Nira Hotels & Resorts, has joined forces with the Edinburgh College of Art, to present a fresh challenge to its second-year design students for the new term.
Students have been asked to design a gadget or accessory which could be used in the food and beverage arena at each of the group’s three luxury hotels – Nira Caledonia in Edinburgh, Nira Alpina in Switzerland and Shanti Maurice in Mauritius. One of the main challenges during the project will be creating a product that reflects the hotels’ very different locations – the city, the mountains and the beach.
Ideally, the product should reflect the hotel group’s philosophy, which states that today’s traveller values attentiveness over formality, and inspiration over instruction. With the winning product potentially being available for guests to purchase, it should also represent good value for money.
The challenge will run from January to April this year. The successful student may see their product manufactured and distributed at the three hotels, and will win a weekend away for two people at Nira Caledonia in Edinburgh.
Chief executive of Nira Hotels & Resorts, MPS Puri: “We’re delighted to team up with the Edinburgh College of Art and support their design students with this project. Hospitality is a constantly evolving industry, and it’s important for hoteliers to keep a fresh and innovative approach to what they do. For us, this means looking to the next generation of future talent and finding ways to support creative enterprises.”
The winning design – which will be announced in April – will be selected by a judging panel featuring MPS Puri and Douglas Bryden, programme director for product design at Edinburgh College of Art.
