Footballer put through his paces by students during interview

Fri 17 January, 2014

CULT football figure Adebayo Akinfenwa visited the University this week, as part of an interview assignment with media performance students.

With live footage being streamed onto the internet from the University’s HD TV studio in Luton, students had the opportunity to quiz well-known faces from the world of sport, music and fashion in front of a live studio audience.

Akinfenwa, who discussed subjects ranging from his playing career, which has taken in 11 clubs thus far, to the work he does with inner-city kids, was impressed with the quality of questioning he received.

“The students (Manda Donabi, Chris Daniels and Lorenzo Gosling) knew what they wanted to ask and they got their questions across really well, which made the interview really enjoyable,” said Akinfenwa, who currently plies his trade as a striker for League One outfit Gillingham.

“They were more meticulous than some of the television interviews I have given. I take my hat off to them because the way the interview had been set up and the students’ whole demeanour; it had a real life feeling to it.”

Other interviewees over the day (Thursday) included singer Josh James, who represented the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, and Fashion Designer Kwame Firtz.

Kathryn Wolfe, Senior Lecturer in Media Performance at Bedfordshire, added: “This was a collaborative assessment for 70 students from four different courses being assessed in one live event.

“Students took on roles from presenting to directing, camera operators to floor managers and sound recordists to vision mixers.

“All the TV crew started at Bedfordshire in October, so this is only their 12^th lesson in the TV studio – they were absolutely fantastic in their roles, and it’s the first time we added in the extra pressure of a live studio audience and live streaming. We are incredibly proud of their achievement.”

Dr Maria Wiener, a fellow Senior Lecturer in Media Performance at the University, added: “The media performance students rose to the occasion, they performed as interviewers with enthusiasm and faced this challenge with success.”

Photo: Adebayo Akinfenwa speaks with Bedfordshire students, Manda Donabi, Chris Daniels and Lorenzo Gosling