Sema Dube, Assoc. Prof. of Finance
International Finance Department Head
Email: sdube@yeditepe.edu.tr
Phone: 216 578 0000 x3776
Office: SEAS-542
It is an exciting time to be in International Finance. Before we discuss the highlights of the Yeditepe International Finance program, we should clarify what we mean by Finance. Finance is at the heart of every business activity. It is also the impetus behind widespread technological development that is interconnecting markets worldwide, changing the business world, and changing Finance along with it. There are new business models, new financial products and services to support them, new ways to deliver them, and new financial models to understand and direct all of these. And yet as technology and Finance continue to develop and evolve in novel ways, the core principles remain the same. It is easy to forget the basics in the midst of the new developments, but then we end up in crises. Examples would include the dot-com bubble around 2000 when we thought companies no longer needed cash flows or profitability; the 2008 global crisis where we thought house prices will always go up; the recent geopolitical tensions and the pandemic, external factors which have affected the economy severely enough that temporary solutions proposed now include negative or zero interest rate policies, and even a modern monetary theory with potentially unlimited money.
So what is finance? The simple view is that finance is about making money. And everyone wants more money. A little thought will show that it is about making money by creating value. If money were unlimited, we would all be rich and also poor because no one would need to create anything useful to earn money.
We can make money by creating some product or service and selling it. We could establish a company for this. Of course we would need money to operate the company, and money is limited and costly. How much money the company needs, where to obtain it, and how to allocate it to different activities such as marketing to promote our product, research to improve it, and new manufacturing facilities to produce it more efficiently, all these decisions come under Corporate Finance.
On the other hand if you already have some money, you could invest it in companies and then get a return on your investment. How much money to invest in which companies or assets, and whether to lend it or to obtain equity, such questions are under Investments and Portfolio Management.
The two sides meet in financial markets where buyers and sellers of funding come together in a competitive environment and determine the optimal distribution given supply and demand for financial resources, helping reduce the costs of funds for companies while reducing the risk for investors. As conditions change and new information is revealed to the markets, so does the optimal balance point. Billions of dollars change hands every day as investors buy and sell in response to such news and market movements 24/7, in global markets.
So it is exciting to be a part of finance when technology has created new industries, new business models, and innovative financial products that help us reduce risk and increase our returns while being able to access global markets. Today the competition for obtaining, or providing funds is on a global scale. We should be able to research and add African corporate bonds, and options for companies listed in New York, to our portfolio as easily as buying a stock on the Istanbul stock exchange. We can borrow in dollars at lower rates, but then as companies learnt recently if our earnings are in TL we can get in trouble if the exchange rate fluctuates. A trade dispute between the US and China can both disrupt our markets, and provide new opportunities for our companies. In today's world it is impossible to fully understand technological, economic, and geopolitical trends and developments, be they local or global, without an appreciation of the financial motivations of actors in global markets.
Turkish financial managers are used to dealing with rapid changes, and many international companies have found this expertise useful when faced with fast-changing conditions and crises in the recent past. Our program is designed to equip you to fulfill the needs of a variety of local and global financial institutions in areas such as banking, insurance, auditing, investments and civil-service; as well as for corporate management in all sectors.
Finance may evoke many images but in the end it is about people, our society, and what we make of the world we live in. We also hope you will use what you learn and experience here to be an active part of change on the global stage, to help us create a better system where we not only generate more wealth but do so in a way that preserves our planet and perhaps distributes the benefits more equitably.
- Required courses that focus on core principles
- Departmental electives for
- Deeper understanding in your specific areas of interest in Finance
- New areas of interest as they emerge
- Free electives that allow you to learn about broader areas relevant to your interest
- Our Home Faculty has a wide array of courses, from technology to tourism
- Yeditepe University faculties offer a range of courses from foreign languages to movies
- Education that includes, besides Finance, interdisciplinary elements such as economics, global markets, international management, ethical decision making, technology, research, forecasting, modelling, planning, project valuation, accounting and marketing
- Possibility of selecting a second major or a minor field of study
- International interactions via Erasmus, Exchange and other programs of Yeditepe University International Office
- International interactions via collaboration with CFA Institute to ensure our program quality: CFA University Affiliation Program
- International interactions via our double diploma program with KING's University College at the Western Ontario University, Canada (BA, Economics and Finance)
- International interactions via our double diploma program with State University of New York at New Paltz, USA (BS, Finance)
- Our regularly updated curriculum incorporating the global needs and trends of the industry as well as education based on the inputs of our Advisory Board, which includes experienced professionals and graduates representing various sectors and associations
- Academic staff that is actively connected with contemporary research and the industry through the graduate programs of the department of International Finance: Master's (With Thesis or Project) programs and Ph.D. / Integrated Ph.D. programs in Financial Economics
- Classroom access to same software programs and platforms used by sector professionals, and access to latest in technology-based real-life data and applications in the finance lab
- including training from firms that provide the platforms or institutions that use them
- Opportunities for teamwork, research and work experience as well as interaction with various industry professionals through student club activities, certified trainings, volunteer internship opportunities, graduation project with research forum-poster presentations and compulsory internship courses
- English as the medium of instruction to allow you to communicate globally and obtain wider job and education opportunities before and after graduation
Yeditepe University is a participant in the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program for The Bachelors Program in International Finance. The Chartered Financial Analyst® designation has become the most respected and recognized investment credential in the world. Entry into the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program signals potential students, employers, and the marketplace that Yeditepe University International Finance curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well-suited to preparing students to sit for the CFA examinations. Through participation in this program, the International Finance Program at Yeditepe University is eligible to receive a limited number of student scholarships for the CFA Program each year. All Yeditepe Students are eligible to apply for these scholarships. You may click here to access the Application Guide for the CFA Exam Student Scholarships. Please contact the International Finance Department Chair for more details.
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► Click here to see the Program Information Package
