Students can fine tune their careers thanks to new community radio station

Students from the University of Northampton will be able to cut their teeth in broadcasting when a community radio station launches this autumn.

NNBC will hit the airwaves on Saturday 1 October, after the joint venture between the University and a group of broadcasting professionals was granted a five-year community radio licence by communications regulator Ofcom.

The station, which will broadcast on FM and the internet, is for the people of Northampton and wider county – including students from the University.

“We have students who are studying radio and broadcast journalism  who will be getting involved as a matter of course, it’s another place they can go along to and gain work experience,” said Steve Taylor, Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, who made his name as a DJ on London alternative radio station XFM.

“However, students across the University can get involved in the station as well. The opportunities for enhancing employability skills and transferable skills are endless with radio. Key skills include research, writing clearly, concisely and conversationally, presenting, producing – and even the application of number as you have to plan the timings of shows. These are all skills that are crucial that will help students get on in their career, regardless of the field they go into.”

Watch Steve Taylor’s video interview here:

It has taken four years of hard work to get NNBC off the ground. The station was founded in 2012 by experienced broadcaster Terry Doyle, who formed a steering group comprising former Northampton South MP, Tony Clarke, ex Northampton Borough Council leader, John Dickie, and broadcaster Robert Owen.

The station will boost the University’s strategic aim to build Northamptonshire’s cultural standing.

NNBC’s studios are based at the University’s St John’s Hall of Residence, in Northampton’s Cultural Quarter.

To find out more, and to get involved, visit the website.