‘Work Hard and Never Give up on Your Dreams’
.JPG "HSE University Rector Nikita Anisimov, ICEF graduate Joshua Baidoo, ICEF Director Sergey Yakovlev")
In 2024, over 200 students graduated from the ICEF degree programmes. Joshua Baidoo, a 32-year-old student from Ghana who completed the master’s programme in Financial Economics, shared his experiences, challenges, and future plans with the HSE News Service.
Joshua received his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Cape Coast in 2014. After that, he continued his studies in the master’s programme in Finance at HSE University–St Petersburg and worked as a research assistant at the International Laboratory of Intangible-driven Economy and as a teaching assistant at the Department of Finance in 2021–2022.
Joshua Baidoo
— Why did you choose to study at HSE ICEF in Moscow, and how did you decide to pursue your studies there?
— I learned about the HSE ICEF programme through the University’s website. I was already a student at the master’s programme in Finance at HSE University and wanted to challenge myself by learning some more economics and advanced finance after completing my master’s degree. The Financial Economics programme offered by ICEF was exactly what I needed.
— What were the most interesting subjects during the course?
— The most interesting subjects to me were Banking, Risk Management, and Financial Market Microstructure.
The first two subjects, Banking and Risk Management, go hand in hand and provide a practical approach to understanding the world of finance. I found the area of banking to be quite interesting and saw it as an opportunity to gain practical experience for the future. The course on Microstructure of Financial Markets deals with advanced mathematical concepts, which I really liked to study.
I particularly enjoyed the lectures by professors Vincent Fardeau, Alexei Boulatov, and Vladimir Sokolov. Their style of teaching appealed to me a lot.
— What was difficult during your studies? How was the group work?
— I had very friendly coursemates who were always willing to help me, explaining the points that I missed or didn’t understand during lectures or seminars.
The most challenging aspect of my studies at ICEF was managing my time.
The programme is designed so that students aren’t expected to work at least the first three semesters in order to do well academically, as it’s a very demanding programme. There was always a constant trade-off between spending time on work and studying. I did take some shifts at a restaurant here and there to earn some extra money while at school.
— Where did you live in Moscow?
— Moscow is really a great city to live in. I stayed in HSE dormitory No. 7.
Living in the dormitory saved me a lot of money on rent, and I really appreciate HSE University for providing this opportunity to international students.
Living in the dormitory is fun as you get to meet and interact with other international students who may also happen to be your neighbours in the building.
The city is very safe, so I could go out at night and come back to the dormitory around 3 am without worrying about security or being robbed.
— What are your plans for the future?
— The most valuable lesson I’ve learned from my time at ICEF is that you need to work hard and never give up on your dreams.
In the short term, I hope to work as an assistant lecturer, researcher, or banker. Long-term, I want to earn a PhD in Economics or Finance and pursue an academic career.
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