We were really pleased to welcome our 19^th postgraduate student cohort to the ICMA Centre last Friday. Even the sun came out as if to celebrate the arrival of our new students who had arrived from 38 different countries.

This was the largest postgraduate student group to date, numbering 329 – a far cry from the 74 students who joined us in 1994. With eight MSc degrees now on offer, the MSc International Securities, Investment and Banking is still the most popular programme with one third of the students choosing to study this particular degree.

The students were welcomed to the Centre by Professor Adrian Bell, Head of the ICMA Centre, as well as by the Dean of Henley Business School, Professor John Board. This year there was a special presentation made to the students by Martin Scheck, Chief Executive of ICMA in Zurich in which he gave an overview of the standards of market practice, explained the supportive relationship between the two organisations and commented on the major market themes present in the finance industry following the financial crisis of 2008.

After receiving all their study materials for Part 1 of their programmes the students returned to the serious business of Freshers’ Week and preparing for their first lectures of a unique educational experience which hopefully will lead to their career goals.

We wish all our new students good luck in their studies over the next academic year and are confident that their experience at the ICMA Centre will be most memorable.