Ever wondered who will be shaping the future of the finance industry? In the heart of London, a global financial hub, Imperial Business School is welcoming a new cohort of ambitious individuals, where they’ll begin their journeys exploring the fast-paced finance sector.  

This year’s cohorts bring together students from around the world to our five Finance programmes, with backgrounds spanning finance, economics, mathematics, engineering, technology and beyond. 

The Finance Master’s portfolio at Imperial Business School includes: 

• MSc Finance 

• MSc Finance & Accounting 

• MSc Financial Technology 

• MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering 

• MSc Investment & Wealth Management 

Together, the cohort will share their diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds to tackle real-world business challenges with innovative solutions. A key feature across Imperial’s Finance Master’s portfolio is its STEMB focus, combining finance with science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This approach helps students develop the quantitative, analytical and technical skills needed to understand increasingly complex financial markets and respond to new developments across the sector. 

In this blog, discover some of the interesting students who make up each cohort, what they were doing before joining Imperial and the different experiences and perspectives they bring to the Business School.

MSc Finance  

The MSc Finance Class of 2027 brings together 101 students, of which almost half are female (49%), from 43 nationalities across Europe (40%), Asia/Pacific (28%), Africa/Middle East (12%), the UK (15%) and the Americas (5%). 

That diversity also presents in their backgrounds, with students coming from degree backgrounds in Economics (46%), Engineering/Technology (16%), Finance/Accounting (16%), Mathematics (10%), Computing (7%), Business/Management (4%) and Arts/Humanities (1%). 

What is your professional background and why did you choose to study MSc Finance at Imperial Business School? 

I moved to the UK a couple of years ago to study Aerospace Engineering, before working in industry for around two and a half years, first at an aerospace startup and then a global tier-one supplier. 

I've always been passionate about space exploration and its prospects as an industry, so I'm excited to look at it from a more financial and business perspective going forward. Working in aerospace showed me how much I enjoy the commercial and strategic side of projects, such as how decisions get made, financed and prioritised, and not just the technical delivery. That's a big part of why I decided to do a Master's degree at this stage. I wanted to build a solid grounding in finance while combining it with the technical background I already have in aerospace and defence. With modules such as Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions and Derivatives, the programme's curriculum covered exactly what I needed to build that foundation. 

Are there any current financial issues or market trends you’re particularly keen to explore further during your studies?  

It's interesting to see the recent boom in space and defence investment, driven by a number of different geopolitical factors, like rising defence budgets across Europe and increased tension in various regions around the world. I want to gain in-depth understanding from a market perspective too, rather than just the technical side. 

I'd also like to learn more about how this shift impacts investment markets, in relation to traditional defence primes, increasing private spaces and dual-use technology startups attracting venture capital funding. I'd like to explore questions like: How are investors pricing in geopolitical risk? Is this boom likely to be a longer-term structural shift rather than a short-term reaction? And how are public and private capital working together in this space? Given where I want to take my career, understanding these dynamics is a good foundation to build on. 

Imperial is a STEMB institution, known for its blend of science, technology and business expertise – how do you think this will add value to your studies and future career? 

Imperial offers a unique opportunity to see where the world of science and technology can be combined with finance, rather than treating them as two completely areas. Being at a STEMB institution means I'm surrounded by people working on cutting-edge research, and that exposure will shape how I think about investing later on, especially when it comes to understanding the technology behind a deal and not just the numbers. 

With AI developing so rapidly, I believe this will become more significant, and Imperial's outlook on using AI as a tool across different subjects, including business valuation, will give us a strong edge in the job market.

What excites you most about studying in London as a finance student?  

Coming from Cyprus, a relatively small island, moving to London has pushed me outside my comfort zone. The scale of the city can be overwhelming at times, but I think being exposed to new people, ideas and experiences is an important part of personal growth. It has encouraged me to become more independent and open minded. 

What excites me most about studying in London is the combination of opportunities and pace of life. As one of the world’s leading financial centres, London provides access to an incredible range of firms and professionals. Networking is a critical part of finance, and being surrounded by people with different experiences and perspectives has already helped me develop not only professionally but personally. As a finance student, having this environment on my doorstep makes it much easier to connect what I learn in the classroom with the industry around me. 

