REIF Graduation and Student Profiles

Graduation on 31 August 2018

As the MSc/PGD Real Estate Investment Finance is an online course, our students are based all over the world - so they normally graduate 'in absentia'. This year however, we were delighted to welcome the first two graduates of the MSc Real Estate Investment Finance to actually attend graduation at Oxford Brookes. And we even managed to get them to provide profiles. The students were Crystal Palar (CP) and Lucas Shannon (LS), both are based in Singapore. Scroll down for the profiles...

Crystal (top) and Lucas shaking hands on the stage.

Processing out - led by the University Mace

After the ceremony with Ye Xu, REIF Programme Leader (left), Crystal (centre) and Lucas (right)

And the answers to my questions:

What is your background? 

CP: 14 years of real estate experience with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), 4 years in Shanghai and 10 years in Singapore – started out in research, residential leasing and office leasing, culminating with my present role in JLL’s regional investment sales team, where my responsibilities involve advising clients on the sale and purchase of commercial properties across the AP region.

LS: Property Development and Investment throughout Asia for the past 24 years living in Australia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Why did you decide to do a course in Real Estate Investment Finance?

CP: I had just moved from the commercial leasing team across to our investment sales team in 2008. When APREA’s CREIF course was introduced in 2007/08, I decided it would be a good course to kick start a deeper understanding of the world of real estate investment and finance. In 2016, after more than 8 years transactional experience, I learnt about OBU’s MSc REIF programme and was instantly attracted to the idea of: transferable 'prior learning' credit with a transfer exam for 4 of the 6 program modules; flexible virtual learning environment for the remaining 2 modules and a cost friendly top-up fee, while refreshing and enhancing my knowledge base and potentially expanding my network through meeting other students and the course practitioners.

LS: I worked for JLL and LaSalle Investment Management and was gravitating from development into the finance and investment side of property, so the course was a natural fit for my career.

Why did you choose the MSc REIF at Oxford Brookes? 

CP: Oxford Brookes is the alma mater of some of my colleagues and is well regarded in the real estate investment industry. It also offers one of the more recognised distant learning courses for an MSc in Real Estate.   

LS: The course was available online through the Singapore base. Oxford Brookes is also highly rated and recognised by companies in the real estate investment industry. 

What did you gain from the course and how has it helped you in your career?

CP: The transfer exams were a fantastic refresher of the basic foundations of real estate investment and finance. The dissertation which required interviews with peers and clients, was a great way to gain invaluable insights and build stronger professional relationships with all parties involved. The completion and subsequent gradation gave me a sense of achievement and satisfaction. The opportunity to visit Oxford and OBU and participate in the graduation ceremony, also provided me with a sense of pride at becoming a part of an intellectual and accomplished group of academic and business professionals.

LS: The course brought me up to speed with current activities and exposed me to international case studies outside Asia. It also refreshed my knowledge of specific standards and regulatory guidelines that are always changing in the industry.  It was definitely a personal achievement to finish the course.

What did you choose for your dissertation topic and why? 

CP: 'Real Estate Direct Investing by Institutional Investors after the Global Financial Crisis and its Implications for Unlisted Funds.' During the course of my work, I had noticed that interactions with investors were shifting from previously discussing sales opportunities primarily with GPs to expanding our marketing roadshows to include more LPs. In general, it became apparent that many LPs were more directly active in the underwriting and negotiations for investment opportunities. This made me want to get a better understanding, for the benefit of my day-to-day work, of the reasons that brought about this change and if it might be a permanent or temporary phenomenon.

LS: 'The Impact of E-commerce on the Retail and Industrial Real Estate Sectors.'  I had close connections with leading investors and developers in this sector and it was definitely a current issue changing the real estate sector.

For more information about the MSc/PGD Real Investment Finance take a look at our website:

MSc/PGD REIF