Barak Alberro
I’m originally from the Basque Country in Spain, but I’ve also lived in the UK and recently made the move to the US. I began my real estate career studying architecture and then design innovation, and I’ve also specialized in construction management. For the past ten years, I’ve been working as an architect but have also undertaken other roles in the sector too. Currently, I’m studying the Global Master in Real Estate Development to broaden my skill set and improve my clients’ experiences.
"It’s been quite a spin seeing architecture from a completely different angle. In these two weeks, I’ve already seen the potential of what I’m hoping to do and it’s a great opportunity to build on these skills."
Opening doors to new opportunities
Originally, Barak was an architect, but he has ventured into the global world of real estate development to gain new skills and insights. He started working in Spain for smaller architecture firms and then moved to the British firm Foster + Partners, which has an international client base. He later pursued consultancy in order to experience life as an architect closer to the client’s perspective.
“I think it’s great that IE University introduced this face-to-face period at the beginning of the master’s program, and thanks to Liquid Learning we managed to all get together in the same room.”
Now studying the Global Master in Real Estate Development, Barak has joined a class of 16 participants from many different professional backgrounds, including architecture, business and finance. His cohort also reflects the global nature of the program, with fellow students coming from Spain, The Middle East and Australia. Despite the physical distances between them, and thanks to the Liquid Learning model, Barak and his colleagues have been able to all interact with one another for the first few weeks of classes.
Initially, Barak found meeting his peers in-person and returning to normality post COVID-19 to be a bit of a challenge. However, he is looking forward to getting to know his international cohort better and join an elite network of real estate development professionals.
So far, Barak has seen architecture from a different angle to his previous experience and is exploring new areas of real estate development, while deciding what he wants to focus on in the next year of his program and beyond.
Having not had much training in finance in his career thus far, Barak is taking every opportunity to expand his skill set, and the finance courses, in particular, have been a highlight for him.
Barak is looking to grow professionally to be able to provide a professional advisory to his current and future clients. He is also looking forward to the next face-to-face period in Mexico, where he will reunite with the other participants on the program.
