Mount Kenya University Rwanda (MKUR) is building a hotel for training its hospitality students. Can you provide a suitable name for the upcoming hotel and walk away with the cash prize of Rwf6 million and a two-night stay at the facility?

Early this month, the university launched a naming competition open to its students, alumni and the general public. 

During the launch, MKUR Vice-Chancellor Designate Prof. Edwin Odhuno urged the institution’s students, alumni and the general public to participate in the competition. 

"For a long time, MKUR has been building pride in Rwandan communities due to its commitment to infrastructural development and offering quality and affordable education. We are proud to associate ourselves with the public. We therefore invite all Rwandans to propose names for the training hotel. Potential winning names should resonate with the university’s mission of training high quality hospitality and tourism personnel in support of Rwanda’s development agenda.”

The proposed name can be submitted to the following link: https://forms.office.com/BtQ5kJjWtB

The deadline for submission of the names is 30th July, 2022.

The School of Hospitality and Tourism is one of MKUR’s centers of Excellence. 

The hotel facility will strengthen its training component and transform its graduands to seamlessly fit in the labour market and help build one of Rwanda’s fastest growing sector. 

The facility will be one of its kind in the Great Lakes region and is being benchmarked with the following hotels among others: Swiss Hotel Schools Les-Roches- Switzerland, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration of USA, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

A suitable name for the upcoming hotel  will walk away with the cash prize of Rwf6 million and a two-night stay at the facility.

Dr John Nyiligira, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of institutional advancement at MKUR said the hospitality training hotel will be a game-changer in Rwanda. "MKUR will become the first university in Rwanda to own a hotel for the training of its students. Rwandans who need quality, world-class training in hospitality and tourism do not need to travel outside the country because this is available at MKUR.

Rwanda has seen a steady rise in its tourism and hospitality industry. Nowadays, the industry is one of the top employers and foreign exchange earners. MKUR has made training for the industry a priority. The campus has created unique programmes that supports its commitment to further hospitality education in the country that will give individuals an opportunity to grow and reach their potential.

"Our vision is to develop future leaders empowered with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to be successful within the tourism and hospitality industry. One way we are doing is to forge relations with leading schools to ensure our students get maximum industrial exposure. We are also embarking on exchange programmes where Rwanda students will be visiting Kenya for their internship to learn from our wide experience”, said Jane Kanjuru, the Dean, School of Hospitality at MKU main campus in Kenya, speaking on a talk show on royal radio after the launch.

The university collaborates with Tartu University of Estonia and Vincent Pol University of Poland. MKU is a member of the EUHOFA Congress, the umbrella organization for the best hospitality management colleges from around the world.

MKUR has graduated more than 500 hospitality and tourism professionals at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.