“Go abroad, especially if it alters your plan.” 

Howard, my RMBI mentor, said this at a mentorship dinner. Six months later, I was on exchange at EPFL in Switzerland, writing a research paper on a topic in optimisation, a field I had never planned to study.


RMBI gave me that room to explore.

When choosing a major, I enjoyed mathematics, programming and finance but couldn't decide between them. RMBI let me explore all three before committing. 

Combining them, I led a team at Hong Kong Techathon+ 2024 that built an AI tool to fact-check financial news, and we won a Bronze Award. My capstone project with a quantitative trading firm went further. Building statistical models in Python on real market data drew me to data analysis in finance.

Just as important were the people. The RMBI office shared career events and competitions, mentorship dinners connected me with RMBIers from every year, and classmates had my back through coursework and job applications. When I considered a second major in Computer Science and later changed direction, Annka and Katy from the RMBI office helped me revise my study plan.

Most importantly, RMBI taught me that an alternative can become a direction, opening doors for my internships. At the HKMA, I saw risk oversight from the regulator's side. And at Citi, analysing money flows showed me how payments and cash management keep businesses running. That is why I am now pursuing a career in transaction banking, a path I had not imagined in first year.

Looking back, I would suggest looking beyond job titles and asking which subjects you genuinely enjoy. Read the course list, talk to current RMBIers, and give yourself permission to change direction. RMBI gives you room to choose, space to change your mind, and someone to turn to.