The Department of Land Economy runs a very successful Mentoring Scheme for its MPhil, MSt, and PhD students.

The aim of the Mentoring Scheme is to provide students with a point of contact with experienced professionals in an area relevant to our students' courses and future careers. We welcome mentors in such fields as: 

  • Environmental consultancy, environmental economics, renewable energy, sustainability, climate change and green growth
  • Planning, urban design, urban transport, land and urban development
  • Private housing and social housing
  • Real estate and property development and investment
  • Banking, finance, private equity and investment advice
  • Management consultancy
  • Law and legal issues in land, real property, environment and business.

Given the breadth of career paths taken by our graduates, we would welcome interest from other specialist fields and, given the nature of the cohort, we are keen to link students with mentors that hold international expertise and experience.

We welcome all individuals in these related fields who have at least five years' experience in the related fields to consider becoming Mentors. We are looking for professionals who can volunteer at least three hours of their time per student during the academic year from October to July.

The Mentor should be able to:

  • Share experiences about his or her own career path
  • Provide information on the structure and organisation of the industry and professions, and insights into specialist areas of activity
  • Provide general advice on employment prospects and the nature of work in the related field. (The Mentoring Scheme is not intended to be a mechanism for finding jobs for the student but many students will be able to benefit from the mentors' advice and experience in order to focus even further their interests and job opportunities)
  • Provide advice on current issues, changes and developments in the related field with possible prospects for the future
  • Provide suggestions on possible research topics for dissertations and/or help in identifying and accessing data sources relevant to land economy and the student's interests
  • General support and advice on business matters and the working environment.

The scheme is particularly useful for those students with limited prior knowledge and experience in the related fields, which would be enriched by the education they receive here in Cambridge, complementing the mentor's experiences and advice.

A valuable contribution will be to help students understand the specific professional sectors within the organisation they may want to specialise in and, therefore, what type of organisation, company or fund may suit them the best. In addition, advise on further professional qualifications or knowledge that would enhance their career prospects would be helpful.

Students may also benefit from assistance with research topics and data provision. The mentor should not direct the student to a particular topic, but can provide guidance on current areas of interest in the related field or suggest avenues whereby the student might obtain relevant information – this might be data sources, contacts for interviews and similar assistance.

Mentees will be allocated to mentors taking account of expressed wishes and areas of expertise (although we cannot guarantee to meet all requests and preferences, given the profile of the students' cohort and of those mentors participating in the Mentoring Scheme). The aim of the Mentoring Scheme is to provide students with a point of contact with experienced professionals within the related fields.

Should you be interested in participating, please fill in the Mentor Application Form above. All eligible students will be contacted in the Michaelmas term to ask whether they would like to take part.

For any enquiries about the Mentoring Scheme please contact Sam Fearnley, Outreach and Communications Administrator on outreachcomms@landecon.cam.ac.uk

We would particularly like to hear from potential mentors with international expertise or interests, but all skills and specialisms are welcome!

 

Thies Lindenthal
Department of Land Economy
Course Director, MPhil Real Estate Finance 

 

Jon Zehner
Global Co-Head of Client Capital Group, LaSalle Investment Management
CLEAB Chair 

 

Dan Nicholson
Executive Director, Great Portland Estates
President, Cambridge University Land Society (CULS)

 

The Mentoring Scheme is supported by the Cambridge University Land Society (CULS) https://www.culandsoc.com and the Cambridge Land Economy Advisory Board (CLEAB - www.cleab.org).

More information regarding the Department of Land Economy Courses can be found on the following pages:

Land Economy TRIPOS

Postgraduate Study

PhD in Land Economy

 

 

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