At 19.00 on 2nd December, ‘Revealing “The Big Five” of Real Estate Industry’ Exchange Conference, which was hosted by Real Estate Association, a student’s organisation of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, was held in Lecture Hall 302 of Feng Huang (Phoenix) Building as scheduled. Ms. Gong Shaohui, Deputy Chairman of Consulting Department of Savills, Mr. Liu Yi, former Deputy Chairman of Strategic Consulting Department of CBRE Group, current Senior Manager of Strategic Management Department of Singapore Ascendas (China) Group, Ms. Chang Ying, Senior Analyst of CBRE Group and Mr. Wei Xin, Analyst of Strategic Development Department of DTZ Group were invited to participate the conference as guest lecturers. All the seats in the venue were occupied by students of different majors of the university, who participated and responded with enthusiasm.
Pic 1. Photo from the Scene of the Conference
The conference was entirely planned, organised and implemented by undergraduate students, which is an important component of ‘Outside-Classroom Learning’ of the Real Estate Major of our school. This is a project that focuses on building bridges of communication and studying between students of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and elites of the society, and allows students in the university to be shared with first-hand industry trends and experience of career development by inviting successful professionals to the university to communicate with students, which enriched teaching model of Real Estate Major. The success of this conference was another example, which shows that the combination of the application of knowledge and the nurturing of abilities is emphasised in the teaching and cultivating of our school’s Real Estate Major, which largely advanced the nurturing of elites in real estate industry in our school.
Pic 2. Ms. Gong Shaohui, Deputy Chairman of Savills, Introducing the General Information of the Company to the Audience
During the conference, each guest lecturer introduced the real estate consulting company that they work in, and shared their interesting experiences of working, and also answered questions from the audience at the end of each individual speech. Ms. Gong Shaohui provided detailed introduction of basic operation of Savills, the company she works in. She explained in detail to the audience concerning different professional areas including consulting services, facility management, space planning, company and real estate services, logistics management, asset management, assessment and sales, operating market of the company, etc., and also presented to the audience with the advantages and successful cases of the company. As a representative of CBRE Group, Mr. Liu Yi focused on the advantages and special features of CBRE as the largest business and real estate services and investment company worldwide. Ms. Chang Ying analysed the differences of The Big Five from various aspects, sharing her experiences of studying and internship in her school-days. Mr. Wei Xin introduced the major departments that enjoyed competitive advantages in DTZ, and also briefly introduced the decisions he had to make in his school-days. Apart from deep analysis of the industry and introduction of professional knowledge, the host also explained some professional terms of real estate industry during intervals of speeches, helping the audience to gain better understandings of the content of speeches. The audience also actively participated in Q&A sessions of the conference, and benefited a lot from the patient answers of each guest lecturer.
Pic 3. Mr. Liu Yi, Senior Manager of Strategic Management Department of Singapore Ascendas (China) Group Sharing Professional Experiences with the Audience
Towards the end of the conference, the face-to-face discussion session between guest lecturers and the audience was also wonderful. The guest lecturers attached great importance to career planning of undergraduate students nowadays, and offered sincere advice. They pointed out that, as novices in workplaces, the most important thing is to work hard and diligently. Undergraduate students should actively participate in internships, and be brave to attempt, in order to explore their professional potentials, drawing more splendid blueprints for their own development.
Pic 4. Guest Lecturers Communicating with the Audience Face to Face
After the end of the conference, guest lecturers took a group photo with all members of Real Estate Association to commemorate the occasion, and provided precious suggestions for the development of the association, expressing their wishes to further communicate and collaborate with the association and the school.
Pic 5. Group Photo of Guest Lecturers and All Members of Real Estate Association
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Real Estate Association was established in October, 2008. It is the only academic society in the field of real estate industry in Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, as is also a society that develops and grows the fastest, which has become a platform for communicating and learning of knowledge on real estate finance, as well as practical activities. The majority of the members are students from Real Estate Major. The society is dedicated to information and academic communication, as well as the sharing of teaching resources with all teachers and students of the university. It provides creative academic results of real estate economy, showing to the society the educational achievements and quality of students of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. It also introduces frontier ideas and knowledge, and provides a platform of communication for students and teachers, as well as intra- and inter-school communication.