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Welcome to the Summer 2015 edition of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences newsletter, designed to provide cutting edge insights into the world of sport and exercise sciences and deliver the latest news from the school.
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The UK’s European university
INSIDE SPORT
AND EXERCISE
SCIENCES
Summer 2015 Edition
Welcome to the Summer 2015 edition of the School of Sport and
Exercise Sciences newsletter, designed to provide cutting edge
insights into the world of sport and exercise sciences and
deliver the latest news from the school.
News 4
Kent rises to 16th in the Guardian University Guide 2016
We sponsored the Medway 10k
Registration is now open for our October Open Day
The Best New Society
Student life 6
Pre-season testing with Gillingham Football Club
Medway student hub receives planning permission
£10,000 Bursaries are now available to any graduates who lives in Kent and meets our other eligibility criteria
2015 Graduation and Exam Board
Natalie Wren’s student profile
Research spotlight 10
Asthma is rife in amongst elite athletes
Introducing the 2015 Endurance Research Conference
Graduate prospects 12
Ciaran O’Grady’s graduate profile How to get your perfect job
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
INSIDE THIS EDITION
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Kent rises to 16th
in the Guardian
University Guide
2016
More good news for the University with the announcement that it we have achieved our highest league table position to date with a rise of four places in the Guardian. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, said: ‘This
excellent news confirms Kent’s position as one of the best research and teaching universities in the UK. It is also further recognition and endorsement of the hard work and dedication of our staff, all of whom are determined to provide our students with a stimulating academic experience and invaluable preparation for the future.’ This latest good news for the University follows
Kent’s success in the REF 2014, where we were ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity and achieved the third largest increase of the top 50 research intensive universities for research power. We also achieved one of the largest increases in research funding following our REF success.
NEWS
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
We sponsored the
Medway 10k
In early June the Medway 10k returned as part of the Medway Festival of Sport. The race attracted runners of all abilities, from experienced athletes to those new to running. Medal and finish line goodies were made available to all finishers. For the men's and the ladies 1st place finishers, this included vouchers worth £200 in services from the our High Performance Sports Clinic here in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Our Sports Ready therapy team were also on hand at the race. They supported the event by providing free post-race massage to more than 50 of the runners.
Registration is
now open for our
October Open
Day
Kent’s Open Days are a great way of giving our prospective students a flavour of what it is like to be an undergraduate, postgraduate or part-time student here at Kent. Registration is now open for our October 10 Open Day where all visitors will be able to meet staff and current students and take a campus tour covering accommoda-tion, sports facilities, the library, and teaching facilities. Visitors will get a programme for the day, but we'll also have our team on hand to answer any questions, give live updates and post photos of what's going on around campus.
The Best New
Society
Our Sports Studies Society were crowned as the Best New Society for 2014/15. Congratulations to the student committee running the society. Our students Louise Wedgebury-Berry, Toni Miller, Kristine Staulen, Jacob Reid and Natalie Wren continue to take the society from strength to strength and bring together our students and staff through sport related activities.
In their first year the Society has hosted quizzes, guest speakers and social events to enhance student life for sports students here at Kent.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Pre-season
testing with
Gillingham
Football Club
Over 2 days small team of our students and staff from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences took the entire squad of Gillingham FC through their pre-season fitness testing. Dr Andy Galbraith, James Hogg, Samuel Smith, William Gowers, Laura McPherson and Emma Mundy ran the testing over 2 days in late June. The tests used included a VO2max test measuring the players’ aerobic capacity and a lactate profile test to help predict performance and monitor the players’ training improvement. In addition to these tests our team used a specialised isokinetic dynamometer to
measure maximal force of the players’ hamstrings and quadriceps muscles.
Medway student
hub receives
planning
permission
Plans for new state-of-the-art, purpose-built student social facilities at the Medway campus have moved a step closer to reality. Official permission has now been granted for the development by the universities of Kent and Greenwich to convert an unused listed building at Medway – formerly home to a swimming pool and bowling alley – into a ‘student hub’ for use by all 10,000 students at the campus.
Now that both listed building consent and planning permission has
been given by Medway Council, the universities aim for facilities to be open in time for their respective student intakes in September 2016.
£10,000 bursaries
are now available
to any graduates
who lives in Kent
and meets our
other eligibility
criteria
Students hoping to study MSc Sports Science for Optimal Performance in 2015 could be eligible for a £10,000 bursary which does not have to be repaid. The University has 232 £10,000 postgraduate bursaries for students who register for taught Master's degrees at Kent in September 2015. Jointly funded by the government and the University,
STUDENT LIFE
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
the allocation of these awards, the sixth largest in the UK, confirms Kent's position as a leading university for postgraduate study in the country. Only those who initially registered for a Bachelor's degree in 2012 (and subject to the £9000 tuition fee regime) and have recently graduated (in 2015) are eligible to apply. The scheme is open to all those who are a UK
resident, but with an on-going commitment to the provision of high-quality education in its region, the University has allocated 100 of these bursaries for 2015 graduates who are from the county of Kent.
