4 April 2018

In Semester 2, the University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS) treated their postgraduate students to a Company Trek to London.
Masters in finance students on the Bloomberg balcony, London

It was both an entertaining and valuable journey where we had the opportunity to visit finance companies in the world’s largest financial centre. Who knows, we might actually be working there one day in the future! During the Trek, we attended networking activities with company representatives and got to see inside their impressive buildings.

During the trek, we visited four different companies, including the Chartered Instituted for Securities and Investment (CISI), S&P Global, TheCityUK, and Bloomberg Inc. We also visited the Bank of England Museum, where we tried to “grab” one of their 13 kg gold bars, and took a guided Financial Walking Tour of the City of London.

Day 1

On the first day, after checking into the Hotel, we went to the CISI office, nicknamed the 'Walkie Talkie' building. We took a few photos outside the unique landmark and, once inside, a CISI representative delivered an interactive presentation about the business and the importance of ethics for finance practitioners and professionals. After the presentation we went to the beautiful Sky Garden on the 35th Floor, where we enjoyed seeing the city of London from above.

Day 2

S&P Global, Canary Wharf

The next day, we visited S&P Global in the city's main financial centre, Canary Wharf. We learnt about Trends in Quantamental Investing, which was followed by a discussion and Q&A session. After that, the group visited TheCityUK, the Bank of England Museum, and also took a guided financial walking tour of the city. In the evening we had some free time, which we spent on activities like exploring the city or relaxing in the pub.

Day 3

Trek group photo at Bloomberg

The third and final day of the trek, took us to the Bloomberg offices, where we were given a tour of the building by two employees. Bloomberg has a modern office with huge open-plan work spaces, which very much reflects their working culture. Complemented by a spacious cafeteria, their employees seemed to be enjoying working there!

Bloomberg cafeteria

Finally, we went back to Edinburgh on the night train.

The London Trek was a valuable experience, which I enjoyed so much.

Deddy, MSc Finance