Becoming a Partner
Partnership with the MIT Center for Real Estate is by invitation and is capped to encourage a more intimate exchange of information and ideas.
For questions or additional information, please call or email Lisa Thoma, Associate Director, at 617-253-2680.
Benefits of Partnership
MIT/CRE provides partners with special opportunities to take part in Center events on a priority basis, as well as with offerings specifically tailored for partners.
Research
- Research Initiatives: Partners have early access to the Center's innovative, interdisciplinary, industry-relevant research, including products and data. The Center's current major research initiatives include the Commercial Real Estate Data Laboratory (CREDL), the New Century Development (NCD) initiative, and the Housing Affordability initiative (HAI).
- Student Theses: Partners may receive priority in sponsoring student theses and may also work with students on research-related initiatives relevant to their firms. (Download information about how to sponsor a thesis (pdf, 23K))
Conferences, Seminars, and Courses
- CRE Annual Partners Meeting: The primary partner representative and a guest are invited to attend the Center's annual conference. The topic is high level and strategic, and showcases research partnerships between MIT and industry.
- CRE Annual Partners Meeting, 2006 (April 5-6, 2006)
- Professional Development Courses (PDCs): Partners receive special rates for the Center's professional development courses, including a 50% discount for on-campus courses for all employees of partner firms. Courses may be customized to address partner needs if there is a large enough group of participants. Future courses will be held internationally and in other non-MIT locations.
- Forums on Issues and Innovations in Real Estate (FIRE): The primary partner representative and a guest are invited to participate in this seminar series, which is held in strategic locations around the world. Each forum focuses on a cutting edge topic inspired by the locale, the sponsor's expertise, or by updates on the latest research coming out of the Center. Partners have priority in co-sponsoring these events.
- International Research Conference: Partners may also participate in the Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics international research conference when it is held at MIT.
Education
Partners are given the opportunity to participate in the Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) program, work with students on thesis research, and recruit graduates from the program.
Networking
- International: Partners can make international connections on many levels, including through the growing network of the Center's foreign graduates, who work in approximately 26 real estate markets around the globe. This network, as well as the FIRE Seminar Series and the Center's international research, facilitates country-specific market intelligence and relationships.
- Student Placement Program: Partners have priority access to the Center's graduate students, a pool of rigorously qualified and particularly dedicated and entrepreneurial young real estate professionals who can contribute from day one to the success of the enterprise they join. Specifically, partners receive advance copies of student profiles and priority participation in recruiting events; assistance in matching students' skills with partners' needs; and a lower recruiting cost because there is no fee for these services.
- MIT Real Estate Exchange (MITREX): The Center's web-based MITREX database, an exclusive information sharing network, is available only to partner representatives, graduates of the Center, and MIT affiliates. MITREX is a document management tool: a library containing working papers, theses, and other real estate relevant documents. The database is searchable and allows partners to identify other partners who are potential resources on given topics.
- Mentoring and Internships: Additional benefits include the opportunity to be involved with the MSRED program as a student mentor or by providing student internships.
Additional Benefits for Sustaining Partners
While all the above benefits are available to Supporting Partners, a higher level of partnership is available to those who engage at a more strategic level in the operations of the Center. Sustaining Partners receive the following additional benefits:
- Advisory Board: A representative of the sustaining partner firm may serve on the Center's Advisory Board. This select body helps envision and shape the strategic direction and agenda of the Center.
- Private Dinner with an MIT luminary (or other highly distinguished speaker): A dinner for sustaining partners will be held the evening before the annual conference. Past speakers who have addressed the partnership include Lester Thurow, Paul Samuelson, and Stewart Myers.
- MSRED Guest Lecturer: Sustaining partners will be offered an opportunity to be a guest lecturer in an MSRED course (in coordination with the course instructor).
- Guest participation in seminars and annual conference: Sustaining partners may bring additional guests from their firm to Center-sponsored seminars and CRE's annual conference at no charge.
For questions or additional information, please email mit-cre@mit.edu.
