Meet the alumna supporting students to get their music careers off the ground
Newcastle University alumna (four times over!) and retired academic Dr Jane Nolan MBE has awarded her second annual Innovation and Enterprise Award to a current music student to support the development of his online piano academy.
24 September 2026
Dr Jane Nolan MBE first arrived on campus in 1970 to embark on an undergraduate degree in our School of English Language, Literature and Linguistics. Following the completion of her BA and MA at Newcastle University, Jane enjoyed a successful entrepreneurial career and was awarded the MBE for services to UK Exports in 2000.
Jane returned to Newcastle University in 2010 where she spent time working as a Visiting Entrepreneur and Curriculum Development Officer with the Careers Service and Newcastle University Business School. In 2013, she began lecturing at Newcastle University’s International Centre for Music Studies (ICMuS) and remained there until her retirement in 2025. During her time with ICMuS she also completed her PhD (2020) and became a Fellow of the European Entrepreneurship Educators Programme (3EP).
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Jane was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Education Excellence Award in 2024 for her contribution to the educational experience at Newcastle University, and it was with the prize money from this award that the Dr Jane Nolan Innovation and Enterprise Award was established. In its inaugural year in 2025, Jane awarded three recent graduates with a prize of £250 to develop their businesses, and this year the award has supported current postgraduate student Jebby Joseph.
Jane said:
“I am delighted that over the last two years this award has recognised the extremely impressive achievements of highly enterprising graduates, and I congratulate them all on their success. I am pleased that this will help support their continuing innovation and enterprise and I look forward to seeing how all these excellent projects and achievements develop in the future."
A third and final award will be made in 2027 to support up-and-coming musicians in their future careers.
About Jebby Joseph
Currently a student on the Music Education MA course, Jebby Joseph founded PianowithJebby in 2020 in response to the disruption to in-person music lessons and performances caused by the pandemic. Since then, Jebby’s online piano academy has trained over 400 students across five continents!
The academy is the foundation of Jebby’s entrepreneurial journey, but throughout his time on campus he has been given opportunities to drive that spirit in a new direction.
Having connected with music education provider The Maestro Online through the university’s NCL Internships scheme, Jebby led the company's first expansion into India: developing a market-entry strategy, brokering partnerships with Indian artists for a new masterclass series, and proposing Indian repertoire, including an original piece based on Raga Charukesi, as pilot content for the platform's improvisation piano syllabus.
It is for this project that Jebby has been awarded the £250 Dr Jane Nolan Enterprise and Innovation Award. Following the award announcement, Jebby said:
“PianowithJebby has always been about meeting students wherever they are: in ability, background, and geography. This award recognises what happened when I carried that same approach into a professional industry setting, and it means a great deal to have that connection recognised.
“I'm grateful to Newcastle University and to The Maestro Online for the chance to test it, and I'm looking forward to carrying these ideas into my next chapter in music education."
Jebby has now completed his studies on campus and officially graduates from Newcastle University in December 2026. He is now developing his music education career at the Aldro School in Surrey, which includes piano and music theory teaching, ensemble work, and leading a music technology club and a world music club.