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The purpose of this paper is to establish the relevance of the real estate curricula being offered by the two universities in Botswana to industry.

This is a cross-sectional study in which a designed questionnaire was administered to the practitioners in real estate obtained from the membership list of the Real Estate Institute of Botswana (REIB), final-year students and former graduates of the Bachelor of Land Management programme using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. This resulted into the total population of 150 elements. Students for the Bachelor of Commerce in Real Estate (BCom RE) at Ba Isago and BSc Real Estate programme at the University of Botswana were excluded from the population because they did not have graduate degrees yet; therefore the study sample was drawn from the identified population at 90 per cent confidence level with a 10 per cent margin of error. The sampling frame composed of 122 registered property valuers and managers, 14 alumni and 14 final-year students of Land Management (150). The sample size of 60 was determined at 90 per cent level of confidence with a 10 per cent margin of error. The questionnaire was administered through e-mail using a contact list from the REIB to their members. It was also e-mailed to the alumni and physically administered to the final-year students as well. A 60 per cent response rate was achieved.

It was established that the three programmes offered at the two universities in their current form are relevant to the industry. The overall average scores out of 5 for these programmes were 4.14 for BSc Real Estate – UB, 4.10 for Bachelor Land Management – UB and 3.97 for BCom RE – Ba Isago University College. By using analysis of variance, the study further established that there were no significant differences between the two programmes that are offered at UB and the one at Ba Isago University College. This was established by looking at the computed F-test (0.89) and the critical F-test (2.36). Since the computed F-test was less than the critical F-test value, it was concluded that there is no significant statistical differences among the three programmes being offered in the two universities.

The major limitation in this study was the use of an e-mailed questionnaire to the property practitioners and alumni of the Land Management programme which is characterised by a low response rate.

Since the three overall mean scores are close to and above 4.00, it means the current programmes offered at the two universities are relevant to the industry.

The research results might be useful to the society and should be used to enhance the social uplifting of society by contributing to the decisions that are made which might affect the society as a whole.

This is the first study to be conducted in Botswana which was meant to establish if the real estate programmes offered in the two universities were relevant. It is the first study to compare and evaluate the relevance of the contents of three real estate programmes locally.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a compulsory pass in physics on undergraduate admission into estate management programme and the requisite skill for practice.

Data were collected from students in selected Polytechnics and a University in South-western Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. Also, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to test the difference between the means of the independent variables and application for admission. The mean plot was used to analyse the different groups of students seeking direct entry admission into the university.

Analysis shows that 18 per cent of the students seeking admission through direct entry would be denied because they have no credit score or a pass in physics in their Ordinary Level (“O” level) result. Remarkably, high school physics is a compulsory requirement for admission. Findings show that the subject is unacceptable in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). An annual average of 10 prospective students who wrote physics in the UTME, but with a pass in it in the Senior Secondary School (“O” level) examination were denied admission at the point of registration. Findings from the hypothesis test show that there is no significant relationship between the rate of application for university admission into Real Estate programmes and students who took physics and had at least a pass in it. Also, the mean plot shows that more Art students would apply for admission compared with science and commercial students. Finally, analysis shows that 83.3 per cent of the students who have gone for Industrial Work Experience Scheme were of the opinion that physics has no role to play in their acquisition of the requisite job skills in Real Estate.

This study may be limited by the sample size of the universities selected for data collection. The impact of the requirement of a compulsory pass in physics for admission into real estate programme in other universities with a similar requirement is not covered.

The findings implied that a compulsory pass in physics constitutes a clog in the wheel of admission of prospective estate management students. This may affect career progression and the number of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers that are expected to render professional service to real estate investors in Nigeria.

This is the first attempt to examine the impact of variation in admission requirement into the real estate undergraduate programme in Nigeria. The novelty is in the analysis of a compulsory requirement of pass in physics for admission and the requisite skill for real estate practice in Nigeria.

Employability is likely to be at the forefront of any degree applicant's mind in England and Wales due to an impending large increase in the cost of tuition. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a Centre for Education in the Built Environment‐funded project which has investigated real estate graduate competencies and employability. The paper concentrates on significant differences in emphasis by graduates from undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses.

