Current student – Till Kov
Which aspects of your chosen program were the most challenging?
ETE is a very theoretical and mathematical program. For me, the most challenging aspect was the level of mathematics which is required for some courses. But this is also due to the fact that I have a less strong background in mathematics than many other ETE-students because I did my undergrad studies in Sociology, Politics and Economics.
Which was your favourite course(s) and why?
In the first semester, my favourite course was Game Theory. The teaching style and the structure of the course were both really good. However, it had quite some overlap with content that we covered in the M1. In the second semester, my favourite course so far is the optional course in Environmental economics. The course mainly consists in reading and critically discussing current papers from the field, which helps me in developing own research ideas for the M2 thesis and for the PhD.
What do you plan to do next?
Over the summer, all ETE students will write their M2 thesis. After that, I will take some time to relax before I will start doing a PhD with a focus on environmental economics.
Alumni – Oscar Jara
What are you up to now?
I am currently following the DEEQA program, which is the first year of the PhD at the Toulouse School of Economics. In DEEQA, you must choose seven courses that are related to your field interests and write a paper at the end of it. During this year we can also attend seminars and workshops, where scholars from the most prestigious Universities of the world come to TSE to present their latest and most significant work. I have been in many of these and not only it is academically enriching, but also gives you a sense of the academic community that we are intended to join in the (near) future.
What skills acquired from TSE do you find useful in your work?
In DEEQA we have two main duties: attend and participate actively in lectures and write a paper at the end of it. For the lectures, since most of the workload is focused on discussing and giving critical opinions about papers, it is necessary to have a solid background in economics. In the core and elective courses of the M2 ETE, we were required to learn the main economic principles – which demanded many hours of dedication and effort. For the DEEQA paper, the M2 ETE is of great help because at the end of it we had to submit and defend a paper. After one year learning the different economic theories, one is supposed to come up with a research question and work on it. This is the first time when we are supposed to actually create a model regarding a question that we think is both interesting and relevant. The exercise of thinking the best way to express ideas into equations is really challenging and compels you to go deeper in the related literature. In DEEQA, we can continue working on the ETE’s thesis or find another more interesting – and relevant – research question.
The TSEconomist 