“Diversity and interdisciplinarity in education and the estate industry in the reality” Workshop

19 Jun, 2022

Real estate plays an important role in human needs as well as the development of an economy. It is an interdisciplinary field that coordinates planning, economics, finance, management, law, natural resources, and the environment, involving various stakeholders from central to local and family levels. Rated as "the country with the fastest growing and most vibrant real estate industry in Southeast Asia" (according to Asia Property HQ), in recent years, many universities have also formed and developed the intensive training program in this field to meet the needs of the labor market, aiming to build an increasingly professional and sustainable urban and real estate development and management team. Facing that trend, on June 10, UEH College of Economics, Law, and Government organized a workshop "Diversity and interdisciplinarity in education and the real estate industry" with the participation of representatives of universities, businesses as well as real estate clubs.

Overview of the workshop

According to forecasts by Vietnam Finance and the National Center for Employment Services, the real estate industry in Vietnam can reach a value of 1,250 trillion VND with 7.3 million jobs in 2025. However, the number and actual response quality are being rather low.

Delivering the opening speech at the workshop "Diversity and interdisciplinarity in education and the real estate industry", Dr. Bui Quang Hung - Vice President of UEH stated: “The number of graduates with in-depth knowledge and skills in the field of real estate is still quite small compared to the actual demand. Compared to other fields, the real estate training program of universities is quite young and has only been developed in recent times. At UEH, the real estate training program has been built since 2010, continuously updated, and developed based on references from universities with strengths in this field in the world listed as NUS (Singapore), Regensburg (Germany), or Maryland (USA). Up to now, each year approximately 100 full-time students enroll. Being similar to other universities in the South, some are being rather low compared to the forecasted demand. Therefore, to meet the demand for a high-quality workforce in this field, sharing and discussion among program managers, trainers, and practitioners in the real estate industry and related industries is important. The workshop "Diversity and interdisciplinary in education and the real estate industry" with the participation of representatives of universities, businesses, as well as real estate clubs, will be a prerequisite step towards healthy and sustainable development and cooperation in training Bachelor's degrees in real estate and real estate business.”

Dr. Bui Quang Hung - Vice President of UEH - delivering the opening speech of the workshop

Dr. Nguyen Luu Bao Doan - Director of this Training Program and Head of Department of Real Estate - shared a diverse picture of real estate training at universities in the South, specifically in Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, a number of training schools in this field can be listed as Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry (HCMUAF), University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), University of Finance - Marketing (UFM), Ho Chi Minh City University of Management and Technology (UMT), Van Lang University (VLU), University of Economics and Finance (UEF), Hoa Sen University (HSU). Training in the same field, however, the amount of knowledge and skills of each school is different. Some schools focus on tools whereas others on law or management. Some training programs concentrate on the early stages of real estate development like planning and pre-feasibility studies while others pay more attention on the financial investment and real estate development process, as well as training programs geared toward business, management, and operations processes. Therefore, it shows the positioning of each training program as well as the orientation of different training organizations according to each school.

Dr. Nguyen Luu Bao Doan - Program Director, Head of UEH Real Estate Program - presenting on “Diversity in real estate programs in HCMC”

According to Dr. Nguyen Luu Bao Doan, the development of the real estate industry and education in Vietnam will follow the general rhythm of the world. The diversity in program placement allows learners to choose for themselves a program that suits their individual orientation. Employers need to be mindful of diversity as the labor market becomes more competitive. Cooperation between enterprises and training programs helps the program strengthen its positioning, overcome limitations, and assist enterprises in selecting workers early.

Agreeing with the above comments, Dr. Tran Nam Quoc - Dean of the School of Business, University of Management and Technology (UMT) shared more regarding the training program at UMT as well as the survey results to assess the needs of stakeholders related to the program of Real Estate. Accordingly, many businesses set higher and higher requirements and criteria in recruitment to match the general development trend of the real estate market. In addition to the traditional knowledge related to planning, economics, management, and finance, skills in technology (PropTech) play an indispensable role in the upcoming training trend. Currently, according to the survey results on the quality of human resources to meet business requirements, only about 33% of the workforce meet at a high level, 50% at a medium level, and 17% at a low level. Therefore, the need to standardize and improve the workforce in this field is absolutely necessary.

Dr. Tran Nam Quoc sharing “Training skills in real estate programs” at the University of Management and Technology Ho Chi Minh City (UMT)

Discussing the need to improve technical skills in the field of real estate, Mr. Trinh Hoai Duc - General Director of RealPlus Company - gave a presentation analyzing the benefits of technology and reasons why the young people should invest in this area of knowledge. Based on customer experience, from the process of recognition, search, research, decision-making, and after-sales, according to Mr. Duc, technology is increasingly developing and creeping into most of these process steps, such as the fact that today more and more people are looking for project information, looking up planning, comparing and valuing properties, tracking the buying and selling process, paying as well as taking care of customers through online or mobile applications. This is an inevitable trend that we cannot avoid. In addition, the difference between a longtime employee and a fresh graduate is the process of accumulating experience and customer relationships. However, with the development of technology, especially for young people, Proptech will help shorten the distance and thereby bring better efficiency at work.

Mr. Trinh Hoai Duc - General Director of RealPlus Company - analyzing the multi-dimensional application of technology in real estate

In another view of the Head of the Real Estate Club Ho Chi Minh City, Chairman Nguyen Quoc Bao informed: “Currently, there are many brokers in this market, but the percentage of trained brokers is being limited. They lack rather a lot of knowledge concerning law and planning, economic thinking and sustainable development, and marketing and customer care skills. The survey shows that the need to improve the professional quality of this workforce is huge. In the upcoming plan, the club hopes that UEH will help standardize the team for its member businesses.”

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Bao - Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Club – sharing the need to standardize and improve the qualifications of member businesses

At the end of the seminar, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Nguyen Luu Bao Doan thanked the participants for sharing their valuable ideas to make the connection between universities and businesses better. The workshop also showed the strengths of each training program, the interdisciplinarity as well as the different needs among enterprises in this field. To create healthy and sustainable development and cooperation in Real Estate training, the formation of a network connecting universities and related parties is a proposal deserving attention in the upcoming time.

Delegates taking a memorable photo

The Real Estate Program at UEH has strengths in economic thinking, market understanding, and the role of market participants. The program places an emphasis on a comprehensive introduction to the real estate development and investment industry so that students can gain an overview of this industry, giving them flexibility in their priority selections and strength preparation. The Real Estate Program at UEH also helps students see the big picture of the relationship between urban development - sustainable development, and being socially responsible during their studies for their advantageous career growth in the future. This is a highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary program with flexible options, focusing on professionalism and practicality.

Additional photos relating to the program: