 Good afternoon everyone. My name is Alberto Asquare. I'm Director of SAFIM, the Centre for Financial Management Studies and I'm here in this webinar to provide you an illustration of the centre and what we teach there. Welcome to all of you. Please feel free to drop any questions in the chat if you like. I will progress through the presentation and hopefully illustrate all the main features of our programmes and I will be happy to take questions either along the way or later at the end. So let me start just by telling you something about SAFIM that you probably know something about. SAFIM is a university based in London, part of the University of London. It is well known in the world as a centre for expertise especially in Africa, Asia and the Middle East where there is a high concentration of experts in these areas in various fields of social science and humanities and arts. We conduct teaching on campus with various undergraduate and postgraduate PhD programmes and we also deliver our courses in a distance learning format including those which are offered by SAFIMs. So as is, I would say, well, fairly well balanced in between on-campus and distance learning students. So as you can see here from the slide we have almost 4,000 distance learning students and online students as a whole, roughly half of which are based in SAFIMs and we have more than 5,000 people who populate the on-campus student population. We are very diverse in terms of students' participation. As you can see, mainly come from Europe and from Sub-Saharan, as well as other students from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. This fragmentation, this dispersion of students is a feature both of on-campus programmes and also of distance learning programmes. SAFIMs, we have students who live or are from more than 150 countries in the world. The age of our distance learning students is especially in the range between 25 and 44. SAFIM only offers postgraduate programmes. Most of our students, I would say, are like mid-career professionals or civil servants or employees, especially in financial institutions. But as you can see, we are quite widespread and we also have relatively young and relatively old students with us. This slide provides an overview of the offering that we provide. So on the left you see the list of the MSc programmes that we provide. We have a number of programmes in the area of finance, including streams on banking, economic policy, financial sector management, quantitative finance. Then we have an MSc in finance and financial law, which combines finance and the law's perspectives. An MSc in international business administration and the two MSc's which focus more on the public sector, public policy management and public financial management, which are incidentally those which are specifically convene. As you can see from the right, we also launched a couple of MOOCs so far on the platform of FutureLearn. One is titled Risk Management in the Global Economy. The other one is titled Understanding Public Financial Management, How Is Your Money Spent? As any other MOOC, these are provided for free. Students can enroll relatively short, just for weeks. And this is a way to provide anyone the opportunity to get a sense of what we teach at SOAS and possibly make the decision to study our MSc programmes. So let me get into more details about these programmes. First, let me say something more general about how they are structured. So the minimum time which is expected for completion of an MSc is two years, so they're like a part-time mode of study. And the MSc is expected to be completed in a maximum of five years. For taking the MSc programme, students are expected to take eight modules among a list of different modules students can choose from. And these modules are studied over study sessions. We are running five study sessions per year at present. During these study sessions, students can select among a range of modules which are offered in a particular time. During the study sessions, students study for eight weeks. And during this period, they are also required to submit two assignments which are used for providing feedback and for part of the assessment. The final assessment is also based on the examination which is roughly in October and which is an examination which is done in presence. It's a three-hour long examination which is based in any of the about 300 examination centres of University of London international programmes. You can find the list of the centres in their website but basically you can find one in almost every country, definitely in any major city in countries. This is the general structure which is followed by any MSc programme. Then if we enter a bit more of details as you can see here, every MSc programme has a specific list of modules, could be core modules and a number of elective modules. Students are invited to select. So for instance, if you take the MSc finance with a stream on banking, there are core modules like banking and capital markets, corporate finance, corporate and investment banking, portfolio and fund management, retail banking and household finance. And on the top of these, students are also expected to select a number of electives to make a total of eight modules as a whole. You can find more details about the electives for each MSc on our website, safims.ac.uk. Every MSc programme is slightly different in the selection of core modules and electives. So here on the right of the slide, you can see which are the core modules for the MSc finance economic policy. To some extent, these modules may overlap like banking and capital markets, but to some extent each MSc has very specific modules like for instance the international monetary fund and economic policy for the MSc finance and economic policy to reflect the specific disciplinary and orientation of every MSc programme. The other streams of the MSc finance include the financial sector management and the quantitative finance. So in the first one, you see modules like bank financial management, banking and capital markets, banking strategy, corporate finance, finance in the global market. In the other one modules like derivatives, economic principles and data analysis, econometric analysis and applications, financial econometrics, modeling firms and markets and the risk management principles and applications. The MSc finance and financial load deserves a few more words because the particular nature of this MSc programme is to combine expertise from the areas of finance and the area of laws. It can be especially designed, if you like, for people who come from a background of either in finance or in laws, but who wish to extend their expertise either from the finance to the legal area or from the legal area to the finance area in order to have a better appreciation of the theory behind the design