2015 Graduation
and Exam Board
Congratulations to all of our students who graduated at Rochester Cathedral
back in early July. We had a fantastic graduation ceremony this year with a number of our students receiving special awards for distinguished academic achievement in their respective fields. Special congratulations go to the winner of our overall school prize Miss Emma Mundy in recognition of her exceptional academic performance.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Natalie Wren’s
student profile Natalie Wren is in her final year studying Sport and Exercise for Health.
Why did you choose Kent? First, I was attracted to the course because it allowed me to study the science and the therapy sides of sport, which not many other degrees offered. Also, I loved the
campus when I visited and it’s not too far from Essex where I am from.
How is the course going? I love it – I don’t want to leave. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do and the course is definitely living up to my expectations. It’s quite a new course and I quite enjoy being part of its development, it is definitely growing. It is a broad course with a
very good practical side; I think studying therapy and science could give me an edge, career wise. The facilities are great too, we have labs and therapy rooms and the library is wonderful, it has a real sense of history as well as all the up-to-date technology.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Do you have a favourite module? Exercise, Pre-scription, Referral and Rehabilita-tion. I hope to go into cardiac rehabilitation when I graduate and this module is about disease and how you prevent it or over-come it through exercise and lifestyle changes as well as with medication. What about the lecturers? They are excellent, very easy to talk to and quick to respond to emails; there is an Open Door policy, so you can drop in for a chat when they are in their offices or, if you prefer, you can book a tutorial.
Tell me about your dissertation. In the classes I work in, when a patient arrives we ask them to do a walking test to see how fit they are and then, after the classes, we test the patient to see how much they have improved. My dissertation assesses how beneficial the walking test is, and asks whether different tests should be used. It will have a very practical application and it will help the people I am doing my work experience with – they are very interested in anything I find out. It’s good to be doing a piece of academic research, which could have an immediate application. Do you need to do a Master’s for this career? You don’t, but I would
like to continue my studies for a bit longer and hope to do a Master’s in cardiac rehabilitation. Unfortunately, Kent doesn’t offer one at the moment, so I will look elsewhere. It’s a big decision and I haven’t made my mind up yet. What about Kent’s social life? I think it is good, the stu-dent bar on campus has events every night, Car-go is a good place to eat and there is a cinema just across the road. There are lots of societies, and you can start your own – my housemates and I started a society called Get Crafty. Also, if you sign up to Medway Activities, they take you to London or Maidstone for a night out and then bring you home, you pay a small fee for three years’ membership – it’s a good deal!
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
Asthma is rife
amongst elite
athletes
Dr John Dickinson spoke with Sky Sports News this summer to discuss the prevalence of asthma among elite athletes. This interview followed Dr Dickinson’s article with the Guardian on how heavy exercise causes rise in bronchial restriction in airways. As a world expert on asthma in sport, Dr Dickinson was invited to comment on the prevalence of asthma among elite athletes after it was noted that the proportion of Alberto Salazar’s athletes with asthma was lower than in Britain’s 2004 Olympic team. For the full video segment with Sky Sports News please visit: http://goo.gl/oz6LA5
Introducing the
2015 Endurance
Research
Conference
On 2 - 4 September 2015 we will be hosting a 3 day conference on endurance sport. Following the highly successful World Congress of Cycling Science 2014 (WCCS 2014) in Leeds, we are now offering a unique conference for sport science students, scientists, health professionals, coaches and athletes with an interest in endurance sports. The programme includes invited talks from world-leading scientists and
practitioners, free poster and oral communica-tions, and lots of opportunities for stimulating debates, questions and answers, and networking. Like WCCS 2014, the
conference will also include an Open Lecture tailored to the general public, as well as sessions specifically designed for athletes and coaches. Unlike other more generic conferences, the conference will focus solely on endurance. Talks and free communications will cover both the basic sciences applied to endurance (physiology, psychology, biomechan-ics and cognitive neuro-science) as well as more applied topics such as training, testing, nutrition, and modelling. All major endurance sports will be covered (running, cycling, swimming, triathlon and ultra endurance) but free communications are welcome about any endurance sport. The Endurance Research Conference will run in the UK at the University of Kent in
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Medway, and will address some of the central themes in endurance research. Thematic areas of the conference include:
Cycling
Psychology
Physiology
Triathlon
Pacing
Nutrition
Running The conference benefits from a very convenient £180.00 full conference
package for the three day conference or £295.00 including accommodation. Thanks to the funding provided by the Beacon Project, we have been able to organise a world-class event with a broad appeal. In addition to speakers from the Endurance Research Group, this conference includes world-leading authorities in the field of endurance research, as well as oral and poster
contributions from scientists interested in endurance sport and exercise.
