We had a blast at Mutations Festival 2023, as we have done every time over the last few years. It’s always amazing to see students from different courses out in force across the weekend in Brighton; not even Storm Ciarán could prevent them from experiencing incredible collaborative opportunities.
Over the long weekend, we caught up with Nicky Williams, BIMM University Careers Manager, and various students to talk about their experiences at the festival and get their opinions on how collaboration is essential to this precious industry.
Nicky is often behind the fantastic opportunities offered to our students. We asked Nicky for her insight on these important collaboration opportunities:
“I say to the students – it may only be a few days working at a festival, but the experience you are gaining professionally and socially will stay with you. You can update your CV with a cool festival like Mutations, but you also meet some equally important people along the way. We are really excited to be able to continue collaborating with one of the biggest promoters in Brighton. Some of our grads are even working at FORM now, from opportunities like this one.
“Collaboration is everything in my job. Working with our amazingly talented course leaders and tutors means everything to me. I pick up crucial advice that I can pass on to our students, but not only that, they can let me know about opportunities within their network, which is what BIMM is all about; fostering the talent we have in our network of inspiring tutors and students.”
Nicky has helped students find work placements far and wide throughout the industry, including at the NME Awards, VEVO, Glastonbury Festival, The Great Escape, Sony Music, CAA, PRS for Music and many more.
What the students said
We also had the chance to speak to some of our students at the festival. Jack Bourne was working at Patterns as a venue rep. He helped the bands load in, helped to set up the backline, and ensured that all the artists on the day were happy and looked after. Jack currently studies Electronic Music Production, but he doesn’t allow that to stop him from gaining as much knowledge in as many different areas of the industry as he can.
“Collaboration opportunities like these are so crucial. For someone like me, aiming to get into the industry, experiences are the best teacher you will ever have. The people you meet during opportunities like this are also great teachers. I look forward to interacting with new people and networking with bands and managers. I am also trying to get a look at the lighting engineer in action.”
First-year Business and Events Management student, Amelie Murfett, was fulfilling a similar role to Jack at one of Brighton’s most prominent venues, Chalk. She could be found at the box office, checking tickets, handing out wristbands and offering her general support to all aspects of the event, ensuring it ran smoothly.
“Mutations has been quite chaotic so far, but I like the chaos of it all. It’s interesting, and it’s not one job that you’re sent here to do. You’re thrown into every aspect of it.
“The opportunities for collaboration at BIMM are significant. There’s a big emphasis on how important networking is. Getting these opportunities through BIMM makes that a little easier because everyone’s so friendly.”
