Work experience

Providing real-world, hands-on experiences is at the heart of the BIMM experience. Our longstanding partnerships within the industry both inform what we offer and facilitate countless opportunities every year. Our students run record labels, manage live events, produce TV shows and put business plans into action.

All students also have the opportunity to undertake a work placement during their course. The Careers Team provide full support in securing and arranging placements and, previously, students have completed internships within every area of the music business.

What will you experience next?


Read about our students’ placement experiences

Industry partnerships and opportunities

We foster a range of high-profile partnerships within the creative industries, all of which are designed to enrich your experience and provide opportunities both during and after your course.

Explore some of our ongoing opportunities below.

We know you love music. But how about having the opportunity to collaborate creatively on exciting projects in other areas of the creative industries, establishing important connections and developing your talent?

That’s what our students experienced when we collaborated with UCA, uniting the worlds of film and music to create something spectacular.

Dean Humphreys, a re-recording mixer, sound designer, sound editor, and company owner, reached out through WRKiT (our online careers
event) to connect film and music students. Talent Match, our in-house job matching service, then paired 11 UCA filmmakers with eight BIMM composers for one-of-a-kind collaborations on the directors’ short films.

The BIMM composers received glowing reviews from the UCA filmmakers and directors. Finn Mulford, Director of Hikikomori, said: “Working with Tommy Dowse, our composer, was a hugely enjoyable collaborative experience. The score he provided us not only suited but elevated the finished work.”

Dean Humphreys, Re-Recording Mixer and Sound Designer said:  “The 11 UCA directors are delighted at the positive impact the score has had for their films and how collaborative and adaptable the BIMM composers have been.”

One example of these unique collaborations is Love-Pit Potion, a film directed by UCA’s Matias Raassina with David Hamilton from BIMM Music Institute Dublin as a composer. We spoke to Matias and David to find out more about their collaboration on Love-Pit Potion.

 

“Working with David was a real creative pleasure, in all senses,” says Matias. “Alongside his musical talents, he’s open to honest and direct feedback. In some cases, David was eager to challenge my feedback and ideas, which is an important trait in working towards a common goal.”

Matias added that he’s keen to collaborate with the composer more in the future: “I’m eager to work with David again and have full confidence that he’s able to deliver, despite how far genres and ideas are stretched.”

The feeling is also mutual from David, who says he found working with Matias “a very creative and enjoyable experience.” He continues: “I would highly recommend working with Matias in any creative collaboration, and I hope to work with him again in the future.”

Find out more about the BIMM Music Institute X UCA collaboration here

We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with the DIY Magazine team to celebrate our Music Made Us campaign.

As part of this brand-new partnership, BIMM students from across all our colleges will have the opportunity to take part in an incredible internship programme.

As part of the internships, they’ll interview artists and industry professionals in collaboration with DIY. They will also have a guidance and mentorship session before the interview with DIY’s journalism and editorial team. We will publish the work via BIMM’s blog, and one lucky participant will see their piece published by DIY themselves.

Students will carry out the project through the prism of BIMM’s #MusicMadeUs campaign. Music Made Us explores, discusses, and celebrates what music means to people, how it’s impacted our world–and how it’s made us who we are today.

The aim will be to produce an editorial feature with the interviewee that reflects the Music Made Us ethos. Our students will get to the heart of how and why music was such a defining force within their subject’s life.

Find out more about the internships and DIY Magazine here.

BIMM x DIY logo

"We hope that through this opportunity, we can help provide some tangible and ultimately inspiring, real-life experience that will give students a glimpse into what it’s like to work at a music publication today. As a team, we’re real advocates for gaining as much experience in this industry as possible, and we hope that this project will help to give students the springboard they deserve.”
Sarah Jamieson, DIY Magazine's Managing Editor

We’re so excited to partner with the ATC Management Team and announce the launch of the exclusive A&R Student Talent Scout Programme. As part of this brand-new partnership, we will provide eleven A&R roles across all BIMM colleges.

The lucky eleven students are:

  • Harshiv Parekh
  • Martina Esposito
  • Luke Kavanagh
  • Joseph Green
  • Heleen De Maeyer
  • Jair Black-Santos
  • Lewis Egdell
  • Ronja Poehlmann
  • Seth Mayhew
  • Ava Von Der Mehden
  • Max Dalum

The BIMM Music Institute X ATC Management A&R Internships

On this fantastic three-month internship, students will gain invaluable A&R experience while furthering their artist development and research skills. They will will liaise directly with ATC’s core A&R teams and managers, take part in educational sessions, and receive mentorship through management meetings and breakout listening sessions.

