University of Kent

We're delighted to share we've been awarded Green Flag status for the first time, recognising the care and commitment that goes into managing one of the country's most distinctive university campuses 🎉

Presented by Keep Britain Tidy, the Green Flag Award is the international quality mark for well-managed outdoor spaces. It is awarded to sites that demonstrate high standards of environmental management, biodiversity, accessibility, safety and visitor experience.

Catherine Morris, Sustainability Manager at the University of Kent, said: “This award reflects the work of colleagues across the University, many of whom work behind the scenes every day to make our campus welcoming, safe, beautiful and environmentally sustainable.

“From maintaining our grounds and supporting biodiversity to improving accessibility, protecting our historic landscape and creating opportunities for students, staff and visitors to enjoy the campus, this achievement reflects the care, expertise and pride colleagues bring to their work.

“We're delighted to have achieved Green Flag status for the first time and hope everyone who studies, works or visits the University enjoys the campus as much as we enjoy looking after it.”

A huge thank you to all the teams across the University whose hard work, expertise and dedication have helped achieve this fantastic recognition 👏

Read more at bit.ly/4vw7Bbr

Last month, our Kent community came together to celebrate colleagues who have made an exceptional impact on the student experience through outstanding teaching and Academic Advising🎉

With 358 student nominations recognising 180 members of staff across two awards, the response highlighted the incredible dedication, expertise and support our academic community provides every day.

Huge congratulations to Chris Shepherd (School of Natural Sciences) and Declan Wiffen (School of Humanities) on winning Academic Advising Awards 🏆

Congratulations also to Christopher Burden-Strevens (School of Humanities) and Emma Hargreaves (School of Natural Sciences), recipients of this year’s Kent Students' Union Teaching Excellence Awards 🏆

Lastly, a shoutout to all our highly commended staff across both categories and all those nominated 👏

Left to right (Winners: Dr Christopher Burden-Strevens, Dr Chris Shepherd and Dr Emma Hargreaves) Photo by Dr Wei-Feng Xue.

AI-enabled app to turn smartphones into respiratory disease detection devices 📱

Kent sports scientist, Professor John Dickinson, is co-developing an app that can transform a smartphone into a low-cost, non-invasive screening device for early respiratory disease detection to save lives and relieve diagnostics pressures on the NHS.

By utilising AI technology to measure both a person’s chest motion and breathing sounds to understand their breathing pattern, the app will give users the ability to detect abnormal breathing patterns in real time, without the need for internet access or clinical equipment.

Unlike current methods for diagnosing respiratory problems which rely on trained staff in clinical settings, the mobile-first approach will enable patients to accurately detect abnormal breathing patterns at home and in community settings before consulting their GP.

Read more at kent.ac.uk/news/research/…

Sports centre clinic update ⚠️

The queue for our on campus clinic is already very busy, and we're expecting that it may close at a similar time to yesterday due to demand.

Students and those eligible can also attend the following locations for vaccination and precautionary antibiotics:

Vicarage Lane Clinic, Ashford (TN23 1NJ)

• Fri 20 March: 8.30am–7.30pm
• Sat 21 March: 9am–4.30pm
• Sun 22 March: 9am–4.30pm

Faversham Health Centre (ME13 8QR)

• Fri 20 March: 9am–5pm
• Sat 21 March: 9am–5pm

Gate Clinic, Kent and Canterbury Hospital (CT1 3NG)

• Fri 20 March: 8.30am–7.30pm
• Sat 21 March: 9am–4.30pm
• Sun 22 March: 9am–4.30pm

Please attend any of these sites if more convenient, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding.

More information - kmhealthandcare.uk/meningitis-ant…

MenB vaccine update - 19 March - 2.50pm

The queue for the MenB vaccine is now closed due to capacity.

The queue has been closed as nursing staff are unable to see any more people within the clinic’s remaining opening hours today.

The team have been working incredibly hard to vaccinate as many people as possible.

The clinic will reopen on:

Friday – 9:00 am to 5:00 pm be in the queue by 2pm
Saturday – 9:00 am to 5:00 pm be in the queue by 2pm
Sunday – 9:00 am to 5:00 pm be in the queue by 2pm

#UniversityOfKent