KENTTheMagazine for the University of Kent | August 2011

Honorary graduates

Gulbenkian: Beacon of culture

Dear colleagues,

As we look to the end of the academic year, we should be proud of what has been an outstanding year for the University.

Demand for places is high, with international and postgraduate student numbers continuing to increase. NSS scores are

strong and we have had our best ever performance in league tables. We have also received significant grant income and

achieved an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) doctoral training centre. I was particularly pleased to learn that

Kent Hospitality was awarded an Investors in People gold award.

Of course, this has been a challenging time when discussions over the future of HE has hardly ever been out of the

newspapers. We have had the Browne review, the coalition government’s spending plans, secondary legislation around

increasing fees and the long-awaited White Paper. There is no doubt that these events herald a very different regime for home

and EU students. However, we have now received OFFA’s approval of our fees and student support package for 2012; our

fund of £6m will allow us to offer a range of bursaries and fee waivers to low-income families who satisfy a range of socio-

economic criteria, as well as scholarships for academic, musical and sporting excellence, which will be available to all

students.

As part of our preparation for these changes, the University has increased its investment in both people and infrastructure.

We have made a number of new appointments throughout the year to add strength to our academic portfolio, and have made

a £5 million investment in the School of Arts at Medway. At Canterbury, we are about to complete 500 new study bedrooms

and have begun work on the new music building. These, and other investments, mean that we will be even better placed to

face the challenges of the next few years.

I am pleased that many academic schools already have plans to change their undergraduate programmes and to articulate

better what is on offer to prospective students, including the excellent five reasons to study each discipline at Kent.

I thank you all for your commitment this year and for all that we have achieved across the institution. I look forward to working

with you over the next academic year.

Professor Dame Julia M Goodfellow DBE, CBEVice-Chancellor

Welcome

Special thanks to: Lesley Farr, University Design & Print Centre. Photographs by Matt Wilson, Alison Hollis, Mick Norman, Lucy Birkett, Vicky Fitzgerald, Tempest.

Bagpuss © 2011 Daniel Postgate & Peter Firmin. www.coolabi.com www.bagpussshop.co.uk

3 News 6 Honorary graduates 8 Research 10 Enterprise11 Gulbenkian: Beacon of culture 12 Human Resources 13 Associationof University Administrators/Books 14 Kent in the news/Obituary15 Sport/Green news16 What’s on

3KENT Magazine

News

Kent makes top 30 in universities‘Table of tables’

Pointing the way to studentemployabilityAn innovative project that gives reward pointsto University students as they increase theiremployability skills and provides opportunitiesfor work experience has been given anenthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ by employers.

More than 1,000 students took part in a year-longpilot project at Kent to earn clubcard-style pointsfor activities ranging from communityvolunteering and mentoring to participating inevents and workshops.

Students receiving the most reward points underthe scheme – which is thought to be unique inUK higher education – then went forward to bechosen by sponsoring employers for a range ofexciting work experience opportunities relevantto individual student skill-sets.

Among the major businesses supporting theUniversity of Kent Employability Points Schemewere defence and aerospace company BAEsystems, construction consultancy SKANSKAand business consultancy Chaucer.

Stephanie Barwick, University EnterpriseDevelopment Manager, said: ‘Our EmployabilityPoints Scheme is innovative in that it bridges thegap between offering students a way to enhance

KENTWe have set up a readers’ panelfor staff. Please get in touch if youwould like to become a member. Weare keen to have your feedback andletters are welcome from all our readers.Simply email the editorial team atkentmagazine@kent.ac.uk

Kent is also available online atwww.kent.ac.uk/campusonline/kentmagazine

Editorial team: Posie Bogan, ActingDirector of Communications &Marketing; Colette O’Reilly, PublicationsOfficer; Wendy Raeside, PublicationsOfficer (Communications & Marketing);Fiona Jones, Alumni Relations Officer(Development Office); Karen Baxter,Press Assistant, (Communications &Marketing), University of Kent.

Next issue: the deadline for the nextissue is 26 September, with apublication date of 28 October.

KENTThe Magazine for the University of Kent | August 2011

Honorary graduates

Gulbenkian: Beacon of culture

Cover story: Bagpuss

The University of Kent is now a top 30 institutionaccording to the combined results of the UK’suniversity league tables.

Kent has moved up five places to be placed in30th position in the annual Times HigherEducation (THE) ‘Table of tables’.

The improvement follows hard on the heels of arise of four places in last month’s GuardianUniversity Guide 2012, which saw Kent ranked23rd out of 119 UK institutions.

Welcoming the latest rise in league tableposition, Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame JuliaM Goodfellow said: ‘Kent’s position in this table

of tables is very much due to a combination ofexcellent academic provision and high levels ofstudent satisfaction.

‘As we prepare to enter a new era of universityfunding, where students increasingly seethemselves as consumers, it is good to see thatour position as one of the UK’s top universities isbeing reflected consistently across the differentleague tables.’

It is the first time the University of Kent hasentered the top 30 in the THE ‘Table of tables’,which is now in its fourth year.

continued overleaf...

their own employability and providing employerswith easy access to some of our mostoutstanding students.

‘The pilot proved that this is a win-win solutionfor both students and employers. We hadanticipated around 300 students taking part butended up with over 1,000 participating. We alsohad 30 businesses involved in sponsoring prizesthat included mainly paid work placements andinternships as well as other work shadowingopportunities.’

Professor Alex Hughes, University Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External), said: ‘This University is

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News

committed to ensuring all our students graduatewith the skills they’ll need to succeed in today’schallenging knowledge-based economy.

‘The fact that so many leading businessessupported this pilot project highlights the valueemployers place on University of Kent graduatesand I’m sure that our Employability PointsScheme will go from strength to strength.’

VC appointed to the Council forScience and TechnologyVice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Julia MGoodfellow has been appointed to the Councilfor Science and Technology (CST) by PrimeMinister David Cameron. Dame Julia is one of11 new members appointed to the CST.Reporting directly to the Prime Minister, the CSTis the government’s top-level advisory body onscience and technology policy issues.

CBE for Professor Jan PahlJan Pahl, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy atKent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology andSocial Research, has been made a Commanderof the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Queen'sBirthday Honours. She received her CBE forservices to social science.

Music award winnersSeven students at the University have beenawarded prizes for their outstanding contributionto music during the past year. Awards presentedinclude the Canterbury Festival Music Prize, theColyer-Fergusson Music Prize, and the UniversityMusic Prize.

This year’s Canterbury Festival Music Prize wasawarded by Director of the Canterbury Festival,Rosie Turner, jointly to Politics and InternationalRelations student, Alice Godwin, and Englishand Comparative Literature student, Kate Lumley.Both are final-year students who have made anoutstanding contribution to the SymphonyOrchestra and the Concert Band at theUniversity as principal woodwind players.