of certain contracts which are used in financial management practice. Core modules here are introduction to law and to finance, which is typically advised to be the first module that students should take, then corporate finance, financial law and legal aspects of international finance and risk management principles and application. Here the MSc includes as well five core modules and then three elective modules. The MSc International Business Administration is a rather focused management of the private corporate business sector. So you see there are core modules, international business strategy and managing the transnational corporation and then there is a list of elective modules, which typically also includes some regional focus. So you may find some modules which are especially focused on the economy and managing business in areas like China or areas like sub-Saharan Africa. So this MSc programme is more focused on business sector combined with sources of expertise on particular countries or particular regions. And this is especially helpful for anyone who is interested to pursue a career, especially in these areas of the world. The MSc in public financial management is instead focused on the financial management of the public sector. So there are a list of core modules, macroeconomic policy and financial markets, public financial management planning and performance, which is the budgeting function of the government. Basically public financial management revenue, which includes taxation and other revenue sources and then financial reporting. And the students may choose if to take either the module based on IFRS or the module based on a dataset of accounting standards EPSAS. And last, the MSc programme in public policy and management is generally oriented to various aspects of making and implementing public policies and executing public policies, which is the government machinery. A particular feature of this MSc is that it does not really have any core modules. There is just a long list of elective modules and the students are free to choose any eight among them as they like. So this provides students the possibility to tailor the contents of these MSc depending on their interests, which could be more on the public policy side, for instance, or more to the public administration, public management side. So these are general features about the contents in terms of modules of each of these MSc programmes and please consult our website for more details, especially about the electives, the mode of assessment, the contents of these of these programmes. Feel free to contact the programme convener, which could be either myself or any of my colleagues at SEPHIM by email. You can find the addresses on the website and we will be happy to come back to you with answers to your questions. So generally you may have got the sense of how we provide these learning experience. After enrollment, after registration, students enroll to modules which can select, students may select a number of modules in advance to take in their MSc programmes or they can just select along the go. So they take and choose one after the other and along the same lines students may pay in advance for a number of modules or they can just pay one module after the other when they register for taking each of them. At present students receive a physical study pack for studying for the modules, which include lecture notes that we call units and all the readings, textbooks and other copies of journals, articles or other materials and the students are invited to follow a precise scale of the first four weeks of study, students submit the first assignment and they receive marks and feedback on it and then at the very end after the last eighth week of the module they are required to submit the second assignment and then to keep all what they learn aside until they come and see the examination in October. During this period of the eight weeks students are assigned a tutor, we have roughly 82 tutors working with us at the sevenths. These are colleagues in other universities, these are former SOAS PhD graduates, these may be policy experts in different fields, we'll roughly provide 10 students per each tutor so the ratio is quite good in terms that the tutors may provide answers to any questions you may pose to them directly by email or through a message system or through a forum of an online platform that students can have access to during the course of their studies. And of course the assignments are an important component part of the learning experience because they can provide the way for tutors to signal students if they are on the right track in their understanding and development of their skills. Students have access to library materials of the University of London and of SOAS University of London in particular and so you can also have the opportunity to explore and to enrich your learning by looking at various resources. I'm happy to take some questions along the way and I see one from Karina at the present, so to study the MSc public policy management do I need any science math background. For the specific MSc public policy management there is no particular requirement of any science or math background. There can be a little bit of arithmetic in some of the modules, for instance the one on a project appraisal where students learn how to apply some techniques of evaluation of an investment like a net present value or cost benefit analysis. But the mathematics which is used is relatively simple like a high school level. This is not the case for other MSc programs especially those MSc finance which typically require more advanced level of mathematics like derivatives or integration. And so please check the specific requirements or any specific description of any MSc to get a sense of the level of math which is required. There is also another question from Ipec Kataria and the answer is yes so students go to get access to SOAS library and also the University of London international programs library during the course. So apart from the readings that you receive in the study pack there is always the possibility to explore more of the library resources that we have in these two libraries. The SOAS one is especially rich I would say precisely in the regions which are in the core of the expertise of SOAS so Africa, Middle East and Asia access to these resources is especially helpful. Let me add students choose to take a dissertation as a part of their modules. So generally dissertation is not compulsory in these MSc programs so students can complete the MSc by just taking eight thought modules. But if students want they can substitute one of the thought modules with a dissertation. Dissertation is an original piece of research that the students conduct. It takes roughly eight months, it runs from January and the submission is