Lights, camera, action! University of Northampton students have taken their collaboration with BBC Radio Northampton’s Make a Difference Awards to the next level – travelling across the county to film the inspiring stories of this year’s nominees.
Following the success of last year’s awards coverage, a team of ten students* from the University’s Creative Film, Television and Digital Media Production course – supported by University staff including Technician Demonstrator, Laurence Maybury – were given an enhanced creative brief for the 2026 awards, with the team responsible for recording video interviews with nominees at locations across Northamptonshire.
The resulting films were played during the BBC Make a Difference Awards ceremony, putting the spotlight on the people, organisations and community groups being recognised for the difference they make to the lives of others.
The project gave students the opportunity to work as a professional production team, taking their cameras out of the studio and into real-world locations across the county to meet nominees, hear their stories and capture the people and places behind their achievements.
From planning and filming to interviewing, sound recording and editing, the students were involved throughout the production process, working to a professional brief and deadline ahead of the awards ceremony.
The BBC Make a Difference Awards celebrate ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve the lives of others in their communities, with nominees recognised across a range of categories.
The project builds on the successful partnership between the University and BBC Radio Northampton, which saw UON students provide photography and video coverage of the 2025 awards.
This year’s expanded role gave students even greater responsibility and the chance to develop their creative and technical skills in a professional environment – while helping to bring the stories of Northamptonshire’s community heroes to a wider audience.
One of the students working on this year’s commission was Freddie Baker, who said: “This experience was incredibly valuable for me and my future prospects. I managed to get my first experience on a live event as a runner and because of that, I have the BBC on my professional CV – all before finishing my first year of study.
“This experience helped me learn just how important communication is in a live-environment and how every member of the team was as important as the other, helping to ensure operations ran smoothly. I was nervous going into it, but that quickly turned into excitement.”
Deputy Head of the School of Culture and the Creative Industries, Dr Anthony Stepniak, who lead the collaboration between UON and BBC Radio Northampton, said: “We are delighted to have built on the success of last year’s Make a Difference Awards project and given our students the opportunity to take on an even greater creative role.
“Being able to travel across Northamptonshire, meet nominees and tell their stories through film is a fantastic real-world experience for our students. They have had to work collaboratively and professionally, adapting to different locations, people and filming environments while delivering content to a live broadcast deadline.
“It is also wonderful to see their work used to celebrate people who are making such a positive difference in our local communities. Projects like this demonstrate the value of giving our students opportunities to put their learning into practice and build a portfolio of professional work before they graduate.”
The University’s Creative Film, Television and Digital Media Production degree is designed to develop students’ practical skills across film, television and digital production, with opportunities to work on industry projects alongside their studies.
*The full team of students included: Ava Payne Spellman, Mackenzie Pengelly, Jaimee Panther, Sam Birch, Liz Andrews, Evie Bunting, Annah Majoni, Freddie Baker, Alex Payne and Jack Killick.