Graduate scheme works out for new gym in Nottingham as it saves £10,000 in design costs
8 February 2017
A gym which launched in Nottingham last week benefited from the design flair and business acumen of Nottingham Trent University students. Ali West and Jamie Woodford, founders of Kinetik Fitness, submitted a business challenge to students on the Grads4Nottm scheme to design the interior and layout for their new gym – which opened last week.
The Grads4Nottm scheme brings employers together with student talent and supports keeping local talent in Nottingham. It is now inviting businesses to submit challenges to its next round.
Ali West, co-founder of Kinetik Fitness, said: “The students were really professional and brought some fresh ideas into the design, we were amazed with the work they delivered over the course of two weeks. At the end, we were so impressed that we took their designs to our contractors. We went to get a quote to match the design work they had delivered to get an understanding of the amount of work they had done and we were told it was valued at £10,000.”
Salomey Adjei, one of the students working on the interior design challenge, attended the gym’s launch. She said: “It was a fantastic experience to take part in Grads4Nottm, I thrived on the opportunity to work on a real life challenge, where you knew your designs and ideas would lead to something that would be implemented. The scheme broadened my perception of the businesses landscape in Nottingham and it was a deciding factor for me to enrol onto the MA Interior Architecture and Design at NTU."
Lianne Grosvenor also worked on the challenge. She said: “This was the first time I got to experience working with a client, where you had to be professional taking a brief, designing and then delivering and presenting. The scheme got me out of the student bubble and immensely improved my confidence. Grads4Nottm was displayed in my portfolio and within a month it helped land me land my first graduate role as an Architectural Technologist with BDP Architects International.”
Jamie Woodford, co-founder of Kinetik Fitness said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better job done by the students, I highly encourage local businesses to get involved. We ended up saving a lot of time and money, and as a SME that is value you can’t put a number on. We will definitely get involved again this year!”
Last year Grads4Nottm placed 120 students across 40 local businesses. The scheme was nominated for the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative in 2016. To request more information, contact the business development team at grads4nottm@ntu.ac.uk.