The Colyer-Fergusson Music Prize, awardedto a student who has made a major contributionto organising music at the University, waspresented by Jonathan Monckton, Chairman ofthe Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust. The prizewas jointly received by Alanya Holder, law

Monitoring parents eventAn event organised by the Centre for ParentingCulture Studies (CPCS), part of the School ofSocial Policy, Sociology and Social Research,and Kent Centre for Law, Gender and Sexualitywill reflect on the problems of the rise of‘parenting science’ and the ‘parenting expert’.

‘Monitoring parents: Science, evidence, expertsand the new parenting culture’, takes place atKent’s Canterbury campus, 13-14 September,and will challenge the claim that neuroscienceprovides reliable evidence about how parentsshould raise their children, and question itsinfluence over social policy.

The speakers include: John T Bruer, President ofthe James S McDonnell Foundation; StuartDerbyshire, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at theUniversity of Birmingham; and Glenda Wall,Associate Professor of Sociology at WilfredLaurier University, Canada. Raymond Tallis,philosopher, poet, novelist, cultural critic andretired medical doctor will also address wrong-headed understandings and applications ofneuroscience in a third keynote session.

The event will be opened by Frank Furedi,Professor of Sociology at Kent, together withJanet Golden, Professor of History at RutgersUniversity and Stefan Ramaekers from theUniversity of Leuven.

Further information: https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/parentingculturestudies/pcs-events/forthcoming-events/parenting-science

student, choral and jazz singer, and this year’sPresident of the Music Society, and AnnaShinkfield, English and American Literaturestudent, singer and saxophone-player, andacting Secretary of the Music Society.

School of Architecture student, Chris Gray wasawarded the University Music Prize for his all-round musicianship as a tuba player and singer,and for his organisational work for the studentMusic Society.

Guitarist and mathematician, Andrew Kitchinreceived an award for his dedication to the ‘Jazz@ 5’ series; he has performed at every one sinceits inception in 2008. Historian, Kathryn Redgers,who has made a tremendous impact on music inher first year as a flautist, was also a recipient.

Susan Wanless, Director of Music, said: ‘I amcontinuously amazed at the breadth and rangeof the music-making among our students. This isall the more remarkable as they have to do alltheir rehearsing and performing out of academichours, alongside their degree study. Thanks tothe continued generosity of the CanterburyFestival and our other supporters, we canhighlight their achievements and give them therecognition they so richly deserve.’

Work has begun on the new Colyer-FergussonCentre for Music Performance, located near theGulbenkian Theatre on the Canterbury campus,and is expected to be completed in 2012.

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5KENT Magazine

News

1 Music award-winners2 Architecture students contribute to Margate’s

regeneration

Don’t bin it!A tidy-up campaign at Kent has benefited localcharities, as well as helping new students. Thecampaign, over the last three days of term, sawcollection points across the Canterbury campusfor departing students’ unwanted clothing, foodand kitchen items. Staff and students, supportedby the Creative Campus team, distributed thefood to local homelessness charity, Porchlight, aswell as making donations to charity shops.

Other collected items have been donated to afree campus shop, which will open in the nextacademic year for new students to stock-up onthings for their new homes.

Campaign organiser and environmental socialsciences student, Stephanie Robinson said: ‘Wewere determined to do something about surplusfood and other items left behind at the end ofterm. With this collection, we have benefited newstudents, as well as the local community.’

Architecture students contributeto Margate’s regenerationKent School of Architecture (KSA) students arecontributing to the high-profile regeneration ofMargate with their involvement in two ambitiousprojects: the reimagining of the 200-year old FortRoad Hotel and the redevelopment of thedecommissioned Dreamland leisure park.

The Fort Road Hotel is one of the oldest buildingsin Margate. Derelict for more than 20 years, it hasbecome a symbol of Margate’s decline. However,as part of a multi-faceted campaign to transformthe fortunes of the hotel, second-year studentsfrom KSA’s Interiors programme have exploredhow the building could be adapted into a 21st-century boutique hotel, while retaining its uniquehistoric character. (The first symbolic steptowards the rebirth of the hotel has been thecommissioning of the neon artwork iconic site,on the front of the building.)

For the Dreamland project, second-year Masterof Architecture (MArch) students were invited bythe Dreamland Trust to help restore the site. Thestudents’ contribution involved critiquing thecurrent brief as well as writing new briefs for the17-acre site. The design teams came up with arange of proposals which included residential,office and retail space as well as a new-buildfacility to include at least one of the following: anart school; a centre for the history of British youthculture; a museum for the British seaside holiday;

designed to encourage language study andcultural awareness among 12-13 year-olds.

Both days began with a theatre performance inFrench or Spanish and finished with a hotly-contested European Quiz final. Workshops wererun by University staff, student ambassadors andteachers from participating schools. Theyincluded introductions to Italian, Arabic, German,Russian, Japanese, Bulgarian and Mandarin andpractical sessions on Flamenco, Indian musicand dance, and Spanish and French drama.

Young scientists rise to thechallenge150 year 8 and year 9 pupils from 12 schools inKent participated in the Kent Science &Technology Challenge Day at the Canterburycampus.

Directed by a team of students from the Schoolof Physical Sciences (SPS), the pupils worked inmixed-school teams in order to solve practicaland applied science problems, as well astechnology challenges. Event themes includedforensics, robotics, electronics, mechanicalengineering and construction. The SPS studentsassessed each team’s planning, collaborativeskills and their solutions to each challenge.

Councillor Hazel McCabe, Sheriff of Canterbury,presented awards to members of the winningteams. The overall winners – Ellie Purvis andMitchall Cowell from Brockhill Park School, andFred Webb and Rhys Cowdrey-Howes fromNorton Knatchbull School – were invited tocompete in the Regional Challenge Final.

Fourth win for Kent’saccommodationFor the fourth successive year the University’saccommodation has won the category ‘BestUniversity Accommodation for Groups’ at theannual Group Travel Awards. The award is votedfor by readers of Group Travel Organisermagazine and Kent beat off stiff competitionfrom the other six short-listed institutions – Exeter,LSE, Durham, Nottingham, Portsmouth andReading.

Commenting on this unique achievement, GroupTravel Organiser’s editor said, ‘The team shouldbe proud that GTO readers have consistentlyrated the University of Kent’s accommodation asthe best in the country for groups’.

an annex of the Zoological Society of London, toinclude a salt-water aquarium; a wholesale andretail fish and farmers’ market; and a residentialculinary institute.

Sports injuries clinic opensA sports injuries clinic run by the University andfeaturing state-of-the-art diagnostic andtreatment facilities has opened to the public.

The clinic is aimed at people of all sportingstandards who have picked up an injury andrequire treatment and rehabilitation to get themactive again. Assessment and treatment arecarried out by University students, supervised byhighly-qualified tutors.

Professor Louis Passfield, Director of the Centrefor Sports Studies, explained: ‘Our Universitystaff supervising at the clinic are all experts intheir field and are also involved in research toimprove even further our understanding of how totreat sports-related injuries.’

