Graduate Surveyor, Nancy Taylor, on her first trip to UKREiiF:
Last month was my first time attending the UK’s biggest real estate event – UKREiiF. We were welcomed upon disembarking at Leeds train station on Tuesday morning by the sun shining brightly. I arrived not knowing what to expect from the event, but ready to embrace the range of opportunities that UKREiiF had to offer.
After collecting my pass and dropping off my bag I was immediately relieved I’d chosen wisely in the footwear department, opting for trainers, after seeing the sea of exhibition stands from to a vast range of companies – I knew I had a high step count to come over the next 72 hours!
As the day went on, amongst bumping into clients and peers, it became obvious the breadth of options available. I was very impressed by the layout and with the app it was made much easier to browse through the sessions available and locate the ones I was interested in attending. The extensive range of panel discussions, round tables, networking events, and seminars available made for a highly insightful and valuable experience.
It was very interesting to hear a range of opinions on varying matters based on each speaker’s sector specialism. For example, in one panel discussion on the matter of delays to housing delivery, each panel member offered a different viewpoint on what could be the source of the issue and where it all began. It provoked thought and also helped to grow my understanding and context for my own day to day work.
Through the mass of resources and information available, UKREiiF has helped me to understand the wider industry better, including how different sectors work together and interlink on many matters, as well as my place within it. It emphasised the importance of collaboration between sectors and industry professionals and the benefit of face to face communication.
UKREiiF was not only a fantastic opportunity to learn more about less familiar topics, but also to expand my professional network, both throughout the days as well as in the evenings at client events. Newsteer hosted a brilliant event on the Tuesday evening at Flight Club, at which I was able to introduce myself to a number of new connections and learn about their roles, whilst putting my newly found darts skills to the test!
Highlighting key themes, such as sustainability and development delivery, the three words that I think best describe UKREiiF are collaborative, topical and synergetic.
From my perspective as a graduate, the event was a great opportunity to network with new people, as well as clients, to learn about current focus points in new areas of real estate and be a part of the collaboration. For these reasons, I think that UKREiiF is an excellent event for real estate professionals at all levels to attend and I would recommend it to other graduates thinking of attending next year.