the planning behaviour of powerful people and found that power drastically reduced the accuracy of forecasts with error rates soaring up to 70%.

Dr Weick, a Research Fellow at the University’s School of Psychology, explained: ‘Time is a crucial factor in people’s everyday lives. People routinely plan their work and estimate the time it will take to accomplish tasks. Interestingly, people often underestimate the time it takes to accomplish tasks. This bias is known as the planning fallacy and derives from a too narrow focus on the envisaged goal. The more people focus on what they want to achieve, the more they tend to neglect impediments, previous experiences and task subcomponents that are not readily apparent. As a result, time predictions are often inaccurate and too optimistic. Power tends to increase people’s focus on intended outcomes. Although this can be beneficial, in the context of time planning we reasoned that power would lead to greater error in forecasts.’

The findings suggest that people who are in charge and deciding on courses of action (eg policy makers) are more at risk of falling prey to biases in their forecasts. The research also proposes ways to alleviate the biasing effects of power. Specifically, forecasting accuracy could

be improved by using techniques that draw people’s attention to information that lies outside their focal goal. Moreover, changing the power structure of planning committees could also be a way to render forecasts more accurate (eg by assigning greater weight to the predictions of individuals who do not have power).

‘How Long Will It Take? Power Biases Time Predictions’ (Mario Weick, University of Kent; Ana Guinote, University College London) is forthcoming in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Pharmacy lecturer tackles cancer treatments Medway School of Pharmacy lecturer Dr Nathalie Lavignac has received a grant to improve drug targeting for cancer patients.

Dr Lavignac, a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (pictured above, left, with Dr Mary Buchanan, Chair of Trustees for Kent Cancer Trust), has developed a number of nanocarriers to improve drug delivery and target only the cancerous cells – thus minimising the unpleasant side effects often associated with cancer treatment.

She received her research grant from the Kent Cancer Trust charity and will use it to fund a PhD studentship, which will focus on this challenge for a period of three years.

The project will be carried out in partnership with Dr Mark Hill, a clinical cancer specialist from Kent Oncology Centre at Maidstone Hospital.

UK HE sector renews commitment to European research A paper released by the UK HE Europe Unit and Universities UK (UUK) on 25 March stressed the importance of research in a European context.

UUK President Professor Steve Smith said: ‘Higher education institutions are important in building research partnerships and delivering research activity in Europe. They are an essential partner in ensuring the future development of the European Research Area and advancing Europe towards a knowledge society. We are glad the European Commission recognises this.’

The report was welcomed by the University.

David Coombe, Director of Research Services at the University, said: ‘Active co-operation across Europe is vital if we are to take full advantage of our combined research capacity to advance knowledge and improve lives.

‘The UK HE Europe Unit/UUK position paper offers a reasonable and realistic way forward, endorsing a commitment above all else to the highest standards of research, urging ongoing support for smaller research units, and emphasising the importance of a sustainable research base, including moves toward full economic costing - something that we at Kent have been at the forefront of.

‘We will continue to work with UUK towards these ends and to encourage the EC’s renewed commitment to reducing the bureaucracy that threatens to undermine the effectiveness of the Framework programmes.’

The position paper is available on the Europe Unit website at www.europeunit.ac.uk

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Kent in Europe

University of Kent at Paris officially launched The University of Kent at Paris was officially launched on Monday 22 March. The launch was attended by principal officers of the University, including Vice-Chancellor Professor Julia Goodfellow, as well as students and distinguished guests from France and the UK. Located in Montparnasse, the University of Kent at Paris offers innovative and unique interdisciplinary Master’s courses in: Comparative Literature; English and American Literature; Film Studies; French and Comparative Literature; Modern French Studies; and Postcolonial Studies. Students will divide their year’s study between Canterbury and Paris.

Professor Alex Hughes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor External said: ‘We are delighted to launch our new Paris centre. Offering our students the opportunity to study and work abroad is a vital part of life at the University of Kent.’

Professor Peter Read, Academic Director of the University of Kent at Paris, added: ‘Our first intake of postgraduates are currently enjoying their spring term in Paris, so this is a good time to celebrate the exciting opportunities that the University of Kent at Paris offers to UK, European and other students from around the world.’

At Europe Day, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor David Nightingale congratulates Professor Peter Read on a successful first spring in Paris

University celebrates Europe Day On 10 May, staff and students celebrated Europe day at the Gulbenkian café bar with live music and giveaways, free language taster sessions, information about Kent’s Paris programmes and, best of all, a boules tournament on the green outside which proved to be very popular.

Europe Day is the EU’s official celebration of its diversity of cultures so it made perfect sense for the UK’s European University to join in! The

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European flag flew from the Registry against blue skies to mark the occasion.

Kent’s European reputation is thanks to our close proximity to the European continent, our many partnerships with top European universities (which allow us to offer exchange opportunities to staff and students), our Brussels and Paris campuses and the high proportion of European funding we receive. For more information email the European Office European@kent.ac.uk.

What’s on

What’s on

Gulbenkian Theatre and Cinema highlights Saturday 12 June 2pm and 7.45pm ArtsFest Mimirichi Double bill – Ukranian comedy troupe present two fantastic shows Plastic Fantastic (2pm) and Paperworld (7.45pm) Gulbenkian Theatre

In memoriam Monday 5 – Tuesday 6 July 7.45pm John Bishop previews his brand new Edinburgh Show Gulbenkian Theatre 10 July 2pm Gomito present The Night Keeper (4+) Gulbenkian Theatre

Monday 14 – Tuesday 15 June Nightwatching (18) Gulbenkian Cinema Thursday 17 June 7.45pm Guthrie Govan, Christopher Godin, & Dudley Ross Plus Masterclass at 6pm Gulbenkian Theatre Friday 18 – Sunday 20 June Iron Man 2 (12A) Gulbenkian Cinema Saturday 19 June 2pm Tall Stories present Twinkle Twonkle (4+) Gulbenkian Theatre Thursday 24 – Saturday 26 June Canterbury Players’ present Noel Coward’s The Vortex Gulbenkian Theatre Tuesday 29 June 6.50pm Mugabe and the White African (12A) Gulbenkian Cinema Sunday 4 – Tuesday 6 July The Calling (15) We are delighted to welcome Director Jan Dunn for a Q&A following the film on Tuesday 6 July.

Gulbenkian Cinema

Friday 16 – Sunday 18 July Robin Hood (12A) Gulbenkian Cinema Wednesday 21 – Thursday 22 July Eyes Wide Open (12A) Director: Haim Tabakman Online bookings and programme details at www.thegulbenkian.co.uk

Listings ArtsFest 12 June From 1pm Canterbury campus Thursday 17 June Former Staff Association AGM From 5pm Keynes Lecture Theatre 5

Ken Stacey 1927 – 2010 It was with great sadness that the University learned of the death of Professor Ken Stacey on Saturday 27 March 2010.

Ken was appointed as the founding Director of the then Biological Laboratory in 1969. Under Ken’s careful and astute guidance, the Biological Laboratory at Kent quickly became recognised as one of the most successful departments in the country.

An appreciation of Ken’s career at the University will be printed in the October issue of KENT.

Malcolm McLean 1951 – 2010 Staff were deeply saddened at the untimely death of Malcolm McLean in April this year.

Malcolm’s life was tragically cut short by cancer which he fought with great dignity; many of his friends and colleagues visited him at the Pilgrims Hospice and money has since been raised in his memory for their wonderful work.

Saturday 25 September History Alumni Day Canterbury campus

Malcolm was a quiet, gentle man, who was well respected and liked by all who met him, he will be sorely missed. He had a great interest in World War II aircraft, especially the spitfire and become an expert within this field.

