ATLANTA (November 2, 2016) – A team of students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has won the CoreNet Global Academic challenge, a global competition in which student teams design scenarios that address challenges faced by corporate real estate professionals.

Corporate real estate professionals have strategic responsibility for their corporations' total real estate footprint of owned and leased space, including all types of property, land and buildings (office facilities, data centers, manufacturing facilities, logistics centers, corporate headquarters, distribution facilities, retail stores and hotels).

The management of corporate real estate is increasingly complex and intertwined with other corporate functions including technology and information systems, the workplace, sustainable environment, finance, site selection and even overall corporate branding.

Generational shifts, such as those being driven by millennials, are changing the expectations of work as a function of a larger lifestyle.

CoreNet Global launched the Academic Challenge to raise awareness of these issues and to draw attention to the emerging profession of corporate real estate.

Forty-six teams of students from around the world applied to participate in the competition and four finalist teams took part in a "hackathon" style competition at the CoreNet Global Summit in Philadelphia last month.

The University of Illinois' winning presentation detailed a fictional banking group with innovative workplace practices including wellness, technological integration, space design and fostering a collaborative, problem-solving environment.

The team received $5,000 USD, and the university will receive $5,000 USD to support corporate real estate education.

The Academic Challenge, sponsored by Cushman & Wakefield, asked university students to think seriously about how organizations can attract, retain, and motivate the next generation of talent by applying the lessons they learned through their own student experiences. Another Academic Challenge will be held in conjunction with the CoreNet Global Summit, Shanghai, in March 2017.

For more information, visit 2016 - 17 Academic Challenge or email Dean Jordan, VP for University & External Relations. View the Academic Challenge Competition Brief (PDF) for the full details and application.

About CoreNet Global

CoreNet Global is the world's leading professional association for corporate real estate (CRE) executives with strategic responsibility for the real property used by multinational corporations for their own operations. CoreNet Global's more than 10,000 members, who include 70% of the top 100 U.S. companies and nearly half of the Global 2000, meet locally, globally, and virtually to develop networks, share knowledge, learn and thrive professionally. For more information, please visit www.corenetglobal.org.