November 3, 2021
On October 23rd, 2021, the NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS Programs Graduate Admissions team hosted a city event in Shanghai, with the topic Growing - Your Journey From Graduate Programs to A Business Career. The event provided prospective students with the opportunity to communicate with faculty, current students, alumni, and the Graduate Admissions team to better understand the programs and application requirements. Before the event, the admissions committee offered a limited number of in-person consultation sessions to prospective students who have already started their application to the programs.
One-on-one consultation sessions with the admissions committee
During the event, Shlomit Narotzky, Director of Graduate Admissions for NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai introduced the programs and application requirements, followed by a panel discussion with faculty members, current students, and alumni from the Class of 2021. The panel discussion was moderated by Professor Han Shen Lin, Capstone Project Director for the MS in Quantitative Finance program, Assistant Professor of Practice in Finance.
We have summarized the key points from the panel discussion, our panelists provided valuable information and their own unique perspective about the capstone project, career-related resources, and what students can expect to experience during the program and after graduation.
Director of Graduate Admissions Shlomit Narotzky was introducing the MS programs and an overview of the admissions process
Prof. Lin gave a brief introduction of the panelists, members of the NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS Programs’ vibrant community
After the panel discussion ended, a lively Q&A session started focusing on program resources and students' experience. From left, are Prof. Liao, current students Jinjin Li and Raymond Luo, and Class of 2021 alumni Richard Wang and Xujian Han
The conversation started with a question for Professor Liao about one of the key components of the NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS programs - the Capstone Project:
Prof. Lin: As a Capstone Director, could you share the role and importance of the Capstone Project for students from NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS programs?
Prof. Liao: As the MS in Data Analytics and Business Computing program Capstone Director, I have two responsibilities. Firstly I will reach out to Capstone Projects’ company sponsors, who are the leaders of the industry. I will work with them to identify their challenges and design the Capstone Projects for our students. Meanwhile, I will advise students during the projects to help them deliver high-quality outcomes.
During the Capstone Projects, our students will gain first-hand experience and learn a lot of practical knowledge and techniques. Unlike class projects, real-world business cases expose students to a lot of uncertainties, where they can gain such experiences before working in companies. In the meantime, Capstone projects help students enrich their resumes since we collaborate with companies like LVMH, Disney, and Ping An Technology.
Experience & Resources
Prof. Lin: Once students enroll in the program, what can they do to get the most out of their NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai experience?
Prof. Liao: There are three perspectives. Firstly, they are expected to make use of the internal resources. NYU Stern - NYU Shanghai MS programs have professors from diverse backgrounds. We have professors like Prof. Lin, who has lots of industry experience. I also worked for companies like Facebook and Huawei before. Meanwhile, we also have other world-class professors in the programs. Also, students may consult Career Development Center for professional guidance to receive comprehensive career support.
Secondly, we also have external resources. During the classes, we will invite guest speakers from the industry to communicate with our students. Students can also attend networking events and career fairs to connect with employers in relevant industries.
Thirdly, students may embrace challenges when studying in our program. Some of them may already have a solid background in machine learning and artificial intelligence and may consider enriching their knowledge in marketing and finance and developing their business communication and problem-solving skills.
Our Current Students’ Journey
Prof. Lin: For Raymond and Jinjin, both of you are highly talented and had other academic institutions as alternative choices for graduate programs. Why did you choose our program?
Jinjin: Indeed, I was also admitted by other institutions. Since I’ve studied in the US for six years, I already had a comprehensive understanding of US education. Upon graduation, I would like to work in Shanghai, one of the biggest financial centers in the world. The program’s focus on China and Asia attracted me when I was making my decision. In addition to wanting to study in such a prestigious program, I also value the NYU alumni network, especially the NYU Stern network.
