Since completing my MSc Finance & Economics course, I've gone on to work within model risk at Barclays. I feel privileged to have a role that doesn’t really feel like a job. One of the reasons why I wanted to do a master’s degree is because I love understanding how models work at a fundamental mathematical level. This is something that was really pushed by my lecturers at WBS. There was a big emphasis on the lectures and exams not just being a memory test.

I was forced to develop a mindset of learning how a theory works and not just memorising how to apply it. At the time it was challenging and I probably didn’t appreciate how valuable that mindset would be. But it has set me apart in my role at Barclays. I get to do this every day when I’m analysing the prediction models used within the bank.

The content that I studied at WBS is really well aligned with the work that is done at Barclays and probably more generally in the industry as a whole. Most of my lecturers had worked in the industry in some capacity before and so they are able to explain how the things they are teaching are applied in practice.  It has been really easy for me to settle into this role because I’ve already got an understanding of how the bank operates.

When I interact with people across the bank, I have an understanding of what they do and, to an extent, what their objectives are in their role.

Dinesh Patel

MSc Finance & Economics (2018-2019)