Marking its first time participating in the Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC)–a very prominent, well-established global competition–the UConn team captured third place in the Quantitative Outcry Case.
Making up UConn’s team were MSFRM students Brian Asselin, Chad Belanger, Matt Dyer, and Tejas Patel. Continue Reading
We are excited to offer a new full semester of three 3-credit courses for the incoming and current cohort. This semester will include two courses on advanced and quantitative applications in Financial Modelling and Financial Engineering and a comprehensive course on Enterprise Risk management (ERM). This change will extend our 15 month program to 19 months. The students choosing this option will graduate in May rather than in December.
Additional 5th Semester
Spring (2)
The State of Connecticut’s Office of Higher Education recently granted STEM designation for UConn’s MS degree in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM). Under the new STEM classification, MSFRM international students can now qualify for a 17-month OPT (Optional Practical Training) Extension making it a full 29 months of OPT.
MSFRM joins MS in Business Analytics & Project Management as the only two programs in the School of Business to receive STEM designation.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are essential to U.S. economic competitiveness and growth. Over the last several decades the country has experienced a significant shortage of qualified workers for employment in STEM fields. Increasingly, businesses have to hire international workers to meet their needs. Therefore, STEM designated educational programs make it possible for international graduates to remain stateside longer to not only establish their careers but also to help meet the demand for STEM-educated professionals.
UConn’s STEM designated programs, and their related initiatives, also play an important role in Next Generation CT, state legislation passed into law and signed by the governor, that will invest over $1.5 billion dollars in UConn over the next 10 years.
“Recruiting the best and brightest international students to our program and then enabling them to successfully begin their professional careers is an important part of our educational mission,” said Professor Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the Finance Department and director of the MSFRM program. “Furthermore, providing a sufficient and qualified pipeline of talent for the nation’s economy is core to our service mission as a public institution.”
Under the traditional OPT program, international students who graduate from colleges and universities in the U.S. are able to remain in the country and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students who graduate from a designated STEM degree program can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT STEM Extension.
“Undeniably, international students bring valuable contributions to our programs and classrooms,” adds Jud Saviskas, executive director of the School of Business in Stamford. “STEM designation now allows these highly skilled foreign graduates to extend their post-graduate training, establish their careers, and enhance the U.S. economy.”
The Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) Program at the University of Connecticut will host the First Annual Academic Conference on Risk Management at Storrs, Connecticut on May 30, 2014.
The purpose of this conference is to bring together academic researchers at the frontier of risk management and investments. This year’s conference program includes empirical perspectives on credit contagion, hedge fund investment, fire sales, market efficiency, mutual fund investment and media visibility in financial markets, central bank borrowing and risk shifting by banks in Europe.
The Finance Department at the UCONN School of Business organizes this conference for the first time this year, and we would like to make it an annual event where prominent scholars and active young researchers present their work and receive valuable feedback. We will be happy if you can join our conference in its inaugural run.
1. Jean Helwege, J. Henry Fellers Professor of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina, “Do Hedge Fund Fire Sales Disrupt the Stock Market?” (9:00 – 9:50 am)
Discussant: Namho Kang (University of Connecticut) (9:50 – 10:05 am)
Audience Q&A. (10:05 – 10:15 am)
2. Jennie Bai, Assistant Professor of Finance at Georgetown University, “Non-committable Channel for Credit Contagion”. (10:15 – 11:05 am)
Discussant: Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai (University of Connecticut). (11:05 – 11:20 am)
Audience Q&A. (11:20 – 11:30 am)
Lunch & Remarks from Dean John Elliot (11:30 am – 1:00 pm)
3. Ron Kaniel, Professor of Finance, University of Rochester, “Making the list – the impact of WSJ fund rankings on consumer investment decisions”, (1:00 – 1:50 pm)
Discussant: Jonathan Reuter (Boston College, NBER). (1:50 – 2:05 pm)
Audience Q&A. (2:05 – 2:15 pm)
4. Bing Liang, Professor of Finance, University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Hedge Fund Ownership and Stock Market Efficiency” (2:15 – 3:05 pm)
Discussant: Jean Helwege (University of South Carolina). (3:05 – 3:20 pm)
Audience Q&A. (3:20 – 3:30 pm)
Coffee Break (3:30 – 3:45 pm)
5. Phillip Schnabl, Assistant Professor of Finance, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Kaufman Management Center, NYU “Who Borrows from the Lender of Last Resort?”. (3:45 – 4:35 pm)
Discussant: Jennie Bai (Georgetown University) (4:35 – 4:50 pm)
Audience Q&A. (4:50 – 5:00 pm)
2014 School of Business Hall of Fame Award
2014 Ph.D. Program-wide Outstanding Student Scholar Award
2014 Departmental Outstanding Ph.D. Student Scholar Awards (*Nominated for Program-wide Outstanding Scholar Award)
Departmental Ph.D. Student Teaching Awards
Stamford, Conn. – Only two scholarships awarded annually by the Public Risk Management Assoc.
Each year, the national Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) awards just two scholarships to students enrolled in public policy and public administration programs. For 2014, both scholarship recipients are from UConn’s MS in Financial Risk Management program.
Xinyue Li and Debolina Das, both enrolled in Stamford, were selected for the annual PRIMA Student Scholarship awards for their outstanding academic performance.
“These scholarships not only recognize our students’ academic strengths and their strong commitment to risk management, but also confirm the quality of our MSFRM program,” said Jud Saviskas, executive director of the UConn School of Business in Stamford. “We are very proud of these two students, and they are a shining reflection of our fine program.”
Based in Alexandria, VA, PRIMA exists to promote and advance the profession of public risk, and serves as the primary resource for public risk management educational programs, products and services.