Following an extensive literature review, 72 competencies have been identified and the Confederation of British Industry classification of knowledge, skills and attributes has been adopted. An online survey of 639 graduates (half UG and half PG) asked respondents to complete five‐point Likert attitude scales to rate how their course enabled development of the 72 competencies. Themes developed from the results of the questionnaire study have been explored in greater detail with five real estate education providers and the human resource managers of four large London employers.

Rather surprisingly, UGs rated their gaining of the vast majority of the competencies more highly than PGs. This finding seems to be at odds with the impression given by the educators and employers, both of whom perceive a preference for the greater maturity and commercial awareness of graduates from PG courses.

Real estate course providers can use the results of this study to ensure that their programmes of study adequately address what is likely to become the crucial factor in the choice of any future programme of study – employability.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevance of students industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) to real estate education in Nigeria.

Primary data were collected with the aid of questionnaire served on 182 parts 3 and 4 students of Estate Management and Valuation, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria. The descriptive methods of mean and proportion method were used to determine the factors that are considered could contribute to real estate education in Nigeria.

The result shows that SIWES is an integral part of real estate education and that it helps the students to acquire behavioural skills in addition to acquiring necessary experience required to set up private practice upon completion.

Obtaining the perception of students alone could make the findings one sided and bias. Further detailed research targeted at the employers of labour will provide a balanced view. Also, extending further studies to incorporating students of more universities will be more exciting.

This paper is an effort at stimulating the interest of other researchers in conducting similar research to cover all institutions in Nigeria as well as obtaining the perception of the employers of labour in this respect.

This paper seeks to report the detailed findings of a Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE) funded study into real estate programmes of study in UK universities. The aim is to critically evaluate the gaps in the professional practice firm employers' expectations of real estate graduates, real estate graduates' perceptions of what they attained during their studies and universities' views of the content of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited real estate courses.

The paper presents the research findings from questionnaire surveys of professional practice firm employers and graduates and of interviews with RICS accredited courses providers and with the human resource managers of major surveying firms.

The findings of the questionnaire survey should provide some comfort to real estate education providers since the top employer rated knowledge and skills are by and large found in most programmes of study. Universities would argue that they cannot actually do much about the personal attributes that graduates possess. There are significant differences in the views of employers and graduates and the only area of knowledge in which graduates currently exceed the requirements of employers is “research methods”. The comments made by both groups suggest that practical experience is considered to be missing from courses but most universities would not see this as one of their principal areas of responsibility. The RICS accredited course directors mentioned that they provide alternative simulated work experience for students. Apart from practical experience, the human resource managers also raised concerns about graduates' levels of commercial awareness.

The findings of this research will enable those designing real estate programmes of study in real estate in the UK and around the world to ensure that their curricula are current and relevant to the needs of employers, from a UK perspective.

The paper presents the findings of questionnaire surveys of employers and graduates and of interviews with RICS accredited courses providers and human resource managers, which suggest that employers and graduates would like to see more practical skills and knowledge incorporated within university curricula.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of the structure of real estate education provision in Europe, its key recent drivers and some ideas for its future development.

The paper provides an analysis of recent trends in provision based on the European course accreditation data provided by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The structure of provision is examined within the context of the significant changes which have taken place in the structure of European real estate markets as a means of identifying its key drivers. The analysis goes on to consider the opportunities presented for the future development of provision by two important initiatives the “Bologna Process” and the “European Real Estate Society Education Seminar”.

There has been considerable expansion in the provision of real estate education in Europe in recent years. The postgraduate level both full‐time and part‐time has been established as the dominant mode of provision with a business school setting as an increasingly important academic context. The two initiatives examined have the potential to contribute to the development of a truly pan‐European approach to real estate education.

The paper provides the first systematic review of real estate education provision in Europe directly related to changes in the structure of real estate markets. It provides educators which some ideas on how to shape future provision in particular though the development of key stakeholder relationships across Europe.

