Till Amend
Summer Student Story
Our team's diverse perspectives, covering topics from market dynamics and investment banking to strategic consulting and math, helped us generate creative solutions and, importantly, opened my eyes beyond my own experience.
International experiences have always shaped my life - I was born in the UK, grew up in Germany and the UK, and I’m currently studying banking and finance in Switzerland. My enthusiasm for international markets and dynamic decision-making was stoked by my internship at a trading firm in Singapore, which led me to pursue additional financial skill development. That's exactly what HEC Paris' Private Equity & LBO program offered.
Participating in this HEC Paris program gave me the opportunity to develop a deep, structured understanding of private equity valuation and the industry landscape. Building on my experience of analyzing commodities market data, I learned to construct comprehensive LBO models in Excel with multi-layered debt structuring and cash sweeps, elevating my analytical and structuring abilities to a new level. The classroom fostered direct interaction between students and the professor, from tackling intricate financial modeling questions to exploring broader finance topics. Industry speakers grounded our coursework in current market realities. Everyone demonstrated enthusiasm to learn, and I felt high motivation and genuine collaboration in our classroom.
Equally valuable was the ability to work alongside peers from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds. Our team's diverse perspectives, covering topics from market dynamics and investment banking to strategic consulting and math, helped us generate creative solutions and, importantly, opened my eyes beyond my own experience. Outside the classroom, with most of the students living on campus, there were ample opportunities for meaningful interaction or shared cultural experience.
Beyond academics, the friendships forged during this program have created a truly global network with peers from Japan to the United States. The program enhanced my technical skills in private equity and increased my understanding of global markets, which will help for upcoming internships and a career in international finance. I would highly recommend the HEC Paris Summer Programs to anyone looking for a transformative, globally connected, and professionally relevant learning experience in finance.