By Yumi Tsuda, MiF FT2021
On the Masters in Finance (MiF), there is a course called ‘Purpose of finance’. This is designed a bit differently from other courses, with two classes at the very beginning and the very end of the programme. From my point of view, this class was the most important class for us as it explored why the MiF programme exists in the first place.
Before doing the class, some people were skeptical. They thought it might be too abstract and vague compared to the practical learning we get from other classes. And I admit, I may have had those doubts too when I first attended the class.
However, now I recognise that we learnt really essential meaning and reasoning of “finance” in this course. What is the finance industry for? What does it mean to be a finance professional? In other words, why does finance exist in the world? What should finance professionals foresee?
In the class, you are asked these very simple questions:
- What is the finance industry for?
- What does it mean to be a finance professional?
This is really it. However, these are such important questions. Finance may be regarded as a somewhat greedy industry from the world. Indeed, it can seek efficiency for the sake of interests to specific people. However, looking back, financial innovations have enabled a lot of things to happen in the world. Inventions of bills and loans allowed us to grow economies efficiently, the invention of credit cards allowed us to enjoy a variety of things in life, and the invention of microfinance provided access to finance for billions of people. And today, we are witnessing a lot of Fintech innovations with our own eyes. So, as the leaders of the financial industry, what should we have in our minds? What good can we do in the world? This is such a simple, but truly essential and important question. The purpose of finance course is designed to help you find your answer to it.
After the course, you’ll keep in mind the essence of what you learnt and you will know the true value of MiF programme.
To speak to our MiF Recruitment and Admissions team about the programme, please contact mif@london.edu.