Learning about the economy: effort and satisfaction are key

Fiscal policy, gross domestic product and monopoly: these terms are used in daily economic news, but they don't always mean much to financial novices. "Economic Thinking" is designed for them. It is one of the 8 courses labeled Human and Social Sciences (SHS) offered by the College of Management of Technology (CDM). These courses are open to all EPFL Bachelor students registered in other faculties. It is an opportunity to discover the basics of economics and finance for one semester, to immerse oneself in a new subject and why not, to forge links with one's main discipline.

We're not going to make them experts, but we're opening their minds to the world of finance. It's also a form of civic education.

Set up in 2020, the "Economic Thinking" and "Foundations in Financial Economics" courses have been a great success. With 80 available places each, the courses were full as soon as registration opened. "I had to get up early on registration day to make sure I was on time," recalls Thomas Schlesser, a second-year computer science student who has just completed "Economic Thinking". It must be said that these courses, which are called SHS-MGT, already have a solid reputation, and word of mouth is promoting them within the student community. All the young people interviewed recognize that these courses are more demanding than many other SHS courses and require a lot of work. Yassine Kachrad, Thomas Schlesser's colleague and a student in communication systems, adds: "You really have to choose your SHS course according to your interests, otherwise it quickly becomes a compulsory chore.”

A breeding ground for young talent

The teachers confirm the high level of student enrollment. Patrick Gaulé, co-teacher for "Economic Thinking", is delighted. According to him, the most important thing is to "give the keys to reading the modern world. Take, for example, climate change. It can be analyzed from both a technical and an economic perspective. We offer a different way of thinking.” From this pool of young talent, both Patrick Gaulé and Professor Julien Hugonnier, who is the co-founder of the "Foundations in Financial Economics" course, also hope to recruit new candidates for the CDM's Master's program. "We're not going to turn them into experts, but we're opening their minds to the world of finance. It's also a form of civic education. We talk about current events, and young people want to hear about them. Personally, I think it's great to teach at the Bachelor's level and interact with younger students," observes Julien Hugonnier.

The message got through to Bachelor student Yassine Kachrad. The SHS-MGT course reinforced his desire to enroll in a Master's degree in financial engineering. "It gave me the basics to go further, because I've always been interested in this field." Thomas Schlesser, meanwhile, never had the opportunity to study economics before this course. "Learning what's going on at the micro and macro level is very complementary. After the general introduction at the beginning, the pace and level pick up. It's best not to miss a class!"

Building bridges between different disciplines is one of the strengths of the Foundations in Financial Economics course in the eyes of Tom Nahon, an environmental science major. "It requires quite a bit of applied math, and it's interesting to do more basic science related to concrete examples from finance." He also sees it as complementary to his environmental studies. "When you think about the viability of a hydraulic structure, for example, you can analyze it from both a structural and economic perspective. I loved this course, because it gives you a perspective on what we usually do in our respective sections."