RG10 Update

RG10 Rugby Match & Profile Talk attract over 400 recent graduates

Students and alumni from Reading and Oxford Brookes Universities locked horns in October for the debut of the 'Reading Real Estate Foundation's RG10 Charity Rugby Match'. The event, the first of its kind for the RG10 group, offered current students and past students the chance to network and for alumni to catch up with friends, colleagues and industry peers. Over 360 alumni from the past ten years, together with current students, convened at Richmond Athletics Rugby Club to support the players and watch Oxford Brookes win by a convincing margin of 36-15.

The evening was generously sponsored by Allsop and Knight Frank as event partners, who, along with CBRE as event supporter, used the event as an opportunity to meet potential students for their graduate programmes next year. The real success of the evening was the fantastic amount of money raised for charity with RREF donating half of the £5,000 proceeds raised to LandAid.

Commenting, Andrew Marshall, said: 'This inaugural event surpassed all our expectations in terms of attendance, profile and ultimately the amount of money raised for charity and we are now looking forward to making the event an annual fixture. Hopefully next year the result will be in Reading's favour though!'

In early November Reading Graduates then heard from successful alumnus, David Atkins, Chief Executive at Hammerson at the Autumn Profile Talk hosted by Corporate Patron, Jones Lang LaSalle. Over 60 guests attended to listen to David talk about his career in property thus far, from a trainee surveyor in the late 1980's, to his rise to be the current Chief Executive of Hammerson Plc.

Following an introduction from Nigel Wheeler, Executive Chairman of Property & Asset Management at Jones Lang LaSalle, guests heard from David about his early career moves whilst at DTZ including time spent in the Central London Investment team, Fund Management and M&A consultancy. David had some pertinent advice regarding a flexible and open-minded approach to a career in surveying, stressing that surveyors should not be afraid to gain experience in a range of departments and sectors. David also touched on the element of luck, timing and seizing your chances when discussing his move to Hammerson after 10 successful years with DTZ, as well as why he was sporting a very fetching moustache - all in aid of charity, so we were told!

Kate Dow, an MSc Real Estate 2009 graduate and Graduate Surveyor at CBRE said: "The talk was really interesting, particularly as David discussed the early stages of his career during the early 1990's property recession. To have someone of David's calibre take the time to talk to us, and join us for a drink afterwards was great, and really showed the important support network which RREF continue to make stronger".

The RG10 committee organise a range of events throughout the year including profile talks, drinks evenings and sporting events. They provide an excellent opportunity catch up with friends and network amongst peers, and crucially raise valuable funds to help support students currently studying at the university. So far this year the committee's events have raised over £7,500. It is hoped that the next events, including a drinks evening and football tournament in the New Year will be equally well supported.

To see more photos from the Profile Talk and Rugby Match please visit our Flickr page.