in September. Dissertation module is done by having a supervisor assigned on a particular topic. The topic is proposed by the student because this reflects the particular interest of the student and the supervisor provides help to structure a good, strong, robust research design and to assist the student in the data collection. Let me pick up the questions along the way. Another one is when is the examination table released and when can we find it? So the examination time table is released roughly in springtime for the examination period being in October. And the information is provided in the University of London international program website. And from safety you may find a link to the appropriate page. And this would enable typically students to plan when in advance to be free for the day when there are the examinations for the modules. Let me take also another question which is about how often there are exams and where do they take place? The exams are in October. There is just one exam once per year at present. But this is a common practice of the UK universities. So it is roughly in October. The precise date is communicated roughly at the end of springtime in the website of University of London international programs, which also includes the list of the roughly 300 examination centres which are scattered all around the world. Examination centres may be a local university, may be the local branch of the British council, for instance. These are institutions with which the University of London has agreements to set up an examination room and to collect the exam scripts at the very end and to ship them to SOAS to be marked. So students are free to see the exam in any place they like in the world. So I confirm that as an answer to another question that, yes, dissertation is optional. So rather than at a certain point in the course of study and rolling for another module, the students just enroll for taking a dissertation if they like. Management in the University of Switzerland, but with the major in finance or how many ECTS have to be heard in finance topics. I'll say there is not any strict requirement in this respect because it is the programme convener to appraise out of the application if the student is considered to be able to undertake the particular MSc programme in a success. This amount of flexibility is there because it also allows to consider applications from individuals who, for instance, may not really have an undergraduate degree close to the field of study of the MSc in finance, for instance. But for example, they may have a longer work experience in the finance industry. And so the course convener who is appraising the application may also assess that because of the work experience which is described in the personal statement, the applicant may nevertheless have gained quite a good understanding of the field of study, despite of any kind of undergraduate degree they may have earned a couple of decades before. So I would suggest that if you like to consult in advance the specific programme convener, you find that they are email on the web pages of a safe email, just if you like to be safe that the application could be positively assessed before just submitting it. Let me take another question. So equilibrium between reality and theory is considered in the financial aspect of the video and that there is sometimes a lack of reality in the studies about. Well, you know, if you take some subjects, especially economics, I'd say especially heavy in the theoretical side, I'd say this can be the same of quite a number of the finance and financial management topics. I'd say generally our MSc programmes, they tend to place quite a considerable amount of attention to the international institutions, so they may take the MSc programme for a leap in their career, for example. So these MSc programmes in the units may either include some case studies, for instance, which may look at some particular institutions or experiences in countries in the world, or they may include some practical exercises to help students apply the theories with some scenarios where they're required, for instance, to make a decision about an investment choice, for example. And so they learn how to apply formulas to more concrete settings. So I hope this helps to get a sense of what we teach. So let me take a few more questions. So hello, I'm currently doing an MSc in public financial management. I'd like to do a PhD through distance learning or a flexible programme, which does not require residency. Will you have one at savings in the near future? So the answer is hopefully yes. And having a present discussions with with its source to launch the distance learning PhD at savings, although I should say we are examining the requirements for being present at source for at least a minimum amount of time. Let me just tell you that the experience of doing a PhD is a large part and experience of learning research methods and socialising in a sense within the research academic environment. So because of this, there are good arguments that a minimum amount of time to be spent at least in part time mode within the premises of the university is important to kick off the process of study and to help the students speed up and then later to continue in a more autonomous way. So I can say at present that if the distance learning PhD program will be rather a part time PhD program, which requires at least a minimum amount of time spent in presence in the first year. Here at SOAS to attend the seminars to deliver presentations to see face by face with the supervisor and then the rest of the PhD program could be well conducted from the distance, especially for data collection and then for the writing up stage. So we're still working on the details, but hopefully expected to see the PhD here at SAFIM to be launched in the near future. Another question from Israel is it possible to enroll to two courses that overlap at the same session and take the exam in October same year. The general answer is we prefer no because we take that most of our students are busy because of the working they typically work either as employees or as professionals and because of the amount of workload for taking one module which has been calculated roughly 20 hours a week. We believe that could be an over stretch to require students or to allow students to take two modules within the same session. I should confess in very exceptional cases we have allowed a student to take two modules. For instance, if there are good reasons that this student is not working for a period of time and so, you know, they may just change job from one employer to another one or they may not have any projects to follow for a certain period of time. And in particular circumstances, we agree that it can be more advantageous to speed up the process faster and so to allow