The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) Foundation has awarded a $22,000 grant to Kyiv School of Development (KSD), the school of professional real estate development, to train at least 100 reconstruction specialists to help rebuild Ukraine.
SIOR is the leading global association for real estate brokers and the SIOR Foundation is made up of real estate leaders from within the organisation, with a purpose to give back to the sector by supporting initiatives that Educate, Enhance, and Expand the commercial real estate community. It promotes best practices, responsible and sustainable development, and helps educate the next generation.
KSD, in the city centre of Kyiv, is a school focused on real estate development and construction management. Since 2017, more than 450 managers, owners of real estate development and construction companies, project managers, architects and other market specialists have graduated from this educational institution. Kyiv School of Development seeks to form an active community to change the rules of the market, as well as to educate specialists with the world standard values who create modern and progressive development projects. A new ‘Recovery Manager’ programme has now been developed by KSD to train property professionals in the reconstruction of Ukraine, regenerating towns and villages damaged by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Funded by the SIOR Foundation, it will provide free of charge training for at least 100 reconstruction specialists.
Iain Finnegan SIOR, FSCI, FRICS, President of the European Chapter and Managing Director of Dublin-based Chartered Surveyors firm Finnegan Menton, said: “The European Chapter applied to the SIOR Foundation for this grant to enable the ‘Recovery Manager’ programme to be established and benefit not just the 100 people who will enter the real estate profession by undertaking the course, but also the Ukraine as a whole. With the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) recently held in Germany focused on a whole society approach and bringing together stakeholders to facilitate recovery, we want to play our part, bringing our experience for the benefit of Ukraine.”
Matthew Leguen de Lacroix, SIOR, FRICS, as Head of Business Development at SIOR, who visited Ukraine and the school last year, said: “Having seen first-hand the devastation of towns and cities across Ukraine as a result of war, teaching the younger generation the skills to rebuild will be essential. We are pleased to support this educational programme.”