Outside of academics, I love that there is always something happening in London. I enjoy spending time in Hyde Park, which is conveniently close to Imperial’s campus. 

Are there any current financial issues or market trends you’re particularly keen to explore further during your studies?  

I’m particularly interested in how hedge fund strategies are evolving as markets become increasingly complex and data driven. During my internship in margin trading at JPMorgan, I gained an insight into the financing and risk side of working with hedge funds, which made me curious to understand more about the investment strategies behind them. I’m particularly interested in how different strategies, from long/short equity to quantitative and systematic approaches, perform across different market environments and how managers adapt their positioning as conditions change. 

With my background in mathematics and statistical science, I’m also keen to explore how data and quantitative techniques can be used to develop and improve trading strategies. I’m looking forward to exploring these areas further through my studies at Imperial, particularly through Applied Trading Strategies, and gaining a deeper understanding of how different strategies are implemented in practice. 

What advice would you give to future MSc Finance applicants?  

The application process taught me that it is important to go beyond the information available on the website and really understand what makes each programme different. When comparing finance programmes, I created tables comparing the modules and structures and reached out to alumni from different programmes to ask questions. This helped me identify what was most important to me and, ultimately, what made Imperial stand out. 

Before starting, I found completing the primers ahead of the programme particularly helpful, especially as I came from a non-finance undergraduate degree. I also attended the Admit Dinner, which gave me the chance to meet many of my future classmates before arriving and made the transition into the programme much smoother.

MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering 

This year’s MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering cohort welcomes 150 students from 36 nationalities, including Asia/Pacific (59%), Europe (21%), the UK (10%), Africa/Middle East (7%) and the Americas (3%). 

Students bring their knowledge from a range of degree backgrounds, including Mathematics (36%), Engineering/Technology (22%), Economics (16%), Finance/Accounting (12%), Computing (9%), Science/Medicine (3%) and Business/Management (2%). This diversity enriches the students’ learning journeys through sharing perspectives and insights they may not have previously encountered.

What is your professional background and why did you choose to study MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering at Imperial Business School? 

Alongside my studies, I’m a co-founder, manager and full stack developer of a startup called UQwest with another Imperial Master's student. UQwest uses AI to collect and compare course information from universities around the world, helping exchange students and staff quickly identify equivalent courses. London was a deliberate choice for my studies as it’s surrounded by universities, providing opportunities to grow UQwest in the UK. 

Although I chose Imperial Business School for its reputation, the programme’s design is what stood out to me. The curriculum is built by experts paying close attention to what the industry needs now rather than what it looked like a decade ago. In a field moving as quickly as quantitative finance, that matters more than almost anything else to me.  

Imperial also attracts strong minds from all over the world, all trying to push themselves, and I've consistently found that the standard of the individuals in the room ends up setting the standard for your own achievement. Spending a year in that environment, in a city where the industry is on your doorstep, was an easy decision. 

Have you got any creative ideas on how you would like to use your skills after the programme?  

The quantitative skills this programme builds transfer well beyond banks and funds, and I could see myself applying them in sports, technology or energy just as easily as in finance. I'm most excited for the elective modules focusing on how the industry has shifted: Reasoning Models and Generative AI in Finance, Big Data in Finance, and Text Mining for Economics and Finance, where I’ll understand what a model can learn from unstructured inputs that were never meant to be data. 

In addition to this, I'd like to use the skills I gain from the MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering programme as a quantitative modeller, building and testing the models rather than just running them. I’d also like to apply my knowledge to my startup, UQwest. A lot of what the programme teaches, particularly around handling large volumes of unstructured data and getting a model to produce something reliable that people will act on it, links to problems I'm already trying to solve. I expect that there will be a lot I learn in the electives that will be applicable in the product.  

Being able to develop the business and the degree in parallel, with each one feeding the other, is one of the things I'm most looking forward to about the year. 

As an international student, why did you choose to study in the UK?  

