Altus Group celebrates winners of the 2025 ARGUS University challenge

The ARGUS University Challenge is an annual global competition organized by Altus Group to immerse university students in the complexities of CRE investment analysis. Students apply ARGUS software to tackle complex CRE investment cases, where they model financial projections, assess risk, and develop investment strategies for hypothetical CRE portfolios. Winners qualify for a scholarship and gain valuable industry exposure, along with the opportunity to showcase their skills to potential employers.

The 2025 winners were selected from more than 124 students representing 24 universities globally. The teams demonstrated their ability to identify and present compelling investment opportunities using industry-leading ARGUS Enterprise, now part of ARGUS Intelligence – which brings together data and advanced analytics for more powerful decision-making.

Each team was challenged to analyze a hypothetical real estate scenario and present a comprehensive investment case. Submissions were evaluated by a panel of industry experts on how effectively students applied ARGUS’ valuation modelling, discounted cash flow analysis, and performance forecasting capabilities – tools that shaped CRE performance analysis for over 30 years and are taught at more than 200 academic institutions worldwide.

“We’re proud to provide students with the opportunity to develop the real-world skills they’ll need as they enter the industry,” said Rich Sarkis, President of ARGUS Software and Data at Altus Group. “This year’s participants demonstrated how quality data and analytics are critical to effective investment decision-making. Our new ARGUS Intelligence platform was built with their generation in mind – designed for a new era of data-savvy professionals who demand deeper insights, faster workflows, and smarter decisions.”

The 2025 ARGUS University Challenge winners are:

1st place: IREBS, University of Regensburg

• Team: Lea Lott, Leon Mayer, Maximilian von Berger, Moritz Kluge, Viola Schadde

• Professor: Wolfgang Schaefers

2nd place: University of San Diego

• Team: Jackson Gebhardt, Jason Santos, Rodrigo Soler, Ryan Groleau, Tom Sears

• Professor: Charles Tu

3rd place: NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate

• Team: Valeria Burga-Cisneros Vega, Lana Alexander, Colin Dallas-Wu, Sam Wimpfheimer, Thomas Jordan

• Professor: Hillman Lam

4th place: London School of Economics and Political Science

• Team: Stuart Teng, Eryu Ma, Jiani Zhang

• Professor: Rebecca Campbell

The ARGUS University Challenge is part of Altus Group’s broader commitment to cultivating future CRE leaders. Through its academic program, Altus Group provides software and training to over 200 institutions globally, equipping students with the technical expertise and analytical mindset to thrive in a data-driven market.

For more information on the ARGUS University Challenge, please visit: https://www.altusgroup.com/education/argus-university-challenge/