Applications are open for the CoreNet Global Academic Challenge 2021-2022. The goal of this global competition is to raise awareness of corporate real estate as a viable career opportunity amongst college students of all academic disciplines, to connect local chapters and members of the association with future talent, and encourage more universities to include corporate real estate in their curricula. 

Student teams from universities and academic institutions around the world are invited to compete in an academic challenge wherein students are asked to play the role of an internal corporate real estate team in order to address a real-world issue facing companies around the globe: Your team is charged to develop an Environmental, Social, and Governance strategy for the corporate real estate portfolio that addresses: post-pandemic health and safety concerns and employee well-being; the corporate commitment to being a better steward of the environment; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”).

How can corporate real estate professionals take a leadership role in helping their companies develop an agile ESG strategy that permits the board and management to shift back and forth among short-, medium-, and long-term issues as the changing business environment may require? What will be the lasting impact of the COVID-19 lockdown and the resulting health and safety protocols and practices on the environment and climate change? How will the company turn the conversation about DE&I into measurable actions?

Prize

• The winning team will be awarded US$5,000.

Eligibility

• Open to all students (undergraduate/graduate, full-time/part-time) who are currently registered at a recognized university;
• Teams should have a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of four (4) students each.

Application

Interested students will be required to submit a registration form, respond to several questions, and create a compelling presentation as discussed in the Competition Brief.

To aid in the team selection process, each team must respond to the questions below and provide all requested contact information. Please limit your responses to no more than 350 words each.

• Based on the challenge described above, how will your team prepare to compete? What are your plans to research the issues raised in this competition?
• Submit 5-10 questions that you would like answered by corporate real estate professionals to help you develop your strategy.
• What unique strengths does your team possess that will enable you to deliver a sound strategy to the CEO? What makes you a winning team and why should you be selected to compete?
• In your team’s opinion, what is the single greatest challenge facing multinational corporations today? What is the single greatest opportunity facing multinational corporations today?

In the first round of the North American competition, responses to the above questions will be judged based on the quality of thought invested, the appropriateness of each response, and originality and creativity. Each team is competing against every other team; there is no one “right” response. Rather, the judges will be comparing each response against all the others to identify the finalists.

Click here to apply

Deadline: September 22, 2021

For more information, visit CoreNet Global.