By Charlotte Tait, MiF Student Recruitment Associate
We are now nearing the end of the academic year for our Masters in Finance Part-time programme. We thought it would be useful for you, as a prospective MiF candidate, to hear from some of our current students about their Masters in Finance journey.
Why did you choose the MiF Part-time programme?
Sandra Ragues Fernandes, Head of Business Intelligence at PEI, MiFPT 2021
“I have a leadership position and I manage a fantastic team. I didn’t want to give that away. Also, I can immediately implement what I learn at work, not only within my department but I’m also able to share my knowledge and ideas with other teams and the CFO/CEO.”
Ana Hidalgo Manzano, AVP at Barclays, MiFPT 2022
“I chose the MIF instead of the MBA because I was looking to get specialist knowledge in Finance. My background as a consultant has given me the strategic thinking and project management skills. Also, during my years of experience, I got good exposure to the financial sector, especially banks. Now is the time for me to sharpen my finance skills and transition into a more specialised role in the industry, which is why the Masters in Finance was the right choice for me. I opted for the Part-time version as it would allow me to keep developing my career and apply the lessons to my job day-to-day.”
Vartan Indjeian, Senior Manager at KPMG, MiFPT 2021
“I initially submitted my application to the MiF Full-time programme but after discussing with my boss that I was also considering doing the Part-time programme, he was extremely supportive of adding flexibility into my client responsibilities and committed to helping me manage my school and work responsibilities effectively. This added support from him was the key factor that encouraged me to join the Part-time programme.”
What has been your favourite class so far?
Ana Hidalgo Manzano, MiFPT 2022
“The class I’ve enjoyed the most so far is the Investments core course with Professor Roberto Gomez-Cram. Despite having a background in business administration myself, I never managed to learn about pricing of financial instruments (options in particular) in such depth and I found it really interesting.”
Vartan Indjeian, MiFPT 2021
“My favourite class so far has been the week-long Strategy for MiFs elective that I did in the block week format. The strategy class was an amazing way to take a step back and think about what makes a business successful from a perspective that is far away from just ‘the numbers’ which is what I spent most of my job focusing on. Through the projects and reading assignments we had to actively think through difficult strategic decisions that managers and business owners have to make. Spending a full week immersed in this environment was an incredible learning experience which gave me a very different perspective in how I view businesses and the decisions their owners have to make every day.”
Samuel Weissen, Associate Director at LGT Capital Partners, MiFPT 2021
“My favourite class so far was the Managing Corporate Turnaround elective as it heavily relied on case studies and class participation and set high expectations for students to prepare for each class and to engage in the classroom. Furthermore, very relevant guest speakers that were involved in the case studies we discussed in class rounded off this experience.”
How have you been able to apply your learning from the programme in your current role?
Ana Hidalgo Manzano, MiFPT 2022
“So far, I’ve been able to make an internal move in the bank I am working for. I’ve transitioned from a strategic transformation role in Risk to a role in finance. Now I am part of the Private Equity Finance team, taking care of the valuations of the investments in natural resources. The key skills needed for the role are accounting and corporate finance, which corresponds to two of the core courses of the MiF programme. In addition, I am taking some electives to complement my knowledge such as Advanced Financial Statements Analysis and Emerging Markets.”
Vartan Indjeian, MiFPT2021
“I’ve found two key advantages that have directly benefited me on my job. First, the technical knowledge gained in many of my classes has been directly beneficial in my day-to-day job as an auditor of private equity firms. Having an advanced technical knowledge base allows me to add much more value to the audits I perform, as well as to better understand the more complex aspects of my client’s operations. The second advantage is that being a student at LBS has allowed me to increase my visibility in the firm, and has been a key advantage in how I’m viewed by my peers and leadership in my company. There is a clear recognition of the prestige and value of attending LBS, which has differentiated me from my peers.”
If you’d like to speak to any of our Student Ambassadors about their experience of the programme and their application tips, they would be more than happy to answer your questions. Click here to connect with our Student Ambassadors.
Interested in applying to the MiF Part-time programme? Submit your profile for an informal review of your fit for the programme, and to start a conversation with us. Submit your profile here.