MSc Accounting, Organisations and Institutions, Class of 2010
Initially, as many other applicants, primarily LSE's excellent reputation, the high level of education and vast range of postgraduate job opportunities led me to choose it for my Masters degree. At the same time I was aiming to gain more accounting knowledge, possibly combining it with law or another appropriate subject. LSE's renowned accounting department and the MSc Accounting, Organisations and Institutions (AOI) programme seemed just perfect for that.
The very special thing about the AOI programme is that it gives the opportunity to gain a deep knowledge of technical accounting and at the same time challenges the student to look beyond the pure technicalities of the subject, exploring the relationship between accounting and social science, accounting and economics, investigating its impact on financial markets and much, much more. In addition, the programme offers the chance to combine the core accounting subjects with a wide range of other courses from non-accounting areas (e.g. finance, law, politics). For my part, I focussed on international corporate tax law.
As expected, from an academic and professional standpoint, I could benefit a great deal from my LSE experience. Right after my master I started a graduate scheme in financial management with General Electric (GE) Capital. The graduate scheme involves moving every 6 months to a different location, to a different GE business and different financial management related function. After completing the two year programme, I have the choice between working for one of the GE businesses and pursuing an international internal audit career. Hence, especially since my job is directly related to my Masters, I am largely benefitting from the skills acquired and concepts learnt during my year at LSE.
My personal LSE experience also goes far beyond the pure academic knowledge. The most unique aspect of the LSE, for me personally, were the people I shared my experience with. LSE is all about diversity, uniqueness, and personalities. Never before had I met so many people from that many different countries with such exceptional backgrounds. This applies to the LSE in general and even more to AOI programme. It enabled me to learn and enrich my own world with their experiences and I grew and changed enormously in my Masters year. It has been and will certainly remain one of the most memorable years of my life.