Interview with Prof. Wang Jian | The Advantages of MSc in Economics Programme
A student expressed thanks in the last Spring Festival to me. She majored in Biology during undergraduate study, while she chose our MSc in Economics Programme for seeking a new career path. Now, she makes her dream come true, working at IDG Capital, Prof. Wang Jian, Director of MSc in Economics Programme, delightedly said. IDG Capital, a leading investment firm, focuses on venture capital, private equity and, mergers and acquisitions. He further explained that the theory of economics emphasizes applying strict mathematical methods to find the interrelation between economics and businesses to promote the economy and business effectively. “Our programme consists of advanced curriculum and guidance from industrial experts to help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.” The promising career development of students lies in our strong faculty team, advanced teaching philosophy, updated curriculum setting, close communication between students and teachers, and career development service for students. Prof. Wang summarized that the concentrations of this programme are internalization and quantitative analysis skills.
The Intimate Integration of Industrial Expertise and Practices
All teachers of the MSc programme in Economics at Shenzhen Finance Institute (SFI) received Ph.D. degrees from renowned universities overseas. The academic backgrounds and research abilities of our professors have reached an advanced level in Asia, and even in the world. Many professors published their papers on top-ranked international journals, such as Review of Economic Studies, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of international economics, etc. Besides, their researches make contributions practically rather than merely theoretically. For example, the Center for Macro-financial Stability and Innovation, led by Prof. Wang Jian and Prof. Zhang Jinfan, periodically releases reports of the global economic outlook. The reports have gained wide recognitions from industry practitioners and policymakers. “Co-authors and I used the data from the customs to conduct research on how international trade companies create false trading for capital flights. The custom’s officials showed an interest in this research and invited us to discuss how to reduce false trading”, Prof. Wang Jian said.
SFI always gives the priority to the close combination of theories and practices, and many professors have prominent experience in industry sector and public sector overseas. For example, Prof. Wang Jian served as a senior research economist and advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Prof. Zhang Jinfan and Prof. Ye Haichun also served as economists in the International Monetary Fund and Hong Kong Monetary Authority respectively. Besides, the chief analysts or chief strategists at well-known financial institutions at home and abroad, such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of China International, Bank of Communications International, Ping An Fund, etc., have been introduced as programme tutors to offer courses and guidance through real cases. Therefore, the students can accumulate working experiences and build social networks as early as possible.
Cutting Edge Curriculum Design with a Focus on Quantitative Analysis Skills
According to Prof. Wang Jian, there are four streams of the MSc in Economics programme which are General Economics, Macro Financial Economics, Quantitative Economics and Data Analysis, and Applied Economics.
It is worth mentioning that this programme includes many advanced courses of quantitative analysis. “Besides traditional econometrics and time series analysis, the programme offers courses related to the application of AI into economy and business, such as data mining and machine learning. We believe this is the latest trends in global, and therefore, we make adaptions to our programmes accordingly, providing up-to-date courses to meet the demands of students and job markets. In such doing, our students have great opportunities in job seeking. Apart from the traditional industries, such as finance and consultation, the students also worked in emerging ones, such as the business analysis. For example, two students received offers as business analysists in Tencent this year, Prof. Wang Jian said.
