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ULI x NUS: Understanding the Real Estate Industry
23 February 2021
With the support from National University of Singapore (NUS), the Young Leaders Group (YLG) organized a sharing session with final year Project and Facilities Management (PFM) undergraduate students, showcasing the diversity of real estate industry and the different career paths students can purse upon graduation.
The session was facilitated by Kristie Wong, Senior Consultant from Greengate Advisors, and started off with Michelle Wong’s, Executive Director at ULI, brief introduction about the organization.
Different people have different perspectives and perceptions of the real estate industry, said Dr Lee Nai Jia, Deputy Director at NUS Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS). As he pointed out, real estate is much more than just brick and mortar. It could be a good diversification factor for someone who is from an investment perspective, whereas from a consumption perspective real estate is a derived demand as it is the space where people enjoy services.
At the end of his sharing session, Dr Lee gave the prospective graduates his advices, “unlearn and relearn, widen your social network, be brave to lose and fail, and be inspired and to inspire”.
Department alumnus Ms Tan Mew Leng and Ms Lim Wai Cheng from Arcadis shared their working experience as quantitative surveyor and project manager. Started off as a QS and now project manager, Ms Cheng discussed about her insights of the differences between the two roles. She highlighted that working with clients from different sectors can be very interesting, and it is important to understand what clients are looking for.
Ms Tan shared the experience of her professional exchange programs in Belgium and London as a QS, as well as the key traits she considers essential for students wanting to pursue the same career path. It is important to know what you are passionate about, said Ms Tan, as there are many paths down the built environment sector.
Mr Tan Yi-Xun, Assistant Vice President, Strategic Business Development at CapitaLand and YLG Co-Chair, shed the lights on the complexity and creativity behind real estate development deals from asset management and investment perspective. He discussed the different meanings of the two terms, and gave the students a detailed overview of the “buy-fix-sell” process in real estate development.
From consulting perspective, Mr Alisdair Gillies, Managing Director at Greengate Advisors, showcased the full spectrum of real estate consulting, and how it evolves around different stages in real estate development cycle. Started off with a technical project management background, Mr Gillies suggested that transferring between real estate specializations may sometimes be difficult, and the prospective gradates should take actions soon as possible if they wish to change their career path.
Ms Mich Goh, Head of Public Policy Southeast Asia at Airbnb, labelled the company as “para real estate”. She discussed the diverse roles of the company has at different development stages or faced with different stakeholders. Her sharing enlightened the audience of how policy making could potentially reshape the future of real estate industry.
The sharing sessions were followed by more intimate dialogues in small groups between the speakers, as well as other ULI YLG members, and the students.
Ms Nicole Chua, Associate at CMS, Ms Clarissa Chua, Associate at LaSalle Investment Management, Mr Kelvin Chan at Partners, Mr Park Sang Jin, Senior Consultant at Cistri, Ms Loh Yi Min, Mr Issac Leo and Mr Tan Jun Kang at SC Capital and Ms Nicole Lum at Centre for Liveable Cities were among the attendees.
ULI Singapore hopes that more students will take the opportunity to join our network and be connected with real estate practitioners as they shape their career considerations and build up their field of expertise. Students interested to join ULI may reach out to [email protected].
