The field of quantitative finance is often seen as being very data-driven, taming risks and making a killing with a plethora of financial instruments. But besides acing proprietary trading or mastering sophisticated risk management strategies, the global financial industry is always on the lookout for quant professionals with a distinctly international perspective.
SMU MSc in Quantitative Finance (MQF) graduate Wen Jie grew up in Shanghai and studied Automobile Engineering (Railway Traffic) at Tongji University, before moving to Singapore to take on an Engineering role in the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Rolling Stock Division.
In 2012, she decided to further her studies as well as increase her global exposure by embarking on the international track of the MSc in Quantitative Finance (MQF) programme offered jointly by Singapore Management University (SMU) and Cass Business School (Cass) in the UK (United Kingdom) — where students spend seven months in Singapore, and five months in London.
Today, she is a Dealer - Structured Product Desk, Wealth Management at Deutsche Bank. Wen Jie shares how the MQF programme has beefed up her resume and helped her work:
I had the opportunity to learn from the international students and faculty from both SMU and Cass throughout the programme. The two tracks provided students with remarkably diverse experiences and points of view — we got to experience both Asian and Western contexts through time spent in Singapore and London, in the two top Asian and European financial hubs of the world.
During my time in both London and Singapore, I was required to work with students from diverse backgrounds. I recall working on a group project with three other Cass students from the US (United States), Ukraine and China also pursuing the MQF programme at Cass. That experience prepared me for my current work environment, as many of my colleagues hail from different countries and backgrounds.
We also took advantage of our time in London to explore the cafe culture, visit the museums and flea markets London is known for, and took trips to nearby towns such as Bath, Oxford, and Cambridge. Getting used to the cold UK winter was another memorable experience for me. Cycling to and from classes in the frigid winter gave me a greater appreciation of the heated school buildings and I cherished those moments when I finally stepped into the warm and welcoming school halls.
I will always treasure the time spent in the MQF programme where I learnt how to think and work independently. SMU also taught me the importance of lifelong learning, that we should always continue to improve our skill sets, even after leaving the classroom and that we should cultivate and maintain a wide network. For example, my professors are still actively engaged in the financial market in Singapore and were able to provide us with good insights on job opportunities and the local working environment through their connections and involvement in the industry.
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