alumni
Eye on Alumni: Luca Tomassetti '18
Luca Tomassetti '18 (Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets) is a Junior Economist at the Bank of Italy. He considers that the Master's Degree teaches all the macroeconometric tools needed for research at international institutions.
If someone would ask you now how do you remember your experience at the BSE, what would you say?
The Master's Program in Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets was an extremely challenging and demanding experience in terms of studying and workload. It definitely enriched me and I would recommend it to other prospective students because it teaches the necessary tools to work in a macroeconomic field, which I have still been using on a daily basis.
In addition to that, this experience was very fulfilling on a personal level thanks to the international profile of my cohort. We were around 20 students from 13 countries, which contributed to the creation of a stimulating and exciting environment. I am still in touch on a regular basis with some of them who have become close friends of mine.
Many alumni agree that the Master’s Degrees at the BSE are very intense in all aspects. Do you agree with them?
I totally agree with them. It is very intense, not only during exams’ period but constant commitment and classwork are also required throughout the whole academic year. Several problem sets were assigned to us weekly to be solved in groups. Hence, we spent a countless amount of time studying in the library at the Bellaterra Campus, where all the courses took place. In the end, I would say that the learning process always requires some sacrifices but from my perspective, it was surely worth it.
Could you tell us more about the social life with your classmates you mentioned earlier?
The school organized a lot of activities such as a ski trip to Andorra or the futsal tournament between the different master’s classes. There were many initiatives, especially at the beginning when the workload was lower compared to the next months. I also remember that there was an event where everybody ate paella and we had the opportunity to meet other colleagues. After the Christmas holidays, there was also another event in a bar near the beach.
I miss the city because it is a wonderful sunny city and I appreciate that people from Barcelona really love and respect it. It is clean, efficient and there are also good opportunities to work there.
Before the Master’s, you were working as a Business Analyst in a major consulting firm in Italy. Why did you make the decision to leave your job and study the Master’s of the BSE?
Mainly because I wanted to shift my career path. I realised that my true aspiration was to work for International Economics Institutions. Therefore, I had to advance my knowledge in economics, in particular in the macroeconomics field. Indeed the previous master I obtained from the University of Bologna (Italy) was more focused on microeconomics and less on the macroeconometrics part, thus I wanted to improve in this field. This is the main reason why I decided to apply for the Master’s at the BSE.
Moreover, I wanted to spend some years working abroad and I thought that the best way to achieve this goal was to do an international master’s that is very recognized worldwide, like the one at the BSE. Then, my idea was to try to apply for European institutions as I did.
After completing the Master’s in Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets, you worked for two years at the European Central Bank (ECB) as a Market Operations Analyst, which was one of your objectives before studying in the program. Do you think the Master’s equipped you well for this job position?
Definitely yes. I graduated in July 2018, and straight after I started an internship at the ECB, which was my first choice back then. I spent 2 years there in the Market Operations Department, working on the implementation of monetary policy, where I enhanced my technical knowledge and grew up as a professional.
All the techniques that I learned during the Master’s at the BSE were highly valuable for this experience. There are many students from the Macroeconomics Program there because it is a Master’s targeted for working in Central Banks. I enjoyed meeting again many people I got to know at the BSE.
The fact that the European Central Bank keeps hiring students from the BSE is also a signal that the master’s provides the students with the tools needed for working in a high profile international institution like the ECB.
Now you are working at the Bank of Italy. Can you explain which are your tasks there?
I slightly changed my tasks compared to what I used to do at the European Central Bank. My division at the ECB was responsible for implementing monetary policy, and I was on the data management team working with data. Now, at the Bank of Italy, I am working on the banking supervision side and my tasks are, basically, related to banking supervision.
More specifically, the Bank of Italy has recently created a new department in consumer protection and financial education. The new department aims at promoting fair and transparent relations between intermediaries and customers. In addition to that, It plans, coordinates, and implements, also with the involvement of the branches, financial education initiatives for students and adults with the ultimate goal to increase financial literacy in the country.
> Connect with Luca Tomassetti on LinkedIn
> Learn more about the Master's Program in Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets