My journey from PhD to Global Central Banking

Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation qualifications participant Nishita shares insights into the programme and the benefits to her career.

I have often been asked why I chose to study the Global Central Banking and Financial Regulations Qualifications even after having done my PhD in Monetary Economics from a reputed university.

It has been two decades since my PhD, and although I have continued to update my skills in various ways, I felt the need for a formal accreditation in the frontier developments in economics and finance. When I discovered this course developed by the Bank of England and Warwick Business School (WBS) I realised it was a unique opportunity to learn from academicians in a university of global reputation and practitioners from a central bank that I greatly admire. My decision was reinforced after looking at the extensive contents of the course. Besides promising to update me with the latest advances in areas of my research interest of financial and monetary modelling, it included avant-garde topics like behavioural finance, big data, and machine learning. At that very juncture my central bank announced that they would sponsor a few modules of the programme for some of its officers, so I applied immediately.

Some colleagues warned me that returning to a university course after two decades could be daunting. However, my urge to continuously upgrade my skills over all these years, stood me in good stead. My MSc journey began with the module on money banks and macroeconomics which is a good place to begin. It gave a very interesting overview of a variety of contemporary issues, my familiarity with the topics due to my job at the central bank, gave a huge comfort in bridging a two-decade gap of going to a formal university course. At that time I was the head of research and analytics in the regulation department of my central bank, and these latest tools and best practices were valuable in my role.

When the sponsorship of by central bank ended as I was nearing superannuation, I decided to self-sponsor the remaining half of my MSc modules. I enjoyed the rigour of doing a course decades after my PhD, the whole process of learning during my MSc rekindled my cherished dream to teach. By the end of my MSc, I decided that I should launch the second innings of my career as a professor of Economics, as it would give me an avenue for immediate application of my newer knowledge.

I am already a PhD in economics having over three decades of experience as a central bank researcher, and even before completing the Global Central Banking Financial Regulations qualifications I started teaching in reputed management schools in my city. The part-time nature of the course allowed me to teach and study at the same time. Now I have successfully completed all seven modules, including the module on Research Methods and Dissertation. This MSc gave me formal accreditation and also opened new vistas in my professional career. I would highly recommend the programme not only to central bankers but to all those who are interested in working in the financial sector.  The academic excellence of WBS, blended with the insights offered by central bank practitioners gives an edge to the students aspiring to take up a career in banking and finance.