PUMA is offering paid internships to University of Brighton students who come up with ideas that could lead to the next big breakthroughs in sustainable designs.
PUMA executives recently flew in from the USA to join 200 students for the launch of the Puma Sustainable Design Challenge at the university’s Sallis Benney Theatre.
The brand has linked up exclusively with the University of Brighton. which according to Louis Joseph, PUMA’s global director of strategic Innovation, is “an incredibly energising place”.
He told the audience: “The university here in Brighton is one of ideas, and this is what PUMA is all about…changing the way we do business through the lens of sustainability.”
Undergraduates studying a range of subjects, including 3D design, fashion, architecture and sports science, are forming teams of two to work on new designs, including footwear for the street, track or pitch, performance enhancing innovations for PUMA’s America’s Cup sailing team, packaging, apparel, accessories and sports equipment.
Dr Jonathan Chapman (pictured), who leads the university’s sustainable design MA course, says: “Designs could also be a process, a new way of printing on textile, a different approach to sustainable manufacture or a new approach to creating sustainable retail spaces and store concepts.”
The two winners, to be announced on March 23 next year, will each receive one-year internships to develop their new ideas.
They can choose to work at one of PUMA’s centres in London, Boston or Herzogenaurach, the company’s headquarters in Germany.
Runners up will receive PUMA bikes and the third-place team will win $250 vouchers.
The link with PUMA was forged when the brand asked Dr Chapman to advise the company on new sustainable designs.
Dr Chapman adds: “Through our drive toward a faster, lighter, brighter and more technologically advanced world, we have wreaked havoc throughout all natural systems that support life on earth.
“During the past 60 years alone we have stripped the world of a quarter of its topsoil and a third of its forest cover.
“In total, one third of the planet’s resources have been consumed within the past four decades.
“By working with forward thinking global brands like Puma we can provide them with clear directions and methods for moving toward a more sustainable business model.”