Interview was conducted by the International Office of HSE and was prepared and taken by Leung Nicole Wan Ling who is a Prep Year alumna and IO summer intern at the International Office of HSE.
Muddassar Malik, who is completing a Doctoral Research Traineeship at the HSE School of Finance in August 2019. HSE News Service spoke with Muddassar about his experiences in Moscow so far.
The traineeship is funded by the Erasmus+ Global program to Russia through the University of Turku. I decided to have my training at Higher School of Economics where I found a hosting supervisor with desired expertise. I was generously welcomed to HSE University. It is an invaluable experience to have an individualized host supervision and an access to required databases such as Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Mobile, and EIKON which are paramount to my research. I have been to most European and Asian countries and an in-person presence in Russia has connected the landmass gap which was already on my wish list. Indeed, this give me a sense of accomplishment, both as a traveler and as an academic.
Russia is a candidate country for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Since my research deals with the impact of risk governance on the performance of OECD banks, it is important to have a good understanding of the entire OECD - and this includes its candidate countries, such as the Russian Federation, Costa Rica, and Colombia, along with its 36 member countries. I examine these areas from the standpoint of finance; at my home university I also apply financial ratios from financial accounting. Varying nature of regulations and policies across OECD countries makes this a challenging research. However, I am happy that it is being worked out. An outcome of this research will contribute to a gap in academic knowledge. Besides that, the outcome has the potential to contribute to regulators and managers especially in their risk-related tasks. Right now, I am making a list of public commercial banks from all the supervised banks of the OECD members and the candidate countries. Following the creation of this list I will obtain the required observations from mentioned databases.
In addition to my research, I participated in a conference and wrote three analytical reports. I also participated in a doctoral colloquium and wrote a report on that. Finally, I had an opportunity to present myresearch at the traditional banking activity seminar at the School of Finance.
Faculty, staff, and research fellows of the Corporate Finance Centre and HSE provide excellent support to my research. There is always someone available for consultation, advice, and direction. My host supervisor is a critical source of inspiration and encouragement who has provided support in all the phases of my research here.
Moscow is a colorful city. People are interactive and helpful. Prior knowledge of language and culture makes your stay comfortable and productive. Russian language classes at HSE helped me to read and speak a little. Russians take some time to get to know you, but as soon as they know you, they are jolly and loyal friends. Russians are polite, but they maintain the core of their authenticity.
My time at HSE, in Moscow, has been an unforgettable experience!
Higher School of Economics, Moscow, is a partner university of University of Turku.