Profile: Lukasz Laskowski
Course: MSc in Property Investment
Job: Asset Manager
Employer: GLL Real Estate Partners, Munich, Germany
Why CEM?
I moved to Germany from Poland just after I did my bachelor’s degree. I always wanted to reach master’s level, but thought (wrongly) that I had to postpone these plans when I started working. My boss suggested doing a distance learning course at CEM; he had done so himself and considered it a great opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the property investment environment. CEM is considered the ‘number one’ college by property professionals in Europe so, when I chose to undertake the challenge of work and study, I was in no doubt that I should apply to the best.
Why distance learning?
I travel frequently around Europe, so flexibility is a very important consideration. The main reason, however, was being able to make progress in my career, whilst working towards my master’s degree at the same time. I found it very valuable to be able to apply the theory from the course to my day-to-day job; this entirely changed my approach to asset management and I am convinced that this combination of work and study has had the effect of
The course
I work for a company which launches and manages closedended institutional real estate funds. Before starting my studies I spent a lot of time puzzling over the property market, trying to understand what factors were influencing the markets and the decision-making of investors. Thanks to the course I am learning how to consider property on different professional levels and to apply complex analysis structures in order to select and justify property investment decisions. This, together with improved communication with colleagues, has signifi cantly increased my ability to see the full picture and provide clear and rational advice for institutional investors.
The benefits
CEM has had a great infl uence on my professional life and improved my performance on many levels. I work with respected real estate professionals who appreciate my academic efforts, allowing me to team up with senior colleagues and gain even more experience. I’ve developed my own analysis tools and standardised methods to suit the requirements of both our business and investors, I am stronger administratively and have signifi cantly widened my responsibilities, all of which has resulted in a salary increase.
I also really like the fact that that I can live in Germany, study in the UK, work across the whole of Europe and live a truly international life; I’m sure this wouldn’t have been possible without CEM.
The support structure
The amount of travelling I have to do can sometimes make it hard to focus on assignments. I found it great that I can always talk to the Course Director, Assignments Office, module tutors or other students via the VLE. Fortunately I can always count on this support and I have also managed to get extensions in the most difficult times.
As the course is well-known I didn’t have any difficulty in asking my employers for financial support; they can clearly see the added value I am bringing to the company as a result.
The future
My next step will then be the APC in order to reach my RICS Membership. I plan to work in asset management long enough to master the art and am gravitating towards fund and portfolio management where I can use more of the knowledge acquired from CEM. In the past year I have developed a complex tool for cash and distribution planning for a €1 billion CEE investment fund and consequently have been transferred to the high exposure Hungarian market where I will have a chance to work on big commercial development projects.