September London Business Club event Venue: tbc

Jill Holroyd 1948 – 2009

Thursday 21 October Hong Kong Alumni Reception Venue: tbc Wednesday 27 October New York Alumni Reception Venue: tbc

Jill studied French and German at Kent (1967– 1971) then went on to work for the British Council, from where she retired after 22 years having suffered with rheumatoid arthritis since the age of 10.

Despite her deteriorating mobility Jill was an active member of Arthritis Care, helped make University College Hospital more wheelchairaccessible and was a member of the City of London Access Group.

She also wrote a book, Arthritis at your age?, donating the profits to arthritis-related charities.

Jill was full of enthusiasm, intelligence, courage, and was determined and articulate. She fought on behalf of the disabled and others in need of care and was an inspiration to us all.

Since the last issue of KENT went to press, the University has learned of the deaths of the following alumni and staff. If you would like to be put in touch with the families or friends of anyone listed here pleased let us know – we may be able to help.

Kouaido Akoi E99, Margaret Blatcher D84, Christopher Collins R00, Michael Convery K96, Professor Francois Couzet (Honorary graduate 1989), Sandra Crowther K66, Yahannes Dimberu E93, Guy Eldridge D84, Desrey Fox E96, Professor Arthur Dickens (Honorary graduate 1976), Stanley Good E71, Samantha Hoyle D97, James Huzel R67, Catherine Itzin D81, Christopher Lakeman D86, Geoffrey Linnell, former member of Library staff, Malcolm Maclean, former member of Estates staff, Olley Maruma R75, Anthony Masters K69, June Matcham, former member of Hospitality staff, Cindy McGarel-Groves D70, Marian Mills E82, Lionel Pickard R89, Arthur Ruderman E79, Jack Schulman K03, Kenneth Smith D85, Sarah Swain E78, Rex Tingey E74 E79, Robert Turner K67, John Wells R69, Alan Wicks (Honorary graduate 1985), Thomas Williamson R85, Roger Woodcock R68, Shaikha Zakaria D71 KENT Magazine

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Kent in the news

Who’s what where The complete ‘Who’s what where’ is available online at www.kent.ac.uk/alumni/

Among those who contributed to the University’s recent media coverage were Professor Dominic Abrams and Dr Melanie Vauclair (School of Psychology). They received extensive national and international print, online and broadcast coverage for their research on ‘Attitudes to Age in the UK and Europe’. Their research was covered by the media in America, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and Ukraine. UK print coverage included reports in The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, This Is London, UK Express and The Sunday Times magazine.

Professor Abrams also gave interviews to BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC London, BBC Radio Kent and BBC Three Counties. The research also generated debate on numerous radio and TV programmes, such as Angela & Friends on Sky One, and is being considered as a subject by BBC’s Panorama.

Also in the international spotlight were: Dr Axel Klein, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), who spoke about the virtues and vices of khat on Islam Channel TV; Professor Tim Luckhurst, Centre for Journalism, who spoke to BBC World Service regarding newspaper pay walls at The Times and The Sunday Times; and Dr Jan Macvarish (SSPSSR), who was featured on Public Talk Radio (Hungary) discussing teenage parenthood.

National media contributions included Professor Tim Luckhurst on BBC Radio 4, BBC2, BBC Radio 2, SunTalk, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky News, Talksport, and in The Independent; Dr Gülnur Aybet, School of Politics and International Relations (POLIR) on BBC Radio 4; Dr Kate Bradley (SSPSSR) on BBC 4 documentary Time Shift; Dr Adrian Pabst (POLIR) on The Guardian website; Dr Axel Klein on Colourful FM; Professor Frank Furedi in The Sunday Times, The Guardian; the School of Arts lithography exhibition in The Times Higher Education; Wai-Ming Wong (Anthropology) in The Guardian.

