“Even if there is only one answer to a problem, there are many different ways to find it.”
Katrin Vybiral, Consultant, d-fine
When I started my academic education, I was looking for a challenge that would help to encourage the strengths I had already built up and to expand my horizon for topics that might have not been on my mind yet. After finishing my bachelor degree in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics at Vienna University of Technology, I knew I had developed a solid technical and scientific foundation, but I wanted to continue my education with a more specific focus on finance and a practical relevance while maintaining a high academic and professional standard.
After a short time for consideration, I decided that the Quantitative Finance program at WU should be the next step in order to achieve my goals and still receive an excellent quantitative education. My expectations have not been disappointed and I never regretted my decision ever since. During my two years of QFin I was not only pleased with the balanced and well-considered curriculum with a strong focus on mathematics and statistics, as well as, programming and economics, but also with the people partaking the program, both the professors and the fellow students. I had the amazing opportunity to meet and work with people with diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, so that we could not only learn together but also from each other.
In October 2018, shortly after finishing the QFin program, I was offered a job as consultant at d-fine and once again, I had the opportunity to start something that would exceed all my expectations. As a consulting firm with an analytical, quantitative and technological focus, it is our task to not only analyse demanding problems the industry is facing, but also to find and implement sustainable and customized solutions, fitting the specific needs of our clients, efficiently. In doing so, I have the opportunity to work with colleagues with different expertise and excellent scientific skills, such that teamwork is not only a significant part of our success but also the possibility for each one of us to learn and make progress. That is only one of many things at d-fine that reminds of the QFin program. In my everyday business life, I get the chance to apply and expand knowledge and skills acquired during classes on urgent challenges of different industry sectors and, furthermore, to witness the continuous and rapid transformation of the financial industry at first hand and to play an active part by applying latest methodologies and technologies.
You could say, the Quantitative Finance program did not only provide me with an exceptional academic education, but also opened doors to a career path where I am able to develop and grow professionally every day.