For details, including how to book appointments,see: www.kent.ac.uk/sports-studies/clinic

World Language DaysThe University played host to around 470 localschoolchildren to mark its two World LanguageDays at the Canterbury and Medway campuses.

Organised by the Partnership DevelopmentOffice, working with the School of EuropeanCulture and Languages, and the Centre for WorldLanguages, the annual language days are

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Honorary graduates

At congregrations ceremonies inRochester and Canterbury in July,the University was delighted toconfer honorary degrees on thefollowing people.

Oscar-winning musician and composer, AnneDudley was born in Chatham in Kent in 1956.Although she trained as a classical performer,Anne Dudley moved into the record world as asession musician. She developed a professionalrelationship with pop producer Trevor Horn andmade a significant contribution to ABC’s classicalbum The Lexicon of Love. She went on to workwith stars such as the Pet Shop Boys, RodStewart and Robbie Williams.

Anne Dudley was a founding member of thesuccessful band Art of Noise, and helpedpioneer the use of sampling within pop. She hasalso composed and produced soundtracks fordozens of award-winning films and TV shows,and won an Oscar for The Full Monty in 1998.

Award-winning author and poet, Vikram Sethwas born in Calcutta in India in 1952 but spentpart of his youth in London before returning toIndia in 1957.

He returned to England to Tonbridge School inKent before studying Politics, Philosophy andEconomics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford,where he developed an interest in poetry.

Vikram Seth has had a range of fiction and non-fiction published, including novels A Suitable Boy(1993) and A Suitable Girl (2013) and his familymemoir Two Lives (2005). Among many literaryprizes and awards have been the W H SmithLiterary Award in 1994 for A Suitable Boy. Hisfirst popular success, however, was the travelbook From Heaven Lake: Travels ThroughSinkiang and Tibet in 1983, which won theThomas Cook Travel Book Award. Vikram Sethhas also published five volumes of poetry.

6 KENT Magazine

Professor Dr Paul Van Cauwenberge has beenRector of Ghent University since 2005. Born inBelgium in 1949, Professor Van Cauwenbergehas had a distinguished research career,specialising in rhinology. He was President of theInternational Society of Rhinology from 1991 to1996, President of the World Allergy Forum from1999 to 2003 and President of the Royal BelgianSociety of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Necksurgery in 2004.

He has had more than 300 papers in journalslisted in the Web of Science and has edited orauthored 22 scientific books. He was made anOfficer in the Order of Leopold II in Belgium in1996 and a Commander in that country’s Orderof the Crown in 1999.

Professor Van Cauwenberge created the U4consortium of the universities of Groningen,Uppsala, Göttingen and Ghent and a similarcollaboration with Kent and Lille.

Stevie Spring graduated in Law and spent fouryears in marketing, and two years launchingTV-am with the ‘famous five’, before startinga 16-year career in advertising agencymanagement. During that time, she workednationally and internationally at agenciesincluding Grey, Gold Greenlees Trott and Young& Rubicam.

From 1999 to 2006, she was UK Chief Executiveof Clear Channel, the world’s largest out-of-homemedia and live entertainment company.

In June 2006, she joined Future plc to becomeone of the few women running fully listed publiccompanies. Future produces 150 consumermagazines, apps, websites and events – and isboth the largest exporter and the largest licensorof magazines from the UK.

Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE, PC, LLD, FBAwas born in January 1945 in Yorkshire. She waseducated in Richmond and later studied atGirton College, Cambridge, where shegraduated in Law in 1966. She then taught Lawat Manchester University, also qualifying as abarrister and practising for a while at theManchester Bar. She specialised in Family andSocial Welfare Law.

In 1984, she became the first woman to beappointed a member of the Law Commission. In1994 she became a High Court judge, the first tohave made a career as an academic rather thana practising lawyer, then in 1989, the secondwoman ‘Lord Justice of Appeal’ in the Court ofAppeal for England and Wales. In 2004, shebecame the first woman Law Lord. With herfellow Law Lords, she became a Justice of theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom when thatcourt was established in 2009.

Ursula Brennan was born in 1952. She has adegree in English and American Literature fromKent. Ursula Brennan has spent most of hercareer in what is now the Department for Workand Pensions, culminating with leadership of thestrategy on welfare to work and benefit fraud.

She joined the DHSS in 1975 and later becameDirector of Change Management at the BenefitsAgency. In 1997, she returned to policy, withresponsibility for benefits for long-term sick anddisabled people.

Ursula Brennan became Permanent UnderSecretary of State at the Ministry of Defence inNovember 2010. Prior to the Ministry of Defence,she was DG Corporate Performance in theMinistry of Justice. Prior to joining the Ministry ofJustice, she was Chief Executive of the Office forCriminal Justice Reform.

Anne Dudley Vikram Seth Baroness Hale of Richmond

7KENT Magazine

Honorary graduates

BBC political correspondent,Mark Mardell wasborn in September 1957. He grew up inBanstead in Surrey and was educated at EpsomCollege before studying Politics at Kent.

His first job in journalism was at Radio Tees inStockton. He later moved to LBC/IRN in Londonas an industrial correspondent, covering theminers’ strike and Wapping protests.

After a spell at Channel Four on the weekly TheSharp End programme, Mark Mardell joined theBBC in 1989 as a political correspondent. Hehas since covered British politics, from the fall ofThatcher to Blair’s last election victory, as apolitical correspondent, Newsnight Politicaleditor, BBC Chief Political Correspondent anddiarist for This Week. He is currently BBC NorthAmerica editor.

Distinguished actor, Sir Donald Sinden hasenjoyed a long and successful career on stageand screen, appearing in many notable RoyalShakespeare Company productions since the1960’s as well as being well-known for televisionroles including the English butler Robert in Two’sCompany and Sir Joseph Channing in JudgeJohn Deed. He was knighted in 1997.

Born in Devon in 1923, Sir Donald grew up inSussex and now lives near Tenterden in Kent.After training at the Webber Douglas Academyof Dramatic Art, he made his first appearance atthe Brighton Little Theatre in 1941. His earlycareer featured a seven-year contract with theRank Organisation at Pinewood studios and hesubsequently starred in many outstanding Britishfilms of the 1950s including The Cruel Sea.

Dr Alan Hearne was born in 1952 in London. Hestudied Economics and Social History at Kent,graduating in 1974. He completed his PhD at theUniversity of Aston Management Centre in 1978.

Since 1981, he has been Chief Executive ofRPS Group plc, an international consultancyproviding advice on development andenvironmental issues. He has developed theinternational scope of the business followinga management buy-out in 1980. Dr Hearneis a past Chairman of the Association ofEnvironmental Consultancies and is aCompanion of the Chartered Institute ofManagement and Fellow of the CharteredInstitute of Transport and the Royal Societyof Arts.

From 1978-79, he was a Social ScienceResearch Council Fellow within the University ofAston Management Centre and is currently aCouncil Member at the University of Kent.