two modules to be taken in the same session. But please take this as something exceptional. Another question, can you give a view on the types of roles graduates gone to have after the MSE. And I would say these degrees recognized abroad. So generally yes, the degrees recognized abroad as a UK degree actually that certificate that degree certificates that the students receive is a MSE degree in the subject that you you completed without any mention that it is a distance learning format. And within the UK and within any other of the UK that disease recognized abroad like any save any on campus postgraduate program. Another another couple of questions actually two questions. Can I take one module semester and do I need to take compulsory modules before elective. So the first, the first answer is that the first, please note that in several distance learning the teaching we do not really have that semesters. We have a study sessions and we are we are running five study sessions during the course of the year, one after the other basically during the course of the year. And the answer is, yes, the students can take just one module first study session. So at present it is possible for students to take five modules in the first year and to take the remaining three modules in the second year or to take four and four in the first and second year. So this makes it possible to complete the MSE taking eight modules over the period of two years time basically. And the second question, do I need to take compulsory modules before electives. So generally, no, there is not a strict sequence for students to take modules one after the other. Because one module in the MSE funds and financial, for instance, it is not always the case, but sometimes I may advise students to select public policy management perspective and issues as the first module, because this provides the more general overview of public policy and public management issues, if they do not have any interest of present, present preference. Then another question, do you have access to the campus, even if you are on the distance learning course. Well, of course, a distance learning courses of so as are just so as a students. So you are welcome to visit the campus anytime anytime you like and consult the physical library that we have here. Sometimes just to tell you I received the request from a distance learning students, if possible to come and hold it and on campus lecture, just if the chance to be here in London to have a spare time to visit sauce. And of course, I'm happy to arrange these on campus. And of course, so as this year, for instance, I teach modules on public and financial reporting. And if any PPM PFM student is interested to come and audit any lecture or class that they are welcome to come to come and see me just to drop any mail and we can arrange for this. Another question from Joel. I'm interested in the MSc finance and financial law because I'm from a legal background, because is it possible to provide access to either live or recorded the lectures in addition to the study package. I appreciate that it is a distance learning forum, but it will be helpful to have some form of lectures as well. Furthermore, in relation to the payment of the initial fees, the student loan is not to be paid until November 2017. Is there any help you can offer with regard to these? Well, with respect to the first question, I should say generally in the past that the policy from a setting was not really to provide teaching materials in a video format or recorded format. Although we populated over time, our programs with some podcasts that the students can listen to or download. The main reason for this in the past was because basically the digital divide and relatively low connections of many students abroad. I'd say probably these scenarios changing quite fast and in the future expect broadband connections to be available in most of the world. And so because of these expect in the future, we will provide more and more multimedia materials for our students. This will take time, however, unfortunately, so at present I would say you may not expect in the near future to receive streaming of lectures or recording of lectures in the finance and financial law in particular, but probably in any MSc program. But hopefully this will change in the future about the finance question. If you do not mind, I would prefer to put in touch with the finance department about these because these are more practicalities and to be more appropriate to negotiate with the finance department and the issue related to payment of fees and more capable to help you in any aspect. I think Megas instead, so please be free to send me an email about who did this question. Joy, if you do not mind, I will forward it to the finance department. Another question on average, how many hours a week a student should spend per course module as I mentioned briefly, briefly earlier that there wasn't like a rough calculation that distance learning students spend roughly 20 hours per week. It's starting in our models, but starting in practice is very different from one person to another one. Someone prefers to spend a couple of hours every evening. For instance, others may have time or may find it more productive just to focus one or two days during the weekend in a very intense way to catch up with all the readings and the materials and needless to say some students can be faster in reading than others. So I would say roughly just to take a couple of hours per day as an indication of your workload, but it does really depend on personal circumstances. Another question, I saw somewhere that each module takes 10 weeks to complete. Can you complete a module in less than 10 weeks if you want to? Well, at present actually the modules are eight weeks long plus actually an extra week which may be required for students to complete the second assignment which is submitted after the end of the module. In principle it says students can study faster and to read them to go through the materials in a shorter time than the eight week period. Nothing prevents students from doing these, of course. As a matter of course, in advance they may be more busy in the near future so they prefer to study. The requirement is that the students submit the first assignment after the fourth week of the first of the module and then the second assignment by the week after the end of the module. And then in a sense they're just invited if they like to follow the pace of the eight units but if they like nothing prevents them to progress faster if they wish so. Another question, I have a background of m.com in banking insurance management so can I be eligible to MSc Finance Banking? So I'm not too familiar. I should confess with the background of qualifications and financial institutions. So I would generally suggest that