I am going back to school!!!

Finally, after a lot of deliberation, I have enrolled in a graduate certificate program at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. The program is a 12 credit major in IT for Financial Services Industry. I have currently enrolled for two of the four courses for fall, and will take the other two in spring of 06. The program itself looks fairly solid, and covers most of the topics that are required on the job. This should provide me with stronger foundation in fundamentals, concepts, trends, and issues of the investment banking world - a world that I am a part of. It will also equip me with the necessary knowledge required to understand the market from a financial software product / strategy perspective.

All in all, seems to be the beginning of an exciting academic journey that I plan to continue with an MBA next fall.

More information about this program is available on the school's page - Click Here

Course Descriptions

Financial Services Industry Trends and Issues

This course concentrates on IT trends and issues in the financial services industry. Upon successful completion of this program, students will have a solid understanding of the industry, market dynamics, and how their roles in technology have an immense impact in the industry.

Capital Markets

This course is designed to familiarize the student with the current workings of the capital markets. This course describes fundamental analytical techniques and state of the art financial instruments. It begins with the time value of money and progresses to bond mathematics, portfolio management, and derivatives. The role of information technology is emphasized in both the development and delivery of financial instruments. Students will learn to structure IT applications to meet the needs of a trader or broker.

Financial Services Industry Back Office

This course is designed to provide the student with an in-depth understanding of the back office trade process and the role of information technology (IT) in this process, with the goal of helping the student to be an effective provider of information system development and operations in this arena. The various phases of the trade process will be described, including key regulatory requirements. The current contributions of IT to the process will be reviewed, including straight-through processing, T+1, and foreign exchange trades.

Financial Services Industry Marketing and Sales

This course concentrates on effective selling and marketing IT strategies in the financial services industry. Upon successful completion of this program, students will identify client constituent's product needs and the ability for financial services companies to deliver this product (service) in a timely, cost-effective fashion. Corporate branding and marketing strategies will be reviewed and challenged by the student.