Professor Martin Daunton was born in Cardiff in1949 and attended Barry Grammar School forBoys. He read Economic History at the Universityof Nottingham. At Nottingham, he specialised inurban history and decided to continue in thisfield by moving to the University of Kent. His firstbook dealt with Cardiff as a centre of the coalexport trade.

In 1997, he became Professor of EconomicHistory at the University of Cambridge and,since 2004, has been Master of Trinity Hall.During this time, he completed a second volumeon the economic history of Britain to 1950 andedited the modern volume of the CambridgeUrban History of Britain. From 2004 to 2008, hewas President of the Royal Historical Society.

Joanna Motion was born in India and is agraduate in English Language and Literature ofthe University of Oxford. She started her careerat Oxfam. Then, working in alumni relations anddevelopment, she was appointed successively toexternal-facing roles at the universities of Hull,East Anglia, Melbourne and Kent.

After six years at Kent, Joanna Motion wasappointed to a position at CASE, the Council forAdvancement and Support of Education, a not-for-profit membership association linking 3,500educational institutions in 70 countries.

As CASE’s Vice President for InternationalOperations, Joanna Motion has overseenmembership growth in Europe, Asia-Pacific,Africa and Latin America. She served on theEU’s Expert Panel on philanthropy for universityresearch, on the UK Treasury Gift Aid Forum andis currently a member of the Voluntary GivingAdvisory Board.

Science writer and broadcaster, Dr Simon SinghMBE was born in 1964 and grew up in Somerset.He attended Wellington School before studyingat Imperial College London, where he graduatedin Physics. He later completed a PhD in ParticlePhysics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and atCERN, Geneva.

Dr Singh joined the BBC’s Science and FeaturesDepartment in 1990, where he was a producerand director working on programmes such asTomorrow’s World and Horizon. He directed hisBAFTA award-winning documentary about theworld’s most notorious mathematical problemFermat’s Last Theorem in 1996. This was alsothe subject of his first book of the same title.

His latest book is Trick or Treatment? AlternativeMedicine on Trial co-authored with ProfessorEdzard Ernst. Dr Singh was made a Member ofthe Order of the British Empire in 2003 forservices to science, technology and engineeringin education and science communication.

Mark Mardell Sir Donald Sinden Joanna Motion

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Research

Drama-based activities may holdthe key to helping autistic childrencommunicate, socialise and playimaginatively following a newresearch project beginning at Kent.

Researchers will investigate how children withautism can benefit from a range of dramainterventions centring on live, interactiveperformance using puppetry, light, sound anddigital media. The study will include psychologyand autism experts from the University, who willevaluate the impact of the drama interventionson 18 children during the 30-month project.

Results from the study, which has received £350kin research funding, could lead to a full-scale trialand may also prompt changes in approaches toother communication disorders in children.

Principal researcher, Dr Nicola Shaughnessy, ofKent’s School of Arts, said: ‘Autism affects asmany as one in 100 people in the UK but there isno cure and no single effective intervention.

‘In this research we will test the hypothesisthat many aspects of autism can beameliorated through participation in drama-based activities, specifically live, interactiveperformance.

Imagining autism projectsecures £350k grant

Research awards listSome recent research awards

Dr Ruey-Leng Loo (Medway School ofPharmacy) £389,128 from the MedicalResearch Council for ‘Analyses of ‘OmniHearturine samples’.

Professor Mick Tuite (School of Biosciences):£1,880 from the Society for GeneralMicrobiology for ‘Investigating the prion speciesbarrier in Saccharomyces yeasts’, and £1,440from the Nuffield Foundation for ‘Analysis of theprion-like properties of a glutamine/asparagine-rich protein in a closely-related Saccharomyces(yeast) species’.

'There are three main impairments in autism,each of which have a close relationship withdrama: imagination, interaction andcommunication. We think that participating ina multi-sensory, live and immersive dramaenvironment can create an opening into theautistic child’s world,’ she said.

Senior lecturers in Drama, Dr Shaughnessy andDr Melissa Trimingham, will lead the project,together with autism expert Dr Julie Beadle-Brown, of the University’s Tizard Centre, andcognitive psychologist Dr David Wilkinson, of theUniversity’s School of Psychology.

The team will now develop the dramainterventions in three Kent special schools. Theywill make use of a range of measures to evaluatethe impact of the performance activities on threegroups of six primary school children, all with adiagnosis of autism.

‘Imagining autism: Drama, Performance andIntermediality as Interventions for AutisticSpectrum Condition’ is a £430,000 project, afigure that includes £344,187 in research grantfrom the Arts and Humanities Research Council(AHRC). ‘Imagining autism’ was one of only 19projects to receive funding from the AHRC’scurrent large research grant allocation.

Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou (School ofArchitecture): £110,408 and £49,299 from theEngineering and Physical Sciences ResearchCouncil (EPSRC) for, respectively, ‘Shades ofGrey – towards a science of interventions foreliciting and detecting notable behaviours’ and‘Integration of active and passive indoorthermal environment control systems tominimise the carbon footprint of airportbuildings’.

Dr Sakis Pappous (Centre for Sports Studies):£7,173 from the European Commission for‘EuroVolNet: a network for developing voluntarycompetence in sport associations’.

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Research

Captive chimpanzees showbehavioural abnormalitiesNew research from Kent has shown that seriousbehavioural abnormalities, some of which couldbe compared to mental illness in humans, areendemic among captive chimpanzees. Theseinclude self-mutilation, repetitive rocking, as wellas the eating of faeces and drinking of urine.

The research was conducted by Dr NicholasNewton-Fisher and Lucy Birkett from theUniversity’s School of Anthropology andConservation and is published by the onlinejournal PLoS ONE.

The study was conducted among 40 socially-housed zoo-living chimpanzees from sixcollections in the USA and UK. After determiningthe prevalence, diversity, frequency, and durationof abnormal behaviour from 1200 hours ofcontinuous behavioural data, the researchersconcluded that, while most behaviour of zoo-living chimpanzees is ‘normal’ in that it is typicalof their wild counterparts, abnormal behaviour isendemic in this population despite enrichmentefforts such as social housing.

Such abnormal behaviour has been attributed tothe fact that many zoo-living chimpanzees havelittle opportunity to adjust association patterns,occupy restricted and barren spaces comparedto the natural habitat, and have large parts oftheir lives substantially managed by humans.Controlled diets and provisioned feedingcontrast radically with the ever-changingforaging and decision-making processes of dailylife in the wild.

Dr Newton-Fisher, a primate behaviouralecologist and expert in wild chimpanzeebehaviour, said: ‘The best zoo environments,which include all zoos in this study, try hard toenrich the lives of the chimpanzees in their care.Their efforts include providing unpredictablefeeding schedules and extractive foragingopportunities, and opportunities for normal socialinteractions by housing chimpanzees in socialgroups. There are limits to what zoos canprovide, however; the apes are still in captivity.

‘What we found in this study is that someabnormal behaviours persist despiteinterventions to ‘naturalise’ the captiveconditions. The pervasive nature of abnormalbehaviour, and its persistence in the face ofenvironmental enrichment and social grouphousing, raises the concern that at least someexamples of such behaviour are indicative ofpossible mental health problems.

