Lucía Rodríguez
I’m from Mexico originally, but I’ve studied in the Netherlands and now Spain as well as my home country. Originally I worked in my family firm, which had nothing to do with architecture, but invested in real estate as a sideline. So I really wanted to study something that would help out.
“The networking and also meeting people that had already worked in different areas of real estate was super helpful.”
Adding real estate theory to practice
Lucia Rodriguez was already learning about the day-to-day realities of real estate investment, working with her family firm back in Mexico. But she wanted some academic theory, expert teaching and networking opportunities to broaden her knowledge and maximize her value to the company.
In fact, the opportunity to connect with people working in another country, and in different areas of a sector she describes as “very local,” played a part in her decision to relocate to Madrid. Not that she had no choice in doing so—the Master in Real Estate Development is available in full-time or part-time formats, so she could have chosen the blended format that’s highly compatible with professional lives.
It’s clear in talking to Lucia that the combination of both theory and practice on the program was particularly valuable. She describes her Capstone Project as “one of the most enriching experiences” of her life, thanks to the diverse ideas of her teammates and the guidance of expert faculty members. Capstone Projects can be demanding, as Lucia admits was the case for her team: “Because of how big of a project it is, it was very challenging. We got to work with people in the sector that really helped form us to make that project happen. I was very proud of what we did.”
“I feel like the teachers, particularly, are very dedicated to helping their students make a name for themselves.”
As is often the case among the IE Community, the bonds Lucia formed with classmates and faculty alike are going to last a very long time. “The teachers have been great—they keep in touch even after you finish studying,” she tells us. “I saw a teacher on Monday and another on Tuesday. We keep in touch. One has been advising the company that I work [for] right now. They're always asking how we're doing, how they can help, if there's anything that they can do to help our careers.”
It’s a career that, right now, sees Lucia working in the office sector of the real estate field. But she’s planning to leverage her expertise and experiences at IE University for the benefit of the family firm. “At some point, it will be more about the investing and the development side. And at that point, it will be linked to the family business,” she says, explaining that while she enrolled for theoretical teaching, it’s the holistic nature of the program that made it such a success for her.
“The program is great if you have a solid academic foundation, because it works more on your social skills and the practical side of it,“ she concludes. “If you want something that is very practical, I think this is the best way to go ahead.”