REGISTER
FOR THE
CONFERENCE
T: 01634 888463
W: www.kent.ac.uk/ endurance-research- conference
E: b.cronk@kent.ac.uk
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Ciaran O’Grady’s
graduate profile
Ciaran O’Grady graduated from the BSc in Sport and Exercise Sciences in 2014. He is currently studying for a Master’s in Sport Science for Optimal Performance. What attracted you to Sport and Exercise Science at Kent? I was attracted to this
programme because it allowed me to apply my sporting activities as a racing cyclist to an aca-demic pathway, giving me the opportunity to investigate the science behind the sport that I love. How were your studies? Upon starting my studies, I was immediately drawn to the varying avenues of research into the physiology of endurance
cycling. I became involved in several research studies, as both a participant and researcher, which gave me a wealth of insight into the research process. How was the teaching at Kent? The teaching is excellent, aided by the research activity of the staff, which allows for great insight into the rigours of scientific research.
GRADUATE PROSPECTS
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Lectures and seminars are well delivered and there are plenty of opportunities for reviews and feedback on the teaching process. How would you describe your fellow students? They had varying sport-ing interests and our discussions often gave me new perspectives on situations. They were extremely supportive of my sporting commitments, which sometimes prevented me from attending social activities. Has your course changed you? I have become very independent in my learning and I have seen my organisational and administrative skills develop greatly. What about the facilities at Kent?
The facilities are outstanding, from the high-class research labs to the brilliant cafés and restaurants on campus; they are well equipped and supported the student body spectacularly. And the social life at Kent? As a training athlete, I did not engage in the social aspect of university life as much as others, but on the whole it was fun. My time at Kent was incredible, so much so that I have continued on into postgraduate study here. What careers advice did you receive at Kent? From very early on in my time at Kent I realised that my ambition, to follow a career in scientific research, was
right for me. My lecturers and mentor fostered my interest, giving me insights and advice into how to follow my chosen career. In what way has your degree helped you find work or further study? My degree has given me the opportunity to secure both funding for postgraduate study and employment as a sports scientist at a cycling performance centre in London. My typical working day consists of completing physiological testing, coaching athletes and applying sports science in a commercial setting. My postgraduate study is furthering my interest in sports science, particularly endurance physiology and the training processes.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
How to get your
perfect job
Here is a fascinating
article to from one of
our recent graduates
from the BSc Sport and
Exercise for Health
programme. Rose
Brenton is a newly
appointed exercise
physiologist with the
local NHS cardiac
rehabilitation
team. Here is what
she had to say on how
to get your perfect job.
After all those years of
hard work, stress, and
more than your fair
share of emotional
breakdowns over that
assignment that’s due in
tomorrow, you can finally
call yourself a graduate
with the degree that you
thought you might never
get. And that’s a great
feeling, but then what?
These days we’re all too
familiar with the
difficulties of landing that
all important first job.
That moment of
realisation that maybe
the degree you worked
so hard for isn’t quite
enough. The crucial
decision between using
your degree to start a
career, or settling for
something, when you
know you’re capable of
much more. This is a
dilemma that many of us
face, myself included,
and so it’s important to
set yourself up for
success early on. This is
my 3 step guide for
getting the perfect job:
Step 1: Studying
The hard work has to
start early. It’s easy to be
complacent and drift
through Uni being more
concerned about what
happened last night than
what needs to be done
for tomorrow, but it’s all
about getting the
balance right.
Employers are looking
not just for a degree, but
a GOOD degree. This
means to give yourself a
head start over others
you need to be aiming
for a 2:1 or higher! And
it’s possible.
Consistency is key. As a
chronic procrastinator
myself, I can honestly
say the best advice is to
get that assignment
done early and keep or-
ganised. This will help
keep stress levels down
and leave you with more
time when the weekend
finally gets here. In the
end we all get the de-
gree we deserve, so fo-
cus on the end goal. It’ll
be worth it.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Step 2: Volunteering &
work experience
‘I’m sorry but you don’t
have the relevant
experience that we are
looking for’
This phrase may come
in many variations, but
the bottom line is that
relevant work experience
is of the upmost
importance.
Securing a volunteer role
while still at Uni may be
one of the most valuable
assets you gain
alongside your degree.
No one likes to work for
nothing, but I have to
say, even if you give up
an hour or two a week of
your precious time, it
makes all the difference.
Voluntary experience
speaks volumes about
you as a person and
allows you to gain the
all-important work
experience needed for
that dream role.
What goes around
comes around – those
unpaid hours will set you
apart from the rest and
eventually you will get
your reward. Also it’s
not always what you
know, but who you
know.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
Cliché maybe, but the
people you may meet
through work experience
and volunteering may
come in handy when
looking for a full time
position.
Step 3: Extra
qualifications
Along with work
experience, any further
qualifications you earn
will give you that much
needed boost. It shows
initiative and willingness
to expand your skills and
knowledge. Getting my
personal trainer
qualification, and others,
has opened so many
doors for me.
if during the course of
your studies you have
the opportunity to get
any extra qualifications
or certificates, grab it! If
not, it’s never too late.
Be proactive and find a
recognised course (there
are many) that will give
you the qualification that
makes you stand out.
INSIDE SPORT AND
EXERCISE SCIENCES
For more information, please see
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
University of Kent Medway Campus, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4AG
T: +44 (0) 1634 888858 F: +44 (0) 1634 888890 www.kent.ac.uk/sportsciences
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