WHAT DOES BUSINESS MATHEMATICS AND INFORMATICS ENTAIL?

Business Mathematics and Informatics (BMI) is a multi-disciplinary study that is focussed on the integration of Business Economics, Mathematical and Informatics principles with the aim of solving management and operational problems in the industry with a quantitative thrust.

Within this broad focus, the Centre concentrates on financial risk management expertise to address problems in the financial industry. The sectors that are specifically targeted are:

• Financial services,
• Investment services,
• Insurance industry,
• Other companies, such as Eskom and the mining houses, that are exposed to financial risks as part of their normal daily operations.

The Actuarial training programme is closely related to the BMI training programme, and share a common first year. The Actuarial programme has specifically been designed to conform to the requirements of the Institute/Faculty of Actuaries, and is structured such that maximum exemption can be obtained from the Institute's new CT-course series.

What are the B, M and I components of the programme?

The primary disciplines contributing to the study programme are:

• Business Studies (Economics / Business Economics / Money and Banking / Accounting),
• Mathematics (Mathematics / Statistics / Operational Research), and
• Informatics (Artificial Intelligence / Data Mining).

Apart from the fundamental subjects in the pure disciplines, the study programme also contains a number of inter-disciplinary subjects, together with industrial case studies and formal work in a practical environment.

How was this study field established?

The establishment of the study field can mainly be ascribed to the swift development of information technology, coupled with the increasingly mixed organisational and economic questions with which organisations are confronted. This results in a more urgent need for experts who have both a sound subject knowledge, as well as a thorough integrated view of the relevant subject fields. The traditional training that concentrated on specialised expert training with very little attention to the integration of the different disciplines is just not sufficient to address these problems effectively.

What career opportunities does this programme offer to the student?

After completion of the study, students will be thoroughly prepared for a variety of careers in the financial, commercial or industrial sectors where the emphasis is on the modelling, analysis and management of risk-related problems.

If one should specialise in the B leg of the BMI programme (called Quantitative Risk Management), typical jobs in the banking sector would be the following:

• Market- or Credit Risk Analyst/Manager
• Financial Engineer
• Commercial Banker
• Corporate Banker
• Treasurer or Treasury Analyst
• Investment Analyst

If one should specialise in the M leg of the BMI programme (called Financial Mathematics), typical jobs in the banking sector would be the following:

• Financial Engineer
• Financial Product Developer
• Structured Financing Specialist
• Financial Mathematician

If one should specialise in the I leg of the BMI programme (called Data Mining), a typical job in the banking sector would be the following:

• Data Geologist
• Financial Statistician
• Quantitative Strategist
• Credit Risk Analyst/Manager

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