you can please contact the convener of the MSc Finance Banking if you wanted to share with him the features of your background. In this way you can possibly receive some assurance before submitting your application. Generally, I would expect that you have an educational or a work background in the industry or finance. You may be well positioned to be accepted for the MSc but please contact my colleague, the convener of the MSc Banking for a more precise answer. So another question, would you be able to advise what kind of roles graduates go on to after the MSc? Does the university have a strong network with a certain companies in regards to this course? The roles graduates played, it really depends on which kind of industry they are from, which kind of MSc program they take I would say. So I'm more familiar with the MSc Public Policy Management, Public Financial Management where most of the students, if not already worked, definitely they may be quite likely to continue their career like in central government, Treasury or Ministry of Finance departments or in consulting firms or some of them they also work in NGOs, Chamber of Commerce. Some of them, quite a number of them actually they work in international organizations like the IMF or the World Bank, a few of them they also work in sub-national governments. But applications that they already have some experience which position them in a career in the public sector or in public financial management in particular. To a limited extent I kept contact with a few of them, I can see that they are, they pursue their careers further in this, in their particular industry where they are from. Then other questions, other modules, managerial accounting and international human resource management available on the MSc Public Policy Management and not the on-campus course as the option of choosing electives, but you have not found them on the distance learning route. Well, most of the programs that we teach, we teach both in the distance learning and on-campus format, they do not completely overlap. In the MSc Public Policy Management program in particular at the present the distance learning format provides much more electives, many more electives than the on-campus program. The main reason is that the on-campus program was launched just a couple of years ago. It is having an exponential increase of student applications, but we did not activate all the modules that we have been offering to distance learning students yet. So you may find modules in the distance learning format of the MSc which are not available yet for on-campus students. So another question, is it possible to combine these programs with a full-time job? So in principle these programs are designed for students who either work and so they may study in a part-time mode, although I can tell you I know of many students who do work full-time. Nevertheless, they find the time extra time for studying. It is pretty much a personal arrangement, I believe, of finding time from a family or leisure time or arrangements within their work commitments to allow for the time for studying. But generally, yes, I have experience of students who work full-time and nevertheless they're able to manage to do the MSc program in distance learning. So I have again a question about the PhD in distance learning program. Unfortunately, I'm still discussing with the colleagues the details about it, so it can't be too precise about the residency requirements. If this could be at least one semester or two semesters, it may depend on the activities, the programs which are required the PhD students to take. But definitely the general, we need one after a period of presence and learning on campus, the rest of the PhD program could be conducted in distance learning mode. How near will you likely launch, as soon as possible, I hope. But this will have to go through committee's approval, so I am not in the position to anticipate when this could happen in 2018-19 or in the following year, basically. Do you have a compulsory online seminars? Another question. The answer is no. In principle, the feature of these MSc programs is that the students do not really need to log in to any online platform anytime, if not just because of submitting their two assignments per module. So originally these programs have been designed in a way that any student who may not have easy access to the internet or with a number of students who travel a lot. And so they may not have a convenience of access to the internet. So because of these, these programs were designed originally in terms of shipping a study pack and providing all the materials in a self-contained mode for students to study and just to log in for submitting their assignments. We still retain this feature, and so because of these students are not required to do any online activity like attending seminars. Of course, there are online resources, and so students may nevertheless access our online study platform. They can find a forum there. They can interact with the tutors. They can consult libraries of SOAS and of the University of London International Programs, but there is no compulsory online activity. Another question. How many students are you hoping to take on this year on the PPM course? Well, let me say roughly over the, over the, about 2,000 students of savings, the PPM course could be probably the most popular one with roughly 3,400 students. And we have roughly an intake of about 100 students per year. In the last few years, these figures have been relatively stable. This gives an idea of how many coursemates you have. When you take any module, of course, if you go online, you may realize from the activity in the forum that there are other students studying the same module at the same time. And roughly you may have in between 5 to 30 students roughly taking exactly the same module at the same time. Is there an exam at the end of each module? Well, the answer is yes. Any taught module is assessed through the two assignments. Each of them accounts 15% of the marks and through the final examination, which counts for 70% of the marks. Another question. I have achieved an ICFE certificate from the University of Cambridge International Certificate in Financial English. Does it help for the MSc Financial and Economic Policy Studies? The answer is unfortunately, I would invite Daniel to contact the convener of the particular MSc program. I'm not expert in any fields and specifically in the Financial and Economic Policy Studies. So I feel that my colleague could be more precise in providing an indication of the usefulness of the certificate for taking your course. Would it be possible to take one course in a local recognized university in a sort of exchange program? Unfortunately, the answer is no. At present the regulations of these programs, which are regulations