Tom Dahler
I am a young real-estate professional from Germany. I chose this program to help me build my professional network. I also wanted to connect with the professors, who come from leading real-estate firms that I would like to work for in the future.
"I chose this master’s program to build my network and connect with industry leaders that could lead to more professional opportunities in the future."
Building professional networks for the future
Tom Dahler is an impressive young professional from Germany. He started his academic journey in the UK, where he earned his first degree—a Bachelor of Science in Management with Finance. Concurrently, he completed various internships with a number of top real-estate and consultancy firms.
His internship experience motivated Tom to apply for the Dual Degree Master in Management + Master in Real Estate Development. His main reason for choosing this intensive program was to build his professional network. However, he was also interested in gaining invaluable insight from his professors and classmates.
For Tom, the most enjoyable part of the program has been discovering his love for Madrid. He says that, before coming here, he didn’t realize how much he would actually appreciate studying in this city. Also, Tom gushes about the comprehensive coursework which covers a plethora of topics, from sustainability and innovation to city-making.
The fact that many of his lecturers are leaders in the real-estate sector, working in different capacities—from developers to advisors—was an added bonus. He believes that developing connections with these industry titans will lead to more professional opportunities in the future. Furthermore, he enjoys the multicultural nature of the classes. Having classmates from all over the world has made his time at IE University a very diverse experience.
“Urbanization is a major trend in the world today. Every single development project must be well defined to build adaptable cities of the future.”
In a program full of positives, the international study trips truly stand out. Tom says that he enjoyed visiting Barcelona and taking part in the Smart City Expo World Congress there. He also appreciates the chance it gave him to get to know his classmates better. Tom adds that he’s looking forward to the next study trips to Berlin and Hamburg, where he is actually from. He believes that the city will be “a cornerstone of inner-city development in the future” and serve as a great model for regeneration projects in other cities throughout the world.
Tom believes that this program will have a great impact on his career and looks forward to a bright future within the real-estate sector. He notes that this is a very relationship-driven industry, so he is enjoying networking with fellow students. However, he particularly appreciates connecting with the professors. Most are coming from great companies that he would love to work for himself—including CBRE, Sevilles, Knight Frank and Clifford Chance.
He describes the program as “city-making” in a nutshell. Tom believes that urbanization is a major trend in the world today. Cities will only continue to grow bigger and attract more inhabitants. Therefore, every development project must be properly defined in order to make cities more adaptable to the future in terms of sustainability, technology and innovation.