Regional coverage included: Professor Julia Twigg (SSPSSR) and Des Laffey (Kent Business School) on BBC South East; Professor Frank Furedi on BBC Radio Wales, Ulster, London, Newcastle and Kent, LBC, and in the Evening Standard; Professor Marian FitzGerald (SSPSSR) on BBC Radio Wales; Professor David Shemmings (SSPSSR), Dr Robin Mackenzie (Kent Law School), Adam Jastrzebski (EDA) and Dr Ben Seyd (POLIR) on BBC Radio Kent; Professor Tim Luckhurst on LBC and BBC Radio Kent; Beth Breeze (SSPSSR) on BBC Radio Scotland.

There was further significant regional media coverage in the Kentish Gazette, Medway Messenger, Medway News, Kent on Sunday and Kent on Saturday.

This is just some of the recent coverage gained by the University. For more information visit Kent in the news on campus online or contact the Media Office at MediaOffice@kent.ac.uk

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KENT Magazine

Key: D Darwin | E Eliot K Keynes | R Rutherford Location: The location at the end of each entry is from the mailing addresses we have for each individual. Please let us know if any corrections are required.

If you would like to submit a ‘Who’s what where’ entry, email alumni@kent.ac.uk 1960s Maxted, Derek (R65) Qualified as teacher (Avery Hill), Advanced diploma in Education of Children with Special Needs (Bishop Grosseteste); long, varied and successful career as secondary and special needs teacher and advisory teacher, latterly specialising in ITC. Moved to Australia (third marriage) 1998ish. Retired about five years ago, to coastal town at River Murray mouth. Successful treatment for throat tumour 15 months ago. Very busy in Lions club; keen sailor; planting a toy vineyard; in Europe for five months most years! Goolwa, Australia, February 2010 Murray, Sue (E65 née Burnham) First decade after graduation with M&S in head office as textile buyer, long spell in Hong Kong (with C.Eng husband) working in export, retrained as a personal and marriage counsellor and worked for two agencies, travelled extensively and sailed competitively and for fun. Returned to London in ‘90 with two pre-school children. Daughter a Geologist and son (to my amusement!) doing Combined Soc Sci at Durham.

Separated 2009, moved from Kent and building a new life in Clifton. Bristol, February 2010.

Mills, Jane (E66) Associate Professor in Communication (Research & Teaching) in the School of Communication at Charles Sturt University. Also a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School where I was Head of Screen Studies from 19952000, and Series Editor of Australian Screen Classics (Currency Press/ National Film & Sound Archive). I’m a member of the Sydney Film Festival Board of Directors and a founder member of WatchonCensorship, the nation’s censorship watchdog. New South Wales, Australia, June 2009.

Capper, Nick (E67) Studied Chemistry.

Moved to Australia in 75. I now have a company selling medical devices.

Second marriage with two sons and also two daughters from my first marriage.

Live in Melbourne. Victoria, Australia, April 2010 Phillips, Melinda (E67) I was at Eliot college from 1968 to 1972. I am retiring this year having spent my working life in the voluntary housing sector and would love to make contact with anyone who remembers me. London, April 2010.

Whitehead, Chris (R68) I’ve finally retired after a career in social work and social work management, mainly in Bristol. I’m still married happily to Helen (née Thomas) R68, a retired schoolteacher, and we are both asking the question that all retired people ask, "how did we ever have time to go to work?!" We have very fond memories of UKC back to the good old 1960s....40 years ago now. As we embark on a new and exciting stage in our lives, we would welcome contact from any of our friends who might care to be in touch. Bristol, November 2009.

1970s Baker, Steve (E74) Now working on Serious Games (computer games technology repurposed to train people for serious jobs), following my passion for breaking ground in realtime 3D computer graphics. My son, Oliver, is now 19 years old, studying Arts & Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas. For fun, I restore classic cars (I’m working on a ‘63 Mini which couldn’t look more out of place in Texas – the land of the big pickup truck!). Texas, USA, February 2010.

