The British and Irish Modern Music Institute, now styled as the BIMM Institute, is a group of eight independent colleges which specialise in the provision of creative education in Brighton,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. The institute currently has over 7,000 students The institute was founded in Brighton in 2001 as the Brighton Institute of Modern Music and BIMM Bristol opened in 2008. After acquiring the Tech Music School London (TMS) in 2010, the BIMM Group opened BIMM Dublin in 2011, BIMM Manchester in 2013, BIMM Berlin in 2015, BIMM Birmingham in 2017 and BIMM Hamburg in 2019. In 2012, the BIMM Group became a full member of

UCAS The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS ) is a UK-based organisation whose main role is to operate the application process for British universities. It operates as an independent charity, funded by fees charged to applicants an ...

and the UK colleges (Brighton, Bristol and London) were successfully reviewed by the

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...

(QAA). In October 2014, the organisation was renamed the "BIMM Institute", as an abbreviation for "British and Irish Modern Music Institute". Since opening the Berlin and Hamburg colleges, the company have dropped the full name to reflect the fact that they are no longer just "British and Irish", referring in all materials simply to BIMM Institute. In 2016, BIMM Limited, Brighton, Bristol and Manchester were successfully reviewed for educational oversight by the

(QAA) and were commended for the quality of student learning opportunities. The BIMM Group was purchased by

Intermediate Capital Group Intermediate Capital Group is a private equity investment firm focused on providing capital to help companies grow through private and public markets and provides a number of strategies and funds aimed at institutional investors. It is headquarte ...

in 2020.

History

BIMM was founded in 2001 by Damian Keyes, Kevin Nixon, Bruce Dickinson and Sarah Clayman. This team subsequently sold the group to

Sovereign Capital Established in 2001, Sovereign Capital Partners LLP is a UK-based private equity specialist renowned for 'Buy & Build'. It invests in companies in business and technology services, healthcare and pharmaceutical services and education & trainin ...

in March 2010. In 1983, Drumtech was founded by Francis Seriau, later becoming Tech Music School. In 2010, BIMM Group acquired Tech Music School London and in 2014 Tech Music School changed its name to BIMM London. In January 2012, Adam Carswell was appointed as managing director, to lead the management team of Vaseema Hamilton (principal of BIMM Berlin, Brighton, Bristol and London), Dara Kilkenny (principal of BIMM Dublin and Manchester) and Andrew Bates (director of academic quality). In mid-2012 the group appointed Tony Wadsworth (who was head of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

from 1998 to 2008 and was chairman of the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

) as a non-executive director. In October 2012 the group appointed a marketing director, David O'Connor, and in 2016 appointed a new finance sirector, David Jones-Owen. According to their website in 2019 the management team consist of Adam Carswell (chief executive officer and head of institution), David Jones-Owen (chief operating officer, UK and Germany), Julia Ruzicka (UK recruitment and admissions director), Bernard Yeboah (group director of finance), Dara Kilkenny (executive principal), Vaseema Hamilton (executive principal), Tom Picken (director of marketing services and customer experience), David O'Connor (employability and product development director) and Louise Jackson (academic director and provost). BIMM was purchased by

in 2020.

Other colleges

In 2017, BIMM Institute opened the Brighton Institute for Contemporary Theatre Training (BRICTT) offering BA (Hons) Performing Arts and a further education Diploma in Performing Arts. In 2019, BRICTT rebranded as the Institute for Contemporary Theatre (ICTheatre) and announced they would be opening a second college based in Manchester. In 2018, BIMM Institute partnered with the Brighton Film School which offers a filmmaking degree and diplomas. In 2019 it rebranded to the Screen and Film School (SFS) as well as announcing that it would be opening in Birmingham and Manchester in 2021. In 2019, Performers College became part of BIMM Institute. Based in Corringham, Essex, Performers College provide degree-level vocational training in dance and music theatre.

Course and accreditations

BIMM Institute was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers in the UK by an Order from the Privy Council on 14 March 2019, having demonstrated that it met the criteria to become a recognised body for awarding degrees in the UK. As such, BIMM Institute has overall responsibility for the academic standards and the quality of the qualifications they offer, and are able to award their own undergraduate and master's degrees. BIMM degrees were previously accredited by the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. BIMM Dublin courses are validated by

Technological University Dublin Technological University Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, and with a history stretching back to 1887 through the amalgamated Du ...

. From 2020 BIMM's UK colleges have introduced new degree courses, including Joint Honours options; new courses were also introduced in their European colleges. Level 3 Diploma provision is validated by Edexcel or Rockschool.

Notable alumni

ADONXS Adam Pavlovčin (; born ), known professionally as ADONXS (; stylized in all caps), is a Slovak singer-songwriter, model, dancer, and former lead singer of the alternative band PACE, based in London. He is the 2021 winner of ''SuperStar''. He is ...

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost pa ...

Izzy Bizu Isobel Bizu Beardshaw (born 28 April 1994), better known as Izzy Bizu, is an English-Ethiopian singer-songwriter signed to Epic Records. Bizu has garnered mainstream radio support from BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac and Phil Taggart and BBC Radio 1Xtr ...

* Black Honey *

Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

Jason Cooper Jason Toop Cooper (born 31 January 1967) is an English drummer best known for his work with The Cure. Life and work Born in London, England, Jason studied drums at London's Drumtech (where he is now a patron and visiting artist). He first ca ...

Marina Diamandis Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...

Ed Drewett Edward James Drewett (born 1 April 1988) is a British singer and songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, Jonas Blue, The Wanted, Olly Murs and SG Lewis. Early life Dr ...

George Ezra George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single, "Budapest", ...

* Fontaines DC *

Fickle Friends Fickle Friends are an English indie rock band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The band formed in 2013, and is made up of Natassja Shiner (vocals, keyboard), Harry Herrington ( bass, backing vocals), Sam Morris ( drums) and Jack Wilson ...

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by th ...

Ella Mai Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. Her musical career began at London's British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of ''The X Fa ...

Tom Odell Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, '' Songs from Another Love'', in 2012. It won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio album, ''Long Wa ...

Ryan O'Shaughnessy Ryan O'Shaughnessy (born 27 September 1992) is an Irish singer and former actor from Loughshinny, Skerries, Dublin. He portrayed Mark Halpin in the popular TV series ''Fair City'' for nine years (2001–2010). In January 2012, he appeared in th ...

* Luke Sital-Singh *

Ash Soan Ashley Soan is a British drummer. His influences include Stewart Copeland, Steve Ferrone, Jim Keltner, James Gadson, Phil Rudd, Art Blakey, Steve Gadd. Early life Educated at the Grove School In Market Drayton, Shropshire, Ashley Soan starte ...

* Kate Walsh * Pale Waves *

Mimi Webb Amelia Webb (born 23 July 2000), known professionally as Mimi Webb, is a British singer-songwriter. She is known for her singles "Before I Go" and "Good Without", the latter of which peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In October 20 ...

* Dani Wilde *

The Xcerts The Xcerts are a British alternative rock band, originally formed in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2001. They have released four studio albums, with their latest being '' Hold On To Your Heart'' (2018). Biography The Xcerts were originally formed ...

References

External links

UK official websiteBIMM/ Dublin official websiteBerlin official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brighton Institute Of Modern Music Education in East Sussex Music schools in England University of Sussex Educational institutions established in 2001 2001 establishments in England Universities and colleges in the Republic of Ireland Music schools in the Republic of Ireland