Udaiy Khanna shares his experience of traveling to 6 Asian Cities as part of his internship.

Udaiy Khanna
BBA REUI 2013-16
Traveled to 6 Asian Cities (REACh initiative)
 

The world today has turned into a global village, everyone is very aware of what is happening and going on in other countries. To keep up with the trends, it is very important to have international exposure when you are studying. I was very fortunate that as a student of BBA REUI at RICS SBE, I got the opportunity to go for the REACH programme. An opportunity that is not open to many BBA students. Here I would like to share with you some of the highlights of my experiences.

Why I decided to go for it?
After my decision to follow a career in real estate, I felt that I needed to get a perspective of this sector from the entire South East Asia region because it is no longer enough to be restricted to just one country. I think that the REACH program is very different as it gives you the opportunity to visit the 6 major real estate cities in this region. I wanted to understand what kind of buildings were being constructed, the reason behind them and what difficulties companies face in the respective cities.

Cities and projects visited
This is a very intensive and well-organised program that is 4 weeks long and spread in 5 countries. A programme co-ordinator, accompanied us to every meeting/workshop/visit that had been planned for us. We visited more than 30 projects in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo. We got the opportunity to explore inside famous buildings like the IFC and ICC in Hong Kong and see behind the scenes. Formerly I jused to think of these buildings as impressive landmark backdrops for holiday pictures!

Highlights of my program
It was a very exhilarating experience to meet with the highest ranking officials like the CEOs and MDs of well-known companies. From them we learnt about their current projects as well as the projects that they had already completed. They told us about the thoughts and reasons behind their decisions to choose a particular site for a project and why to build a certain building and the entire process that goes into it. They spoke openly about the pros and cons of the business, discussed various portfolios and where they think it’s important to invest. We got an extremely valuable insight into the real estate market in South East Asia.  We also became aware of what real estate developers abroad look for in professionals who want to join the sector.

What I got from REACH
For one month I stayed with 45 people who had come from countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, U.K. etc. to be a part of this programme. My interactions and exchanges with them opened up my mind to the real estate market, environment and projects in their countries. I realized the difference between how we do things in India and how they are done abroad.

I feel this was a very important learning experience for me as my generation is the pioneer of the future and this experience will help me to implement processes that are followed in developed nations.