The Goldbox Blog

Joining forces with the University of Derby

We are thrilled to share some incredibly exciting news today. A full-circle moment that has been years in the making. Really, this is just the beginning of a new chapter though.

September 14th, 2023

Written by Ben Collison

We are proud to announce that we have entered into a strategic partnership agreement with the University of Derby. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey, and we’re honoured to be the first company to kickstart this new venture for the University of Derby as well.

This partnership will open up a number of brilliant opportunities for us to learn, grow and make new connections thanks to the fantastic resources and individuals a part of the University.

In return we will support a number of university students through mentorship, workshops and other exciting experiences. We cannot wait to get started with these rewarding endeavours and believe they will fit in with our current efforts perfectly.

After months of hard work engaging with the University to create a successful model that is of equal benefit to everyone involved, we feel confident this framework will produce many incredible outcomes for our team, the University and their many students, plus other companies who wish to engage in a partnership like this moving forward.

It’s going to be very interesting to see the kind of impact this relationship has on our clients and the Derby community overall.

We intend to support current and future University of Derby students to our full ability. Obviously we have that personal attachment being recent graduates ourselves and believe the challenges we have undergone and the knowledge we have gained can be of real benefit to students in a multifaceted number of ways.

This means more to us than simply fulfilling our end of the bargain. We're passionate about helping the next generation to thrive the best we can and the work we’ve done so far has been so energising.

As mentioned, this milestone really has been years in the making. Our story began when the four of us met at the University of Derby on the film production course.

After working together on a short film, we quickly realised we have great chemistry and a lot of shared passions. It was on the train back from the Birmingham film festival when the idea to start our own video production company was born.

We didn't waste any time getting started and spent over a year building up our portfolio, mostly through engaging in unpaid work. However, just days before we were set to shoot our final year film and a few months before we would graduate, coronavirus broke out and flipped our ambitions upside down.

This left us with a difficult decision to make. Do we abandon our plans to start GoldBox as a limited company once we graduate or do we take the plunge and go for it. Obviously, we chose the latter and the rest is history.

Since then we’ve had the privilege of working with a number of terrific clients, including the likes of Bear Grylls, Hilton Hotels & Dunelm. Of course this success didn’t come without plenty of tough times along the way.

Throughout all of this however, the University has been there to support us in a number of ways through the range of business services they offer.

Special thanks to the key people who have gone above and beyond to make this partnership possible, including Peter Dewhurt, Mark Gilman, Laura Williams, Natalie Okpara-McFarlane, David McGravie, Adam Doyle, Charlotte Higgins and of course our dear mentor Fintan Donohue.

You’ve all been so encouraging and resourceful since day one in always pushing us to excel, keeping us at ease and making sure we stay true to ourselves.

There are honestly so many more people a part of the University, too many for us to count in fact, who we also want to thank for supporting us throughout our journey. Hopefully you all know who you are.

This will be an ongoing relationship that evolves and continues to flourish. We look forward to the opportunities this partnership will open up as well as collaborating with many more talented people along the way.