The one-year master's was the biggest factor. Comparable programmes in North America and much of Europe run for two years, and for someone who wants to get into the workforce sooner, that difference is hard to ignore. Beyond the practical side, I've wanted to live in the UK since I was young, so this was also a decision I'd been circling for a long time. London was what made Imperial the obvious choice. Having grown up in Toronto, I'm used to a city where a diverse range of backgrounds sits side by side, and London has that same quality on an even larger scale.  

Why did you choose to study MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering at Imperial Business School? 

I chose to pursue MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering because I wanted to deepen my understanding of product structuring, pricing and trading through quantitative tools. This will also allow me to develop a disciplined framework for analysing financial risk. The programme’s combination of financial theory, quantitative methods and practical application approaches risk as an integral part of financial decision-making, from understanding how products are priced and structured to assessing how positions behave under changing market conditions. 

Imperial’s broader strength across science, technology and business also stood out. As data, automation and AI become increasingly embedded in financial markets, I wanted to study in an environment where quantitative finance is closely connected with developments in technology. 

What excites you most about studying in London as a finance student? 

I look forward to connecting what I learn in the classroom with developments taking place in real time in London. A change in monetary policy, a geopolitical event or a shift in market expectations can affect asset classes differently, and being surrounded by practitioners and classmates with different perspectives provides an opportunity to understand those connections more deeply. 

Personally, I am excited by the international character of London. Having previously studied and worked in Hong Kong, I value environments where people with different backgrounds approach the same problem in different ways. I hope my time in London will broaden not only my understanding of finance, but also the way I communicate, form perspectives and challenge my own assumptions. 

Imperial is a STEMB institution, known for its blend of science, technology and business expertise – how do you think this will add value to your studies and future career? 

In my previous work, I saw the integration of technology, data and quantitative methods into finance a practical level. While working on transaction execution, I experimented with AI-assisted and automated workflows to reduce repetitive information processing and make recurring tasks more efficient.  

At Imperial, I hope to develop this interest on a much stronger technical foundation. Access to expertise across finance, computing, mathematics and engineering provides an environment where I can understand emerging technologies beyond their immediate applications. In the long term, I believe the ability to connect quantitative thinking, technology and financial judgement will be increasingly important across markets and risk. 

Which coding languages or technical skills are you most looking forward to developing through the programme and why?   

I am particularly looking forward to becoming fluent in Python and developing the ability to use it as part of a complete quantitative research process. I have previously worked with Python, R, VBA and C++, but I would like to strengthen the underlying skills that allow programming to support rigorous financial analysis. 

This includes working with financial data efficiently, conducting reproducible research, applying numerical and statistical methods, analysing time series, running simulations and validating quantitative models. Developing a deeper understanding of derivatives pricing, stochastic modelling and risk measurement will provide the theoretical foundations for understanding how financial products behave under different market conditions.

MSc Investment & Wealth Management 

Our MSc Investment & Wealth Management programme comprises 101 students from 22 nationalities, of which 46% are female, across Asia/Pacific (72%), the UK (13%), Europe (10%), Africa/Middle East (3%) and the Americas (2%). 

Ahead of honing their skills through this Master’s programme, the cohort gained degrees in a range of backgrounds, which include Economics (37%), Finance/Accounting (35%), Mathematics (13%), Business/Management (8%), Computing (4%) and Engineering/Technology (3%).

What’s your professional background and why did you choose to study MSc Investment & Wealth Management at Imperial Business School? 

I grew up in Geneva in a French-Brazilian family. I have always been curious about how things work, from science and technology to businesses and markets, which eventually led me to studying BSc Mechanical Engineering at École Polytechnique. 

Alongside my studies, I began by investing my own savings, and over time people close to me started involving me in their investment decisions. Having real responsibility made me take the subject much more seriously and pushed me to keep learning. 

Investing interests me because the amount of fields that come together in one decision, such as economics, technology, psychology and what is happening in the wider world. Engineering gave me a structured way of approaching problems, but I wanted to combine that investment mindset with quantitative tools and judgement rather than rely on models alone. The MSc Investment & Wealth Management was a natural fit for that. 

Imperial particularly appealed to me for being so strongly rooted in science and technology. Coming from an engineering background, that connection mattered to me. London was another major factor, as it gives us direct exposure to one of the world’s main financial centres and to people with very different backgrounds and perspectives. 

