Top marks to Jeremy
14/04/10
Jeremy Underdown, Estate Manager for Portsmouth City Council, was awarded the highest marks on last year's Diploma of Higher Education in Housing. And, as a result, was awarded a CIH Achievement Award at the House of Commons.
Jeremy, 29, has worked for Portsmouth City Council for five years having graduated from Brighton University with a BA (Hons) Criminology and Social Policy.
'I'm an estate manager, responsible for a team of housing officers although, at the moment, I'm away from this post. I'm currently leading an intervention team tasked with investigating how our out-of-hours service operates, making any necessary improvements to benefit our customers.
'It's a really exciting time to be working within Portsmouth City Council's Housing Service with major changes in most areas of service provision. Leading an intervention has been an invaluable experience, enabling me to develop as a housing professional and use some of the skills and knowledge that I gained whilst studying for my diploma.
'I've always had a thirst for knowledge and, having worked in social housing for a couple of years, I was keen to learn more about the sector. The Diploma in Housing gave me the ideal opportunity as well as the chance to gain a professional qualification and CIH membership - I hope these will all help further my career.
'The course itself provided a range of topics and challenges from undertaking a research project (including collecting and analysing data), to learning about organisational management, housing finance, housing practice and development. I particularly enjoyed learning about the evolution of social housing and about housing law.
'But it wasn't just the course content that was useful. I was able to work closely with students from a wide variety of housing providers and locations. All brought their experiences of different working practices and policies which was an education in itself.
'I have to be honest - balancing study with a hectic work (and social) life wasn't easy, although it is certainly rewarding. So when I discovered that I hadn't only passed my diploma, but had done so with flying colours, I was over the moon. Having my achievement recognised with a CIH award is simply the icing on the cake.
'Collecting the House of Commons in February was certainly a great honour. With CIH membership continuing to grow on a global scale, it's important that the professional body for people involved in housing and communities fully utilises its position and continues to act as a bastion for personal and professional conduct to the benefit of the real people it serves, the customers of its members.
'Outside of work I'm a big football fan with a Portsmouth FC season ticket. I'm also a keen archaeologist and recently, following some time in the Middle East, I was lucky enough to have a paper published in the Journal for Arabian Studies. So, whilst I'm keen to use the Diploma as a springboard for further studies (with one eye on a masters), if all else fails perhaps I can be the next Indiana Jones!'