• Initiative led by Marina Home gave university design students a platform to showcase their talents
• Zeina Khoury named “2015 Marina Design Star” and awarded all-expenses paid, three-month internship at industry pioneer Schwitze Group’s headquarters in Dusseldorf, Germany

Dubai UAE, December 10, 2015:  Dubai-based interiors brand Marina Home has announced Zeina Khoury as the winner of its design competition, Project REMAKE and named her as the 2015 Marina Design Star.  Zeina will be travelling to Schwitzke Group’s Headquarters in Dusseldof, Germany, to begin a three-month long, all-expense paid internship and work on projects for the best known brands in the global design industry. 

The coveted title of Marina Design Star was conceived in 2014 at the launch of the first Marina Star competition, which invited younger students (aged 8-16) students to showcase their creative talent.

This year, the competition saw a select group of senior students from American University in Dubai and Canadian University Dubai take part in the week-long competition, which tasked them to re-invent one of Marina Home’s signature pieces – The Morritios Plate Chair. 

Zeina was one of 10 students whose designs were shortlisted by a panel of esteemed judges led by Khurshid Vakil, Co-Founder, Marina Home Interiors and included Markus Schwitzke, Managing Partner, Schwitzke Graphics to be exhibited to an elite audience at the Commercial Interior Design Awards held at the JW Marriot Marquis on 16th September 2015. The finalists were decided by the team of judges, along with an online public vote.

“It is an amazing recognition and I am really looking forward to my internship. I want to thank Marina Home Interiors for giving students a chance to be inventive and learn in the process. I think every young designer should participate in this as it is something you can really showcase your talent with,” said Zeina Khoury, the Marina Design Star 2015.

The competition, which attracted more than 40 students, is part of Marina Home’s efforts to encourage and showcase local talent, and provide students with opportunities to gain both new skills and international exposure, whilst they are still in training.

Sahar Vakil, Head of Brand Development, Marina Home, said:  “The talent pool in Dubai is immense and we wanted to build a platform that will motivate design students to push boundaries in terms of skill and creativity. The Schwitzke Group is at the vanguard of the interiors and design industry with expertise in architecture and design, store branding and store communication. An opportunity to work with their team will give any design student a holistic view of the industry and help them gain real life project experiences from the best of the best. For a talented designer-in-the-making like Zeina, it will give her career a huge boost and place her way ahead of the curve, not just regionally but internationally as well.”