of SOAS and the University of London, do not basically allow transfers of credits across different institutions and programs. So we do not accept the basically recognized program credits, sorry, which originate from modules or courses which have been taken outside those which are offered at the same things. Some information for me. So in London, is it permitted for me to attend a lecture alongside the campus students if I wish? I already told that the answer is generally yes. So it happened to me in the past to receive questions from a distance learning MSc Public Policy Management or Public Financial Management students. If it was possible to audit to attend one of the lectures of the MSc Public Policy Management that we do on campus. And of course we are welcome to do these. Just contact me, I will put in touch with a colleague if I do not teach that particular module and we will be happy to welcome you to the lecture that we do on campus. Are there any reasons why there are so few students aged at 20-24? Do you think it's because they are less likely to have extensive experience? Is experience essential to apply or do you consider all factors equally? Well, generally it is a feature of distance learning teaching, I would say it's a worldwide feature to be especially appealing for people who already work. And because of their lack of time, they may not attend in presence postgraduate programs. If not possibly attending evening programs, for example, which some universities do around the world. So because of this, this is why we observe this relatively high number of students who already work and typically this could be a feature of the people in their late 20s at least and 30s and 40s. So this could be one main reason for the demographics that we observe as a feature of our programs. We have also a few relatively young students who may embark in the distance learning mode of study. I should say many of them to my memory are individuals who may have already taken the undergraduate degree in the already familiar with the instance. Instead of probably someone who is relatively younger and only had experience of study in a campus mode, they may have some, let me be a bit hesitant before embarking in a distance learning mode of study. Another question, about the MSc Finance and Financial Law, to which extent are the law courses focused on the UK legal system? What is the applicability internationally? Well, I'd say generally in our MSc programs, they retain a strong international focus because we combine definitely an expertise and empirical evidence that we can draw from the UK institutional context. So, for instance, code of practices for the good corporate governance in the UK. But nevertheless, we also have an expertise in the core regions of SOAS, which is Africa, Middle East and Asia. And so we also typically provide examples or we provide the students the sense of how is it that certain institutions work in these other areas of the world. So we are pretty much flexible in providing the intellectual tools and the practical knowledge to know how things can be different across different countries. What could be international standards, which nevertheless could be applied across countries and also how it could be possible as professionals to support transfer across countries. And so how is it possible for certain institutions, for instance, which originate from a particular country to be applied to another country context. So this is the kind of a variety of tools that we provide. Another question, can we do the dissertation while completing other courses? The general answer is no, in the sense that the dissertation itself is, we realize that it's pretty much demanding. First in the sharpening the research design, then in the data collection, data analysis and the writing up stage. All of these stages require specific academic skills, and it is precisely the purpose of the PhD to improve the strength and to sharpen these skills. In general, we prefer students who take the dissertation model just to focus on the dissertation model. In that, exceptionally in the past, we may have allowed at the same time to complete a module, taught module together with the taking a dissertation. For instance, if the module could be relatively close to the topic of interest of the dissertation. Students have circumstances that generally we do not advise to take two modules at the same time. Okay, well, I can't see any other question here below, but please feel free to drop any other question if you have any more. Is the support provided in helping students choose modules? Well, the best support is the course convener. In each web page for each MSc program, you find an indication of who is the academic, who is the course convener, and their email. And really please feel free to contact myself or my colleagues, because we are happy to provide an indication either by email or Skype, etc. Once we get a sense of the background, the interest, the expected career trajectory of the student. We usually try and advise which modules could be more helpful for them or which one to take before, before others. So just to contact the course convener and we're happy to help. Okay, good. So here you can see another slide which basically provides summarized information, which I already told you. So there are these MSc programs. We are close to launch postgraduate diploma programs, which are shorter postgraduate programs, which are just four modules long. And we have almost completed the approval process and those will be launched in 2018 and 2019. Here you find some summary information about the dissertation, which has anticipated it's an original piece of research from the student. I didn't tell you it is 10,000 words long, typically. Generally in the MSc programs, the dissertation is taken after the research method module, because the research method module provides the students the tools for properly designing a research. And actually the second assessment paper, the second assignment of the research method is itself already the research proposal that the students would like to draft for undertaking the dissertation project. So the research method module and the dissertation module come in combination, if you like, like a bundle of two modules, because they together provide the basis, the foundations, and then actually the implementation of the dissertation module. In this slide you also find the pricing of these modules, which are 1,260 pounds per module. Let me also say that it is possible for prospective students who did not register to the MSc yet, also to take each of these modules individually first, up to three modules. So basically the idea is that before committing to taking the MSc program, which is eight modules long, if prospective students and applicants like, they can just apply to take one or