Treen, Ruth (R74 née Payne) Married with four children, two daughters and two sons. Husband David and I are teachers (IT and languages) and we live in Powys, Wales and love it. Powys, April 2010.

Smith, Alan (R75) I have been in Germany since 2004, working for the Forest Stewardship Council. I expect to stay here until 2011 when my wife Ivonne and I intend to return to her native city Cochabamba in Bolivia. Thereafter retirement beckons although I can hardly imagine myself just tending the garden.

Bonn, Germany, December 2009.

Paller, Ken (E79) In November I published a paper in Science on Strengthening Memories During Sleep, possibly a game-changing discovery about memory consolidation, and coauthored a book called The Brain Advantage: Become a More Effective Business Leader Using the Latest Brain Research. Meanwhile, still at Northwestern University (near Chicago).

Evanston, USA, December 2009.

1980s Bradford, Henry (K80) I am still living in Rochester. After Uni I returned to the docks – Port of London – but I was forced to retire in 1996. However, I was sweet-talked into writing tales about the docks and the registered dock workers (to retain their place in the social history of Britain). So I am now on my fourth publication; they include: Tales of London’s Docklands; Slaves, Serfs and Wage Slavery; Dockers’ Stories of the Second World War; and Reynards, Serpents and Stoats Limited.

Remembering Dr Mike Oliver, Jane O’Leary and my other student colleagues of the Social Work and Physical Handicapped Diploma Course in 1980. Best wishes to you all. Kent, December 2009.

Kingsley, Martin (K87) I’m currently taking some time off after having worked for about 15 years at Nokia developing handsets, and about to set off on Lands End to John O’Groats cycle ride. You can follow me on Twitter at CMHKingsley if you’re interested in how I get on. Hi to all those I knew at UKC, feel free to get in touch. Bracknell, May 2010.

Yuon, Eric (E87) I graduated from my MA in Sociology in 1992 and I had worked at the City University of HK, the HK Polytechnic University and the University of HK for more than 17 years.

I currently work as a principal at a secondary school in Hong Kong. Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, October 2009.

1990s Tokatligil, Serdar (E90) I graduated as Serdar Tokatligil but due to holding dual nationality in Turkey and issues re the turkish military, after legal advice I changed my name to Mark Fitzgibbon.

Currently living in the UAE and loving it here – do not plan to leave before retirement. Married to a lovely Turkish lady and have a four-year-old son Patrick. Would especially like to get in touch with Dim Mbapila or Diarmuidh Mitchell if they are kicking around. Abu Dhabi, UAE, September 2009

Clark, David (R82) I am enjoying life as a freelance journalist and author, specialising in writing about photography. My book Photography in 100 Words was published by Argentum in October 2009. Still in contact with many Kent friends, nearly a quarter of a century after graduating! I live in Bucks with my wife Antonia (née Mitchell, also a Kent graduate of the ‘82 vintage) and our two children, Alastair (10) and Jonathan (six). Buckinghamshire, January 2010.

Stallings, Chris (E90) I’m one semester into a two-year contract to teach high school biology at an international school near San Jose, Costa Rica with my new wife Erin (also teaching at the school) and several household geckoes.

Highlights include the amazing fresh local tropical fruit at the weekly farmer’s market, keeping the windows open 24/7 every day of the year, and a whole culture of not hurrying to do anything.

Contact me via the alumni office.

California, USA, February 2010.

Boland, Pete (K84) I’m living in San Francisco, California with my wife Jacqui and three-year-old son Jamie (and large dog called Rooney, after Wayne of course). Managing Director, Barclays Global Investors. Always happy to hear from my UKC mates any time! Larkspur, USA, February 2010.

Betts, Matthew (R98) I was married on 24 July 2009 to Theresa Parry, at Corpus Christi, Bournemouth. We were supported by six best men and four ushers, including two alumni from UKC: James Baker (1998-2001) and Nicholas Lilley (1998-2001). Other alumni in attendance included: Steven Ward, Colin Spencer, Stuart Clark, Paola Berta, and Natalie Short. Fr Peter Geldard (Catholic chaplain) was also in attendance.

