The MFin is 10 years old and I’m stepping down as director. A few thoughts on the last decade. * Nearly 11 years ago, I was asked to create a new post-experience master of finance degree for the University of … Continued
In recent weeks I have taken part in meetings to discuss: student feedback on MFin teachers; teaching procedures across all programmes at Cambridge Judge Business School; the selection of winners of annual teaching prizes; and the results of a Cambridge University teaching … Continued
In natural (real) science you can do experiments where you can measure the influence of A on B while holding other things constant. No matter how good a theory is, it’s only taken seriously if there is an experiment that … Continued
Here is a letter from a US professor who is retiring after 40 years of teaching. He complains of the sense of entitlement among today’s students and says he “grew increasingly weary of all the whining, crying, excuse-making, and general lack … Continued
The myth of the scheming woman is one that pops up in many cultures. In the UK, for example, we talk of Lady Macbeth when we want to describe a devious woman who is held responsible for a hapless mere … Continued
Despite far too much rain, the graduation of last year’s MFin class was a great and memorable event. It was crowned by a reunion gig after dinner in the beautiful Queens College Old Hall, by the MFin band put together … Continued
Next year’s class is still work in progress as admissions don’t close till the end of May. Last year we closed at the end of June (*) so we don’t have a like for like comparison, and there was quite a … Continued
When we launched the MFin in 2008 I think most of us had in mind as typical students people who were looking for jobs in the private sector. It was partly the fact that it is a “premium fee” (i.e. … Continued
A core part of the MFin curriculum is that students produce an equity research report on a company that we choose for them and present their buy or sell recommendation (no holds allowed) to a panel that includes external investment … Continued
I wish the MFin fees were lower but they are set in line with the market. And student fees are the main source of revenue for Cambridge Judge Business School. The School gives some scholarships and of course there are … Continued
A long standing theme in macroeconomic policy is the question, when is it best for policy makers to be tied to a rule and when should they have freedom to decide what to do (“discretion”). It’s easiest to see why … Continued
MFins have many hidden talents. Some of them formed a band this year and were kind/foolish enough to invite me to play along with them on a couple of songs after a dinner at Churchill College. On this rather hazy … Continued
I wrote a while back about the potential benefits of restricting student choice. I’m feeling even more inclined in that direction after the annual group consulting project (GCP) round. We try to offer students a choice over which project to … Continued
Since the MFin began two and a half years ago, we have been steadily reducing student choice. Not in the sense of cutting out electives – on the contrary, there are more options than ever. But in the sense of … Continued