Priyanka Balakrishnan, 1st year student in BSc Economics discusses her experience on life beyond classroom for economics student at Queen Mary.
The School of Economics and Finance is renowned not only for its research excellence and top quality teaching but also for its warm, friendly and supportive atmosphere and the wide variety of extracurricular activities it provides for its students.
Priyanka Balakrishnan reflects on her first year experience through the perspective of skills she learned, as well as student life beyond the classroom.
During my first year I have had the opportunity to develop both my academic and personal skills. In my first semester, my module called World Economy enabled me to develop my own analytical skills by learning to spot trends and patterns amongst the trade evolution of different countries. I’ve also developed my critical thinking skills, particularly during my Microeconomics module in my second semester, which allowed me to contemplate and challenge the economic decisions that consumers and society makes. As well as this, studying Economics at Queen Mary has given me the opportunity to enhance my own time management skills through learning to juggle my studies as well as extra -curricular activities. Also, during the studies across the academic year I have also learnt to effectively time manage, making my revision during exam period significantly more effective and efficient.
The course has allowed me to enhance skills, which I know will be imperative for me in the future
The School of Economics and Finance supports a wide range of societies. One of the societies it supports is the Banking and Finance society. This society is all about providing a real life insight into what the finance industry and related industries are like. This is through predominantly holding talks from those who are currently working in the banking industry, as well as bringing in current students who are at different stages of their own professional development. Through conferences, taster sessions and networking opportunities through the Banking and Finance society, students get a clearer idea of where their own interests may lie. The School of Economics and Finance also supports the Investment and Trade society, where students get to learn more about the technical skills involved in trading in the real world. This society is great for those who want to get ahead and learn about the skills involved in trading and how investment banking itself works. The school also supports the Economics society too, which allows students to discuss the wider economic situations happening at the time.
During my first year I was involved a range of different extra- curricular activities which made my first year at university a lot more exciting and more enjoyable. One of the things I was involved in was the Banking and Finance society. The society allowed me to learn more about the financial industry, as well as become an ambassador for the society. However I have since been promoted from that position to the role of the External Relations Officer for the society, for the up and coming academic year. I was also involved in the film society during my first semester allowing me to make new friends as well as participate in projects that were completely different from my own studies. Additionally I also was involved in a scheme that was run by Queen Mary called Qconsult. The scheme allowed me to advice as a consultant for a charity and develop crucial skills needed to grow in the working world. I am also involved as an ambassador for the School of Economics and Finance, allowing me to communicate with like-minded individuals as well as be a lot more involved with opportunities available within the department.
I would recommend that freshers really take advantage of the opportunities available at Queen Mary as well at other banks and institutions. It is incredibly important to be proactive from the beginning!
There are a wide range of events that happen on campus, that allow students to meet the recruitment team of potential future employers. We had a wide range of speakers come in for our Careers module in the first semester; this included employees from HSBC, the London Stock Exchange, Bloomberg and many others too. Across the year there were also a variety of networking opportunities such as breakfast networking events that were presented to students during the year. The School of Economics and Finance also offers a careers fair at the beginning of the year where students can come in and liaise with potential future employers, and learn more about the different career opportunities available to them. In addition to this there are also various societies at university, which host their own networking events with different banks and companies throughout the year. An example of this is the Banking and Finance society which hosted a variety of networking events and taster sessions including employees from Goldman Sachs, Citi, Google and many others.
In your first year, students can apply for spring weeks, which essentially is one-two weeks of work experience within the financial industry during the Easter break. These spring weeks are particularly useful because you have the opportunity to be fast tracked onto an internship for the next year. Students can apply for this at their own discretion between September and January time. Moreover students can also apply for internships too, during their second year. I have been fortunate enough to receive a lot of careers support from both the careers team within the School of Economics and Finance as well as the university careers team. This is through receiving advice in relation to formatting a CV as well as cover letters too. Support from societies too (such as the Banking and Finance society) have also been incredibly useful in providing even more support in terms of tailoring applications for different companies. It is important for students to realise that although there are a wide range of support and opportunities at university, it is crucial that students are proactive and use them!