Real Estate in Malaysia

Patronas Towers (Iconic Symbol of KL)

The end of the Spring Semester has come to an end. No more finals and group presentations to complete. No more Starbucks and Caribou Coffee runs. It all seemed to go by so quickly. Well for most students the last week of finals was a deep sigh of relief. While for others it was just the last stepping stone before graduation. While many of my fellow colleagues were preparing to walk across the stage in their graduation regalia, a group of 10 students, including myself, and a professor were flying over the Pacific Ocean. Where were we heading you may ask....Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Each summer, the Belk College of Business sponsors two week-long study abroad programs. In the past, students traveled to Argentina, Dubai, and Moscow to name a few. This year's programs took place in Germany and Malaysia.  I was fortunate to participate in Dr. Dustin Read's Real Estate course to Malaysia. The 9-day tour allowed students get a rare but "inside" look into a young and developing country. (Malaysia received its independence from Britain in 1957).  We meet with executives at PWC, Sime Darby, Cagamas, CB Richard Ellis, JPPH, and the U.S. Embassy. In addition, we participated in various day tours of KL and its surrounding cities and states.

Malaysia was a welcoming country. The presentations were thorough and gave such a detailed picture on Malaysia's Vision 2020 and ETP programmes.The environment was just gorgeous and peaceful. You could truly see that the country is making great progress with its infrastructure and the likes while maintaining its natural resources. The food was absolutely amazing.  All the ingredients were fresh and natural.   Side note* I quickly became addicted to anything Mango. Mangoes are indigenous to the area and after having FRESH juice... I was hooked!

Lastly, I must say that I could not have studied with a better group. We were all from various academic and professional backgrounds within the BCOB and University of Maryland. The diverse backgrounds led to dynamic Q&A sessions that I truly believed surprised some of our presenters. 

I would HIGHLY recommend all BCOB graduate students to consider participating in one of these courses during their program. It is a priceless opportunity....and besides it looks good on the resume.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!