dBs Pro

The creative audio
company on your campus
dBs Pro intern adjust the sound on our Korg MS-2O
Creative Director Jay Auborn setting up for a recording session
Rack of studio outboard

dBs Pro is our in-house creative studio, where students get to work on commercial projects with real clients.

Students from all our campuses get regular opportunities to work on commercial recording and creative audio projects that give them the chance to both contribute and observe industry practice. Each year, around 80 students participate across 25 productions in roles from producers and composers to developers and sound designers.

Recent projects include producing live music performances for BBC Springwatch (watched by 1.8 million viewers), working on Innovate UK-funded AI research alongside Channel 4 and Aardman, mixing commercially released albums, creating immersive VR audio experiences, and producing podcasts for organisations ranging from law firms to charities. Students have also worked on location recording for documentary films, spatial audio for heritage apps, and post-production in surround sound for cinema releases.

Read more about our recent projects below:

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Students have the opportunity to take on individual project roles as they come up throughout the year as well as the dBs Pro Development Programme, which is a year-long placement for final-year students (with limited spaces) where you're embedded in the studio team. The programme includes one-to-one mentoring, insight into running a commercial studio, access to professional equipment, opportunities to pitch for work and manage projects.

dBs Pro is run by Creative Director Jay Auborn, a producer and sound artist with over 20 years of industry experience. Whether you're working on a one-off project or part of the Development Programme, you work alongside him and other professionals on live briefs and see how the creative industries operate.

dBs Pro gives students the opportunity to gain commercial experience while they study. You graduate with professional credits, industry contacts, and potentially some paid experience too. Alongside your degree, this experience can lead straight into professional roles, such as our most recent 2024/25 Development Programme participants, who are now all working in professional industry roles.
“dBs Pro offered me direct paid working opportunities that have really helped me develop my professional career. The contacts made through dBs Pro provided me with my main sound engineer job, which is an ongoing role and my main source of income.”
- Giorgio Cortiana dBs alumnus
“This project [Window] was a perfect opportunity to use techniques that we have been honing and developing in our classes at dBs.”
- Louis Marcell, student on MA Innovation in Sound
"I think it's amazing that dBs can provide these sorts of opportunities. Having worked on this project [When I Killed the Cat], as well as one for the BBC New Creatives initiative, and having an institution that actively seeks out these opportunities, it's honestly amazing.”
- Rob Kivits, dBs alumnus
“We all had a fantastic time working on this project and I was thrilled to see how well it did upon its release! I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity thanks to dBs Pro. I learned a lot of valuable industry skills that I can apply both in my studio work and professionally. I really hope to be able to work on a similar project in the future.”
- Joe Valek, dBs alumnus