This paper provides an overview of real estate educational programmes currently being offered in the Republic of South Africa as well as the role of the South African Property Education Committee in this respect. The emphasis is on programmes offered by formal tertiary educational institutions (i.e. universities and technikons) as well as on programmes offered by the major professional bodies in the field of real estate. Both undergraduate and post‐graduate courses at all universities and technikons are addressed and the implications of recent developments in this field are indicated. The background to the recently established national qualifications framework (NQF) is sketched and the present progress with the implementation of the outcomes‐based NQF with regard to real estate education is summarised. This overview provides a sound basis for comparing real estate educational programmes in South Africa with those offered in other countries.

Led by the rapid advancement of information technology in engineering, business and creative industries, the emergence of new technology such as virtual reality (VR) and its use in education and practices are clearly observed. Although widely spread in industry practices, technology-led innovation is applied rather slowly in the tertiary real estate education. This paper examines the integrative effect of VR technology in a real estate course.

This study adopts a case study approach. Using an experimental course design and delivery in a business school real estate programme from Hong Kong, this paper shows the design, development and implementation of an innovative teaching model with VR being integrated. A survey was conducted to gain feedback information from participating students towards teaching innovation. It identifies the role and values of adopting VR technology in real estate education as pedagogical tool.

A new teaching model integrated with VR technology to deliver a real estate course has demonstrated its ability and potential to assist the development and enhancement of student's sense of value and place, as well as improving communicative efficiency of property investigation and the analysis of trade process. Findings from the study have implications for future global real estate industry practice and education.

The critical role of information technology to revolutionise the global economy and its real estate sector is apparent. Few studies have inquired about attempts and experience of integrating VR technology in real estate education towards direct link to industry practice. This paper is a major attempt to bring attention to this important concern.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited real estate courses in the UK have equipped real estate graduates with sufficient relevant employability skills to embark on a career in the profession. This paper considers the perspectives of four stakeholders – employers, human resource managers, graduates and course directors of RICS-accredited real estate courses – in the UK.

The results of a mixed-methods study, involving two online surveys with real estate employers and recent graduates of RICS-accredited real estate courses, and two sets of interviews with human resource managers of real estate surveying firms and course directors of RICS-accredited real estate courses, are presented.

The employers and graduates of the RICS-accredited real estate courses do not think the courses sufficiently equip graduates’ with employability skills. On the other hand, the human resource managers are very impressed with graduates’ technical skills but have concerns about their soft skills and attributes. Human resource managers and course directors of RICS real estate courses commented that commercial awareness is an important employability skill but graduates are not well developed in this area. Course directors also noted that practical experience is vital to employability, commenting that students can only obtain real-life practical experience if employers offer them opportunities.

This paper makes an original contribution to the existing literature on employability skills for real estate graduates. It describes pioneering research considering the perspectives of four types of stakeholders and evaluates whether real estate courses sufficiently develop graduates’ employability skills.

The management of public real estate assets by government agencies has been in place for many years as government agencies own their real estate assets in order to provide services to their communities. The management process becomes progressively complex and difficult because real estate ownership by agencies increases in amount, value and diversity over time. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current characteristics of the real estate management practice that is being implemented by the Malaysian Government agencies.

A qualitative approach has been used for this study where the data were collected through the use of interviews. The respondents to the study were government officers who execute real estate management functions within the ministries. The collected data were subsequently analyzed through the framework analysis method.

The results have shown that eight characteristics can be used to illustrate how the government's real estate assets are managed by the agencies. The characteristics include ad hoc management, a reactive approach, stages of implementation based on property life cycle, more focus on the maintenance management function, management by insufficient and non‐expert staff, management by fragmented departments, lack of information management systems and lack of performance measurement.

Most of these characteristics proved that the practice of real estate management by government agencies is not being carried out efficiently and is unsystematic. Therefore, the Malaysian Federal Government should plan, design and implement a strategic approach to ensure all the negative characteristics are eliminated because, if left unattended, this practice is bound to produce increasingly negative impacts over time.

This paper exposes the status of real estate management practice being implemented by the Malaysian Federal Government agencies. The findings will allow the federal government to determine the advantages and disadvantages of its real estate management operations and could be used to evaluate the capabilities of its agencies. The research output may also be utilized as a reference point by other countries with similar governance structures to assist in improving their public sector real estate management processes.