Real estate development holds a pre-eminent place in the world of urban and regional planning. There is a growing demand across local planning agencies, private consultancies, and community-based organizations for urban planning professionals who possess a solid understanding of real estate development, finance, and related analytical tools. This shift reflects the increasingly complex nature of urban development, where planners are expected not only to guide long-term land-use visions but also to engage with market dynamics, assess financial feasibility, and work collaboratively with private developers and investors. Learning that is facilitated by socio-culturally rich and authentic experiences, and guided by experts, is one goal of educational practice. WIL (Work-Integrated Learning) pedagogy affords experiences that potentially develop employability skills, strengthen student agency, build personal attributes, and nurture career development for the students. However, external stakeholders’ involvement is a key feature of the WIL approach. The process of WIL not only includes the educational approach for preparation and implementation, but also reflection, debriefing, and evaluation of the students’ learning experiences. Thus, the aim of this paper is to illustrate how WIL can enrich students’ understanding of real estate development while fostering professional readiness.

In order to fulfil the aim, an action research study on the design and implementation of a university-level course in real estate development with a clear focus on WIL, was used. The course was developed to bridge academic knowledge with practical experience, emphasize the dynamic and complex processes involved in real estate development. By incorporating guest lectures, site visits, a specific entrepreneurial learning perspective about pitching together with external teaching partner organisation and project-based learning, the course offers students multiple entry points into real-world contexts and decision-making environments. The course aims to equip students with skills in pro forma modelling, project evaluation, public-private partnerships, and the negotiation processes inherent in development projects.

The results show that the course enabled the students to reflect as professionals, as real estate development planners are increasingly acting as intermediaries between public interests and private capital. The students learn real estate development in terms of financial feasibility, but also in relation to how projects serve the public interest over time. When the students act as planners they are in a unique position; they need to collaborate with developers to support projects that are both financially and politically realistic. The students also make sure that these projects benefit the community. This means that the students learn to protect public interests as they evolve, without creating unnecessary barriers for developers and ensuring that public resources are used wisely.

This paper situates theoretical knowledge within practical frameworks. Such an approach not only enhances student engagement but also contributes to knowledge co-creation between academic institutions and the property sector, making it a valuable model for applied education in the real estate environment.

Keywords: Work-integrated learning, real estate development, students, entrepreneurship, innovation.