CU Real Estate Center’s Technology Program Invites Major Industry Leaders to Its Virtual Classroom

In the COVID-era, this cutting-edge program has recruited some of real estate’s foremost experts for its online offerings this fall.

Technology has positively, and drastically, altered the way commercial real estate operates within recent years. Once viewed as outside the norm of “brick and mortar” operations, PropTech (property technology) optimizes the way people research, rent, buy, sell, invest in, design and manage property—and with the advent of the novel coronavirus, its being utilized more than ever.

Not surprisingly, the CU Real Estate Center has been preparing Leeds students for this moment since 2017.

The speed that PropTech was revolutionizing the real estate industry prompted the CU Real Estate Center to get ahead of its offerings for students early on. That’s when they recruited global real estate tech expert Mike DelPrete to lead their new Real Estate Technology Program. 

As a Scholar-in-Residence, DelPrete spearheaded the new, innovative curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students, which prepares them for the evolving real estate industry.

Fast forward to the fall of 2020. COVID-19 shifted much of academia to online instruction, and DelPrete embraced the opportunity. Teaching courses remotely from his home in New Zealand, the renowned thought leader has taken to his own virtual platform to further highlight the growing importance and the functionality of technology in real estate. 

DelPrete recruited an impressive list of thought leaders to speak to his virtual class of real estate tech students about how these new technologies have changed the way they do business. 

Guest speakers this term:

• Karri Callahan, CFO of RE/MAX
• Paul Levine, former President at Trulia and MD at Sapphire Ventures
• Susan Daimler, SVP Premier Agent at Zillow
• Ernie Freedman, CFO at Invitation Homes
• Ben Rubenstein, Founder at Opcity and CRO at realtor.com
• Quinn Hawkins, Head of Redfin Now
• Tim Heyl, Founder at Homeward
• Brian Bair, CEO at Offerpad
• Jim Dulle, MD Proptech Division at First American
• Paul Hurst, MD Venture Investments at First American
• Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM Data Solutions
• Scott Wesson, CIO at UDR - Opening Doors to your future
• Owen Wilson, CEO at REA Group

“World-class industry guest speakers are a cornerstone of my real estate technology class at the University of Colorado Boulder,” says DelPrete. “I’m super excited to welcome this first batch of executives and entrepreneurs to class this semester!”

With a lineup like this, the CU Real Estate Center and its Real Estate Technology Program is well on its way to becoming the #1 Real Estate Program in the country.

Learn more about the CU Real Estate Center’s programs.

About Mike DelPrete

Mike is internationally recognized as an expert and thought-leader in real estate tech. His research and insights have been in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The Economist. His evidence-based analysis is widely read by global leaders, and he is a sought-after strategy and new ventures consultant.

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