The UPF-BSM organizes the first ‘Prize for the Best Master’s Thesis on Decent and Sustainable Housing’ with the Metropolitan House Foundation

The Chair in Decent and Sustainable Housing of the UPF Barcelona School of Management, run in collaboration with the Metropolitan House Foundation, has created the prize for the best Master’s Thesis that focuses on the topic of Decent and Sustainable Housing, either directly or indirectly, with the aim of promoting and enhancing the visibility of this issue.

The topic on which this prize focuses is related to some of the key social and environmental problems that we currently face, including issues such as access to housing for young people and other disadvantaged groups, and the sustainability of the stock of residential buildings in cities. Moreover, the prize is aligned with some of the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals(SDG), including SDG 10 (reducing inequality) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

Any Master student can take part in the initiative, whether their program is official or institutional, as long as they are enrolled at a public or private university or educational institution recognized by the Spanish authorities and certified to grant academic qualifications in Spain. Students of any nationality may apply.

José Manuel Martínez-Sierra, the Director General of the UPF-BSM, highlighted that "education based on values is one of the key pillars for progressing towards a fairer and more sustainable society. It is also the primary purpose of the UPF-BSM". With this in mind, he welcomes the creation of these prizes that enable young students to "devise the key areas of action and propose solutions in a field that affects them so closely: access to housing".

The President of the Metropolitan House Foundation, Rafael Angulo, emphasized that the prize “strives to contribute to raising the visibility of extremely well-prepared young talents, so that they can generate efficient solutions for the must vulnerable members of our society and, in our case particularly, the housing sector that is under significant pressure due to the market situation, demographic changes and housing policy”.

What are the requirements for taking part?

To be eligible for the prize, the Master’s Theses must have been developed during the 2022-2023 academic year. They can be individual or group projects and may focus on a single or multiple disciplines. They can be written in Spanish, Catalan or English. Any Master’s Thesis that applies for prize must not have been submitted for any other selection process or prize. However, this restriction does not apply if the Theses were not selected as finalists. The deadline for registration and submission of the projects is 30th September 2023.

After the deadline for submitting the Theses, all the projects will be assessed to determine their quality based on the following evaluation criteria:

1. Current importance and relevance of the topics covered.
2. Quality of the Master’s Thesis report submitted.
3. Capacity for implementing the project.
4. Academic quality.

The Chair in Decent and Sustainable Housing

The UPF-BSM’s Chair in Decent and Sustainable Housing, run in collaboration with the Metropolitan House Foundation, has the following goals:

• Generating and developing knowledge on housing policies from economic, fiscal, financial, social and management perspectives, designed to improve people’s quality of life, preserve the environment and enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the real estate sector.
• Developing knowledge transfer and dissemination activities for the insights generated by organizing events and conferences, publishing articles and conducting case studies, among other activities.
• Running activities related to training and skill acquisition for professionals in the real estate sector based on the creation of training programs, internships in real estate companies, etc.

Prizes related to improving the Wellbeing of the Planet

As well as the Prize for the Best Master’s Thesis on Decent and Sustainable Housing, the UPF-BSM annually awards the following prizes:

• UPF-BSM Prizes for the Best Master’s/Postgraduate Theses/Project.
• Prizes for the Best Business Case Studies.
• Prize for the best Master’s Thesis on the Wellbeing of the Planet.
• Prize for the best Master’s Thesis on Sustainable Finance.
• Prize for the best Master’s Thesis in Catalan related to accounting, financial and management matters.
• Prize for the best Master’s Thesis in the field of Sustainable Development.