University of Gloucestershire and Festival Republic - the largest festival company in the UK - are collaborating on a 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, owns 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 music and sound, events management, geography and ecology and environmental science, to help further enhance academic teaching and learning.

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."

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."