two or three particular modules before eventually embarking to take the MSc. If they pass these modules individually, for each of them they receive a so-called individual professional award, like a certificate from the University of London. But still if they wanted to progress and to take the MSc program instead, they can just carry forward the one, two or three individual modules which they took in the past. So if you like, this is a way to try and test one or two modules before taking the commitment to take the MSc, if students prefer to have a bit more of flexibility, especially at the beginning. Another question, is it flexible when I can start my course? We have rolling applications, we have basically five entry points during the course of the year, just a couple of months before any beginning of the next study session. So roughly the next study session starts at the beginning of November and now at the beginning of September, the 11th of September, precisely, is the next coming deadline for receiving applications to start in the first available study session, which is the one in November. But we are pretty much flexible. So I mean the student can, for instance, submit an application now by the 11th of September. If the application is accepted, the student can choose to select any module to start with in the next available study session in November or in the following one, which can be roughly in January. So we are flexible to let the students register in advance in the study session they prefer. If for any changed circumstances, family work commitments, students change their mind, it is still possible to re-register, to shift the registration for one study session to another one. Okay. Would you give an email address for further inquiries? Yes, of course. You can find my email on the website, but I also try and type here my email and please feel free to follow up and send me any question that you have. Can you submit an application at any time? Well, yes, the website and the application form is always there in the open. If we receive applications by the 11th of September and these are positively processed, then students can start in the next immediately available session, which is the one in November. If we receive applications after the 11th of September, we will process it, nevertheless, very quickly, and if the student is accepted, then they can start, but not in September, in the next immediately available session, which is the one in January. How long does it take roughly to hear back from you? Usually the process of appraising the applications and getting back to you is relatively fast, could be roughly one week. And apart from the initial positive appraisal, there is also from your side the requirement to submit a copy of your study diplomas, which is supported as a credentials, your past background of studies. So there is this, your submitting of application, the appraisal, the requirement to submit evidence of your past studies and after this is validated, then you are invited to make the selection of the modules you wish to register. So the process I think takes can be between one or two weeks, roughly. Does the student with the special needs have a special examination arrangement at your university? You needed to contact the administration, yes, to arrange for the special examination needs, which may be fit for the particular conditions of the student. So my only advice is to let the safety administration know well in advance so that the local examination center can be well-equipped to cope with the request. Okay, so submitting references also a requirement. References is not really a requirement for the applications to these distance learning MSc programs. So we place attention to the background study of the student to the work experience of the student and to the personal statement. And then the personal statement is especially helpful. Please take your time to write it because it is very helpful to understand the profile of the student and to sense how taking the MSc program can be helpful for the progress of their career. Should I choose a research topic for dissertation from among the research interest of one of the students? Well, I would say not really the research topic is generally coinciding with the interests of the students. It should be relevant to the topic to any of the topic which are taught in the modules of the MSc, of course. But I would say the expertise that we have for supervising MSc dissertations, it is even broader than the range of expertise that you find in among those of the savings academics. The reason is because apart from savings academics, as I told you, we have also a wide range of tutors, about 80 of them. Many of them are professionals of other academics who are experts in other particular niche within any discipline. And so as we notice a particular topic of interest of a student, we try and match it with an academic or with a tutor depending on who has the more specific expertise to assist the student. I should say sometimes experiencing the past students are very, very specific focus of interest on, say, a specific topic in an empirical interest in a particular country. And sometimes it can be quite hard to find anyone at SOASO who can really match the particular combination of interests. But nevertheless, any of our supervisors will keep to orient the student in sharpening the research design, which is the most important part to formulate a proper research question, a proper method for data collection, and a proper method for analysis of data. Can I still get accepted onto a course before I get my final results? Well, the answer is yes. The application, you may write your expected results from a degree program that you are close to complete. We may provide a provisional acceptance and just wait for receiving confirmation of the final results. Where could we find some samples of dissertation? Is it recommended to go for a dissertation instead of regular modules? Well, at present we do not really have samples of dissertations, although probably if you have a look at the collection of research papers that we publish in savings, there is a web page on savings about these, you may get a sense of topics that could provide a sense of what kind of research papers and dissertations students may undertake. So these can provide just some ideas of how research topics or research questions could look like. About whether to recommend to go for dissertation or regular modules, I would prefer to have a look at the particular circumstances of the students, really. The dissertation is a relatively challenging piece of work. It takes a commitment of several months while students are not expected to take modules instead. So there could be some advantages out of the dissertations, like for instance sharpening a research and writing skills, or