Imperial will bring its executive education to the hospitality sector through a 10 year contract with Edwardian Hotels London.

As part of the agreement the hospitality group will also join the Imperial Business Partners programme, an initiative that brings together business leaders with Imperial’s world-class academics, to exchange learning and insights.

Edwardian Hotels London, which owns and operates 12 hotels including The May Fair Hotel in London and Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester in the city’s Free Trade Hall, has committed to a 10 year development programme and intends to train over 250 people. As part of this commitment, the hospitality group will be working with Imperial’s executive education team to deliver a three year bespoke programme.

The first training course of the programme will begin on 1st March 2016. Topics covered in the programme include 'smart cities' - the future of technology and its likely implications for life; work and leisure in a modern metropolis; personal and organisational leadership, and service design - a design lead approach to business strategy and customer service.

Imperial will also set up a Business Accelerator to help participants apply what they have learnt to their immediate working environment, to help improve team and individual performance. Participants will benefit from using Imperial’s Impact Lab™ a laboratory based learning environment that encourages people to come up with new ways of thinking and working.

Professor G. ‘Anand’ Anandalingam, Dean of Imperial College Business School said: “We are delighted to forge this relationship with Edwardian Hotels London, one of the leading players in the hospitality industry. We hope this alliance will provide deeper insights into the challenges facing hotel executives and look forward to working closely together to create a programme that draws on our approach for ‘real-world’ learning that meets the needs of professionals at all stages of their careers.”

Paul Mansi, Chief Operating Officer from Edwardian Hotels London said: “We have always been focused on the needs of our clients.  This programme will not only help them to uphold the quality of service our guests expect, but also evolve our existing training and take day-to-day operational thinking to another level. Imperial College London is known for encouraging innovative thinking as well as academic excellence. To be able to commit to such a long-term relationship is extremely exciting for our existing staff and those who will join us in the future.”