Name: Chris Bilton

Job title: Reader in Creative Industries

Department: Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies

Number of years at Warwick: 20

There’s no such thing as a typical day, but, in brief, my job involves...

These days my work is fairly evenly split between research / writing, postgraduate teaching and admin. A few years ago I used to be director of the Centre and on various university committees, which tilted me more towards the administrative side. Before that I was running one of our MA programmes (the one I set up in 1999) so was more teaching focused. I enjoy the combination of roles and responsibilities, it keeps me on my toes!

My most memorable moment at Warwick has been...

Probably the biggest moment was launching the MA in Creative and Media Enterprises in 1999 – this was the first MA in the country to address management in the creative industries. It was quite scary, we didn’t know how many students would apply and a lot was riding on it for me personally as well as for the Centre. My daughter was born the year before, and a month or so before the start of term I went into the seminar room where I would be teaching and changed her nappy on the floor. It helped to make a nerve-wracking experience into something more domestic. My daughter is now 20 years old and hopefully won’t be reading this.

In my time at Warwick, the biggest change I’ve seen is...

The built environment is continually changing of course – I remember being able to rent a student room in Rootes for around £10 a night, holding parties in the old Social Studies lounge, and getting locked into the business school when card access was still a novelty. The physical changes have a symbolic impact – in 2021 we will be moving into the new Faculty of Arts building, which will bring us back onto central campus, and this feels like a significant investment of faith in the work we are all doing and a good time to start new projects.

Warwick’s kept me here because...

I like the fact that Warwick still feels quite entrepreneurial – of course the systems and structures have become more complicated, but it still feels like if you have a good idea (and you can make the business case to support it), the University will back you. I think a lot of other institutions are more hierarchical and closed. So if I do get bored with what I’m doing, there’s always the possibility of reinventing my own job within the University. At a more personal level, I think in our work the colleagues you have around you define the job. I’m fortunate in having a really nice bunch of colleagues in the Centre many of whom I would consider to be friends.

At the moment I’m really enjoying working on...

I’m looking forward to the new undergraduate course in creative and media industries – we are all chipping in to design modules and build the curriculum, and we’re hoping it will be genuinely ground-breaking. We’ve got a good track record of starting new courses and new fields of study, so we’re quietly optimistic, It will be interesting to engage with students over a longer period (at the moment most of our students are taught postgraduates, so only here for one year. It feels like we are at the start of a big (and slightly risky!) initiative, and that’s always exciting.

It would be really useful to work more closely with...

Local creative and media businesses. We used to have a regular flow of part-time MA students who were often working locally, but that has slowed down, partly due to fees. I have run workshops in Birmingham and London on creative enterprise, innovation and leadership. I also recently took part in one of the outreach events with Year 10 students, and it was interesting to see how they engaged with media and business. We still have a lot of connections with the local creative and media sector, through placements and student projects. The City of Culture and our move into undergraduate teaching could be our opportunity to build on that. Developing an off campus school for cultural entrepreneurs would be an exciting development.

I've recently discovered...

The cycle path out to Kenilworth. Cycling out to Leamington is a bit more hairy, especially at night, but the ride out to Kenilworth is really nice, through green fields and with pretty lighting to mark the path. You come out by a nice looking pub which I’m intending to explore with one of my colleagues.

Warwick’s unique because...

Students always seem to like the campus wildlife, especially the ducks, and the marauding gangs of Canadian geese near the Business School. At Millburn House we have rabbits and the occasional fox. It’s a reminder that Warwick is built in the middle of farmland – I really like the old pictures of the area they have in Scarman House. Once at dusk I even saw a deer, just near the side entrance to Millburn House.

I'm really glad I got involved with...

There used to be a 5-a-side football game in the sports centre on Thursday lunchtimes – mostly people from IT Services and the Library. It had been running for years, and over time people dropped out with various injuries. I eventually had to stop when my job became more complicated and I was no longer able to take the time out, but it was a great way of socialising and letting off steam. I’d like to think it’s still running, but I don’t know. I also enjoyed my epic tennis games with Oliver Bennett and Jerry Ahearne.

I usually travel to campus by...

I live in London so I get the train and then cycle to and from the station. The bike is quite useful for getting around campus too. One of my students once asked me if I had cycled up from London that morning, I guess I must have been looking a bit rough that day. I do worry what I’ll do when the knees start to go.

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