March 10, 2021
Last year in the midst of the pandemic, NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS program leadership made the decision to change the structure of the two programs for the 2020-2021 Academic Year: students would spend the summer and fall 2020 terms at NYU Shanghai, and then travel to New York City in February 2021 to spend the spring 2021 semester at Stern. At the time, the hope was that the pandemic in the United States would be more under control by February, and travel and visa services would resume so that students could spend the spring semester in New York. Unfortunately, as summer turned to fall and fall turned to winter, it became increasingly clear that travel/visa restrictions would remain in place for the duration of the academic year.
As a result, the spring 2021 semester previously planned for in-person at Stern is now underway virtually. While these circumstances represent a change from the original plan, students are adapting to this new reality and to online learning with flexibility and a positive attitude. Meanwhile, faculty are doing their best to “bring New York to students.”
In January, MS Quantitative Finance (MSQF) students completed Futures & Options with Professor Menachem Brenner. Tan Disheng, MSQF ‘21, was impressed with Brenner’s ability to bring the course content to life over Zoom. “It was an amazing tour to go through the derivative world with Professor Brenner,” Tan shared. “Even though we took this course fully online, Professor Brenner carefully arranged his course to provide us with a terrific learning experience. He also used his own stories as a professional to bring the most interesting and exciting side of the market to us.” To read more about Futures & Options, click here.
MS Data Analytics & Business Computing (MSDABC) students completed Optimization Modeling with Professor Jiawei Zhang in January. Lai Yuanfan, MSDABC ‘21, remarked that Zhang’s class was very useful, and that he was always available to answer questions: "Optimization Modeling helped me to establish analytical thinking that simplifies complex situations with quantitative relations. Professor Zhang explained things very clearly and I was impressed by his professionalism and kindness." To read more about Zhang, MSDABC Academic Director, click here.
MSDABC Academic Director, Professor Jiawei Zhang
After a break for Lunar New Year, students from both programs enrolled in Business Communication, an intensive six-day course full of in-class individual and group presentations in which they hone their oral and written communication and leadership skills. Many MSQF students were also studying for the CFA exam, which took place during the last week of February. For more information about the CFA Scholarship available to MSQF students, click here.
Coming up next through May 2021 are Operations Management and Revenue Management & Pricing for MSDABC, and Emerging Markets Finance and Debt Instruments & Markets for MSQF, followed by Fundamentals of FinTech and Stochastic Modeling & Simulation for both programs. Throughout the semester, students are also hard at work on their Capstone projects alongside their company partners, preparing for a final presentation of their findings in May. To learn more about these courses, click here for the MSDABC curriculum and here for the MSQF curriculum.
Beyond coursework, the program has organized non-academic activities to introduce students to New York and to Stern. To mark what would have been their first week at Stern, the program organized a virtual walking tour of the Greenwich Village neighborhood on February 22. The tour, which centered around NYU in the heart of Greenwich Village, provided students with a historical background of the neighborhood and NYU campus, including photos, facts, and stories, presented through a combination of slideshow and Google street view. The students learned interesting facts such as how Washington Square Park was designed by the same architect as Central Park, and about the secret room at the top of the Washington Square Arch. They got a 360 view of the Stern building and Gould Plaza, and heard about the NYU building now located in the site of the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. In April, students can look forward to participating in a New York themed virtual escape room that will include “stops” in Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Chinatown, and more.
Speakers
Nina Wineburg - Assistant Director, NYU Stern & NYU Shanghai MS Programs
Yu Shi - Clinical Associate Professor of Management Communication
Finally, on February 24, students from both programs had the opportunity to hear from Alan Gallo, Stern BS ’87 and MBA ‘90, who now works as Executive Vice President, Chief Audit Executive, at American Express, and also serves as the Chair of the Stern Alumni Council. In his Zoom presentation, Gallo shared details about the trajectory of his 30+ year career at American Express, and identified the common traits he recognizes in all of the leaders in the company. In particular, he remarked how business leaders possess more than mere intelligence or knowledge, but rather a positive, effective, and thoughtful attitude, communication style, and lifestyle that propels them forward to high levels of success.
He also reflected on American Express’ success over the past year during the pandemic, contributing their stability to the dedication to its employees and customers during such a turbulent time worldwide. Gallo encouraged students to stay connected to their Stern and NYU networks after graduation, and to always seek out learning and growth opportunities to help their personal and professional advancement.