Risto felt he needed to enhance his expertise and joined KTH
Risto Vahenurm from Tallinn, Estonia studied the master's programme in Real Estate and Construction Management. The experienced professionalism and connections for life at KTH exceeded his expectations.
What made you decide to start studying at KTH?
I had my academic background and work experience from civil engineering. After gaining a strong technical base of knowledge in construction I felt I needed to enhance my expertise in the area of real estate development and investments. I chose the master's prorgamme in Real Estate and Construction Management as it is, in my opinion, the best in combining construction and real estate as a whole.
What do you see as the greatest aspects of your programme?
The Real Estate and Construction Management programme is a very professional environment. The lecturers and professors are valued experts in the field and lectures and seminars include content-rich discussions and group work.
What does your current job involve?
I am involved with two projects in the field of IT in construction. Firstly, I am leading a project called SiteEyes, which allows collecting, sharing and storing data from construction sites more efficiently. Secondly, I am a project manager of external networks information system development for Estonia.
How do you use the knowledge and skills you gained during your degree?
I gathered highly valuable skills of international project management and research when performing my Master thesis in the field of Building Information Modelling. Combined knowledge about real estate development, building life-cycle analysis and finance are strongly supporting my daily decision making.
What kind of career opportunities are available in your field?
There are a wide range of career opportunities – from real estate development, asset management and public organisations to technical consultancy in construction. I highly recommend to combine real estate and construction with IT. Some examples are Building Information Modelling, Lean Construction techniques and Internet of Things.
Five things that you would like to give as advice to students?
- Listen: professors and lecturers at KTH are world class. Pay attention and take in as much as you can from your studies
- Be active: take part in school-related activities. There are plenty of different activity groups from doing sports to learning about entrepreneurship. Use activities to balance your studies
- Be open: KTH has many international students. Be open, communicate and learn different views and beliefs from all over the world
- Discover Sweden: use your spare time to learn about Swedes and travel in Sweden. There is a lot to discover - nature, traditional food & customs. You will certainly get used to have your daily Fika!
- Appreciate and enjoy: appreciate your time at KTH and people around you. Established contacts will remain for your life! And enjoy Stockholm, one of the nicest and most dynamic cities in Scandinavia.