How do you see the programme preparing you to navigate the complexities of global markets and shifting investment strategies?  

One of the things I find most important in investing is understanding the limits of your own assumptions. A strategy can appear very robust until one assumption turns out to be wrong, and sometimes that is precisely where the largest risks are hidden. 

I therefore do not want to be tied to one school of investing or one set of rules. I want to understand different approaches well enough to know when they are useful, while remaining willing to question them when circumstances change. 

The MSc Investment & Wealth Management gives me the breadth and depth I am looking for across asset allocation, portfolio construction and risk. I hope it will make me more rigorous in asking not only what could work, but also what could go wrong, how likely it is, and what the consequences would be. 

Which projects or modules are you most excited about and why? 

I am particularly looking forward to Investments & Portfolio Management and Asset Allocation & Investment Strategies. 

What interests me most is portfolio construction as a whole. I see a portfolio as an organic system: there are almost endless combinations of assets and strategies, and changing one part can affect everything else. A good investment in isolation does not necessarily make a good portfolio. 

I want to understand how risk should be allocated, how assets behave together and how a portfolio can be improved while remaining aware of what could go wrong. This is exactly the area of investing I would like to keep developing throughout my career. 

Outside of academics, I’m looking forward to participating in Student Investment Fund, a student-led initiative where participants can explore investment ideas and get practical experience investing. It brings together students who enjoy discussing investments and challenging each other’s ideas. That kind of exchange is particularly interesting and valuable to me. I’m also interested in joining football and French-speaking and Latin American societies to connect with my interests and background. That mix of people and interests is one of the things I value most at Imperial: different experiences, ambitions and ways of thinking can lead to conversations that would be difficult to have in a more uniform environment.

MSc Finance & Accounting 

Two-hundred-and-fifteen students from 47 nationalities make up this year’s MSc Finance & Accounting cohort, from Europe (47%), Asia/Pacific (42%), the UK (6%), Africa/Middle East (3%) and the Americas (2%).  

The cohort also come from a range of degree backgrounds in Business/Management (54%), Finance/Accounting (31%), Economics (12%), Arts/Humanities (2%) and Engineering/Technology (1%).

What’s your professional background and why did you choose to study MSc Finance & Accounting at Imperial Business School? 

I’ve just completed a summer internship in investment banking at Harris Williams, where I will be returning as a full-time Analyst in the Consumer team in June 2027. Having secured my next steps early, I felt this year presented an opportunity to improve my financial and accounting knowledge before stepping into the professional world. 

I chose Imperial's MSc Finance & Accounting for the programme's blend of rigorous academic theory and practical real-world application through case studies. Being taught by world-leading academics was another deciding factor, along with the applied projects and global elective opportunities. By the end of the programme, I will be equipped with skills that are highly relevant in today's evolving workplace, which will be valuable to me when I return to industry.  

Additionally, MSc Finance & Accounting attracts ambitious students from diverse backgrounds and professional experiences, creating a unique environment in which you learn as much from your peers as from the curriculum itself. The relationships I am already developing with my classmates will, I have no doubt, prove to be an invaluable asset throughout my career in the international business world.  

How do you think the programme's blend of finance and accounting modules will strengthen your technical skills and professional opportunities?  

A strong technical foundation is, in my view, non-negotiable for a successful long-term career in finance. During my internship at Harris Williams, I saw how central accounting is to the day-to-day work of an investment banker; it is far more than a supporting discipline. The finance modules cover areas like valuation and corporate finance, which will be directly applicable to my role. I was determined to pursue a qualification that would keep as many doors open as possible, both in the near term and further into my career, and I am confident that the MSc Finance & Accounting at Imperial does that. 

How do you think Imperial will help support your journey as a woman in finance?  

Imperial is home to a vibrant and driven community of women who are determined to secure top roles and make their mark in finance. The university provides access to an extensive network of inspiring women, offering students the opportunity to engage with and learn from their journeys. As a recipient of the Female Future Leader Award, I hope to contribute to the progress being made and I am proud to be part of an institution that takes gender equity in finance seriously.

