EDHEC's MSc in Financial Engineering: Learning Experience and Career Development Journey

Why did you choose the MSc in Financial Engineering as your specialisation?

I chose the MSc in Financial Engineering because I wanted to familiarise myself with the pricing of financial products and learn programming skills.

The Financial Engineering programme offers advanced courses related to financial markets, such as advanced fixed income and advanced derivatives. It also includes specialised courses in machine learning and neural networks, which are areas I was eager to delve into. Hence, I chose the Financial Engineering programme.

What specific areas within financial engineering are you particularly passionate about, and why?

I am particularly interested in the fields of machine learning and deep learning. I believe that artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in the foreseeable future in human production and life. Understanding these fields allows us to better apply artificial intelligence to avoid being replaced by it.

Can you provide an example of a specific project, course, or research that shaped your specialisation in financial engineering?

In the quantitative risk management course I participated in, we had a group assignment to estimate the risk level of a portfolio. I was responsible for writing the relevant code. Since the assignment was split into two parts, and the code from the first part could be reused in the second part, I chose object-oriented programming over procedural programming. This programming approach laid a solid foundation for my current work.

How do you stay updated on the latest technological advancements and tools related to financial engineering?

I mainly stay informed about the latest technological advancements and tools in the field of financial engineering by following content endorsed by experts in this field on LinkedIn.

Can you discuss your current job?

Currently, I work as a Business Analyst at a consulting company, involved in data migration and transformation projects within the banking sector for our clients.

Could you share a specific example of how you applied academic concepts to solve a real financial problem?

For instance, I applied machine learning methods learned in the MSc in Financial Engineering to help analyze the risk exposure calculation methods for specific financial products (such as repurchase agreements) based on the raw data provided by the client's bank headquarters. This analysis aimed to determine if the client bank's exposure calculation aligned with the requirements of the headquarters and regulatory standards.

In the field of financial engineering, what are your short-term and long-term career goals?

In the short term, my goal is to continually learn relevant knowledge, enhance my skills, and successfully complete ongoing projects.

For the long term, my career goal is to carefully evaluate my options after project completion. I will decide whether to continue developing within the financial domain or explore areas related to engineering and data analysis.