PhD Faculty Testimonials

 "I think that financial economics is very much an applied subject that heavily benefits from integrating the different perspectives of practitioners and academics, and I believe that the PhD programme at EDHEC is an ideal environment to facilitate such interaction" 

"I found the students in my EDHEC course to be exceptionally motivated and talented. This is not surprising: the same traits that make one successful in industry, an eagerness to know more and the ability to absorb complicated ideas, are the same traits that lead to successful scholars."

"It was an interesting group to teach because they knew a lot of things that the usual PhD student does not know. I admit I had failed to realise this before coming to class. If unexpected, it was a pleasant surprise to have more senior and experienced students who know the products really well. In many ways it is easier to teach such people because they are highly motivated and have context."

The students that I taught are unique in a number of ways. Some are already seasoned investment professionals and others have even had multiple successful careers. Their maturity and experience differ markedly from those of the typical PhD student who is fresh out of college or for that matter even of a typical MBA student who has had only a few years of work experience. Perhaps as a result, the students I had conveyed a more pure “learning-for-learning’s sake” enthusiasm for the class and the material. This was an unexpected and delightful experience for me."

"The best thing about the students on the PhD programme is their strong motivation and also their desire to answer big questions that are interesting not just to the academic community, but also to the business community. The students are mature and motivated, making it easy to teach in class and to work with them on research outside the classroom"

"Work experience has exposed PhD participants to real-life problems. Thus, they typically are not short of research ideas."

"At Duke, I teach in both executive education and doctoral programmes. at EDHEC the students are a nice mix of the two as they had both a great academic interest in finance and real experience from the field – this was perfect for me since I strive to do academic research that is in sync with the industry"

"Teaching an elective course like this is an enticing opportunity to talk about your research and focus on things that you really care about. This is quite unusual, even at the doctoral level. I have been researching this area for over ten years and this provides a great opportunity to organise my thoughts on the topic and present them in a unified way."

"The students in the course are different from those I usually encounter in a standard PhD program: they are more diverse and have been away from school for a longer period; at the same time, their work experience gives them a different perspective on the material; and typically they are more interested in the why of things and less in the how, which is a useful perspective to keep in mind when you work on material of a technical nature. It was also useful for me to confront people who have been in the industry for a while and gauge their reactions to new ideas and material."