DM Hall has announced the inaugural winner of its new £500 annual bursary scheme.

The award, open to any student entering the MSc course in Real Estate Management at the University of Glasgow, has been offered to Morgan Smith, of Hyndland, Glasgow, who took her undergraduate degree at the University of Stirling. Runner-up was Katharina Geisler.

Ms Smith excelled in a strong field not only by presenting a submission of exemplary standard, but also by taking the initiative of applying for work experience. She is now being supervised by Partner Mark Williams.

The bursary scheme is a tribute to the enduring contribution made both to the profession of surveying and to his firm by its former Senior Partner, John Hamilton Young, who died in June 2021 aged 80. He was instrumental in helping turn DM Hall, one of Scotland’s oldest surveying firms, into the force it is today.

Morgan Smith said: “This is a tremendous opportunity and I am very grateful to everyone at DM Hall for giving me this invaluable support as I continue my journey into the property profession.

“My interest and passion for property first stemmed from gaining experience helping within a small family portfolio. Since gaining an insight into the market, it made me eager to pursue a career as a property surveyor.

“I am humbled to have benefited from the legacy of John Young, who was a legend within the property business and left a mark, both personal and professional, which will be hard to equal.”

Alan Gordon, DM Hall’s Senior Partner, said: “The bursary was intended to be an annual, highly-practical commemoration of John’s life and work and we could hardly have expected to find a candidate as eminently suitable as Morgan.

“She stood out in a very motivated and talented field by being very genuine, confident and professional and I hope this award will incentivise her as she completes her studies and progresses into her career.

“I must also commend runner-up Katharina who, though originally from Germany, has made an impact at Glasgow where she has chosen to advance her studies with her Masters degree.”

John Young joined DM Hall, which was established in 1897, in 1970, and opened its Glasgow office before spearheading a rapid expansion in the eighties which led to the firm now having 24 offices throughout Scotland and 250 staff.

In 1985, he was made Senior Partner, a role he relished as he increased DM Hall’s footprint with a swathe of new office openings to meet the rising demands of homeowners and a new property-owning environment. His daughter, Katie Craig, is also a chartered surveyor and was made a Partner at DM Hall in January 2022.

Dr Tunbosun Oyedokun, Programme Director and Lecturer in Real Estate (Urban Studies) at the University of Glasgow, said: “This award will be a great support to the beneficiary in realising their ambition of becoming chartered surveyors. We are honoured that DM Hall chose our Masters programme for the award.”