Putting theory into practise

Stanford University will run a six-month, part-time training programme in Hong Kong for professionals in the application of engineering methodologies and quantitative methods in finance, offering them the chance to put theory into practise.

Taught by Stanford faculty, the programme will include seminars by industry practitioners, who will also be involved in the curriculum and programme structure.

Introduced by executive training provider China Education Group, the Financial Engineering Programme is run in partnership with Stanford University's management science and engineering department, and the Stanford Center for Professional Development.

It will prepare participants for technically sophisticated jobs with organisations that require comprehensive technical knowledge of arbitrage, hedging, futures and options pricing, portfolio management, trading, and dynamic investment strategies in bond, currency, options and other financial markets.

Students will learn to employ theoretical finance and computer modelling skills to make pricing, hedging, trading and portfolio management decisions.

Financial engineering is a multidisciplinary field involving financial theory, methods of engineering, and tools of mathematics and programming.

China Education Group programme director Tony Hui Tsan-hing said the group's advisory council board was made up of senior investment bankers and business leaders. 'We have been in talks with several senior investment bankers from banks such as Citigroup, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley,' he said.

'We will invite them to present specialised topics [at the seminars] on issues of interest to our students. These include mortgage backed securitisation, interest rate derivatives, application of credit derivatives and equity correlation swaps.

'In addition to regular classes conducted by the Stanford faculty, we will host seminars taught by those industry practitioners. This will give students a good opportunity to get connected with those people, and a community will be created as a result.

'They will advise students from the industry practitioner's perspective.

'During the seminars, they will share their insights on their recent research or particular speciality.

'In addition to theories that they will learn in the class, students will also gain tremendous practical insights from the community,' Mr Hui said. Courses and projects emphasise the practical applications of these skills.

The programme entails 120 hours of face-to-face instruction, and will be held at One IFC or The Galleria in Central. The course is held twice a year. The next one starts at the end of November.

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree and at least three years of work experience.