Principal Thoughts – February

Posted on: 2016-03-01

Welcome to our latest edition of the ‘Principal Thoughts’ blog series, in which UCEM Principal Ashley Wheaton shares the latest news from University College of Estate Management, and discusses this month’s industry news from the Built Environment. 

Principal Thoughts

February has been yet another momentous month for UCEM, and I’m delighted to share some fantastic updates with you.

The UCEM industry launch

Early on in February we celebrated our ‘university college’ title with the wider Built Environment industry and Higher Education sector, along with some of our staff, students and alumni. We hosted an evening reception at Altitude 360 on the 29^th floor of the Millbank Tower, London, and were joined by two prestigious guest speakers – Dr Louise Brooke-Smith, former RICS president, and Professor Roger King, often known in the industry as the ‘godfather of Higher Education’. This event signified our official launch as a university college, and for a full run-down of the evening’s proceedings do take a look at our dedicated blog post.

UCEM spreads its wings overseas

On the 25^th February we officially opened our Asia-Pacific headquarters, based in Hong Kong. This marks a milestone in the growth of our educational offering globally, and gives us a great platform in the Asia-Pacific region. We were pleased to be joined by chairmen, presidents and members of the RICS, the CIOB, Hong Kong Housing Society, LegCo, and the Hong Kong Institution of Chartered Surveyors, who officiated the ceremony. This was followed by a cocktail reception and dinner to formally mark the launch of UCEM with our Hong Kong partners and colleagues. You can find out more on the news by reading our press release.

Flipping pancakes for charity

In order to support our charity partner Launchpad, a team of UCEM-ers put on fancy dress and participated in the annual Reading Pancake Race. , and they even bumped into the Mayor of Reading for an impromptu photo-shoot. Our UCEM racers did us proud by raising £240.90 for Launchpad through their fundraising activities – many congratulations to the team!

To keep up to date with all things UCEM, make sure you’re following us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.