Two days before the deadline, Francesco Petracca registered from Lausanne. He had discovered the LUISS Double Degree program with Fudan University in Shanghai just after he enrolled in the Financial Engineering program at HEC Lausanne.
"Something told me to go to China, to make that decision. The fact that it was a program in International Management meant I wouldn’t be able to study the financial material that I was passionate about, but I knew it would be such an extraordinary experience."
After the Risk Management courses he took at LSE in London, here was another unique opportunity to discover a new culture, politically and economically. And that wasn’t all: in Shanghai, Francesco began his career, landing a job at Intesa San Paolo’s Corporate and Investment Banking division.
Even if at first it was really tough to be in such high level academic and work environments, it was worth it: "I soon realized that my difficulties were the same ones that my older colleagues had faced years earlier; that’s when I knew I could succeed if I applied myself.”
After getting his master’s degree in Management, the experience he gained in the field made him accept an internship at the Milan offices of Citi, without hesitation. "At the end of my internship they asked me to take part in the selection process for a full-time position in London. I did so with a lot of grit and determination, knowing I was fighting for the job I’d always dreamed of."
Francesco still works in London as an investment banking analyst for Citi and says that students who are not sure whether to enroll in this program, which is as challenging as it is rewarding, should not hesitate: "it will make you a more open and interesting person to work with, and will give you the ability to think creatively and to approach things with intellectual curiosity."
Other stories from LUISS-Fudan graduates
- A LUISS success story: Guido Vero's experience in Shanghai
- A LUISS success story: Aldo Santalco talks about Shanghai
- A LUISS success story: Luca Bunkheila's year in Shanghai
- A LUISS success story: Ida Tavoletti's Shanghai
- A LUISS success story: Carlo Salandi's account of Shanghai
Double Degree at Fudan
- Admission
Register by May 20, 2014 at 12:00 p.m.