ULI Fall Meeting-Intensive but Enjoyable

Continuing Series: Meet Our Current Students

A small group of MBA students and I spent three days in Washington, DC for ULI’s Fall Meeting. The time there was very intense but very enjoyable. More than 5,000 people attended this year’s meeting, and I had the chance to enjoy all kinds of insightful panels. I think it was a good opportunity for me to understand real estate markets as well as a good networking opportunity to reach out and get to know industry leaders.

It was really difficult task to choose the panels to attend as there were so many good ones. So we turned to Graaskamp Center Executive Director Michael Brennan for help. He went through the panel schedule with me and suggested some good choices; my personal favorites: “Capital Market: What Do Today and Tomorrow Look Like” and the “Office Trends: Here, Now, and Beyond”. The first one gave me an overview of the current market and the investment opportunities in the emerging market such as China, while the second one helped me dig deeper into the office market. Wisconsin alumni Brian D. Berry, Managing Director of Tishman Speyer, was the discussion leader for the “Office Trends” panel. He shared his industry experience and his viewpoints for the office market. He thought there would heavy demand for flexibility of the office space as corporate clients are more efficient than before.

Wisconsin Real Estate had a booth in university row in the main expo hall which welcomed alumni and potential applicants. We also got to know some of the graduate students from other real estate programs such as Columbia, MIT and Cornell. We had a good discussion on the international capital market and its impact on the global real estate industry. I think ULI is a good platform for us to get to know more friends and to learn from each other.

On Thursday October 14th, the WREAA and the Graaskamp Center hosted a networking reception. It was a big success, attended by over 50 alumni and potential applicants for the program. We met some people interested in our program, and we were glad to introduce our wonderful experience as a first year MBA students. Backed up by Professor and Academic Director Stephen Malpezzi who explained further about the program’s curriculum and the strength of the program.

If you would like to learn more about the Wisconsin MBA program or about upcoming events, visit our website at www.bus.wisc.edu/realestate.

Julia Xia is a first-year MBA student in the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. Formerly a real estate consultant and asset manager in Beijing, Julia graduated from Peking University with a bachelor's degree in finance and banking.