MSc Financial Technology 

We welcomed 94 students to our MSc Financial Technology programme from 32 nationalities this year, including Asia/Pacific (65%), Europe (17%), Africa/Middle East (9%), the UK (7%) and the Americas (2%). 

In additional to coming from diverse nationalities, they also hold degrees in a range of areas within the cohort, including Computing (38%), Mathematics (21%), Engineering/Technology (15%), Finance/Accounting (13%), Economics (11%) and Business/Management (2%).

What's your professional background and why did you choose to study MSc Financial Technology at Imperial Business School? 

My interest in tech began during my time developing several data-driven projects and working with big data, which shifted my career goals. I wanted to deepen my technical knowledge and gain experience applying these skills in a financial context, so a Master’s programme felt like a natural next step. I believe that Imperial’s MSc Financial Technology will give me exactly this – a perfect intersection between my studies and experience in the tech field. 

Are there any areas that you're especially keen to explore and why? 

I am most excited about exploring the use and impact of AI in finance. In particular, I’m looking forward to the core module Big Data in Finance. This module examines how the combination of large datasets, empirical techniques and insights from behavioural finance are helping to make efficient financial decisions. 

My experience of working with large amounts of financial data, has allowed me to see first-hand that there are serious gaps and inefficiencies in some of the processes and technologies used to process, analyse and extract value from data. Furthermore, I am interested in how the use of AI can make these processes more efficient. Even though I already use data and technology extensively in my work and projects, I believe that I have a lot of room to grow and deepen my understanding by learning from experts.  

My goal is to combine my existing practical experience with all the technical knowledge I gain throughout the programme at Imperial and develop better solutions to some of the problems I have encountered first-hand.  

What kinds of roles, industries or opportunities are you aiming for after completing the MSc Financial Technology programme?  

My main goal for this year, aside from successfully graduating, is to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Imperial. The Enterprise Lab will be a major focus for me as I hope to leverage the resources they offer to learn how to successfully grow and scale a business. Imperial Venture Mentoring also interests me as it provides students, staff and alumni with advice and support from successful entrepreneurs and investors to bring your ideas to life. I hope this mentoring will support me in learning how to successfully value a business, as well the best strategies for raising capital, pitch ideas and develop a product. Last but not least, I’d like to participate in the Venture Catalyst Challenge next year, which provides opportunities to pitch my ideas in front of industry experts. 

What's your professional background and why did you choose to study MSc Financial Technology at Imperial Business School? 

I grew up in Delhi, India, in a family full of doctors, so engineering was entirely my own path. I moved to Vancouver in 2021 to study at the University of British Columbia, where I spent my five work placements writing backend and cloud code for an agricultural-tech startup OneCup AI and CGI. Somewhere between risk modelling and a trade execution engine I built on the side, I realised I didn’t just want to write code for other people’s businesses, I wanted to understand the financial machinery well enough to eventually build one of my own. That’s what led me to MSc Financial Technology at Imperial. 

Choosing a programme taught at a Business School within a world-renowned STEMB institution meant I could study finance while still being close to real engineering and computing research, which most business schools simply don’t have. In addition to hosting banking and finance Careers Fairs for us to build connections with organisations, we also gain insights from industry professionals through guest lectures and events, strengthening our theoretical learning with practical insights.  

Are there any areas that you're especially keen to explore and why?    

I am especially drawn to AI in finance, specifically in risk and fraud. The more AI gets embedded into financial systems, the more sophisticated the fraud attempting to exploit them becomes, forcing detection to keep up. That tension is exactly what I wish to spend my next year exploring. 

I'm also keen to explore how fraud detection will evolve with AI-driven threats. My time on the MSc Financial Technology programme will help me keep up with the latest research around federated learning and privacy preserving collaborations, where I think a lot of real progress will happen.  

Which clubs, societies or networking opportunities are you most looking forward to and why?   

I’m looking forward to joining the Algorithmic Trading Society. It offers opportunities to meet like-minded individuals that’ll be able to pressure-test the models I’ve built before it goes to market. This kind of experience is invaluable. I’d also like to get involved in Imperial’s Enterprise Lab; it goes beyond just reading case studies about successful business and provides mentorship and resources that help you build one yourself.