Gaurav Bhattarai

Tell us about your degree - why did you choose it? 

I'd already spent a few years across banking, corporate finance, and even e-commerce before starting the MSc, and I kept running into the same gap. I could handle the practical side of finance but wanted a broad exposure to properly back it up. The MSc Economics and Finance MSc at Leeds struck the right balance of economics and applied, markets-focused finance, and Leeds University Business School's reputation made the choice an easy one to make. 

What did you enjoy the most about your course? 

What I valued the most was how applied the course felt. Having access to terminals, seminar materials, and the course structure that focused on applicability made it feel like more than just an add-on, and I still use bits of it now. The professors were genuinely approachable, and the cohort was widely international, so even the toughest modules got more interesting once you'd heard several different takes on the same problem. 

What did you enjoy most about your life as a student at the University of Leeds? 

I got involved with the Economics Society, a couple of other groups and I juggled some part-time work alongside my studies too, but what shaped my time at Leeds most was becoming a Student Ambassador for the Business School for about a year. It pushed me to get comfortable talking to strangers, running sessions, and representing the School. 

How did you find adjusting to living and studying in the UK? 

The move itself wasn't too hard, mostly because I had good friends around me early on, so I never really felt homesick. On the rare days I properly missed Nepali food, I'd make the trip to York, which has a couple of excellent Nepali restaurants. 

The careers service was probably the resource I leaned on most. I went in regularly for CV and interview advice, and it made a real difference once I started applying for jobs. 

My advice would be to say yes to things early on, even if they feel a bit awkward at first. The sooner you get involved, the easier it is to meet people, settle in and stop homesickness from taking over. 

What professional skills and experience did you gain? 

The course gave me the technical grounding: economics, quantitative methods, and financial theory, but just as valuable was everything that happened around it. Being a Student Ambassador forced me to get better at talking to people I didn't know, which is exactly the kind of skill I lean on now when presenting analysis to seniors. Leeds didn't just teach me finance; it made stepping into a professional, client-facing environment feel a lot less daunting. 

How did your time at Leeds prepare you for the future? 

After graduating, I stayed on as a Student Ambassador for a little longer before moving into a Treasury Credit Risk Analyst role at Leeds Building Society, which felt like a natural next step from the MSc, quantitative, risk-focused work that draws directly on what I studied. 

How has your career progressed since leaving the Business School? 

A year or so in, the real highlight has been building ownership over pieces of analysis that inform decisions, rather than just running numbers in the background. 

What are your ambitions for the future? 

I want to keep building depth in economics, risk and investment work, and longer term take on more project leadership and get properly comfortable presenting to senior stakeholders, it's a muscle I'm actively working on rather than something that's ever come naturally. 

Given my background between Nepal and the UK and having worked for a multinational company along the way, I'd love for my career to stay international in some way, whether through the work itself or the people I end up working alongside. 

What was your biggest highlight of studying at Leeds? 

It's hard to pick just one, but the Study Tour to Frankfurt stands out, the kind of trip that turns course mates into genuine friends, and I still look back on it fondly. More than any single event though, it was the people. The friendships I made in Leeds became like a second family, and they were just as important to my experience as anything I learned in a lecture hall. 

Would you recommend Leeds University Business School? 

Without hesitation. If you're weighing it up, get involved early, a society, part-time work, a hobby, or anything because what happens outside the classroom ends up shaping your time here just as much as the degree does. 

Use the support that's there, whether that's the careers team or just the friends you make in your first few weeks. And make time to enjoy Leeds the city, not just the campus; go to the parties, but live there properly, too.