From our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rama Thirunamachandran

As a valued member of our alumni community, we hope that you and your family are safe and well at this difficult time of unprecedented disruption and change to the way that we live our lives.

We are all, in many different ways, experiencing the physical and emotional challenges this situation brings.

As COVID-19 has spread around the world, we have been able to fully appreciate, more than ever before, the critical role our dedicated healthcare workers play in the care and support of our communities. At this time of crisis, when we’re at our most vulnerable, our front-line workers are putting the nation’s health before their own each and every day, saving lives and keeping our loved ones safe. We would like to pay tribute to, and thank, our many alumni, our NHS colleagues and our university staff working in front-line healthcare and other important services at this time.

Canterbury Christ Church University in collaboration with the University of Kent will be opening the Kent and Medway Medical School in September 2020. This new School will combine the strengths and expertise of the two universities and its graduates will join so many of our existing alumni community in transforming healthcare provision both in the local area and further afield.

Both universities are rising to the challenge to fight COVID-19. Here at Christ Church, our academics are developing and advising nationally on new diagnostic radiography methods, engineering new solutions for PPE equipment, as well as testing for, and mapping, COVID-19. And, of course, a high number of our health and social care students are also in frontline clinical and health practice across the region, testimony to their outstanding commitment to their chosen profession. At the University of Kent their scientists are researching into novel screening reagents and vaccine development and their technicians are using 3-D printing to produce face shields for health and social care workers.

Generous philanthropic gifts to the Kent and Medway Medical School over the last two years have so far allowed us to accomplish founding scholarships, develop our widening participation activities, purchase equipment, offer medical student prizes, and name spaces and buildings. We are continuing to work towards our vision to improve the healthcare provision available to the people of Kent and Medway and on this Global Giving Day, if you are able to lend your support to this urgent campaign, however big or small, we’d love to hear from you.

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Please don’t feel any pressure to respond if this message comes at a bad time, however if you are able to support us in any way, we will be truly grateful.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about the Kent and Medway Medical School, or indeed other potential opportunities to support our new facility for science, technology, health, engineering and medicine at Christ Church, please contact our Alumni Relations Manager Kate Chesterman kate.chesterman@canterbury.ac.uk

We send our thoughts and best wishes to you, our extended alumni family and hope that you and your families stay safe and well over the coming weeks.

Professor Rama Thirunamachandran

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