Ma Houning

Assistant Professor
Department of Finance
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

A short write-up from Houning Ma (Department of Finance) on his Overseas Exchange Programme experience at the Department of Finance, University of Texas at Austin

UT Austin is the flagship university of the University of Texas system, and its McCombs business school has been regarded as one of the leading research institutions globally. My exchange experience with the finance department has been immensely rewarding. The department has a tradition of hosting academic visitors and international scholars, boasting a welcoming and open-minded environment. Over my two semesters here, I attended various classes, engaged in pre-seminar and Ph.D. class discussions, and frequently participated in seminars and brownbag talks. Being in the US allowed easy access to prominent academic conferences such as AFA, WFA, and SFS Cavalcade. In addition, UT Austin hosts its in-house conferences, such as Texas Finance Festival and the Finance Alumni Conference, which I also attend. This experience allowed me to expand my network, gain diverse perspectives, and learn different research approaches.

The finance department’s expertise in asset pricing, corporate theory, and institutional investors complemented my existing training. The department also hosts excellent mentors such as Sheridan Titman, Laura Starks, and Jonathan Cohn. Through regular discussions with them, I gained fresh insights into my current work while developing new ideas. Additionally, I delved into previously unfamiliar topics such as municipal finance, climate and sustainable finance, and finance applications in energy and real estate, which proved enlightening. Interacting with UT Austin’s students was also highly rewarding. With a larger-than-average Ph.D. cohort of over 20 students, their diverse backgrounds and interests facilitated invaluable learning experiences during our discussions.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor and committee members, the Ph.D. office and NUS finance department for making this exchange experience possible. Navigating an academic visit post-COVID has been challenging, given the increased uncertainty and travel restrictions. Nonetheless, looking back, this overseas experience has been a unique and irreplaceable aspect of my overall Ph.D. training. I truly appreciate the generous support that NUS provides to its students in every regard.

Gao Yini

Assistant Professor
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Department of Operations Management
Singapore Management University

A short write up from Gao Yini (Department of Analytics & Operations) on her Overseas Exchange Programme experience with Department of Economics in University of Pennsylvania

It was really a great learning journey during my 5-month exchange programme to University of Pennsylvania, which could be summarized by three terms, new knowledge, new research atmosphere, and new friends.

During the 5 months, I have sat in classes in Economic Department and Wharton School of Business. As a PhD student from Operations Research field, the new knowledge I learnt from economic classes truly broadened my horizon and gave me plenty of new perspectives. Different from focusing on one specific business problem, what economists study are more general and philosophical. They usually study big pictures using simple math model. What those experiences brought to me is the possibility of bridging how they view a problem and how we apply our research methodology together and the opportunity of interdisciplinary research ideas.

During my stay in Upenn, I had a weekly discussion session with Prof. Rakesh Vohra on new research ideas. Combining with my research interest in disruption risk management, we came up with a project on understanding the role of platform in mitigating supply chain disruption risk. Although this is just a preliminary idea, I believe in its novelty and would like to continue working on this project after the exchange programme. The new research atmosphere there enabled me to have more perspective on my current research agenda by bring other scholars’ inputs.

One of the most enjoyable experiences is always making new friends. In Upenn and Wharton, I met many excellent PhD students. I was constantly amazed by their fresh ideas on both research and life. World is not that big any more!

I would like to express my great gratitude to PhD office and my department for supporting me on this exchange programme. This is really a valuable and memorable journey!