Topic 1 What is AI and How Does It Work?
14:00-15:30 A technical but accessible introduction to artificial intelligence, designed for real estate professionals with no technical background: What is artificial intelligence? Definitions and distinctions; How AI differs from traditional software: learning rules vs. following rules; Neural networks: the building blocks of modern AI; The learning process: training, validation, and inference; How AI processes text: tokenization, embeddings, self-attention; Large Language Models: GPT, Claude, and how they generate responses.
Dr. Monika Szumilo, VARi Knowledge Partners
15:30-15:45 Break
Topic 2 Working with AI – Practical Skills
15:.45-17:15 From theory to practice: how to effectively use AI tools in your daily work: Why AI makes mistakes: hallucinations, biases, and limitations; Strategies for minimizing errors and verifying outputs; Effective prompting: clarity, context, examples, and chain-of-thought; Overview of leading AI products and their real estate applications.
Hands-On: Participants complete structured prompting exercises with live feedback.
Dr. Monika Szumilo, VARi Knowledge Partners
17:15-17:30 Break
Topic 3 Data Visualization with AI
17:30-18:15 Introduction to using AI for code generation and data visualization – no programming required: How AI writes code from natural language; Creating charts, graphs, and maps through prompts; Building interactive dashboards; Preview: what to prepare for the in-person sessions.
Dr. Monika Szumilo, VARi Knowledge Partners
Topic 1 Data- and AI-Driven Organizations
09:00-10:30 Die The importance of data and AI management as a leadership task in companies, good practices for establishing structures, processes, and tools for the successful implementation of data and AI in companies.
Prof. Dr. Ivo Blohm, University St.Gallen
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
Topic 2 Scaling Data and AI
11:00-12:30 Development and implementation of a data and AI strategy, operating models, data and AI leadership, organizational change.
Prof. Dr. Ivo Blohm, University St.Gallen
12:30-13:45 Lunch Break
Topic 3 AI in Real Estate Planning
13:45-15:15 Structuring regulations, parameterizing building codes, evaluating building codes with NLP and GenAI, AI for greater planning reliability
Prof. Dr. Christian Kraft, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, HSLU
15:15-15:30 Coffee Break
Topic 4 The Power of AI Imagery
15:30-17:00 Image to Text-Text to Image: Checkpoint and Lora Models, Concrete Applications, Automated Use.
Martin Meier, Maier Vision
Topic 1 AI & Machine Learning in Real Estate
09:00-10:30 The academic and industry perspective on data-driven innovation in real estate: Data and AI as strategic resources in real estate; Machine learning fundamentals: decision trees, ensemble methods, neural networks; AI-driven business models and innovation; Current research at the intersection of AI and real estate finance; Building data and AI capabilities in organizations.
Prof. Dr. Roland Füss, University of St.Gallen
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
Topic 2 AI Adoption in Practice
11:00-12:30 A practitioner's perspective from 25+ years in real estate: what works, what doesn't, and how to implement AI effectively: Pragmatic implementation of AI in business operations; Skills required for successful adoption; Transformation of job roles in an AI-driven landscape; Lessons learned: successes and failures; Building an AI-ready culture.
Dr. Thomas Wiegelmann, VARi Knowledge Partners
12:30-13:45 Lunch Break
Topic 3 What is possible with AI in Real Estate? Proptech Pitches
13:45-15:15 Presentation and discussion of various state-of-the-art applications of AI in real estate by proptechs such as AssetOS, KeeValue, Optiml.
Dr. Alois Weigand, University of St.Gallen
15:15-15:30 Coffee Break
Topic 4 Analysis and Strategy with AI
15:30-17:00 Using generative AI for market research, business analysis, and strategy development: Market research with AI: document analysis, synthesis, insights; Integrating qualitative and quantitative information; Creating strategies with AI: context, problem definition, task specification; Case study: AI as tool vs. AI as consultant; AI in valuation: simple DCF, sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo intro; Case study introduction and team assignments for Day 3
Hands-On: Participants develop a strategy using AI as their analyst.
Dr. Nikodem Szumilo, VARi Knowledge Partners
Topic 1 Forecasting Using AI
09:00-10:30 Predicting future outcomes using AI, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. Traditional forecasting methods include regression, time series, and causal models. AI augments and extends these conventional methods by building and evaluating models for rents, yields, and market indicators, while also addressing ethical considerations such as bias, uncertainty, and accountability.
Dr. Nikodem Szumilo, VARi Knowledge Partners
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
Topic 2 Harvard Case Study: Part I
11:00-12:00 A Harvard case study written by Niko and Thomas featuring a real Hamburg forward deal transaction: Case Introduction: Transaction overview and business problems: Teams solve the case, including AI.
Dr. Nikodem Szumilo and Dr. Thomas Wiegelmann, VARi Knowledge Partners
12:00-13:15 Lunch Break
Topic 3 Harvard Case Study: Part II
13:15-14:15 AI Assisted; Scoring & Discussion: Compare results, reveal insights.
Dr. Nikodem Szumilo and Dr. Thomas Wiegelmann, VARi Knowledge Partners
14:15-14:30 Coffee Break
Topic 4 Risk Analysis with AI
14:30-15:30 Applying AI to comprehensive risk assessment, building on the case study: Scenario analysis: creating and evaluating alternative futures; Sensitivity analysis: identifying critical variables; Monte Carlo simulation: modeling uncertainty distributions; Using AI to test assumption robustness
Hands-On: Teams apply risk analysis techniques to their case study answers.
Dr. Nikodem Szumilo and Dr. Thomas Wiegelmann, VARi Knowledge Partners
Topic 5 Future of AI & Course Wrap-up
15:30-16:00 Future trends in AI for real estate; Ethical considerations and responsible AI use; Resources for continued learning
Certificate presentation and close
Dr. Nikodem Szumio and Dr. Thomas Wiegelmann, VARi Knowledge Partners, Prof. Dr. Roland Füss, University of St.Gallen
16:00-17:30 Drinks, Snacks & Networking (Extern)