MSc Financial Mathematics students Nanjun Li and Dalal Almudhaf discuss their experience of learning at Queen Mary
2008 was a special year for many people directly or indirectly connected with global financial markets. At that time, I was in Edinburgh and witnessed that nearly half of the businesses had shut down. What was going on? What were the secrets behind this? That was the first time I thought about studying modern finance one day. It took me ten years to put the study plan into a daily schedule. I have also been working for myself for two years as an individual investor. The reason I chose Queen Mary is that it’s located in London and is prestigious. Choosing to pursue MSc Financial Mathematics was more based on my engineering background and personal interests.
From my point of view, the modules shed light from different angles on the same gigantic, interconnected system, so that I can understand better the nature of financial markets and the ways people tackle problems with mathematics. It’s hard to single out a favourite module.
My plans for the future are open. While my long-term goal remains to survive in the markets and evolve with time as an individual investor, I expect to see opportunities to work as a computer and financial data professional, especially for institutions based in London.
I have always been interested in numbers: from simple mathematics to problem-solving and analytical thinking, the beauty of mathematics stems from its applicability to our daily life. Being a logical thinker myself, I use my mathematical sense to better land on rational decisions, whether it is designing construction structures or gift shopping. During my days as an engineering student, I was specifically attracted to mathematics-related courses. I had an experience as a part-time instructor at the College of Technological Studies, at PAAET KUWAIT, where I was responsible for teaching “Mathematics 1” during the Spring 2018/2019 semester. This experience has had a key role in my decision to continue my studies in the mathematics field. After a long search, I decided to pursue my MSc Financial Mathematics. I believe this programme is challenging since it combines two different fields but I love challenges. Moreover, it will give me the opportunity to diverse my knowledge and specialise in new fields. Queen Mary is one of the top graduate schools in mathematics and a leader in the field of financial mathematics.
The MSc Financial Mathematics is very interesting, as it combines both finance and maths modules. It illustrates how mathematicians can play a significant role in financial industries, as maths can stimulate numerical models that would explain the behaviour of financial instruments, which is really interesting. Also, I had the opportunity to deepen my knowledge in probabilities and stochastic processes in my elective module. This module gave me the knowledge that can be applied to different aspects, not only finance. Some of my favourite modules are also Probabilities and Stochastic Processes and Advance Derivative Pricing and Risk Management. Some believe that random processes cannot be predicted nor studied, but surprisingly they can be measured by a set of observations. Personally, I had no idea that studying Random Processes could solve financial problems and be helpful in actual life scenarios.
A long-standing ambition of mine is to work towards a doctorate and recently this ambition has been directed towards the field of financial mathematics, a long-term goal that I am now determined to achieve. I am taking the first step towards fulfilling this career goal by completing my MSc in Financial Mathematics.