Campus life: “I want my career to matter”

What is your background prior to joining EDHEC?

I majored in Banking & Finance with a double degree from the Higher School of Economics (Moscow) and the University of London. I have 2 years of working experience in the finance sphere.

You had some work experience in Finance. What made you decide to join EDHEC’s MSc in Climate Change & Sustainable Finance?

I wanted to unite my finance background with a wish to have a positive impact on the society and planet, to make my career matter. EDHEC’s MSc Climate Change and Sustainable Finance was a great choice for these goals, giving me the opportunity to keep advancing in the finance field with dedicated knowledge of how finance can help tackle climate change. Moreover, the programme presents sustainable finance from different aspects: climate-aware investing, regulation & policy, energy chain, and clean tech startups (the course is scheduled for the second part of the year). It gives a broad perspective for students to choose their own career path.

What is your experience of this double degree programme so far?

It is a challenging, but very interesting experience. I highly appreciate the opportunity to learn from the leading researchers and finance professionals - our professors discuss in class their research and case studies; they present recent academic papers and bring attention to key climate finance news of current interest. Guest lectures are also a crucial part of the courses, allowing students to communicate with experts and inquire about job and industry specifics.

Finally, I enjoy the projects which we do as a part of the programme. They are connected to real issues and help to build necessary climate-oriented knowledge.

You recently took part in the MIPC case challenge. Your team the Normandin Beaudry "Best ESG Reporting" award, and one member of your team, Neeti Shah, won the "Best Speaker Award". Can you tell us about the challenge and share your main takeaways?

McGill International Portfolio Challenge (or MIPC) is a buy-side finance case competition for students, aiming to « bring together industry leaders and university students from around the World to find innovative portfolio solutions to complex socio-economic issues ». Each year since 2017, students participate in a case competition, speaker series, and different recruiting activities of the partnering companies, applying their own academic knowledge and gaining practical experience. This year marked the 6th edition of MIPC, with a complex issue of ESG Transition - designing a feasible net-zero strategy for a pension fund.

Through this challenge, our team had an opportunity to research different approaches to reach carbon neutrality in accordance with global warming temperature trajectories, and try to balance risk, returns, and carbon footprint, considering the interests of different stakeholders.

The challenge was tough and required a lot of work, but it was a valuable experience, which allowed us to see the perspective of fund managers and face the problems which challenge them today. We are very grateful for the support of EDHEC, especially Professors David Zerbib and Irene Monasterolo, – our classes provided us with ideas and research to think of.

In the end, our team is very happy about the recognition our solution achieved. It is a great honor to receive the Normandin Beaudry "Best ESG Reporting" award as a team and a great opportunity to work side-by-side with such bright talents as Neeti Shah, the winner of the best speaker award, Theodora Stefanidi and, Wencong Tang. 

What are your job aspirations? Do you think a sound understanding of climate change and sustainable finance will be key in your future workplace?

Yes, I believe that a sound understanding of sustainable finance is a vital part of the future workplace. The issue of climate change becomes embedded in the core values and principles of many businesses and organisation all around the globe, but expansion increases the complexity - in a number of metrics and financial instruments, reporting standards, and green initiatives. The complexity brings not only positive sides but negative as well- it leads to confusion among market participants about what to do and how to do it right. Sound knowledge allows building the necessary expertise to tackle these problems and help the financial system support climate adaptation and mitigation efforts efficiently.

In the future, I hope to apply the received knowledge in sustainable development projects, making them feasible and effective.

What do you hope to achieve once you graduate?

I hope to find myself in sustainable finance with a position, where I would feel my work is valuable and bring a small positive change to the world. And perhaps a great achievement would be if one day I could become as inspiring and empowering to the next generation of sustainable finance students as our professors are today to us.

In conclusion, why do you think future students should be interested in our MSc in Climate Change & Sustainable Finance?

Sustainable Finance is still young and developing sphere - it is constantly changing and evolving. For students, who are interested in pursuing research, it gives an opportunity to contemplate the limitations of current approaches and start with vast research of Mines Paris-PSL and EDHEC Risk-Climate Impact Institute.

For students, who are interested in finding themselves in investing and banking, it is a great opportunity to increase their own knowledge of climate-aware investing and measurement challenges for the financial industry.

For students, who would like to focus their career on energy projects, courses on designing low-carbon transition and energy chains would be a great start.

In short, I believe it is a great place to develop and learn together with bright and inspiring people, who share the same values and social responsibility.

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