University students will benefit from new collaboration with events giant Festival Republic

University of Gloucestershire and Festival Republic – the largest festival company in the UK – are collaborating on an exciting new initiative providing paid internships and work placement opportunities to the next generation of events and music industry professionals.

Festival Republic, part of international events company Live Nation which owns Ticketmaster, own and operate music festivals throughout the summer season, including Download, Wireless, Latitude, Wilderness, Leeds, Reading, and Electric Picnic.

In collaboration with the University, Festival Republic will provide more than 300 students with access to career development opportunities in voluntary work placement roles in the areas of events sustainability and accessibility, during the 2023 festival season.

In 2024, Festival Republic will also provide a nine-month paid internship as a Sustainability Assistant, based at the company’s London headquarters and festival sites, to a University student from within the Music and Sound degree programme.

The volunteer and paid roles with Festival Republic will be closely aligned to University degree programmes in Sound and Music, Events Management, Ecology and Environmental Science, and Geography, to help further enhance academic teaching and learning.

The new collaboration follows a number of projects on which the University and Festival Republic have successfully worked together, including a research and development project aimed at enhancing sustainability practices at music festivals.

Dr Matthew Lovett, Associate Professor in Music Innovation within the University’s School of Creative Industries, said: “We’re thrilled to announce our new collaboration with Festival Republic that will present our students with some fantastic placement opportunities to gain authentic knowledge and experience from a real leader in the industry.

“Students will have access to paid and volunteer roles at some of the biggest festivals in the UK that will significantly enhance their development, look great on their CVs and help them to stand out to employers.

“The University and Festival Republic share common goals of looking to increase sustainability at their locations, improve access to all and widen participation, so the relationship is built on strong foundations that will continue to provide benefits to our students.”

Vikki Chapman, Head of Sustainability at Festival Republic, said: “We are looking forward to working with students from University of Gloucestershire again, to provide them with important on the ground experience at our events and they will help us to deliver our sustainability and accessibility goals.”