Five years of blogging...

One of the first photos to appear on the blog...the Oxford Brookes Real Estate Rugby Team, taken shortly before the 2011 charity match against the University of Reading. We won (36-15) and the event raised over £5000 for charity.

Five years ago we had an idea. And that's how the blogs started...to tell the story of the Department (of Real Estate and Construction). In the end we started two: Hot Property (telling the story of real estate) and Not Just Hard Hats (telling the story of construction). Five years later and now part of the School of the Built Environment, we have a third blog: Planning and Urban Design. Along the way we have told our story and created a history for ourselves. And now the blogs are 5 years old. Thanks to all the people who have helped write stuff, taken photos and supported our work. Here are some of the highlights of the last five years (click on the red or blue links for more information)...

Number of posts: 278
Number of hits (visits): 107, 972 from all over the world

Top three posts on Hot Property:
Regeneration might still come to Morecambe
MSc Real Estate Prize 2012-13: Natasha Sidoli
MSc Real Estate: Lisbon 2016 in numbers...

Top three posts on Not Just Hard Hats:
The Construction Industry: a suitable place for women?
MSc BIMM: Q&A with Henry Abanda
MSc QS and Commercial Management: Q&A with Damilola Ekundayo

Number of field trips: 88 field trips have been documented on the blogs - take a look at the field trip tag on the blogs to find out more.

Number of new courses introduced: 5 (plus our Real Estate Mentoring Scheme)...
MSc Real Estate Investment Finance
MSc Construction Project Management
MSc Building Information Modelling and Management
MSc Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management
MSc Real Estate with 3 pathways: Commercial/Residential, International, Hotel & Hospitality
BSc Real Estate Management Mentoring Scheme

Number of students interviewed: 12...take a look at the student profiles tag on the blogs to find out more about our students and what they think of us.

Number of building moves: 1...it was quite a dramatic move as our old building was demolished to make way for a new flagship building for Oxford Brookes...the John Henry Brookes Building. We documented our favourite parts of the Darcy Building before it was demolished.

Our alumni: many of our students choose to stay in touch with us after they graduate (and become alumni). We have 3 alumni groups on LinkedIn and we also make use of our alumni as guest speakers, mentors and course advisers. Take a look at the alumni tags on the blogs...there are some alumni profiles there too. Those LinkedIn groups:
Construction, QS and Project Management
Real Estate Management
Real Estate Investment Finance

Lots of social events: Real Estate and Construction. 

And my favourite photos...

One of the many snowball fights on the 2013 field trip to The Netherlands

The MSc Project Management in the Built Environment Study Week in March 2012...brick laying workshop

Students showcasing their work at the Industrial Placements Workshop in 2014

The amazing (and unique) Crossrail development field trip

The MSc Real Estate field trip to Barcelona in 2015

The second year BSc Real Estate Management students drawing up a Schedule of Dilapidations in Wantage

The 2016 Oxford Tour. Showing our new students our beautiful city.

Houses marked for demolition in Morro da Providencia. Photo taken as part of the UK-Brazil Urban Network.
Look at the research tags on the blogs for news of other research projects taking place.

The 2016 Real Estate Ball

And finally a video. We try and inspire the students of the future by taking part in the Oxford Brookes Creative Industries Day. The bridge building exercise from 2016...