verena rock, heike dietz, gabriel müller, svenja schulze

page

Rock, Dietz, Müller, Schulze

ERES 2011

Determinants of success for undergraduate real estate bachelor programs in Germany

Changing landscape of undergraduate real estate education in GermanyDeterminants of success for real estate bachelor programs – a case study approach

Verena Rock, Heike Dietz, Gabriel Müller, Svenja Schulze

Hochschule Aschaffenburg, University of Applied Sciences

ERES 2011

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ERES 2011


Agenda2

I

II

III

IV

Introduction and Research Approach

Literature Review

Competition Analysis

Survey Results: Students‘ View

Changing landscape of undergraduate real estate education in Germany:Determinants of success for real estate bachelor programs – a case study approach

V Interview Results: Practitioners‘ View

VI Conclusion

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Introduction and Research Approach3

Success factors for undergraduate real estate programs in Germany

Introduction of bachelor and master programs led to significant changes in the

German education system

Undergraduate real estate education: well-established players had to redesign their

programs while new competitors appeared on the scene

Real estate students - first time in years - are faced with a wide range of options to

choose the right course of studies

German employers reflect their requirements and think about new ways to focus on

bachelor trainees

Goal of the study: elaborate main determinants of success for real estate programs

to help bachelors succeed in the industry

Analysis of competitive landscape for German undergraduate real estate programs

Focus: empirical case study of the newcomer Hochschule Aschaffenburg

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Introduction and Research Approach4

Research Approach

Case Study ApproachUniv. of Appl. Sc. Aschaffenburg

(qualitative, descriptive analysis)

Empirical Survey: Students‘ Perspective

(quantitative, descriptive, rather testing hypotheses)

Expert Interviews:Practitioners‘ Perspective(qualitative, generating hypotheses)

Determinants of success for u.g. bachelor programs

Changing landscape of undergraduate real estate education in Germany

Literature on r.e. education Market analysis for r.e. education

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Literature Review5

Literature on success factors of real estate degree programs

Most of research is done in US

Lack of European research activity

Nappi-Choulet dealing with French real estate education

Schulte and Rottke concerning German real estate education

Often surveys used for deduction of results

Especially surveys with professionals conducted

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Competition Analysis6

German Real Estate degree programs

1994 1 EBS University1996 2 HTW Berlin1998 3 HS Mittweida1999 5 HfWU Geislingen, HAWK Hildesheim, Holzminden, Göttingen2001 7 Uni Stuttgart, Bauhaus Universität Weimar2004 8 Hochschule Anhalt2005 12 Uni Regensburg, HWR Berlin, Hochscule Biberach, Hochschule 212008 13 HS Zittau/Görlitz2009 14 HS Aschaffenburg

HS Zittau/GörlitzFH Aschaffenburg

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

0 5 10

Number of German Real Estate degree programs

EBS Universität

HTW Berlin

HS MittweidaHfWU Geislingen, HAWK Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen

Uni Stuttgart, Bauhaus Universität Weimar

Hochschule Anhalt

Uni Regensburg, HWR Berlin, HS Biberach, Hochschule 21

HS Zittau/Görlitz

HS Aschaffenburg

1

1 specialized degree programs have not been analysed

SS

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Competition AnalysisCharacteristics of German real estate degree programs

7

Duration: 6 to 8 semesters

Tuition fee: 150€/semester to

500€/semester

Participants: 30 to 225 per

semester

Final degree: Bachelor of Arts Trends:

Universitiy of Applied Sciences are No. 1 supplier of estate degree programms

integrated internships possibility to go abroad

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Students‘ view8

Survey Basics

Empirical Survey

Sample: Real estate bachelor students from 3 study tracks

Timing: April to May 2011

Answers from 63 out of 116 (response rate of 54.3%)

1st term:12

2nd term: 31

4th term: 19

n.a.: 1

Gender: 67.7% female, 32.3% male

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Students‘ view9

Survey results: The Bachelor Market – Students heard of or applied for…

n=63

Bachelor programs heard of

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Other: H21 Buxtehude, Hamburg, Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz, Hochschule Anhalt, FH Darmstadt

Bachelor programs applied for

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

Uni Le

ipzig

HS Hol

zmind

en

HS Bib

erac

h

HTW B

erlin

HS Ber

nbur

g

HS Gei

sling

enEBS

Uni Reg

ensb

urg

Uni W

eimar

HS Mittw

eida

Uni Stu

ttgar

t

Other

only

H-AB

SS

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Students‘ ViewSurvey Results: What are the most important elements of the program‘s content?

