ICEF Master’s degree holder Daniil Esaulov about ways for future economists to enhance their maths ability

Daniil Esaulov enrolled in ICEF Master of Financial Economics Programme after having earned a degree from MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics. After successful completion of the program in 2012, Daniil chose to pursue an academic career and returned to ICEF as a lecturer in Finance and Mathematics and a coordinator of students’ research work. During the ICEF Open Days, held past March, Daniil gave tips on how to succeed in preparing yourself for studies at ICEF.

Daniil thinks enrollees may not be fully aware of the scope of mathematical background they are expected to have in order to complete successfully the courses on ICEF Master of Financial Economics Programme. The list of topics that enrollees should be familiar with before they apply can be found on the ICEF MSc Programme’s website.

Daniil recommends that enrollees make use of a dedicated course by Kirill Bukin which is available on Coursera Mathematics for economists, as well as other useful sources such as:

· C. P. Simon, L. Blume, Mathematics for economists, W.W. Norton company Inc., 1994 or latest edition

· H. Anton, C. Rorres, Elementary linear algebra, 11th edition

These sources would be the basic tools for enrollee self-assessment of mathematical skills. They offer solutions to the mathematical problems that master’s students are tasked with at an early stage of their Mathematics for Economists course.

In the first term, ICEF students study Mathematics for Economists, which is a compulsory course. It contains the units that are essential to subjects such as Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Financial Economics, Game Theory, Financial Econometrics, among others. While the introductory part is a refresher course into Mathematical Analysis, Linear Algebra and Statistics, the main one, scheduled to start in October, offers more advanced knowledge by introducing students to dynamic optimization, stochastic processes and analysis.

Notably, the knowledge of mathematics as advanced as this gives students and fresh graduates, i.e. future economists, a solid competitive advantage on the job market.

Interesting is an example Daniil cited of his fellow student, who, while waiting to be interviewed in the office of one of the largest banks, spotted a mistake in the financial formula that featured on the wall as an interior décor element. This landed him a job.