'Never hold back on

grabing opportunities'

Fernando Lasso

Student Economics and Econometrics & participant Bachelor Honours Class

As part of the curriculum of the Bachelor Honours Class, Fernando Lasso and fellow student Sebastiaan Snijders wrote a paper in which they applied all the models they had been hearing about in the last 2 years. For their paper, ‘The Power of Google search data: an alternative approach to the measurement of unemployment in Brazil’ they received a public award at the national Student Research Conference.

Opportunities

"I experienced that there are always more new and exciting ways of developing yourself on a range of different levels. What gives the Bachelor Honours Class its charm is that it is up to the students to choose their own lecture cycle themes, form co-creation groups to organise events, plan trips and organize company and government visits. This means that every year is different and a student can take as much out of it as he or she wants by investing the right amount of effort."

International ambitions

"After my third year of the BSc2 programme (double bachelor in Economics and Econometrics), I will take part in the Netherlands Asia Honours Summer School programme, together with 99 university students from all over the Netherlands. Currently I am already in the middle of a business case project for Huawei, which I will finish this summer with 7 other students. From July on I will study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for five weeks and afterwards I will go on a cultural and business trip in Shanghai. After this long but likely very rewarding summer, I will start my minor at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona."

Advice

"My advice to students that want to write a successful paper or thesis would be: Do. Not. Hesitate. Many students think about research as an overwhelming mountain and are scared to even begin with it until time forces them to. But it is a process that needs to be approached step by step, which you will only begin to enjoy once you are in the middle of it. To conduct a topic, think about something you like, or particularly dislike, you don’t understand or have always wanted to know more about, and think of a question around it that needs answering. After that make a plan of action, write stuff down, talk to experts, collect sample data and think about methods to solve your hypothesis. Make mistakes or get stuck, then you will really start to think about the core of the problem. Dare to try, and it will be very rewarding.”

'Explore the possibilities

the field of economics has to offer'

Caroline Liqui Lung

Former Master student Econometrics, currently doing a PhD at Paris School of Economics.

After finishing her bachelor and master of Econometrics at Erasmus School of Economics, Caroline was ready for a new experience. She chose to do a research master abroad at Paris School of Economics.

Caroline: "I figured that this would allow me to do something new, expand my horizon, meet new people and learn about other cultures all at the same time. I also wanted to challenge myself by getting used to a new environment, a new way of teaching and new professors.”

Rough start

"When I started my research master I had quite a difficult time at first, since starting in the second year means that everyone else already knows each other. Moreover, the majority of students were French and I barely spoke French on arrival. But thanks to the fact that the school is quite small and personal, I got to know the other ‘foreigners’ quite fast. The master also helped me a lot in finding my way in economics. I ended up specializing in Behavioral Economics, a field I had never heard of before I came to Paris."

A different approach

"Since I am studying something completely different in Paris than I did in Rotterdam, it is difficult to compare both schools with each other. One of the major differences between them is the organization. At Erasmus School of Economics everything is organized into perfection, which means that you know at the beginning of the year when and where your classes and exams are. In Paris everything changes during the year, professors plan exams three or four days in advance and the school runs a lot of improvisation. It was difficult in the beginning, but I now realize it has its charm as well. "

Excellent background

"Studying at Erasmus School of Economics gave me an excellent background for what I am doing now. In Rotterdam I got taught the basics very thoroughly which provides me the ability to learn new things very quickly. More advanced subjects were also covered in Rotterdam, which allowed me to stand out from my fellow students in Paris relatively easy.

During my time in Rotterdam I acquired the skills and insights I need to pursue an academic career and I would definitely recommend Erasmus School of Economics for anyone with the same ambitions.”

'I want to add

value to society'

Jan Radermacher

Student Economics and Econometrics

During the last year of the Double Degree BSc2 Economics/Econometrics programme at Erasmus School of Economics Jan realized that he wanted to do something different before continuing with a master. Within this gap year he wanted to work at an international public organization

Jan: "I am very enthusiastic about different languages and cultures and I have always been quite idealistic, which means I wanted to add value to society through a public institution. The idea to work at the World Bank in particular was formed during a study trip to India, organized by the Economics Faculty association Rotterdam (EFR) in 2015, where we visited the World Bank in New Delhi. When I finished both studies in July 2016, I started working as a consultant for the World Bank in Washington D.C."

Skills

"The quantitative background I built during my studies at Erasmus School of Economics was certainly helpful, both to get into the World Bank as well as to perform interesting tasks. Being able to meet tight deadlines was certainly something I learnt at Erasmus School of Economics as well. Besides the skills I gained during my studies, I also benefited a lot from the international environment in Rotterdam and at the Erasmus School of Economics, which was a great preparation for an international organization such as the World Bank."

Studies

I think it is really important for students that want to work at an organization such as the World Bank, to realize that they will be able to add excellent value to an organization and don’t lag behind other students who might have studied at some “more prestigious” university. However, networks and contacts also play a large role and therefore I can only encourage everyone interested to be proactive and to write to employees at the World Bank, asking them if there are internship or consultancy opportunities.