Raymond: I chose this program also because of the China and Asia focus. Upon graduation, I wanted to work in Shanghai as well. I haven’t taken many quant courses during my undergraduate study, while MS in DABC program’s curriculum has many quant courses, like data analysis and programming courses. In addition, starting our academic journey in Shanghai was a pretty safe choice due to the impact of COVID.
Prof. Lin: What have you enjoyed so far and why?
Jinjin: NYU has a slogan, “the city is your campus.” Studying on Century Avenue and having an internship nearby is such a wonderful experience. Our program also organized a lot of fun activities. Before the program started, we had an admitted students networking event in a Shanghai brewery and during orientation we had a tour at the Bund. Besides, we also had industry leaders as guest speakers to talk about their day-to-day life in the industry. The Career Development Center also organized the industry preparation series events, covering a variety of topics, including banking, asset management, and corporate finance. We could get to know the industry better through the workshops and make career choices wisely.
DABC and QF admitted students at the Class of 2022 admitted students’ networking event on May 22, 2021 (Raymond Luo is second to the right in the picture)
DABC and QF Class of 2022 students during the Bund Tour before the programs’ start
Raymond: So far, what I enjoyed the most was learning data-related and quantitative courses in the program where we have excellent professors and peers who helped me not only academically but also in career preparations. Besides, the Career Development Center helped me in getting internships and applying for full-time positions. I participated in consultation sessions, campus recruitment events, industry series workshops, and technical interview workshops. Those events prepared me well for the interviews for data-related positions.
Questions for our Class of 2021 Alumni:
Prof. Lin: What was your experience adapting to the suddenly changed environment after graduating from the program?
Xujian: Thanks to the combination of NYU education and resources offered by the program and the city, I managed to refine my career skills to face the changing environment and received offers from good companies.
Richard: The school has adjusted the curriculum for our cohort so that we could take in-person classes during COVID. Even though we could not go to New York, many of us decided to have internships in Shanghai while taking classes. This experience was beneficial for us to adjust to the changing environment after graduation.
Prof. Lin: Now as you are a working professional, when you look back on your student days, what do you remember the most?
Richard: The most unforgettable experience that I had was working on my Capstone Project with LVMH. We had a close team of 5 and spent a lot of time on the project. The corporate partner was very satisfied with the outcome of the project.
The Q&A section offered prospective students with the opportunity to ask questions which circled back to topics our panelists mentioned during the discussion, including the capstone project and academic workload:
Q: Could you please give us some examples of Capstone Projects?
Prof. Liao: As Richard mentioned, during the Capstone Project with LVMH, his group improved the recommender system to promote the right product to the right customer at the right time. Challenging as the project was, our students innovatively used natural language processing to extract useful information from social media. They put labels and tags on the product to improve their recommendation system. Similar to another HSBC Capstone Project, our students used predictive modeling and machine learning to predict their potential customers.
Prof. Lin: Before being the Quantitative Finance program professor, I was the sponsor of the Capstone Project as I was the Country Manager of Wells Fargo. I’ve asked students to analyze certain types of risk and corporate banking clients' targets, giving our credit risk profile. For example this year we have a group working with the former China CEO of Coca-Cola to look into e-commerce for food delivery and retail etc. The second one will work with the Chief Investment Officer of a family investment office to research China’s potential high yield market. Those projects will be challenging, but we will guide them through the process.
Q (to current students): How do you strike a balance between internship and intense academic study in a one-year MS program?
Raymond: Our priority is academic study. A lot of our classmates are currently doing internships, but it is based on good academic performance.
Jinjin: It requires time-management skills. Currently, we are taking classes in the morning and working as interns for three business days per week. For the specific working schedule, you may need to communicate with the companies actively.
The networking session with prospective students, faculty, current students, alumni and the admissions team
After the panel discussion, prospective students were invited to join a networking session with current students (including the admissions office graduate ambassadors), alumni, faculty members, and the admissions team.
We hope that this information provides you with a more in-depth understanding of our MS programs. If you wish to learn more about our programs, you can also register for upcoming events and reach out with any questions.