The structure of the course is what intrigued me the most. I strongly believe, that the intensive nature of the course, and the fact that it does not only focus on one, but several modules of finance can lead to a multifaceted approach to financial cases and a more advanced, practical and consistent learning. Additionally, I was impressed by the fact that the program is taught by professionals that can provide an in-class exposure to real-life financial situations rather than plain theoretical perspective. I was looking forward to understanding the applicability of financial education upon real life scenarios.Furthermore, the institution’s high credibility, excellent alumni reviews and faculty of superb quality, not only place the qualification provided by the academy at a position that is attractive and recognizable by employers, but also make it a sound investment in return of a valuable training. Moreover, as an individual that holds a high interest in traveling and possess an international background, I consider the multicultural environment that exists within the Swiss Finance Academy as an advantage to every attendee due to the valuable international networking and contact exchange available, the benefit of earning knowledge from other cultures, and generally the chance to gain a great social experience and cultural insight alongside the provided academic training.After the Swiss Finance experience, I can assure you that my thoughts about finance and investment banking took a more realistic turn. In the first place, following an intense training on finance, both in theory and practice, I familiarized with several real life cases and methods in regard to which I understood how my financial knowledge was relevant and applicable. My thoughts were shaped around the fact that markets are imperfect and unexpected situations will affect and fluctuate planned routes and financial strategies on a constant basis. Therefore as the accuracy of many valuation methods and financial theories can be brought to question; flexibility, questionability, and detail in alternative strategies are in my opinion something essential. Furthermore Swiss Finance helped me see beyond the “ideal image” I used to hold about a life in investment banking. Having placed hours and work in place that are similar to the ones of an investment-banking analyst, I lived an experience that allowed me to sufficiently witness the level of physical and psychological pressure, focus, and skills required by such a profession. To add accredited professionals that were teaching or visiting at the Swiss Finance presented another face of investment banking, which exhibited the roles and responsibilities of the profession and of the investment banking corporations in various fields and events that I did not anticipate before. As a result my thoughts matured, forming a personal opinion and stimulating a personal interest beyond the mainstream perception that is held about investment banking.
The best part of Swiss Finance was undoubtedly the learning experience. The fact that we did not for a minute felt as idle students, but on the contrary we were treated and acted as “on-the-scenario” players, was priceless. Every day was a new mission. There were new challenges, new experiences, and an extremely steep level of the learning curve. We were usually allocated in teams, and had to prepare a financial model, a proposal, a negotiation and so forth. Although we worked until the morning hours and on a daily basis, our tasks were so interesting that one would often witness discussions continuing outside the classroom, extra independent research taking place, and a constant exchange of ideas that overwhelmed the atmosphere; as each of us represented a different professional, ethnical and cultural background and therefore contributed a unique piece of knowledge or perspective when dealing with an inquiry. Generally there was a climate of healthy educational competition among ambitious minds, and a truly inspiring thirst for knowledge.
It isn't often that you get a chance to participate in a program that has such an impact on your career opportunities, while at the same time offering an amazing worldwide network of friends. Some people might get the impression that SFA is all work and no play, but that really isn't the case. It is important to understand that the people who come to this program really want to learn all that they can about the finance and business industries; they want to take advantage of every opportunity that the program has to offer. For this reason, people do work really hard. At the same time, SFA faculty and staff make sure that we are able to take advantage of the recreational and cultural activities that the program location has to offer. For my class, this included trips to France and Italy, hiking in the Swiss Alps and BBQs set against the backdrop of the beautiful mountains. SFA stresses the value of not only the important lessons that we are learning inside the classroom, but also the value of the network that we are developing with our classmates and other SFA alumni. The SFA program was an amazing opportunity for growth on several levels - personally, educationally and professionally. 
I would like to thank you for the great Investment Banking experience in Switzerland. The experience really enhanced my knowledge and skills i.e. modeling in excel, and the discussions about the markets.
and capital markets fundamentals but, equally important, prompted us to think about what we really want to do in our lives. The program was a career guide as much as it was motivation to pursue our goals with absolute persistence. Besides that we met people with so many different backgrounds and characters that it broadened everyone’s horizon. I now look at many thinks from a much broader perspective, which will sooner or later pay off and increase the quality of my life remarkably. Your program leads to personal, financial, mental and spiritual growth of the people who actively attend. That makes it a life-time experience. 
