Advancing property research and educating tomorrow’s leaders
The Australian Property Research and Education Fund Ltd was established to advance the twin arms of research and education, training and development; in the property industry including specifically in valuation and land economy. The Fund has DGR status and is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
For any enquiries, please contact apref@api.org.au.
Administration
The APREF Board oversees the work of the Fund. To support the achievement of Fund objectives, two Committees in Research and Education were established. Committee members were invited with the aim of providing the desired mix of current skills in academic research, education and practitioner skills.
The role of the Research Committee is to facilitate the undertaking of scientific research in the property industry, specifically in the fields of valuation and land economy.
The role of the Education Committee is to guide the award of scholarships, bursaries and prizes for the purpose of advancing education, training and development activities that relate to valuation and land economy.
Offering Two Educational Scholarships
APREF is funding two scholarships to study an API accredited property valuation tertiary degree in 2021. The opportunities are open to one Tasmanian high school student and one rural or regional high school student. Each scholarship will be awarded for the duration of a three-year undergraduate degree. Recipients will have access to senior property professionals who will act as a mentor, for varying periods, during their studies.
Application process
Applicants are to apply by completing the API APREF 2021 Scholarships Application Form and attaching the required information.
Please see the Scholarship Information Sheet as well as the Scholarship Application form.
Scholarship applications close on 9 October 2020 to apref@api.org.au.
Defined Call Research Topics
Research Grants
APREF has released six defined research topics to undertake funded research and applications are now open. The APREF Research Fund’s objective is to facilitate the undertaking of scientific research in the property industry, specifically in the fields of valuation and land economy.
This defined call identifies priorities for the Australian property industry, after taking feedback from the API Membership, the APREF Research Committee (which has representatives from Universities engaged in property research and teaching), the wider property academic profession and the APREF Board of Directors.
More detailed information is in the application form. Please download and submit to apref@api.org.au.
Research Grant applications close on 28 August 2020.
This may include comparative research on AI in the valuation industry and emerging opportunities for property professionals to employ AI technology to develop emerging business services.
This may include emerging technologies for mass appraisals or technology that harnesses the value of data.
This topic may include research on adaption by retail to online purchasing, or adaptation to adverse weather events, climate change trends, global pandemic or adaptations to global pandemics; and building associated risk into adaptations and the impact on property use, development and value.
This may include research into urban planning, urban infill and densification, the benefits or placemaking (or community building), adaptive agribusiness business models and rural land use.
This may include research into methods of mass asset valuation for government asset registers, valuation for reporting purposes or valuation for insurance purposes.
This may include any research into property finance that has a direct application and benefit to the Australian property industry.
Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award
Eligibility
The Award is open to all Australian students undertaking a course of study at the Masters or PHD level in a property professional field at an Australian academic institution.
Submissions from other academic faculties (eg. accounting, law, business administration) shall also be accepted for consideration where the subject matter of the research is considered to be relevant to the advancement of land economy.
Submissions are to be emailed to apref@api.org.au by 30 September 2020.
The Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award was established in 1985 as an endowment by the Hammerson Group of Companies in recognition of the contribution to the property profession by Peter Barrington. The purpose of the award is to encourage research and excellence in the study of land economy through the presentation of a major work in support of an approved academic program.
The award lapsed for a short period but was reinstated and awarded in 2019 to Jyoti Rao for her thesis Fundamental Functionings of Landowners: Understanding the relationship between land ownership and wellbeing through the lens of ‘capability’.
To ensure the longevity of this prestigious award, it will now be managed under the umbrella of APREF.
Judging of entries for the Peter Barrington Gold Medal Award shall be completed by a Panel constituted from the APREF Research Committee.
The Panel shall review entries, giving due consideration to the contribution of the work to the advancement in the knowledge or practice of land economy.
An assessment rubric will be used by the appointed Panel judges in ranking the submissions. Papers graded a Pass will not be eligible for the Award. Marks for individual papers will not be provided to applicants and will be used for internal review and assessment purposes only.
The entry shall be a thesis or paper which has been prepared as a component part of the Masters or PhD course of study undertaken by the student. Whilst there is no word limit, the written submission should reflect the level of research and analysis expected of a Master or PhD thesis.
All submissions are to be accompanied by an endorsement from the student’s Master’s or PhD supervisor.
Submissions must be lodged via email (with the paper attached as a PDF document). Completion with a cover sheet recording the details of the author, a brief summary of the thesis and a supporting statement from the supervisor from educational institution at which the study is being undertaken.
The work shall be submitted to apref@api.org.au by no later than 30 September 2020. The work must have been submitted for assessment within a year of this date (ie no earlier than 30 September 2019).
The winner shall be awarded a framed certificate of merit, complimentary API membership for one year and a cheque to the value of $A1000. The winner will also be expected to present their research to the API membership, most likely via the APREF Research Seminar Series.
This award shall be presented at an API function. The date of presentation shall be at the discretion of the Chairperson of the APREF Board.
