Ready for business: New lab provides real-world learning, giving UNI students a competitive edge
Ready for business: New lab provides real-world learning, giving UNI students a competitive edge
The Wilson College of Business at the University of Northern Iowa is preparing tomorrow’s business professionals today with the help of cutting-edge technology and resources. One recent addition to the business college’s arsenal for real-world learning is a new Finance & Real Estate Analytics Lab.
Housed in the Curris Business Building, this space is equipped with 14 high-performance computers and industry-standard software platforms such as Eikon, CoStar and Argus. This simulates a professional working environment and allows students to familiarize themselves with these technologies before they graduate, giving them skills that employers demand and a competitive edge to make them ready for business.
“Every finance and real estate student needs access to this software,” said Brett Olsen, department head and professor of finance. “It’s vital for their success once they graduate.”
“By using the lab and Argus, it has strengthened my understanding of real-world valuation systems,” said senior Amber Halbur, a double major in marketing and real estate. “I learned how to build cash flows, structure assumptions and interpret valuation outputs, which helped deepen my technical skills and overall confidence in the appraisal process.”
For Halbur, using the lab has already paid off in a big way: she’s accepted a full-time position upon graduation in May at SitusAMC, where she previously interned and observed real professionals using Argus on the job.
“Having early exposure to the software through the lab has given me a stronger understanding of how valuations are developed and has better prepared me to contribute in a professional setting,” she explained. “Employers place a high value on candidates who already have hands-on experience with platforms like Argus or CoStar, so having that background strengthens skill sets and increases attractiveness to companies in the appraisal and valuation industry.”
Another student, Caden Steva, a senior majoring in real estate and business administration, has also been taking advantage of these cutting-edge tools. Steva has hopes of working as a residential appraiser after graduation and someday moving into the role of commercial appraiser.
“Throughout the year, my group and I have used this lab multiple times for our Appraisals and Investment class,” he said. “We've used multiple applications that translate to the real world, like CoStar and Argus. We use these to analyze the properties’ past transactions and also to get our data for our approaches for our appraisal.”
The new space is already making an impact, and professors like Olsen are looking forward to seeing just how significant the results from the Finance & Real Estate Analytics Lab will be.
“I hope students leverage the tools available in the analytics lab to enhance their learning, whether it is to meet course requirements or gain personal knowledge,” said Olsen. “I look forward to seeing student competition teams and class groups gather for work and conversation. I have already seen both since the lab opened, and I'm eager to see more.”