‘We suggest that captivity itself may befundamental as a causal factor in the presenceof persistent, low-level, abnormal behaviour –and potentially more extreme levels in someindividuals. Therefore, it is critical for us to learnmore about how the chimpanzee mind copeswith captivity, an issue with both scientific andwelfare implications that will impact potentialdiscussions concerning whether chimpanzeesand similar species should be kept in captivityat all.’

‘How Abnormal Is the Behaviour of Captive,Zoo-Living Chimpanzees?’ is available at:www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0020101

Postgraduate ‘excellence’studentshipsFifteen social sciences postgraduateresearchers at Kent have been awardedprestigious ESRC (Economic and SocialResearch Council) studentships by the SouthEast Doctoral Training Centre (DTC).

The PhD studentships, for the 2011/12 academicyear, have been awarded on the basis of theacademic excellence of both the candidate andthe research proposal.

Kent joined a consortium with the universities ofReading, Royal Holloway and Surrey earlier inthe year to form one of only 21 DTCs nationally toreceive ESRC accreditation to award thepostgraduate studentships.

ESRC studentships provide UK candidates withtuition fees and a maintenance grant. EUcandidates are provided with tuition fees.

National report showcasesUniversity researchTwo groundbreaking research projects at theUniversity have been highlighted as some of themost important pieces of work currently takingplace in universities in the Big Ideas for theFuture report.

The report, which was published jointly byResearch Councils UK (RCUK) and UniversitiesUK, pulls together the leading research projectstaking place across UK universities and Kent’sprojects were selected for inclusion fromhundreds of submissions.

At Kent, Emeritus Professor of Human Aging, IainCarpenter is the UK lead researcher in an EU-funded project to analyse over 4,000 residentsof nursing homes in eight European countries.The study will result in the biggest ever data setof older people’s wellbeing in nursing homes.The other Kent research project featured is ledby Dr Rana Jawad into what positive socialaction is being taken to advance social justiceand address social inequality in the Middle East.Both academics are members of the University’sSchool of Social Policy, Sociology and SocialResearch.

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Enterprise

funding of £430,000, which includes a £344,187research grant from the Arts and HumanitiesResearch Council, to carry out further work inthis area.

Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award: BenDodd, Computing student, who started his owncompany, Dodd’s PC Repairs.

Employability Points Award: AlexandraMarsanu, Kent Business School student, for heroutstanding work.

Battery Group fully charged forcollaborationPredicted high growth rates in the Lithium batterymarket, linked to developments in the hybridelectric vehicle market, led to Dr MariaAlfredsson, with Dr Gavin Mountjoy, Dr DonnaArnold and Dr Serena Corr (the AdvancedBattery Research Group (ABRG)), working withKent Innovation & Enterprise (KIE) to explore howtheir research could attract external interest.

KIE analysed the battery market and its marketsegments, to understand which areas wouldbenefit from the group’s Li-ion batterytechnologies and identified the defence sectoras a target market. Links with the DefenceScience Technology Lab (Dstl) were pursuedand the University held an event to exploreopportunities for closer collaboration. As a result

The University celebratedinnovation and partnership at theICE (Innovation, Creativity,Enterprise) Awards on 16 June.More than 40 representatives ofbusinesses, including IBM, Dstl, 3Mand Denne Construction, attendedthe evening event, hosted by theDeputy Vice-Chancellor, DeniseEveritt, at Canterbury InnovationCentre. The awards celebratedachievements over four categories.

The Business Academic Collaboration Award:tied between Erlang Solutions Ltd with ProfessorSimon Thompson, School of Computing andMartec Ltd with Dr John Batchelor and WinstonWaller, School of Engineering and Digital Arts.Both demonstrated how the strong collaborationestablished with the University has deliveredgrowth within the companies.

Most Innovative Project Award: Dr NicolaShaughnessy and Dr Melissa Trimingham,School of Arts for using drama, puppetry andplay to facilitate communication and socialinteraction for autistic children. This University-supported project, has secured additional

Innovation celebratedat ICE Awards

of the discussions, the ABRG worked with theAntennas Research Group at the School ofEngineering and Digital Arts, to develop bodyarmour with integrated non-metallic Li-ion batteryand communications. The Dstl are now eager toexplore funding opportunities for this project.

Dr Maria Alfredsson says ‘The high energy putinto the work by KIE has enabled us to target ourresearch and attract the right partners.’

For more information on how you can attractexternal partners and funding for your researchcontact Christina Schönleber,C.M.Schoenleber@kent.ac.uk

Fourth KTP project securedICE Award winner, Erlang Solutions Ltd hassecured funding of £136,306 for a KnowledgeTransfer Partnership (KTP) with the University –

Denise Everitt said: ‘The awards eveningprovided an opportunity for the University toshowcase the achievement of networks such asICE and other schemes in supporting andincreasing business and academic partnerships.Many of the collaborations that have beensupported in this way were able to gainsignificant funding from government andResearch Councils to implement their projectideas.’

the fourth KTP between Erlang and Kent. Theacademics involved are Dr Fred Barnes, Schoolof Computing and Winston Waller, School ofEngineering and Digital Arts (EDA).

Erlang Solutions is the world’s largest serviceand support company for the Erlangprogramming language. The aim of the project isto design, validate and take to market a softwarepackage, with supporting services, to acceleratethe adoption of the programming language as atechnology used in embedded systems.

The funding award reflects the company’sexcellent growth and the strong partnershipestablished with the University, which has seenprojects with a combined value of almost£500,000 undertaken.

For information on KTPs, contact Lesley Chater,L.E.Chater@kent.ac.uk or call 01227 827376.

11KENT Magazine

Gulbenkian news

Beacon of cultureThe Gulbenkian has been a fixtureon the Canterbury campus since1969 and has always had areputation for bringing the bestof film, comedy, theatre, music,children’s shows and dance toKent. Over the past year, thanksto the committed and enthusiasticsupport of the University, and withPam Hardiman, Deputy Director atthe helm, the Gulbenkian has hadone of its busiest and mostsuccessful years ever.

In 2010, over 234 shows were presented and thetheatre achieved an amazing 82% attendancelevel in the autumn, with an overall attendancerate of 75% since September. The Gulbenkian’sintimate auditorium and warm welcome are lovedby performers and audiences alike, and make itpossible for the theatre to attract establishednames such as Chris Packham, Russell Howard,Wayne Sleep and Lesley Garrett, as well asaward-winning new talent such as Tim Crouch,Little Bulb Theatre, Bandbazi, Daniel Kitson andInspector Sands.

The music programme also contributed to lastyear’s success with sell-out shows for legendarygroups, The Searchers and Show of Hands, andfor Olivier Award winners OperaUpClose, whotook over the stage and Café Bar with theirgroundbreaking production of La Boheme.

