After a bachelors degree in economics in his native Serbia, Strahinja Trenkic worked as a derivatives broker, helping investors to trade financial instruments that are used to hedge against exposure to different risks.But Trenkic soon realised that to pursue a successful career in financial markets he needed to acquire digital knowledge and skills. He was also selling forex bots — automated trading systems that follow market signals to determine the best prices at which traders should buy or sell a currency pair — yet did not fully understand their complex mathematical algorithms.
“What interested me was what was under the hood and how AI makes investment decisions,” he says. “For this, coding skills are needed and a better understanding of algorithms.” He decided to enrol in 2020 on the master in applied data science at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, which teaches these capabilities.
Such programmes are becoming increasingly popular. Rising employer demand for digital skills has led to a significant increase in the number of students choosing a technology-related business masters degree. The 2022 Tomorrow’s Masters study by CarringtonCrisp, an education consultancy, and EFMD Global, which accredits business schools, asked 1,668 prospective students from 26 countries what they wanted to study. Four of the top seven business masters subjects are technology-related, including artificial intelligence, ecommerce and business analytics.