CUHK's Quantitative Finance Graduates Face Encouraging Employment
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¡@¡@They can all apply their skills and knowledge learnt from the programme to their current jobs, such as financial analysts, management trainees and corporate financial consultants etc. with an average monthly salary of HK$13,291. The highest salary graduate got an annual salary of HK$390,000 while another graduate also got an annual salary of up to HK$380,000. The survey proved the competitiveness of these graduates who are much sought after by employers. ¡@¡@LAM Gee Yu Will, now works in Standard Chartered Bank as a management trainee said, "Better preparation before job interviews is always to key to success. As we always read a lot of finance newspapers, books, magazines and journal articles, we are more equipped to tackle questions like the financial structure of India being asked during my interview." LAU Kwan Ho, an assistant at Morgan Stanley shared the same belief, "I am responsible for market research and analysis at my present job. I meet my classmates at regular gatherings to discuss and analyze the latest financial knowledge and market information, which helps our analytical thinking." ¡@¡@TSE Ka Li Carly also enjoyed the happy moments where she studied hard and worked hard with her classmates. She is very satisfied with her present position as a management trainee at Hang Seng Bank, "I am now undergoing a three-year training programme in which I am given the opportunity to work at various departments and learn different knowledge. I enjoy working with my colleagues together in perfect harmony." ¡@¡@LO Foon Fun Helen, now an analyst at Accenture, pointed out the importance of extra-curricular activities, "I participated in some case competitions during my undergraduate study which does not only sharpen our thinking and problem-solving skills, but also help cultivate my interest in consultancy." NGAI King Kwok Anthony, a junior trader of JP Morgan, agreed that there are numerous advantages in taking part in extra-curricular activities, "I had been a member of the debate team which enabled me to broaden my logical thinking and to cope with pressure." ¡@¡@Professor CHOW Ying Foon, Director of Quantitative Finance Programme at CUHK said, "The Quantitative Finance Programme has been attracting top-notch students since it was launched in 1998. The programme has always been one of the top three programmes with the best admission results at CUHK. This year, our programme has even ranked second in the best admission results at CUHK, just behind the BBA Programme in Insurance, Financial & Actuarial Analysis offered by our Faculty. It enrolls 33 students in 2004/05 as compared with 25 last year. This year, the programme also enrolled 12 top students from the Early Admission Scheme with outstanding HKCEE results where a student got 10As, four got 9As, three got 8As and four got 7As, with an average of 8As." ¡@¡@The Quantitative Finance Programme was developed in response to the need for more quantitative and analytical skills by practitioners in the financial markets. Participants will benefit from a Programme combining business, mathematics, statistics and information technology courses. Graduates will be able to work in general business or finance areas, and have a good knowledge of derivatives and financial instruments. ¡@¡@Students of the Quantitative Finance Programme always participate in various extra-curricular activities to contribute their professional knowledge for the society. The Society of Quantitative Finance, for example, organized "The First Inter-school Finance Competition for Secondary School Students" earlier and invited over 450 students of 19 secondary schools in Hong Kong. The contest aims to cultivate the interests of secondary school students towards financial investment and help them grasp the necessary knowledge. It also helps to arouse public concern towards investment education. The programme lasted for about a month with the final held on August 7 at the CUHK campus. Apart from a quiz on financial investment, the organizer also invited a team of renowned financial professionals in town to deliver informative talks to the participants.
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