The competition offers eligible students the opportunity to form multidisciplinary teams and engage in a challenging, 360° exercise in responsible land use, focusing on the changing shape of office environments. Students will work in teams of four and will be set the task of working on a challenge which assesses their understanding of the core components of real estate design, development, investment and finance, as well as social and environmental issues that impact decisions around land-use and sustainable development.

The first stage of the competition requires teams to submit a pre-qualification questionnaire, details about each team member and a brief video via the ULI website. Submissions will be reviewed by ULI and Hines, with a maximum of eight teams selected for the final stage, which is due to take place in April 2021.

The winning team members will receive:

• a fast-track to the Hines internship programme;
• a guided tour of a live project and participation in project meetings in Hines’ European offices (as travel restrictions allow); and,
• a one-year ULI membership – providing access to research content, events, webinars, education and mentorship programmes, knowledge sharing and connections with a multidisciplinary global network of real estate and land use professionals.

Lars Huber, CEO of Hines Europe, said: “Following the successful launch earlier this year of the ULI Hines Student Competition – Europe, we have been eager to get underway with plans for its return. We are very proud of our long-term commitment to ULI and to support young professionals in creating better communities. This competition is about driving innovation and encouraging the generation of new ideas to approach land-use problems from different angles and perspective. It is also about supporting students to get on the career ladder and all finalists will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of senior real estate leaders, with the winners receiving a fast-track to the Hines internship programme.”

Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, said: “Creating and sustaining thriving communities is at the heart of ULI’s mission, and to successfully achieve this it is especially important that we attract and retain the best and most diverse talent to our industry to support us in what we do. This competition is a perfect example of everything ULI stands for with a multi-disciplinary, multi-generational collaboration focused on thought leadership, learning and sharing best practices. We look forward to receiving the entries for the 2021 edition for which we expect there to be a great deal of interest to take part in the competition following the positive feedback that we received on the first edition.”

Four students from Politecnico di Milano emerged victorious in the final of the 2020 ULI Hines Student Competition – Europe, where teams were challenged to prepare a plan for the redevelopment of a fictional city centre location. A video recap of the final is available on the ULI website, along with details of how to apply for the 2021 ULI Hines Student Competition – Europe, at https://europe.uli.org/ulihinesstudentcompetition.