Leeds Beckett Student Lands Graduate Job after Architecture Challenge

Leeds Beckett has been working with Overbury since 2023, with students undertaking workplace challenges and taking on work placements with the fit-out and refurbishment specialists. This year, seven final-year BA (Hons) Interior Architecture students were invited to pitch ideas for a live project with one of Overbury's clients.

The students were invited to Overbury's headquarters in Manchester to be briefed on the project - designing a new workspace for the client, Arup - and met Overbury staff on a tour of the office. They then had a mid-tender review before pitching their final designs to senior staff in March 2025.

In a sign of the strength of the relationship between Overbury and Leeds Beckett, the company made an exclusive offer of a graduate job for the winning brief.

The students finally pitched their completed designs to the Overbury Panel, receiving incredibly positive feedback with words like 'articulate', 'confident', 'engaging' and 'thorough'.

The winner? Lauren Hutchinson, whose begins a Junior Designer role with Overbury in August after graduating.

Lara Rettondini, Course Director, said: "This project is a great example of the type of real-life briefs our students have chance to take on in preparation for their future career."

Lucy Mallard, Head of Design at Overbury, added: "We were incredibly impressed with all the candidates put forward for our design challenge. I am delighted to welcome Lauren to the Overbury Northern team and look forward to seeing her grow in her new role with us."

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