A cash boost of £500,000 means high-profile performers, including the jazz musician Courtney Pine, will be teaching new carnival arts courses in Luton.

The University of Bedfordshire is launching a new programme of courses this September called 'Roots to Carnival', to enable people working on carnivals in the UK to obtain a nationally-recognised qualification. The courses are aimed at dancers, musicians, event organisers, costume designers, DJs and technicians, and will be run at the Luton campus.

All of the courses bar one are free, thanks to the funding from the UK Centre for Carnival Arts (UKCCA), which wants to ensure the development and growth of UK carnivals over the coming decades.

Those teaching on the courses will also include Robert Lee, one of the organisers of the Reggae Sunsplash festival in Jamaica, and Pauline Catlin-Reed, former singer with British band Soul II Soul who has also worked with the singer Craig David.

The university's creative arts sector manager, Sarah Waller, said: "This high-profile line-up has attracted a lot of interest. They will no doubt provide inspiration to this new and promising generation of carnival professionals who have already shown great creativity."