Pratiksha Prabhu

Why I chose to study Money, Banking and Finance

I wanted a degree that had a mix of economics and finance. I placed special emphasis on the economics part and researched all economics-related undergraduate courses offered by UAE universities. I decided to go with the University of Birmingham Dubai’s BSc Money, Banking and Finance, as it emphasised the technical applications of economics and had integrated finance modules.

UoBD has relatively small classroom sizes, at least in my cohort. This makes the learning experience very personable and individualised. The professors know all students by name, and we regularly meet each other around campus.

I want to pursue a career in finance, either in markets or banking. This degree gave me clarity in what I need to do, and the modules were tailored to what is expected in these fields.

My Birmingham Dubai experience

I’ve participated in lots of student events and got involved in volunteering. I joined several clubs (Speech and Debate Society, Space Society), was appointed President of the Accounting and Finance Society and even started my own (The Creative Pod). I would say there is a group for everyone. When I first came to uni, I was a bit hesitant to meet others, but everyone made me feel so welcomed, especially the seniors.

I also represented the University in several competitions, mostly finance-related, including the CFA Research Challenge, Bloomberg Trading Competition, PWC’s Youth@COP and I was a COP28 Blue Zone Delegate.

I attended several academic/industry events last year, and they were my first entry into the professional event space. UoBD hosts a lot of STEM-related events, which are meant for experts in the field, but students are invited to sit in. The AI department especially has a lot of panel discussions and guest talks happening throughout the year. There have been times when I was the only undergraduate present in the sessions, and it was pretty exciting listening to the professors and masters students debate with the speakers invited. It’s an amazing way to learn something new about the field.

Birmingham Dubai’s impact

My professors always encouraged me to go above and beyond the classroom material and encouraged the cohort to pursue academic extracurricular experiences.

Careers support

I attended several Careers Network workshops and had a one-to-one consultation with one of the staff. I think these sessions helped me perform the transition from a high school mindset to a more university-level approach. It made me realise that there really are no limits to what we can do. Every session had inclusive language and addressed all types of students- those having their own businesses, working part-time and volunteering, those with no experience and so on. It also gave me the first idea on how to format the ideal CV - gone were the generic Canva templates!

I completed several internship experience programmes through student organisations, Forage and other platforms. I also secured my first-ever hands-on internship as a quant intern in a FinAI platform - CueTraders.

Learning to write at university level

I came from a schooling background where exams were the primary tools of assessment, and essays were not graded to the level we do here at uni. Our first essay scared the soul out of me. Luckily, the professors gave us a lot of support. They guided us through structure, referencing, resources and other key elements. We even had a few sessions with the Academic Skills Centre. I achieved a first class in that essay and received upper second classes in the ones right after.

Advice for students

I would advise students to make the best use of external resources and those provided by the University. This is a degree that requires you to have extracurricular knowledge through any means necessary.  

Read the Financial Times, Bloomberg Digest, WSJ, and newsletters. Take as many external courses as you can (LinkedIn learning is free, Coursera has student discounts, and you are even eligible for a few professional certifications). Participate in competitions and the industry! Once you read and experience enough, you realise that everything is linked and the topics you read about are helpful for assignments.

Oh, and connect with your classmates and others in the University studying similar subjects (especially seniors!). It’s really helpful, and you build a support system.