"By challenging me so hard through its rigorous modules, it has enabled me to build up my intellectual confidence and raise the bar on my aptitudes."
Country of origin: Morocco
MSc course: Mathematical Trading and Finance
Graduation year: 2020
What motivated you to study MSc Mathematical Trading and Finance at Bayes Business School?
Having taken The Certificate in Quantitative Finance by Fitch Learning, I had developed a deep interest for Financial Mathematics. I was therefore looking for a rigorous Masters in this field to further explore my interest and curiosity.
Having heard of Bayes Business School’s reputation, I decided to explore the curriculum of the Quantitative Finance degrees. I was thoroughly impressed by the structure of the MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance which included modules on cutting edge fields such as Machine Learning and Quantitative Trading in addition to the traditional quantitative courses such as Stochastic Modelling Methods in Finance.
I contacted an alumnus from this degree who happened to have attended the same high school I attended in Morocco, and upon his recommendation I decided to opt for it.
Can you tell us a bit about your experience of studying at Bayes?
The MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance stimulated my intellect in all the right ways. By challenging me so hard through its rigorous modules, it has enabled me to build up my intellectual confidence and raise the bar on my aptitudes.
The programme blended the right balance of all the relevant skills, from practical to theoretical ones. Furthermore, most modules comprised a substantial group or individual project that put to practice the theory and consolidated the knowledge. My lecturers were not only great at teaching but were experts in the field too.
For instance, the Quantitative Trading professor, Dr Bernd Hanke owned his own hedge fund!
The course offered the right flexibility not only through the long list of third term electives, but also the ability to transfer amongst any of the Quantitative Finance Masters before the end of the first semester.
Several practitioners were invited to give talks by the career services and by the Actuarial, Insurance, Risk and Quant Society to give students a better idea of what to expect from the different career orientations. Furthermore, Financial Engineering workshops were organised by Professor Laura Ballotta inviting researchers and practitioners to present cutting edge research in the field.
This permitted for a total immersion in the field. Thank you to all the professors I’ve had at Bayes, no exceptions.
They were all above my expectations. Thank you also to all the staff that worked behind the scenes to make all of it possible.
How do you believe your master’s has impacted your career and your career goals?
Upon graduating from the MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance with distinction I was able to join a boutique mergers and acquisitions firm based in the UK to work as a Fund Analyst. Since then, I am now working on launching a warehousing and fulfilment center.
Furthermore, I have further developed some of the programming skills I picked up at Bayes to learn backend and frontend web development in order to prepare to launch an internet startup to complement the warehousing solution.
I am most confident that many of these opportunities would not have been made available to me had it not been for the MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance at Bayes.
What advice would you have for students considering Mathematical Trading and Finance?
If you are truly passionate about financial mathematics and you are up for a challenge, do not hesitate to apply. It was the most fulfilling experience and the programme offers the right mix of rigor, theory, application and flexibility.