10

Preferred content of real estate bachelor program

Rank 1: International real estate law Rank 2: Real estate valuation Rank 3: Real estate investment Rank 4: Real estate finance Rank 5: Commercial properties Rank 6: Real estate asset management Rank 7: Development Rank 8: Planning and building legislation Rank 9: Brokerage Rank 10: Tax, residential properties, accounting

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Students‘ ViewSurvey Results: Desired field of operation after university

11

Other: Center Manager, product manager, not decided yet

Career aspirations

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Develo

per

RE Bro

ker

RE Portf

oliom

anage

r

RE Ass

et man

ager

Surve

yor

RE Con

sulta

nt

RE Acq

uisitio

ns

RE Fun

d m

anage

r

RE Res

earc

her

RE Con

trolle

r

RE Bank

er

Other

Desired field of operation

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1st Semester 2nd Semester 4th Semester

RE Banker

RE Controller

RE Researcher

RE fund manager

RE Acquisition

RE Consultant

Surveyor

RE asset manager

RE Portfolio manager

RE Broker

Developer

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Students‘ ViewResults – International focus of bachelor studies

12

Most students want to study at least one semester abroad (73.6%) Costs are the only obstacle against going abroad Foreign languages should be a compulsory part of the entire

curriculum But: No strong preference for r.e. lectures in foreign languages H-AB has mainly been chosen for its international focus

Multiple answers possible, n=63

Are you planning to study abroad?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1. Semester 2. Semester 4. Semester

yes no n.a.

Main reasons to study at H-AB

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Unique

inte

rnat

ional fo

cus

Proxim

ity to

hom

etow

n

Rankin

g

Friend

s st

udy

at H

-AB

Low fe

es

Goo

d repu

tatio

n

Pract

ical o

rient

ation

Lang

uage o

ption

s

Small

gro

ups

Not a

ccep

ted

at oth

er u

niv.

H-AB a

ccept

ed a

t firs

t

Oth

er

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Students‘ View

Survey Results: Success factors of a real estate bachelor program

13

Success factors for r.e. bachelor program (students‘ view)

Rank 1: Full scope of program‘s content

Rank 2: Expertise of professors

Rank 3: Practical relevance, practical orientation

Rank 4: Possibilities to study abroad

Rank 5: Wide scope of majors / indepth studies

Rank 6: Field trips, site visits

Rank 7: Real estate library

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Practitioners‘ view14

Basics

Expert interviews

14 selected experts from different fields of the real estate industry

Answers from 5 out of 14 (response rate of 35.7%)

Industry fields of respondents: Portfolio management, mortgage

bank, developer, investor, Asset & Property management

Average working experience: 11 years

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Practitioners‘ view15

Results

Important bachelor program contents:

Financing and investment

Legal and institutional framework conditions

Focus on European market

Others: economic basics, accounting, knowledge on sales

structures

No exclusive preference of diploma or bachelor courses

Personal and professional expectations

Cultural and personal open-mindedness

Knowledge of different framework conditions

Independent but also team-work

Analytical and conceptual thinking / personal soft skills

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Practitioners’ view16

Results

No absolute preconditions for hiring

Specific real estate bachelor programs

Foreign languages

Foreign experience

Preferring students from the universities EBS, Nürtingen-

Geislingen, IREBS and Aschaffenburg

Supporting different universities (e.g. financially)

Suggestions for general improvements of u.g. r.e. education

More practical experience

International quality and knowledge

Bachelor programs are relatively well-known and high valued, but many points should be improved

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Conclusion17

Synopsis

Students Practitioners

Program content

• Rank 1: International real estate law• Rank 2: Real estate valuation• Rank 3: Real estate investment• Other: Finance, asset management,

development

• Rank 1: Financing and investment• Rank 2: Institutional frameworks on

international real estate markets• Rank 3: Economic basics• Other: Sales/distribution structures,

accounting, technical basicsInter-national focus

• Most students want to study at least one semester abroad (73.6%)

• Foreign languages should be a compulsory part of the entire curriculum

• But no strong preference for r.e. lectures in foreign languages

• International experience and foreign languages are nice to have, but no pre-requisite (at least not for real estate companies with national focus);

• Languages can be learnt on-the-job

Success factors

• Rank 1: Program‘s content to cover full r.e. spectrum

• Rank 2: Expertise of professors• Rank 3: Practical relevance

• Rank 1: Soft skills• Rank 2: Broad knowledge of different markets

frameworks• Rank 3: Analytical skills• Rank 4: Cultural open-mindedness

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Conclusion18

Real Estate education in Germany - Lessons learnt

Results of the case study:

Success factors differ between students and practitioners

- Students favor the full spectrum of international r.e. studies, but their

perception changes over time

- Employers favor soft skills and sound analytical basics, esp. in finance and

investment

Common understanding: practical education is key

Competitive landscape in Germany: Increasing focus on international aspects in real

estate education (even though industry does not follow yet?)

Questions remaining:

Does the picture change with students from other universities?

Must the real estate tool kit be taught at university or can it be learnt on the job?

If real estate is local, does undergraduate r.e. education have to be global?

VR

verena rock, heike dietz, gabriel müller, svenja schulze

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