The Gulbenkian complex also includes a cinema,which this year was upgraded and now boasts adigital projector, generously funded by theUniversity and the Digital Screen Network, whichallows for 3D screenings, and special screeningsfor the hearing impaired. The sound system hasalso been improved with the latest Dolby Digitalstereo equipment. With generous support fromEuropa Cinemas, the cinema continues to screenEuropean and international films not seenanywhere else in Kent, alongside BFI classicsin traditional 35mm.

The Gulbenkian intends to build on its success,with a range of exciting shows planned for theseason ahead. The line-up will feature comedyfrom Jason Byrne, Reginald D Hunter and ChrisAddison, dance from Ballet Black, music fromRalph McTell and Blake, and a wide range oftheatre from classical to immersive and aerial –and even a piece in a tent. The highlight will bethe Gulbenkian’s biggest ever Christmas show,Bagpuss – direct from a fantastic run at the SohoTheatre, London. Bagpuss creators Peter Firmin

and Oliver Postgate both received honorarydegrees from the University in 1987. PamHardiman is delighted to be bringing the stageversion of Bagpuss to The Gulbenkian, she said:‘I have many happy memories of Bagpussmyself and loved the show when I saw it inLondon. I am really looking forward to welcomingkids and nostalgic parents alike to seeCanterbury’s favourite resident cat.’

For more details of performances at theGulbenkian, go to our ‘What’s on’ listings on theback page.

No booking fees!Book ticketsBy phone: 01227 769075Online: www.thegulbenkian.co.ukIn person:The Gulbenkian, University of Kent,Canterbury CT2 7NB

See our website for full listingswww.thegulbenkian.co.uk

Did you know?43 shows SOLD OUT in the theatre sinceSeptember 2010.

Over 47,000 tickets sold in 2011.

195 different films were screened in 2010.

The Gulbenkian started regular subtitledscreenings in February 2011 with The King’sSpeech which was seen by over 2,000people.

340 local primary school children participatedin the Start programme, funded by ThePrince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts.

The Gulbenkian regularly features the work ofstudent and local amateur groups, who haveput on 15 productions since August 2010.

provided information and updates on their ownareas of expertise and offered technical input toinform the ideas being generated.

The advantages of these contributions were:• they reminded the Development Office teamsthat they are not working in isolation, and gavethem insights into the bigger picture

• they highlighted the range and levels ofexpertise available within the University

• the questions and issues raised strengthenedthe discussions and the outputs

• there is now an understanding with theexternal contributors that Alison is willing totake a similar role in their awaydays

• the external contributors took away ideas theyhadn’t seen before to use with their teams.

Marcia Fry, a member of Council, attended forthe last session of the day to celebrate thesuccesses and highlight the achievements of theindividual team members.

We would like to thank Alison and theDevelopment Office for providing this exampleand would welcome any ideas from other

12 KENT Magazine

Human Resources

The Learning and Development team would liketo hear from schools and professional servicedepartments that would be willing to shareexamples of innovation or good practice in thearea of people management and development.These case studies will be used to provide ideasand examples for use across the University.

An example of the kinds of innovation we arelooking for came in the Development Office’sAwayday led by Alison Coles. The focus of the daywas to reflect on the achievements of the previousyear and set out plans for 2012 to support each ofthe University’s six strategic themes.

The innovation came in the decision to involvecolleagues from outside the Development Office inthe afternoon session. Anthony Manning, Directorof the Centre for World Languages, was invited asa critical friend to share his experience of workingtowards University strategy and building andleading his own team. Questions were posedwith the intention of challenging the Developmentteams in their thinking processes; Stephen Wallisand Gary Hughes, from the International Officeand the Communications team respectively,

Making connections

Policy updateA number of new University policies haverecently been introduced; these cover fixed-term contracts, Criminal Records Bureaudisclosures and personal relationships withinthe workplace. Reviewed documents are nowin place for Dignity at Work and over the nextfew months, reviewed redeploymentdocuments will be launched.

For further information go to www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffinformation/policies/a-z.html

The annual Learning and Development AwardsCeremony took place in July with approximately60 awards presented by the Vice-Chancellor,Professor Dame Julia M Goodfellow. Awardsranged across a wide spectrum from accreditedprofessional qualifications, such as AAT

Learning and Development Awards Ceremony Sienna comes to Kent

Accounting awards, to the University of KentStaff Certificate in Volunteering.

For more information about the ceremony and toview photographs of all recipients visit theLearning and Development website:www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffdevelopment/awards.html

departments. Please contact any of thefollowing staff with your own examples:

Cindy Vallance, Head of OrganisationalDevelopment, ext 3795,email C.D.Vallance@kent.ac.ukAnne Rushworth, Learning andDevelopment Manager, ext 7897,email A.Rushworth@kent.ac.ukTracey Lamb, Learning and DevelopmentAdviser, ext 3395, email T.A.Lamb@kent.ac.uk

Human Resources hosted its first EuropeanMobility staff placement in April, when LauraSechi from the University of Sienna spent a weekwith us under the Leonardo da Vinci LifelongLearning Programme. Laura works in the HRPlanning office in Sienna, and her primaryinterest was in exploring the similarities anddifferences in higher education across twoEuropean countries, with a specific focus onstrategies relating to the effective managementof staff and the planning of financial resourcesfor recruitment and development of staff.

Laura’s programme of activity included meetingswith members of the HR team; a briefing on theSingle Equality Scheme and Disability; a visit tothe Medway campus and social eventsorganised by the University AUA branch and theHR Managers. Thank you to everyone whohelped to make Laura’s visit a success,particularly to Primrose Paskins in the EuropeanOffice for her support and expertise.

13KENT Magazine

Association of University Administrators

• The AUA Conference experience• The AUA Postgraduate Certificate inProfessional Practice.

Jon Pink, Academic Registrar, closed the eventby thanking the organisers, the presenters andthe participants, and gave his support to thegrowth of the branch and possible links withAUA members at the University of Greenwichand Canterbury Christ Church University.

The Association of UniversityAdministrators (AUA) this yearcelebrates 50 years in UKuniversities.

Formed from a merger of the Association ofPolytechnic Administrators (APA) and theConference of University Administrators (CUA),membership of the AUA provides administrative,clerical and management staff with opportunitiesto learn more about isues in higher education(HE), network with colleagues, develop careerpathways and attend conferences, lectures andinternational study tours.

Currently, Kent has around 40 members whoregularly take part in networking events andworkshops on campus, as well as attendingexternal conferences and seminars.

In April, a group of nine members attendedthe AUA Annual Conference at the Universityof Nottingham where they took part in a varietyof workshops, debates and presentations. On

17 June, Kent staff were invited to a lunchtimeevent, run jointly by the AUA branch andLearning and Development, so that the groupcould give feedback on their experiences.

Margaret Ayers, Director of HR, opened theevent, and emphasised the importance ofcontinuous professional development for staffand the value of sharing learning experiencesand development opportunities with colleagues;she also recognised the important role the KentAUA branch has to play in both of these areas.

