Kent featured prominently in the regional, national and international media during 2017. Our experts contributed to news stories ranging from asthma among elite athletes to gene editing and preventing migraines, and from Native Americans in Britain to the advice given to women about drinking during pregnancy.
University research findings were reported around the world, making an impact in countries such as USA, Australia, India, China, Brazil, Germany, France, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Malaysia and, of course, the UK.
Achievements, such as winning a coveted THE award for outstanding student support and a gold rating in the UK Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework, also made the news, as did the appointment of the University’s new Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Karen Cox.
This year almost 320 individual academic experts and PhD students contributed to national and international print and online news coverage, with almost 200 individuals giving interviews to global radio and television programmes, a considerable increase on 2016.
Thirty-nine Kent academics and PhD students also published 58 articles in The Conversation during 2016. These were read by more than one million people in publications such as Le Monde, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, Hong Kong Free Press, The Independent, Slate Afrique, CNN (online), France 24 (online), The Ecologist, International Business Times, Washington Post, Fortune and Scientific American.
Our top news stories for this year included:
December
- Expert Comment: Chris Froome and high salbutamol concentration (School of Sport & Exercise Science)
- Research leads to call for lung health screening at top football clubs (School of Sport & Exercise Science)
- Six ‘political tribes’ of Europe identified (School of Politics & International Relations)
November
- Diabetes and obesity responsible for nearly 800,000 cancers worldwide (School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science)
- Lifespan prolonged by inhibiting common enzyme (School of Biosciences)
- Expert comment: Could this be the end of an era for Mugabe – and Zimbabwe? (Kent Law School)
- Kent organises major conference for county business leaders
- Call for new law to protect tenants in their homes after Grenfell – University of Kent (Kent Law School)
- Law student wins benefits arrears for client on appeal (Kent Law School)
October
- Project to reassess history of Native Americans in Britain (School of English)
- Love them or loathe them – fundraisers subject of timely new book (School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research)
- Alumnus Kazuo Ishiguro wins Nobel Prize for Literature (School of English & School of European Culture & Languages)
Alex Magaisa, Kent Law School
September
- Citizen science can predict butterfly population trends (School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science)
- Forest fire pollution wreaks havoc on wildlife (School of Anthropology & Conservation)
- Legal experts work with tenants following Grenfell Tower fire (Kent Law School)
- Controlled temperature change inside ear can prevent migraines (School of Psychology)
August
- Pharmacies could be key to keeping local communities healthy (Medway School of Pharmacy)
- Expert comment on human embryo gene-editing (School of Biosciences)
- Arts engagement can help counter divisions in society (School of Psychology)
July
- Anti-gravity treadmills get patients running again after knee surgery (School of Sport & Exercise Science)
- Coffee bubble phobia may be deep-seated aversion to parasites (School of Psychology)
- ‘Biometric’ security for smart devices could stop cyber-attacks ( School of Engineering and Digital Arts)
- UK consumers spend more on British meat after horse meat scandal (School of Economics)
Dr Anna Schaffner, School of European Culture & Languages
June
- Architecture students visualise scale of Canterbury’s heritage (School of Architecture)
- Expert Comment: Conservative/DUP alliance – Faustian Pacts rarely end well (School of Politics & International Relations)
- Illegal wildlife trade growing on the dark web (School of Anthropology & Conservation & School of Computing)
- Government must think seriously about farm and rural support after Brexit (School of Economics)
May
- Scientists overcome pig genome flaw (School of Biosciences)
- Advice to pregnant women on drinking ‘patronising and sexist’ (School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research)
- Anthropologists involved in Homo naledi discovery and dating project (School of Anthropology & Conservation)
April
- Book reveals the real drivers behind the Brexit vote (School of Politics & International Relations)
- Environmental DNA helps protect great crested newts (School of Anthropology & Conservation)
- Scientists use super x-ray to develop new materials (School of Physical Sciences)
- How child sexual abuse in Ireland was kept ‘invisible (Kent Law School)
Dr David Walsh, School of European Culture & Languages
March
- Ramsgate book launch to celebrate life and work of A.W.N. Pugin (School of Architecture)
- Scientist part of international team behind comet discovery (School of Physical Sciences)
- Research finds a majority endorsing revenge porn (School of Psychology)
- Why we underestimate time when we’re on Facebook (School of Psychology)
February
- Podcasts celebrate history of British stand-up comedy (School of Arts)
- Few mutations for Ebolaviruses in new species (School of Biosciences)
- Law clinic uses EU law to win benefits case (Kent Law School)
- The ‘formidable’ impact of Brexit on devolution (School of Politics & International Relations)
January
- Setting the record straight on WW2 forgotten heroes (School of History)
- University partnership improves Dover traffic flows (Kent Business School)
- Footnotes author warns new runners to let bodies adjust (School of English)