Dongli Lu, A Pre-admitted student In FISF FMBA FT+: From Audit To Financial Investment, A Self-upgrade Journey of an “Oxford Talent”

发布时间：2021-05-19     

Having graduated with a master’s degree in mathematical statistics from Oxford University, worked in Deloitte UK for 3 years, and qualified for ACA Accountant and Auditor, he chose to return to China and continue his career development at home. Faced with new challenges in the field of financial advisory, he underwent a self-upgrade by earning his MBA. He is Dongli Lu, a pre-admitted student in FISF FMBA FT+ in 2021.

Dongli Lu

Undergraduate: Oxford University

Major: mathematics and statistics

An FMBA FT+ 2021 pre-admitted student

An “Oxford Talent”: starting as a professional while not ending as just a professional

Upon graduation from high school with straight As at A-level, yearning for the “gentlemanly characteristics” and the renowned Oxford University, Dongli went to Oxford University for undergraduate study in Mathematics, and continued onto a Master’s degree in Statistics. He said, “Statistics is a widely applied discipline. I’ve thought about a career in the financial industry since my childhood and studying both math and statistics could benefit me by laying a solid foundation for my dreams.”

As a “study master”, Lu has many hobbies such as swimming, tennis, ping pong, golf and piano. In his undergraduate years, he held positions in the sports department of Oxford University Chinese Society and Oxford Chinese Students and Scholars Association. He also participated in the First Elite of UK University Business Negotiation Summit on behalf of Oxford University Chinese Society and won the second place.

“The competition consisted of representative teams of at least 5 to 6 members from well-known universities in UK, including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Durham. In the competition, I took advantage of my major, combining mathematical calculations with the needs and attitudes of my competitors to provide valuable contributions to my team. From this experience, I learned that it is necessary to both put our major to use on one hand and break through the simple set of professional thinking on the other when dealing with financial, commercial and other human-related problems.”

“What impressed me most in my undergraduate years was the half month of volunteer work in Wenshan, Yunnan in my 2nd year. Our original intention was to bring knowledge and materials from the “outside world” to needy local children. Before the journey I imagined their life to be hard but boring.”

“After we arrived at the destination, for the first time in my life I got to know hard-board shelf beds, life without bath water and ‘primitive’ toilets. In my half month there, we brought courses of music, English, economics and history from the “outside world” as intended, but I also found their spiritual world joyful and peaceful despite the resource scarcity, which was a strong contrast to the financial world that I’m familiar with, coming as a great shock to my original sense of worth.” The truth is that the spiritual status is not simply determined by the number of resources. This inspired me to reflect on my ultimate goal and original aspiration when I decided to engage in the financial industry: apart from profits, what else behind data and statements is equally worth pursuing and holding?

The financial map in mind

Before graduation, Dongli Lu had already worked as an intern in several famous financial companies in New York, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Faced with great challenges to find a job even for native British students, Lu successfully obtained the offers of Deloitte UK and another consulting company.

Lu has a personal map in his mind. “Finance is a game the entire world is ‘playing’. Having worked in different financial centers and experienced various work roles, I have grown more intuitive in my knowledge of financial globalization while becoming more aware of what I can do in the future and how to take every step.”

“There are two reasons why I chose Deloitte as my first job. Firstly, it is a globally prestigious brand in the field of financial consulting. My first job, just like the brand of my university, will be a credit to my CV forever. Secondly, I wish to engage in investment-related work in the future. Auditing is about analysis of the potential risks of a company through financial data. Though it’s not about direct financial investment, it does correspond to my professional background and could lay a foundation for my future engagement in investment.” Lu’s analysis displayed a logic as rigid as math.

Dongli Lu has worked in Deloitte UK for 3 years, during which time he acquired the certificate of ACA, which meant that he could have continued his career in the UK. However, at that juncture he made an important decision: going back to China. “China’s finance embraces countless opportunities. To seize chances in China is just to seize the future. I hope I can make it.”

In 2019, Lu returned to Shanghai and entered Deloitte Consulting to provide financial due diligence services for enterprise customers in various industries. But with more and more involvement in investment, it is increasingly urgent for him to learn finance systematically.

The best time to self-upgrade is now

One year after his returning, Dongli Lu chose FISF FMBA FT+ (a full-time financial MBA program) as his “upgrade accelerator”. He said, “I thought about studying my MBA upon graduation with the master’s degree, but I didn’t have much work experience back then. Recently after I returned to China, I realized that although I have certain experience in auditing and financial advisory, a systematic internationalized knowledge system is a must if I want to go further and maintain a stable role in the field of financial investment, and choosing a full-time program can ensure in-depth learning and access to all kinds of high-quality resources. I hadn’t worked for long, and now the timing is perfect.”

To choose the most suitable program, Lu compared the MBA programs of a number of well-known business schools at home and abroad. When it comes to the reason that he finally chose FISF FMBA FT+ (a full-time financial MBA program), he provided analysis in his unique logic tone, “First is the brand of the university. Just as choosing Oxford for its enormous influence on British academic and financial circles, Fudan is a leading influencer in China.”

“The second is its reputation of internationalization. FISF FMBA FT+ (full-time) is one of the few domestic MBA programs taught in full English. The teaching professors are from world-class business schools, and many of them are even tenured professors in globally famous business schools. Also, the program regularly invites overseas scholars and industry gurus to share. When making comparisons, I found that our program basically synchronizes with top business schools worldwide in curriculum, teaching forms and learning contents. Second year students have the chance to study in an exchange program with Columbia Business School. All these factors met my expectations for financial globalized perspectives.”

“I believe my self-upgrade can happen here!”