Four exceptional students from Asia Pacific and Africa have been awarded an all-expenses paid trip and a work placement with top finance firms in the City of London.
This year’s CISI Global Education Trust Awards (GET) student winners are from Philippines, Singapore, Egypt and South Africa.
The GET Awards process tests the students’ financial services knowledge, with the CISI Trust using these funds to solely support educational initiatives in the public interest.
The aim is to also give these students international exposure to support diversification and employability in the financial services profession.
To enter the Awards, CISI global partner universities were invited to nominate students. The process for nomination differed across the regions but included either/or a combination of submission of a personal statement, an 800-word essay, interviews and presentations.
Joshua Chow from Singapore is completing his Diploma in Fund Management and Administration with Nanyang Polytechnic. He said: “Through the visit to London I hope to improve my networking and social skills. A week’s worth of work attachment in London will allow me to learn how western culture and work ethics operate in business and observe how these aspects may or may not differ from Asian company structures.”
Final year undergraduate student, Mary Damian aged 19 from the Philippines, is studying Business Administration with a Major in Financial Management at the University of Santo Tomas and is excited to see “the real world happening beyond the concepts we are studying at our university. It is also my very first experience of travel and visiting the financial capital will make this experience even more memorable.”
Mazars Financial Planning will host both, Joshua and Mary.
Aya Elbuhaisi, studying Accounting at Ains Shams University Egypt said: “I’m
interested in a career in the banking sector and enhancing my knowledge of international banking services focusing on equities, bonds and derivatives. This work placement will also help me get exposure to the financial industry and the culture in London.” Aya has a week’s work placement with State Street Global Advisors
Louveshan Pillay who’s studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) at University of Johannesburg, South Africa and has a work placement with SVS Securities said: “I am most looking forward to the challenge of being placed in a real-world environment and getting a glimpse of what my future career could look like. I see this experience as an opportunity to open new doors for myself and my professional career.”
Kevin Moore Chartered FCSI, CISI Director of Global Business Development said: “We are delighted to welcome these four outstanding students who have worked so hard to achieve these work placements. Their persistence and ambition has been demonstrated through their serious approach to our Awards process. We know the firms where they will be spending their time are excited to help them get the most out of their experiences in the business environment.
“We are aiming to ensure that these students have the opportunity to gain an overview of the international financial services profession and obtain some useful insights which they can both share in their home countries and apply in their own career development.”