Melissa Bradley, Humanities FacultyAdministration Manager, then spoke about thebenefits of AUA membership for individuals, butalso emphasised the benefits a strong AUAbranch supporting professionalism and goodpractice across the University, will bring to Kent.

There followed four parallel sessions wherepresentations on the following areas were made:• How to put together a conference presentation• The AUA Special Interest Groups (SIGs) andthe role and work of the International SIG

Join us at AUAIf you would like to join AUA, please applyonline at www.aua.ac.uk/membership/join

The Kent branch will be organising aseries of seminars during the forthcomingacademic year. Please check campusonline and the next issue of KENT for details.

If you would like more information aboutAUA membership, please contact MelissaBradley (M.V.Bradley@kent.ac.uk) or AlisonChapman (A.R.Chapman@kent.ac.uk).

Sharing knowledgeand experience

Books

Booker-shortlisted University novelistAbdulrazak Gurnah had his latest novelpublished in May by Bloomsbury.

The Last Gift continues Professor Gurnah’sprevious themes of postcolonial culturalidentity and transformation and has attractedreviews in, among others, The Guardian, TheTimes, The Daily Telegraph and The SundayTimes newspapers.

Guardian reviewer, novelist Giles Foden, wrote:‘Gurnah has often been praised for his prosestyle, and The Last Gift delivers in that respect’.

And in the Financial Times, novelist AminattaForna ended her review by writing: ‘Gurnah is amaster storyteller. The Last Gift is majestic in

scale, transporting the reader from small-townNorwich back in time and across continents toZanzibar. The secret Abbas has been hiding,when finally revealed, might well have pulled hisfamily apart, but it doesn’t – the problem neverlay in the secret itself, but in the not knowing. TheLast Gift is a subtle and moving tale of a familycoming to terms with itself: one to read at leisureand absorb at length.’

Professor Gurnah, who is Director of GraduateStudies at the University’s School of English,said: ‘I am happy that the book has been so well-received.’ The author of seven previous books,his fourth novel Paradise was shortlisted for theBooker Prize in 1994. His main academic interestis in postcolonial writing, particularly as it relatesto Africa, the Caribbean and India.

The Last GiftAbdulrazak Gurnah, Bloomsbury

14 KENT Magazine

ObituaryKent in the news

Staff at the University continue to make a strong contribution tointernational, national and regional news with their research and expertise.Over the past few months, there have been contributions from, amongothers, the Centre for Sports Studies, the School of Politics and InternationalRelations, the Centre for Journalism, the School of Social Policy, Sociologyand Social Research, the School of Anthropology and Conservation, theSchool of Psychology and the School of Arts.

Dr Sakis Pappous, of the Centre for Sports Studies, gained internationalexposure for his research on whether the London 2012 Olympic Games willleave a lasting participation legacy. This included coverage on Greece’sSKAI TV. Dr Gülnur Aybet was interviewed on Al Jazeera for an overview ofthe NATO operation in Libya. At the Centre for Journalism, Professor TimLuckhurst was much in demand for his views on the News Internationalphone hacking scandal by, among others, The Michael Smerconish Show inthe US and BBC World Service. Lesley Phippen, also of the Centre forJournalism, was interviewed on the same subject for American PublicMedia’sMarketplace. Hannah Swift, and Professor Dominic Abrams of theSchool of Psychology, featured on the BBC World Service, and BBC RadioMerseyside and KMFM, respectively to discuss their research on‘Predictors of attitudes to age across Europe’.

Professor Luckhurst also featured extensively in national coverage of thephone hacking scandal, being interviewed on the BBC’s 5 live and Radio 4among others. Professor Jim Mansell, of the School of Social Policy,Sociology and Social Research, was another to appear in national newsbroadcasts, including ITN News, to comment on issues raised by the BBCPanorama programme ‘Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed’.

Regional coverage included ITV’s Meridian News’ feature on Dr OliverDouble of the School of Arts and ten years of stand-up comedy writing atthe Kent. Another School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Researchexpert to be used by the media was Professor Iain Carpenter, who wasinterviewed on BBC Radio Kent about the Dilnot review of elderly care.

Print and online coverage included coverage of research by the School ofAnthropology and Conservation’s Dr Nicholas Newton-Fisher and LucyBirkett, showing ‘serious behavioural abnormalities’ among captivechimpanzees, which featured in Science Daily and The Hindu amongothers. The School’s Dr Zoe Davies, featured extensively for her research onthe importance of planting large trees in urban areas to store carbon. Sheappeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, New Scientist and RadioNetherlands Worldwide.

The University’s project to build a new music concert hall at its Canterburycampus was covered by the Kent Messenger series.

Ray Pahl, 1935-2011Ray Pahl was a founding memberof the Department of Sociologyand Social Anthropology in 1965and stayed at Kent until the mid-1980s when he moved to theUniversity of Essex.

Ray’s contributions were outsideacademia as well as within and thisinteraction was no doubt a stimulusto his sharpness of perception. Heacted as sociological adviser tovarious planning bodies and was amember of the Archbishop ofCanterbury’s ‘Faith in the City’group which challengedgovernment policy on the inner city.

Ray published a long series ofinfluential books. His Urbs in rure(1964) was based on research inHertfordshire villages, andReadings in Urban Sociology(1968) and Patterns of Urban Life(1970) were followed byManagersand their wives (co-authored withJan Pahl, 1971). His key work inurban sociology,Whose City?(1970, 1975) set a new researchagenda which focused on the state,power, social inequality and socialconflict and placed Ray at the heartof international debates.

In the late 1970s, Ray undertook astudy of work in the Isle ofSheppey. The resulting bookDivisions of Labour (1984)concluded that the informaleconomy was not an alternative tothe formal economy, and that thosewho lost their paid jobs also losttheir ability to participate in theinformal economy. He laterpublished After Success: Fin deSiècle Anxiety and Identity (1995), astudy of the meaning of successbased on research on ‘successful’

individuals, and On Friendship(2000) and Rethinking Friendship:Hidden Solidarities Today (with LizSpencer, 2006).

Ray was a founding member of theInternational SociologicalAssociation RC21 (Regional andUrban Development) in 1970, andPresident from 1974-1978, afounder of the International Journalof Urban and Regional Research in1977, first Chair of Trustees of theFoundation for Urban and RegionalStudies in 1995, a Fellow of theBritish Academy and Academicianof the Academy of Social Sciences.He was also instrumental indeveloping ties with EasternEuropean sociologists.

Ray was a highly stimulatingcolleague; he admitted to havingthe ‘adult teacher’s disease ofbeing compulsively provocative’.He was well-known for advancingnew ideas and arguments. He wasalso a very generous and sociableperson and was a great socialnetworker.

Perhaps ‘urbs in rure’ captures thecontinuity between his firstresearch, his final home and hisbelief in the importance of socialnetworks in theory and in life.Professor Chris Pickvance

15KENT Magazine

Sport

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WHITSTABLE flatshare available.Super location, two minutes fromthe beach. Would suit staff or PhDstudent seeking a bright andpeaceful living space. £400 permonth, fully inclusive includingWIFI. Contact Jill: 07857 107164.