The PRIMA student scholarship covers expenses related to their attendance at PRIMA’s 35th Annual Conference, June 9-11 2014, in Long Beach, California. These expenses include the conference registration, meals, hotel accommodations, and both air and ground transportation.
As a student scholar, each will be paired with a mentor—a PRIMA member who is an experienced risk manager. The mentor will help the students network, gain industry knowledge, and expose them to other learning opportunities before, during, and after the 2014 Annual Conference. The winners will also receive a complimentary one-year student membership in PRIMA.
“Our FRM program has grown nearly five times in the last three years, attracting outstanding students from abroad, and earning the support and recognition from major corporations in the northeast,” added Professor Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the Finance Department and director of the MSFRM program. “These competitive scholarships recognize the academic excellence of our students and highlight our focus and emphasis on research initiatives in Risk Management.”
Pictured: Xinyue Li and Debolina Das, recipients of the 2014 PRIMA Student Scholarship awards
Stamford, Conn.– “Big Data.”
It’s a term we hear over and over again, and its impact is universal. But what is “big?”
According to a 2011 IDC/EMC study, the estimated size of the digital universe was 1.8 zettabytes, and is predicted to grow to 35 zettabytes by 2020. To put that number into perspective, it is the equivalent of 35,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes!Continue Reading
As the world’s second largest economy, it’s no wonder China is a compelling travel destination for global business programs such as those offered at UConn School of Business.
Thirty-seven MBA students traveled to China over the last Thanksgiving holiday for an intensive, 11-day study program designed to supplement their foundational business education with an understanding of the business and cultural aspects of the influential global nation.
“UConn’s travel program to China was an experience of a lifetime for me,” commented Namita Joshi ’15 MBA, manager of Drug Safety Operations at Purdue Pharma. “I had many perceptions about China regarding their business model, culture, food, population, cleanliness, etc. I literally got a ‘reality check’.”
Global Camaraderie
UConn is one of only a few MBA Programs in the U.S. to offer a study program in China that encompasses three cities. Now in its 12th year, the travel program includes visits to Beijing, Shanghai, and Jinan—the capital of Shandong Province—where the UConn School of Business has enjoyed a five-year relationship with Shandong University, with multiple faculty and student exchanges between the two universities.
One of the many highlights of the latest trip was meeting with fellow MBA students at Shandong University’s School of Management. Shandong MBAs accompanied UConn to meetings with Jinan companies and met later to network, share experiences and exchange ideas. Shandong faculty and MBAs hosted a dinner banquet in honor of the UConn visitors and invited UConn faculty member Brian Brady to present a guest lecture on entrepreneurial marketing to the associate dean, faculty and select students the following day.
Curriculum
The MBA travel program comprises two separate, but integrated, courses, OPIM 5894 – Global Supply Chain Management taught by Professor Tim Dowding, and MGMT 5894 – Management Issues in Asia taught by Brian Brady. Students may opt to take one or both courses.
As part of the curriculum, students toured and met with executives at over ten companies including Diageo, Henkel, GE Healthcare, RR Donnelley, WPP/Ogilvy & Mather Asia, SinoTruk and Tsing Tao Brewery. The group also had a private meeting with Elizabeth (Betsy) Shieh, an officer in the Foreign Commercial Service (U.S. Dept. of Commerce) at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
“I frequently travel to Asia on business, and participating in this study program has been invaluable,” says Jean-Pierre (JP) Karam ’14 MBA, a senior project engineer at Becton, Dickinson and Company. “It has given me a first-hand look at how other companies operate in China and given me a benchmark for my company.”
Photo: UConn MBAs pose with their peers at Shandong University in Jinan, China.
Attractive Bridge to MS in Accounting Degree. The UConn School of Business Accounting Department is pleased to announce the launch of the new online Accounting Certificate Program (ACP) commencing fall 2014.
The new program is specifically designed for college graduates and working professionals with non-accounting backgrounds who are interested in acquiring fundamental accounting knowledge. For those individuals wishing to pursue UConn’s MS in Accounting Program, which requires the same prerequisite accounting courses, the certificate provides an attractive bridge for meeting the degree’s entry requirements.
“UConn’s ACP program has broad appeal in the marketplace, especially given the online format,” says Amy Dunbar, professor and program director. “Already leaders in online accounting education with our highly successful online MSA program, we’re pleased to leverage our expertise in developing a quality online certificate program that addresses the needs of two unique constituencies – individuals who simply want more accounting education than they currently have and those who would like to use the accounting courses as a bridge to an MSA program.”
The ACP comprises four comprehensive accounting courses covering financial reporting, assurance services, and taxation. The program runs through the fall and spring semesters, culminating in the completion of the certificate in May.
Applicants for the new certificate program must have an undergraduate degree (any major) and have completed introductory financial and managerial accounting courses. After completing the ACP, individuals can apply to UConn’s MSA program and receive credit for two of the ACP courses.
The Accounting Department has seen significant interest in the MSA program from individuals in the work force, as well as from UConn students in other graduate degree programs, who generally don’t have the undergraduate accounting background required for admission.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had to decline a majority of students interested in the MSA program over the years because they simply didn’t possess the prerequisite undergraduate accounting courses,” says Mo Hussein, professor and department head of Accounting. “The next question generally asked was whether we offered the required courses here at UConn. Now, we are able to say ‘yes!'”
For more information, please visit http://msaccounting.business.uconn.edu/
Congratulations to doctoral students who have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in research and/or teaching:
2013 School of Business Hall of Fame Award
Dean’s 2013 Pre-doctoral Fellowship
2013 Departmental Outstanding Ph.D. Student Scholar Awards
(*Nominated for Program-wide Outstanding Scholar Award)
2013 Departmental Ph.D. Student Teaching Awards