On the evening of Jan 10, the 2022 MSF(T) Virtual Alumni Event was successfully held via Tencent meeting. Organized by the Center for International Programs of the School of Finance, Renmin University of China(SFRUC), this year’s theme focuses on “Career Development for International Students amid the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Leo Wang, founder and CEO of HelloCareer was invited to give career development advice for international students along with four MSF alumni representatives to share their personal career experiences. Prof. Zongxin Qian, associate dean of SFRUC attended the event and delivered a welcome speech. Ms. Yuanyuan Song, director of the Center for International Programs, SFRUC hosted the event.

At the beginning, Prof. Zongxin Qian warmly welcomed all the participants and expressed his sincere gratitude for the contributions MSF alumni has made for the school. Then he introduced the history of the Master of Science in Finance (MSF) program and its transformative path to the upgraded Master of Science in FinTech (MSFT) Program. He highlighted that the MSFT Program is a pioneering program in China to cultivate hybrid FinTech talents equipped with AI, blockchain, big data, clould computing and other technological skills. He encouraged alumni and current students to share more of this program to the world and welcome international students with diverse backgrounds to join the program.

Prof. Zongxin Qian giving a welcome speech

Next, Leo Wang, a HR expert in providing international talents hiring solutions shared his career development advice and provided very practical tips in job hunting for international students in China. He introduced his major company clients and said he would like help students connect with the company if they have suitable open positions. He went on to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: less international students in China, remote working, and online job interview. He said while Chinese companies’ overseas offices prefer local hire, domestic companies still prefer hiring candidates currently in China. He answered questions from the students, adding that Chinese language proficiency is always a big plus for those who want to work in Chinese companies.

Leo Wang sharing his career development advice for international students

At the following alumni sharing session, Abiral Khatri (Nepalese, Class of 2018), project financing supervisor at Nepal Infrastructure Bank Ltd. recalled his postgraduate study experience and shared the path he went through to find his research and career direction. He then gave advice on how to determine research fields and find relevant resources to complete the gradation thesis.

Abiral Khatri, MSF Class of 2018

Genyu Li (Canadian, Class of 2021), Business Operator at GY Supplies talked about his working experience at Toronto Dominion Bank years ago and later as a marketing operator at a marketing startup specializing in designing high conversion campaigns for branding and product promotion. He offered advice for those who want to create their own start-up companies and also shared his valuable trip experiences with the MSFT team in June last year, which helped him connect with many leading FinTech industry experts.

Genyu Li, MSF Class of 2021

Noor Ul Ain (Pakistani, Class of 2020), business planning and analytics manager, at Habib Bank Limited, stressed the importance of life-long learning in career development. As a senior manager who has been working in banking sector for more than 7 years, she is always keeping an open attitude for new things and challenges, keeping abreast of the latest advancements of the finance industry. She believed that keeping pace with time can give insights into management and decision making.

Noor Ul Ain , MSF Class of 2020

Gilson Tavares (Cape Verdean, Class of 2020) , risk management analyst at BAI Cabo Verde, S.A. talked in details about the whole process of finding his research direction, doing internship and sparing no efforts to job hunting and finally getting the position he wanted after 3 rounds of interview. He gave 3 pieces of advice on job searching: stay patient, stay curious and don’t be afraid to ask.

Gilson Tavares, MSF Class of 2020

In the next session, Yuanyuan Song briefly introduced the upgraded MSFT Program. She pointed out that as China is leading the FinTech industry’s development internationally, SFRUC is also catching up with cultivating international FinTech leaders to meet the growing market’s talent demand. She introduced new highlights of the program, the cutting-edge course design, the industry advisor system, a variety of extracurricular activities, scholarship policies, admission requirements and etc.

Yuanyuan Song introducing the MSFT Program

Runfeng Zhou, coordinator of the MSFT program hosted the Lucky Draw Session in the end. He said a “package” of transcripts of all the previous Online FinTech Webinars will be sent to all the participants for extended learning as a thank-you gift. In the meantime, a token of the MSFT program will be mailed to each speaking alumnus and alumna. In the end, everyone wished each other best wishes for the new year of 2022.

Runfeng Zhou hosting the lucky draw session

About the MSFT program

School of Finance, Renmin University of China (SFRUC) is the 1st school in China that provides a fully English-taught FinTech master program for international students. It was designed to cultivate global FinTech talents and business leaders equipped with financial expertise, technology skills and innovative spirits, especially with a focus on China. With SFRUC’s rich academic resources and strong alumni network in the FinTech industry, this program offers international students a comprehensive curriculum that emphasizes both academic and technological skills, creating abundant opportunities for FinTech hybrid professionals.