Adam Berwick - our new Industry Liaison Officer - is one of the newest members of the #dbscommunity and is tasked with connecting students and alumni to opportunities within the creative industries. Find out more about his role and what makes him tick.
At dBs, we're proud of how well we help our students and alumni find work in the industry during their studies and after they graduate. As well as integrating industry work into our curriculum and teaching students using professional-grade equipment, we also actively seek connections with the creative industries to open up opportunities for our community.
Adam Berwick, our new Industry Liaison Officer, is a huge part of that ethos. Find out more about his role and what makes him tick here!
Hey Adam! Please introduce yourself and your new role at dBs.
My name is Adam and I’m the Industry Liaison Officer at dBs. My position focuses on linking professional industries with dBs and our students. This can include building relationships, networking and creating new collaborations between us and the professional world.
What were you doing before joining us here?
Before working at dBs I studied here for two years on the Innovation In Sound Master's course. During this time I honed my music production skills and focused on rhythmic entrainment - looking at why people respond to rhythms and the benefits of doing so.
What’s been a highlight of that experience?
The highlight of my experience on the MA course was meeting, connecting and collaborating with so many amazing and talented people. Being surrounded by knowledgeable creatives was inspiring and pushed me to think outside of the box.
Sounds great! What was involved in your MA project work?
For my Master's, I researched why and how humans react to music. Through my research into this, I came up with the idea to create a tool that would interact with sound through movement. I collaborated with another student to design something we ended up calling Sonify that uses accelerometers to detect movement. I designed all of the sounds for the machine and mapped them according to human hand movement to create something that felt intuitive and organic. Our end goal was to create something that could harness human expression and detail and translate it into audio production.
How do you think that experience will inform your new role as our Industry Liaison Officer?
For me, being out and connecting with people feels natural and being with dBs for two years has broadened my understanding of how to navigate the music and creative audio industry. I think also being part of the student experience at dBs has been valuable. I know what it’s like to study here and hopefully, that will drive some great opportunities and experiences for everyone at dBs.
What would you say you've learnt specifically about 'how to navigate the music and creative audio industry' from studying at dBs?
dBs has been a central hub of communication and connection for me and my journey into the music and creative audio industry. Every possible question that I've ever had about the industry has been answered at dBs. This has really given me the confidence to get out and push myself, opening up loads of opportunities - like releasing music on record labels. Something that I've learned is that the industry isn't linear and navigating it requires you to be flexible, you never know what's next but it's just important to be open to whatever comes your way.
What excited you about this new role?
Mainly the fact that it's a position that falls so close to my personal life; now I get to be me at work! I love making new friends, helping people out and seeing people thrive in the industry. This role is an accumulation of all those things. Plus, I love being around music tech so that’s a bonus.
Why do you think it’s an important function for the students here at dBs?
I think it's great for students to be able to leave dBs with industry contacts and connections as well as the confidence to happily go and fill their contact book outside of dBs.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to our students?
Don’t be afraid to ask… If you don’t ask you don’t get and even if something doesn’t work out, you will have still made a connection and an impression which can lead to further opportunities down the road.
Tell us about some of your plans as our Industry Liaison Officer?
Currently, I’m looking at getting tutoring opportunities for students outside of dBs so that students can run short music production courses and lead classes. I’m looking at bringing industry professionals into dBs to use the facilities and chat with the students about their experience and share their knowledge. If you’ve got anyone that you think would be amazing to have come to dBs, please let me know and I can reach out to them! Finally, I’m working closely with Jay at dBs Pro, so will be getting stuck into some commercial projects there.
What have you enjoyed most about the role so far?
As well as just being back with the team at dBs, I’ve really enjoyed reaching out to contacts and planning how dBs can collaborate with other companies in the industry. I’m really excited about what the role has to offer and feel like the sky's the limit.
Anything else you want to say?
I currently live in Sheffield and have my own music studio up there. In my spare time, I work on releasing electronic music and am currently prepping for live sets in the summer. Sheffield is an amazing place to be based as I love getting out into nature and climbing rocks.
Read our recent interview with Alex Smith, our Employability & Engagement Officer, to find out how he's helping out students find work as well.