making use of this dissertation for other purposes. For instance, start having a piece of research work for expanding it and taking a PhD at a later stage. But other students may just prefer to progress faster and they're probably taking top modules is a way to progress faster to the completion of the MSC rather than taking the dissertation. So I just invited to contact your convener to discuss what could be the best advice about this. Okay, good. If you do not have any other questions, here you find another slide which summarizes the process of application. So it is submitted online. Here we state about 10 days to receive a conditional offer if any component is missing, like we wait to receive the final grades, or we will wait to see the proof of your past degree certificates. And here are all the requirements. So generally, we expect students to be good students to have a minimum first degree with the good grades, although I can tell you there can be some flexibility to extend to which that for instance, a robust work experience in a particular industry could provide some signal that the applicant may have nevertheless gained quite a strong understanding and knowledge in a particular topic. Despite the grades that they might have received a couple of decades before in their previous courses of study. Oh, here you have a request for a clarification possibility of starting or being accepted before the ending results. So just to clarify, it happens to me to receive some applications from applicants who are just close to complete their course of study. For instance, they are waiting to receive confirmation of their final grades or they have not received their undergraduate diploma yet. But nevertheless, they may roughly reasonably anticipate the outcome from the transcript of the modules and the grades which are on this transcript already. And so, you know, they are both the applicant and also the administrative staff that's safe and can work out the reasonable expectation of the final grades of the student. An offer, a conditional offer can be made on the basis of this estimate expected, expected outcome. And if this is roughly confirmed by the final grades, then the offer is just just confirmed. Another answer to Alfina, yes, safe and so as distance learning students are source students in all respects. And other questions, could the dissertation become part of the PhD? The PhD will be by itself an original piece of work, the PhD thesis. So as such, it should not be a way to recycle, in a sense, past work of the students in order to be part of the PhD thesis. Otherwise, we incur into issues of plagiarism. But nevertheless, having said that it can be often the case that a student may start working on a subject in the dissertation. So for instance, to do an extensive literature review in the dissertation to take a particular issue to collect the data and so on. And the PhD can be a natural extension of a bit of work which had been done already. And so there is no need to start from scratch in doing a literature review. Of course, this can be just expanded, updated, if you get a sense of what I mean. Then about the question, proof of English language, means TOEFL, IBTE, IELTS, yes, we accept these certificates, any of these certificates as proof of English language. Then the questions, sir, they already have an unconditional offer for the MSc Finance and Financial Law. Please, when will enrollment commence? But I believe it will start really very soon, if it has not started already. So the next study session is a tour roughly at the beginning of November, and it takes some time in advance for safe administration to know which modules students take, especially because of the time of preparing and shipping the study parks so that they are received safely in time before the beginning of the study session. So I believe the request to students to select which modules to take in the next sessions will be out very very soon. Okay. If you do not have any other question at the present, let me just complete the slides. Here is one with our own campus programs, just to let you know that what we teach in distance learning mode is pretty much congruent to what we teach also in campus students. We will work in the future also on some form of a blended learning and possibility to take either on campus or distance learning modules without any difference, but this is not available yet at the present because of some regulations to be perfected. But you're welcome in any case if you're chance to be London to contact me or any course convener, if you'd like to audit to attend any lecture or class to see what we do, what we do on campus. Just to tell you, we had some questions about career path and progress and perspectives of students. I would say it saw us generally in settings in particular as a long list of notable alumni and we keep quite a constant relationships with our network of alumni. We have an extensive one in many countries and we try and meet some of them regularly with the visits which are done by so as academics in person and events in order to talk with them to know about their career progression and then so on. In some events we also typically invite present source distance learning students to attend these events. And so this is also an opportunity to network between our source students and between our source students and source alumni. We had a couple of such nice events before the summer in the US, in Washington and New York and these are always nice ways to help students to socialize and to meet with each other. We had also some questions about career support and in this respect, apart from these occasions for networking, I just invited to contact you in the future, the source career support, which is offered to both on campus and distance learning students as a way to help students identify career opportunities for their future. Okay well this is what I had in mind to tell you with the support of the slides and thank you very much for everyone for all the questions that you did so far. Do you have any questions? Any further questions? Okay so I believe that this interaction webinar has been recorded so it will be made available online hopefully also with all the answers which are provided a long way to the questions. But if you have any additional questions, again please feel free to contact me for general questions or any specific program convener for any help that we can provide from our side. I look forward to welcome you all at the source at some time, if you're chance to be here please drop me an email. If you enroll and successfully complete your course of study in occasion to meet could be the one of your graduation in London and so I look forward to such events. Thank you everyone for attending for your patience for your for your attention. Best of luck to everyone.