For Sale: 35 St Dunstan’s Street,Canterbury CT2 8BZ, price range£250,000 – £280,000. threebedrooms, spacious living area,Period Grade II listed. Six minuteswalk to Canterbury West station,20 minutes walk to University ofKent. Please contact Ward &Partners 01227 766669

Canterbury Licensed Cars. AirLine Taxis Gatwick, Heathrow andStansted. All other destinationsquoted for up to 4 people.Bookings confirmed in writing.We accept UK debit/credit cards07884 294055/01227 491010.airlinelinetaxi@yahoo.com

August passportKent Sport are offering non-members the opportunity to try outour facilities this summer with theAugust passport. With the passportyou get five visits for £10, and a 10%discount on annual membershippurchased before 31 September.

The August passport gives a savingof £11.50 on the pay-as-you-goprices and gives you access to allactivities.

Further details can be found on ourwebsite at www.kent.ac.uk/sports orfrom the Sports Centre and Pavilionreceptions.

Shaw AwardKent Sport is pleased to announcethe launch of the ‘Shaw Award’which marks the achievement ofSports Centre users who

demonstrate ‘commitment throughadversity’.

The Shaw Award has beendeveloped in partnership withHoward Shaw, an ex-Kent employee,in memory and honour of his latewife, Maria Shaw, who demonstratedher own commitment throughadversity during her battle withcancer between 2007 and 2010.

Following guidance from herdoctors, Maria frequented theSports Centre as often as her healthwould allow and her progress in theFitness Suite improved her quality oflife during her battle with illness.

The Shaw Award was launched witha lunch at the Sports Pavilion Café tocelebrate the realisation of Maria’slegacy. It was attended by thoseinvolved in creating the award, aswell as friends, family and guests ofHoward Shaw.

Exercise ReferralSchemeThe sports department now offersservices to people who have beenreferred to the NHS's Exercise ReferralScheme by their GP.

The Exercise Referral Scheme isdesigned to initiate long-term lifestylechanges by encouraging people toincrease their physical activity levelsand overall fitness through specific,instructor-led exercisesessions/classes.

Co-ordinated by fully qualified ReferralInstructors, the scheme at the SportsCentre (Canterbury campus) is ofparticular benefit to people who areinactive or suffering from a diagnosedmedical condition.

For more information about the scheme,please ask your GP or Practice Nurseor speak to Liz Coult at the SportsCentre (E.l.Coult@kent.ac.uk).

Sport forall

Green newsBeekeeping at Kent

Money raised from the sale ofcarrier bags in Kent Union’s retailoutlets has been used to fund twobeehives for the campus garden inCanterbury, providing opportunitiesfor people who are interested inlearning about beekeeping.

Kent staff member, alumnus andcampus garden volunteer, AmandaRiley is learning to become abeekeeper: ‘I was delighted thatKent Union were able to fund someof the equipment needed. There’s alot to learn, both theory and practicalskills. I did a beginners’ course withmy beekeepers’ association; theyalso provide mentoring during your

first year, so both novice beekeeperand bees get a positive start.’

The hive pictured was funded byKent Union. It contains a startercolony of honeybees (Apismellifera). In this first year, thecolony will be ‘drawing out’ thecomb, ready for more eggs, forpollen stores, and for honey storage.If they come through their firstwinter safely – and the beekeeperswill help by feeding them regularlywith sugar syrup during the winter –extra layers will be added to the hivewhere the worker bees will storeextra honey which can beharvested.

The other Kent Union-funded hive isready to be made during theautumn/winter and, hopefully, asecond colony will start in the spring.

If anyone would like to know moreabout the bees and getting involvedthen please contact Amanda onA.J.Riley@kent.ac.uk

What’s on

Gulbenkian TheatrehighlightsSaturday 3 September, 7.45pm, An Eveningwith Gordon Giltrap

Saturday 11 September, 7.45pm, TheHamsters, on their farewell tour, perform onefinal show at the Gulbenkian.

Thursday 22 September, 8pm, Show MeThe Funny – LIVE! features the series winnerand the two runners-up from ITV's comedyreality show.

Friday 23 September 7.45pm, The SeagullEffect, Total Theatre Award-nominees IdleMotion use multimedia and personalrecollections to reflect upon the waves ofdestruction and the paths crossed during the1987 storm in Britain.

Saturday 24 September, 7.45pm, JacquiMcShee’s Pentangle. The original groupexpanded the frontiers of folk in the 60s and70s.

Thursday 29 September, 7.45pm, DanielSloss – Joker, Scotland’s half-man-half-Xbox,hormone-ridden comic prodigy is currentlyone of the fastest rising stars of UK comedy.

Saturday 1 October, 7.45pm, King Pleasureand the Biscuit Boys.

Saturday 8 October, 7.45pm, Ballet Black,Cassa Pancho's award-winning company ofblack and Asian ballet dancers presententirely new work from a range of dynamicchoreographers.

Tuesday 11 October, 7.45pm, A Rake’sProgress, an extraordinary evening of rousingsongs, eccentric masks and rumbustiouspuppets inspired by William Hogarth’s satiricaletchings.

Thursday 13 October, 7.45pm, BandBazipresentMind Walking, a hard-hitting but funnyfamily aerial drama which explores notions ofhome, cultural identity and family bonds.

Friday 14 October, 7.45pm, Show of Handspresent their inimitable style of music.

Saturday 15 October, 7.45pm, Tom Stade, co-star and co-writer of Tramadol Nights.

Tuesday 18 October, 3.30pm, 7.45pm, TheRiver People present Little Matter, an epic taleexploring one man’s inner self and thepotential for change.

NOW BOOKINGSunday 4, Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21December, Ballet Theatre UK present TheSnow Queen.

Tuesday 6 – Tuesday 20 December, SohoTheatre & Birmingham Stage Companypresent Bagpuss.

For full details of times and ticket availability,please go to www.thegulbenkian.co.uk

Gulbenkian CinemahighlightsFriday 5 August – Thursday 11 August,Tree of LIfe (12A)

Friday 12 – Sunday 14 AugustLarry Crowne (12A)

Tuesday 16 – Thursday 18 August,A Separation (PG) (Persian with Englishsubtitles)

Tuesday 23 – Thursday 25 August, Last Yearin Marienbad (U) (French with Englishsubtitles)

Friday 2 – Thursday 8 September,Sarah’s Key (12A)

Friday 9 – Tuesday 13 September, In a BetterWorld (15TBC) (Swedish with Englishsubtitles)

Friday 16 – Thursday 22 September, TheSkin I live In (15) (Spanish with Englishsubtitles)

Friday 23 – Thursday 29 September,Jane Eyre (PG)

Monday 26 September, Taxi Driver (18)

Friday 30 September – Sunday 2 October,One Day (12A)

For full details of times and ticket availability,please go to www.thegulbenkian.co.uk