By Mrudula Dasika, Investment Director, UPP
Pathways to Property, part of the Reading Real Estate Foundation, works with young people from backgrounds under-represented in the property sector, helping them learn about careers in the industry through activities including its Summer School, Insight Days, work experience and mentoring. For several years, UPP and the UPP Foundation have supported the programme, including by providing serviced study bedrooms for its Summer School at the University of Reading, as well as contributing talks and mentoring. Here, Mrudula Dasika, Investment Director at UPP, reflects on her experience of mentoring a student through the programme, and what she took from the experience herself.
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Pathways to Property works with young people from backgrounds under-represented in the property sector, providing access to information, support and events designed to help them enter this varied sector. Its industry mentoring connects professionals working for supporter companies with young people participating in the programme, helping them to develop real-world insight, connections and support so that they can make the most of the opportunity.
Earlier this year, I volunteered as a mentor through the Pathways to Property programme, which aims to widen access to careers in real estate by connecting students with industry professionals. I responded to a call for mentors from the UPP Foundation, which supports the programme. The opportunity was open to professionals from a range of functions within the property sector, including investment management, so I felt my experience made me a good fit and decided to apply.
I was matched with a student who was studying a property-related degree and had a strong entrepreneurial mindset. We agreed to meet in person once every month. From our first conversation, I was struck by her ambition, curiosity and willingness to think deeply about her career.
Finding the right path
Going into the programme, I expected our discussions to focus primarily on careers in real estate, the different opportunities available across the sector and how to navigate the early stages of professional life. While we did cover those topics, the conversations quickly became much broader than that.
We spent a lot of time exploring what genuinely motivated and energised her. We kept coming back to a simple question: what do you find yourself naturally drawn towards?
What I enjoyed most about the experience was the openness of those conversations. Despite coming from different backgrounds and being at very different stages of our lives, we clicked quickly and were able to talk honestly about aspirations, challenges and uncertainty.
Turning an interest into action
One of the most rewarding aspects was seeing those conversations continue to influence her thinking. Over the summer, she launched her own business, something she was deeply passionate about. She identified a market niche, taught herself to build the website, worked directly with overseas manufacturers and started developing a long-term vision for the brand.
This was not a case of choosing one path at the expense of another. She remains passionate about real estate and property development and is excited to continue exploring opportunities in the sector through her studies, internships and future career opportunities. At the same time, she has developed the confidence to pursue her entrepreneurial ambitions alongside it.
I suspect both journeys will prove valuable to one another. Building a business from scratch teaches lessons that are difficult to learn in a classroom: dealing with uncertainty, understanding customers, solving problems and turning ideas into something tangible. Equally, a career in property development requires many of the same skills. Rather than seeing these as competing interests, I see them as experiences that will complement one another.
Learning from each other
The experience was as valuable for me as I hope it was for my mentee. Her ambition, self-awareness and willingness to challenge assumptions were genuinely inspiring. Pathways to Property exists to help young people understand the opportunities available within the industry, but the programme also reminded me that helping people understand themselves can be just as important.
A word from Tom Woolmer
Tom Woolmer, Senior Programme Delivery Manager for Pathways to Property at Henley Business School, University of Reading, explains below why mentoring is an important part of the programme.
“Throughout the Pathways to Property programme, our participants get the opportunity to meet a range of professionals across the property sector. The industry mentoring takes this a step further, providing the students with the opportunity to receive support, advice and guidance over a longer period of time from industry experts, as they make those all-important decisions about their future. We are so grateful to all our mentors for giving up their time to provide such meaningful support to our students.”
Students at the Pathways to Property Summer School at the University of Reading
