The University Connections Experience: Fall Meeting 2023 from the Student Perspective 

By: Derek Deitsch, Master of City Planning, University of Pennsylvania 

The task of navigating the vast real estate industry is often difficult for students. Even for those of us pursuing a relevant degree, it can be daunting to understand all the various roles and perspectives that go into commercial real estate and how we might fit into that. Our university experience can be valuable in terms of learning some of the hard skills necessary to secure a job in the industry, but most programs aren’t able to expose students to what it is like to work in it. 

ULI Americas is working to provide opportunities to gain first-hand exposure to industry contacts and practices through its University Connections program. One of the ways it does so is through encouraging student attendance at Fall and Spring Meetings. The ULI team works with several universities to send groups to the meetings, offers opportunities for individual students to receive financial support, and resources for student members to get the most out of their meeting experience. 

Despite my involvement in ULI over several years – even prior to returning to school to pursue a Master of City Planning degree at the University of Pennsylvania – I had never managed to make it to one of the annual meetings. That changed last year as I attended the 2023 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, thanks in part to a registration scholarship offered through University Connections. Students can apply for the opportunity HERE.  

Beyond the financial support for some students, University Connections also provided a curated experience to ease the barriers many students feel when attending a professional meeting like this. A virtual “Know Before You Go” session proved very helpful for many of us who had not attended an Americas-level annual meeting to this point. The webinar guided us through the process of navigating the program and identifying relevant sessions to meet varied student interests. 

The first day of Fall Meeting featured an “Emerging Trends for Students” session at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This proved to be a great opportunity to connect with other students in attendance, but also offered unique insights into understanding and evaluating real estate trends. Claire De Briere, Executive Vice President for Skanska USA Commercial Chair and ULI Americas Chair, welcomed students to Fall Meeting, sharing the value of engaging with ULI as a student to support a career-long connection. From there, Anita Kramer, Senior Vice President of the Center for Real Estate Economics and Capital Markets (REEcap), reviewed the previous year’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, including reflection on how the trends played out over the course of the year since it was released. 

Students engaged in quasi-focus groups to discuss how real estate trends are emerging between urban and suburban environments. With the help of assigned facilitators in each group, we discussed how our unique experiences shape our perspectives of cities. My background in Salt Lake City reflected a different view than that of another student from Buffalo, which was still different than another from Miami. While certain ideas were shared between students, they were also naturally unique to our lived experience in different environments. I appreciated this discourse to challenge my own notions by considering those of others from different backgrounds. 

Ultimately, this is one of the greatest values of coming together in person at Fall Meeting. Industry education can take place easily via virtual methods, but the true power of convening an Americas-wide event like this is to bring together a wide network of varying backgrounds to advance the industry at large. I didn’t even realize it at the time, but the University Connections session prepared me to take on the rest of the week more effectively. As I attended various sessions, lunches, and receptions, I found myself more invested in understanding how others perceived the topics being discussed.

I am confident I walked away from my experience in Los Angeles more enriched by my interactions thanks to University Connections. Of course, the rich content and speakers provided useful information, but I left with a recognition that the personal interactions I encountered throughout the week were the real value from my attendance. I’m grateful to University Connections for providing resources to help me attend Fall Meeting, but more importantly for guiding me through the process to maximize my experience. While this may have been my first annual meeting, it certainly won’t be my last! 

Please view the University Connections Emerging Trends for Students Insight Summary with participant acknowledgement linked HERE.