Kris Tomkinson, Head of Careers and Industry at BIMM Music Institute Birmingham, said:

“The care, consideration and enthusiasm ATC have shown in creating this opportunity for BIMM students has been remarkable. I couldn’t be more excited for our students and the level of learning they will receive from such a brilliant team and their wealth of experience.”

Find out more about the internships and ATC Management here.


“I’m really proud to have developed this program with BIMM’s Kathryn Craddock and Kris Tomkinson, alongside my colleagues Stacey Pragnell, Toby Donnelly, and the wider team here at ATC. It inspires us to be working with bright young minds in England, Ireland, and Germany through this association, built around mutual and enjoyable education. The students introduce us to their local communities and vibrant musical cultures, and our managers are nurturing the next generation of label executives, artist managers, creators, and entrepreneurs. At a time when we are unable to congregate in physical spaces, this much-needed programme is cultivating healthy dialogue and arts-based connectivity.”
Sumit Bothra, ATC Management


“We are extremely excited to work alongside ATC Management: a highly respected management company with a diverse roster of incredibly creative artists and producers."
Kathryn Craddock, Head of Artist and Guest Liaison at BIMM Music Institute

During our Summer Series 2020, we partnered with Sentric Music to create an exclusive opportunity that gave all BIMM students the chance to write/produce music for an active sync brief with $20k. As part of this programme, there was a Masterclass on how sync works and industry insight on how to improve your chance of landing that big sync.

Not only did this enable students to learn what goes on behind the scenes in what can often be a confusing and daunting part of the industry, but they were also able to acquire knowledge on how to get ahead when writing for motion picture.

 

simon-pursehouse

"Over the years Sentric has worked with BIMM in many ways. From taking on students for work placements (several of which have ended up working full time with us), to providing lectures on music publishing and synchronisation. Every interaction we've had with them has been positive and that's why we keep coming back!"
Simon Pursehouse, Global Director of Music Services at Sentric


"It was really heartening to be approached by BIMM to speak with their students on the subject of synchronisation and licensing. The session was very well organised and I would like to pay tribute to Kris Tomkinson and the team who coordinated the Masterclass with amiable and erudite professionalism. As part of my contribution, I set the students a brief from a commercial client and I was honestly blown away by the standard of submissions we received. Clearly, there's an abundance of talented students and faculty across the eight institutions and I look forward to enhancing relations between Sentric and BIMM in the years ahead. Notwithstanding, sharing one's accumulated wisdom to aid the professional development of undergraduates is vital to maintaining the success of an industry that contributes in excess of 5 billion to the UK economy annually."
Phil Morris, Sync Executive – Sentric Music Group

BIMM Birmingham careers staff

“Working with Sentric provides so many top-level opportunities for our students. They are always extremely supportive and open to ideas, which for an organisation of their scale, is a credit to how they operate. On this occasion, I approached the brilliant Phil Morris, asking if they’re able to give our artists and producers a sync brief to work to, with a chance of it being pitched to their client. Not only did they do it, but they also delivered two incredible Masterclasses to help our students prepare. We are lucky to be working with them and long may it continue!”
Kris Tomkinson – Events, Guests and Careers, BIMM Music Institute Birmingham

We’re proud to be lead educational partners with The Great Escape (TGE), the three-day festival for new music, showcasing 500 emerging artists from all over the world in 30+ walkable venues across the city, including a pop-up site on Brighton’s infamous beach.

Students from across all eight BIMM Music Institute colleges get to perform at the Official BIMM showcase and Alternative Escape shows and network with the industry at the TGE conference. Each year, the conference is packed full of insightful panels, topical debates and keynote speeches from leading figures from the music business.

The festival is powered by student and alumni volunteers from BIMM. Each year, they gain valuable behind-the-scenes experience in areas such as Venue Management, Front of House, Box Office, and Artist Liaison, while building great contacts across the industry.

Great Escape, Brighton

“Every year at The Great Escape festival in Brighton, a large group of BIMM students come on board to volunteer to shadow our teams, learn new skills, and gain first-hand experience of life in the music industry and festivals. As experienced music and events professionals, our aim is to share our knowledge and expertise to help train the next generation of artists, sound engineers, artist and event managers, music journalists, marketers, influencers, etc. BIMM students have always been a great support: they are enthusiastic, eager to get involved and develop their industry network. Thanks to their hard work, we not only have a fantastic time together at TGE but it is also very satisfying to see them make their way up and build their careers”.
Rebecca Halifax. The Great Escape Festival

 

Information for students

For more information about our successful and varied Work-Based Learning programme, download our student handbook.

Student Work-Based Learning Handbook (PDF)


Any questions?

For any questions about how we prepare our students for a career in music, or if you’d like more information on how to apply to BIMM Music Institute, please contact our Enquiries Team on 01273 840 346 or email [email protected].

 

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