Graduate enterprise 'greenhouse' gets Bob the Builder seal of approval

ONE of the brains behind the smash-hit children's animation series, Bob the Builder, will help open the University of Teesside's new graduate business incubation centre on Tuesday 17 May.

Curtis Jobling, a former student of Cleveland College of Art and Design, is the production designer for Bafta winning Bob the Builder.

He returns to Middlesbrough to give his backing to the University's Upgrade² Graduate Enterprise scheme and help open the University’s graduate business ‘greenhouse’ established in the renovated former Victoria Road School.

The 114-year-old building, next to some of the University's latest developments, has been revamped at a cost of £1.3 million to provide studios and office space to graduates setting up their own businesses on the campus.

The project was supported financially by regional development agency, One NorthEast, and the European Regional Development Fund and the building will be officially opened by One North-East’s chairman, Margaret Fay, at a ceremony in the Centre for Enterprise, also on Victoria Road at 12.15am.

Also present will be three animators who have set up Seed Animation and IT graduate, Gillian Maxfield, who launched her own training company, ICT City Ltd, through the University's graduate business start-up scheme.

Seed are now working with Curtis Jobling on a number of exciting new projects.

Gillian Maxfield has more reason than most to feel emotional about the event. For she was the head girl at the Victoria Road Infants School nearly three decades ago.

She said: “When I walked through the door after nearly 30 years away, I got a sense of nostalgia, especially when I saw how the classrooms I was once taught in as a little girl had been turned into studios and offices for the young new businesses set up by the graduates.”

Before the official opening of the Victoria Building, Curtis said: “The University’s graduate business incubation units are a marvellous way to support young graduates while they get to grips with running their own businesses. Help like this is priceless.”

The Upgrade² Graduate Enterprise scheme at the University of Teesside's scheme is open to graduates from all five North-East universities and to graduates from the North-East who have studied in other parts of the country.

Maurice Tinkler, manager of the incubation centre, says the aim is to encourage locally based graduates to set up new businesses in the Tees Valley. Graduate businesses receive a comprehensive package of advice and support, including business guidance and mentoring.

Since being launched in 2000, over 60 companies have been incubated on the campus and still successfully trading. Currently there are 22 companies on campus, with ten of them already based in the Victoria building. In total over 180 jobs have been created through the scheme.

The Victoria Building was a former infant and primary school, which has been extensively refurbished to provide up to 20 graduate business incubation units.

Curtis Jobling gained an HND in illustration from Cleveland College of Art & Design after falling in love with North Yorkshire having done the Coast to Coast walk. He came to study in Middlesbrough from 1992 to 1994 and now lives in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. He renewed his acquaintance with Teesside after meeting Chris Williams, the director of the international animation festival, Animex, two years ago. He met the Seed trio at Animex and has now been appointed as a mentor for Seed Animation by Northern Film and Media. Curtis says: “There's no reason why Middlesbrough shouldn't rival Manchester, Bristol and London one day and become a centre for animation. That’s the idea behind the DigitalCity project here which is building a network of young talented digital companies. Teesside University’s School of Computing and the Animex festival already have excellent reputations and new companies like Seed are impressing everyone who sees the quality of their work.”

Seed Animation was formed two years ago by Rob Womersley, 25; Neil Kidney, 27, and Morgan Powell, 28, to produce off-beat short animated films. All three are graduates of Teesside’s MA in Computer Animation degree and their intension is to build the North East's premier animation company capable of producing broadcast quality animated productions and commercials.

They've already produced a pilot for a potential animated series called Freerange, which won the Best Animated Short Film prize, sponsored by Middlesbrough Council, at this year’s DigitalCity Fellowship Awards. Rob describes Freerange as “Animal Farm meets Chicken Run meets South Park”.

Curtis has also produced a series of short animated films with Seed called Good Cat Bad Cat, which created plenty of interest at the Animex Production showcase at the UGC cinema earlier this year. Curtis said: “I wrote the scripts and came up with the designs for the Good Cat Bad Cat films and the guys at Seed produced the animation in their studio in the Victoria Building. What they created is fantastic we are now exploring a number of new projects together.

For more information please contact Laura Woods, Director of Academic Enterprise, on 01642 384408 or l.woods@tees.ac.uk

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