Buckinghamshire, November 2009.

Okore, Daniel (E98) I studied MSc Tourism and Conservation and I now run Impact Adventure Travel, my own tours and safari company based in Nairobi, Kenya. Please contact me on info@impactadventure.co.ke or at www.impactadventure.co.ke. I’m really looking forward to hearing from my former classmates. Nairobi, Kenya, April 2010.

Redfern, Jane (K98) I graduated from Kent in 2001 and went on to do an MSc in Political Science at LSE. I won a scholarship to study in St Petersburg, Russia and was also teaching at the St Petersburg State University. I currently work for the NHS as an HR senior manager, in Somerset, where I have lived since July 2008. I am thoroughly enjoying life – I sail and scuba dive – but miss my time at Kent. I would love to talk to old friends and I am happy to talk to any one wishing to follow a career in HR. Bridgwater, November 2009.

Only connect Lost touch with an old friend? Our alumni database may be able to help.

If we have a current address for an alumnus we will be happy to forward a message to them. If we too have lost touch, Only connect, which is printed in KENT and also on the alumni website monthly, may get a response. If you do connect, please let us know!

1980s Jez Dacombe (R81) wltf Hugh Kelly (R81), Glen Green (R81), Michael Tucker (R81) and Susan Evans (R84) Pete Boland (K 84) wltf Tracy Yong (D83) and Ramesh Perinparaja (R83) Heb Newman (Tomkins) (E 84) wltf Diana Cadogan-Rawlinson (E84) Tucker Mohamed Mustak Aboo Bakar (R87) wltf Shahril Abdul Ghany (K86) Andre de Carvalho (Xxx) wltf Guilhem Dupont (R89) 1990s Matt Jennings (K91) wltf Stella Spencer (D93) Pattanee Teerapunyapong (R93) wltf Wasanthe Senanayake (K93) Costandi Hawa (K95) wltf Maria Georgakopoulou (K 95) and Dawn Collins (K94) Chinyere Kejeh (Ogbonna) (R97) wltf Rosa Ferreira (E97) 2000s Daniel Webb (R00) wltf Chris Han (K01) Khadija Hasan (E04) wltf John McCloy (E04)

1960s Nicky Avery (E65) wltf Alastair Philp (K66) and Patrick Murphy (E67) Gill Marris (Deland) (R68) wltf Stephen St Clair (K69) 1970s Jarnail Singh (D71) wltf Robert Kibble (R 71), John Cheetham (R71), Graham Smith (D71) and Raja Thuraisingham (D70) Stuart Jacobs (K75) wltf Fiona Gunn (K75) John Stanley (K78) wltf Gary Cookson (E78) Maddy Tanner (K78) wltf Deborah Bennison (K79)

KENT Magazine

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ArtsFest 2010!

Saturday 12 June 1.00pm onwards, Canterbury campus

A whole range of hot and cold food and drinks will be available, including BBQ. 1.00pm onwards

Music and drama of every sort on open-air stages and around the grounds of the central campus.

Fun for Kids Ice-creams, candy-floss, pop-corn, free face-painting – and plenty of open green spaces to play in. Mimirichi Plastic Fantastic at the Gulbenkian Theatre (2.00pm, ticketed)

4.45pm

University Concert Band and Big Band on the centre stage

6.30-8.00pm

Chillout session, unwind to ambient tunes

7.45pm

Mimirichi Paperworld at the Gulbenkian Theatre (ticketed)

8.00pm

Prom Concert in Eliot College Hall (ticketed)

8.00-10.15pm

Rubber Biscuit on the centre stage

10.15pm

ArtsFest finishes with a spectacular firework display overlooking Canterbury Cathedral

Attention alumni!

Please join us in our Alumni Tent E: alumni@kent.ac.uk T: 01227 824346