In this blog post, we’ve asked Nanjun Li (he likes to be called Jon) about his experience as MSc Financial Mathematics student at the School of Maths. Before joining Queen Mary University of London, he got his PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of Potsdam, Germany, in 2008. He told us about his overall experience at Queen Mary as well as his career aspirations.
What made you choose to study MSc Financial Mathematics at Queen Mary?
2008 was a special year for many people directly or indirectly connected with global financial markets. At that time, I was in Edinburgh and witnessed that nearly half of the businesses had shut down. What was going on? What were the secrets behind this? That was the first time I thought about studying modern finance one day. It took me ten years to put the study plan into a daily schedule. I have also been working for myself for two years as an individual investor. The reason I chose Queen Mary is that it’s located in London and is prestigious. Choosing to pursue MSc Financial Mathematics was more based on my engineering background and personal interests.
What do you enjoy the most about your degree?
I enjoy studying at Queen Mary very much, although it is in remote learning mode due to the pandemic. All lecturers are working passionately to deliver knowledge during these hard times. From my point of view, the modules shed light from different angles on the same gigantic, interconnected system, so that I can understand better the nature of financial markets and the ways people tackle problems with mathematics. It’s hard to single out a favourite module.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans for the future are open. While my long-term goal remains to survive in the markets and evolve with time as an individual investor, I expect to see opportunities to work as a computer and financial data professional, especially for institutions based in London.
Find out more about studying MSc Financial Mathematics at the School of Maths.