Professional Development

Professional Development Modules

The School aims to provide optional courses to help you build upon your professional skills for your future career. These do not provide academic credit towards your MSc, but some of them would be recognised on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) transcript. We aim to run programmes such as AmplifyME Experience Finance simulations, C++ for Finance (TBC), MATLAB (For MSc Economics only), Applied Portfolio Management, Story telling success in the modern world. Please check here for updated information: Course: SEF Postgraduate Professional Skills Development - 2025/26 | MyQMUL

The exact offering is TBC - you will be notified when courses are taking place via QMPlus and e-mail.

Below are some particularly  popular optional modules which you may need to join at the beginning of the year.

Queen Mary MSc Investment Fund (QUMMIF)

QUMMIF is a student-managed investment fund with over £40,000 of assets. It provides postgraduate students with (i) work-relevant skills in investment, portfolio analysis, and trading as well as (ii) opportunities to network with fellow students, academics, and city professionals. Participants analyse companies, industries, and asset classes and develop practical investment and trading strategies. The work is done in teams which compete against each other to provide the best analysis. Academics and professionals from the financial industry act as mentors.

We have scheduled a live Q&A session with the Course Tutor, where you will have an opportunity to ask questions or request further information.

You can find out more about QUMMIF on the following webpages:

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sef/postgraduate/msc/professional-skills-development/

https://www.qummif.co.uk/

https://youtu.be/ndlj_MWAUdU?feature=shared

Feedback from the 2023/24 cohort:

qNomics

qNomics provides financial guidance and resources to technology start-ups and entrepreneurs. 

A client comes to qNomics for advice on a range of issues including market strategy, business planning, accounting, funding, and regulatory compliance. Students have the opportunity to counsel clients on issues and guide clients through the various challenges that they face, particularly at the early stage of their business development.

If you are selected you will have the opportunity to advise clients directly, engage with pupils from local school by running entrepreneurial sessions

Visit the qNomics website.

Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) Certificate

Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) + Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is a free, 26-hour self-paced e-learning course that introduces the financial markets. 

BMC + ESG comprises modules on Bloomberg’s Terminal Basics, Economic Indicators, Currencies, Fixed Income, Equities, Sustainable Finance, and ESG & Fixed Income, as well as ESG & Equities. 

Upon completing the course, you will receive a certificate from Bloomberg.

… to access Bloomberg …

You have to create your own Bloomberg login account.

Use your mobile number as your contact number while creating your new Bloomberg login account.

Click the "Create a New Login" link on the Bloomberg login page to create your own Bloomberg login account. 

You must log in to a Bloomberg terminal in the room GC301 in the Graduate Centre to create your Bloomberg terminal account and use Bloomberg terminal services.

•       To get started, please follow the instructions below closely:

1.       Log on to a Terminal 

2.       Type BMC into the command line and hit ENTER <GO>

3.       Select Sign Up and register (use your initial.surname@qmul.ac.uk email address)

4.       Tick to confirm you are taking BMC as part of a group

5.       Enter Class Code: NTZ3HCFVX5

6.       Accept the T&Cs and launch the course

Name of the class: QM SEF Sep25-Dec25

Class Code:   NTZ3HCFVX5

Completion deadline:   December 19, 2025

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2025 Global Trading Challenge

https://portal.bloombergforeducation.com/trading_challenges

If you wish to be among the 20 postgraduate teams participating in this competition, please use your @qmul.ac.uk account to contact Yioryos Makedonis. Briefly explain why you are interested; justify why you want to participate and provide the names of the 3-5 students of your team.

If you are interested, please apply by Sunday, the 28th of September, at 11:59 p.m.

Through this competition, teams of 3-5 students (led by a faculty advisor) will compete against other top students around the world to experience firsthand what real-world investing looks and feels like. Teams will use the Terminal to define market assumptions, develop a return-generating strategy, and execute trades within a closed network. The winning team will have the highest time weighted relative return, relative to the Bloomberg World Large, Mid & Small Cap Price Return Index (WLS Index).