Nigerian Mathematics Finance Statistics and Economics Research Consortium (NIMFSERC)
This programme covers research collaborations and consulting among experts in selected mathematical, business and social sciences, for example mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics, finance, economics, marketing, sociology and psychology. Using Nigeria as a case study, it interfaces these disciplines within national economic management contexts and explores how they combine to produce new knowledge and new practices that address existing and emerging skills shortages in the financial services sectors of many African countries.
The core aims of NIMFSERC are to:
- Characterize and calibrate Nigerian (and African) financial markets for effective investment approaches and decision making
- Facilitate strategic cross-disciplinary collaborations among experts in the above fields, based on audits of financial industry needs, and talent pools, research and teaching statuses of partner higher educational institutions in Nigeria
- Examine the implications of the recent global financial crisis for research and practice in the subjects, possibly within in a new global financial architecture, corporate governance, and accounting/regulatory frameworks
- Explore the nature of innovations in the pedagogy and practice of the disciplines required to produce new kinds of graduates, who are able to hit the ground running in the financial services industry
- Map project ideas and related studies to strategic national and regional economic development agenda facing Nigerian and other African countries, for example the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nigerian Vision 2020 (NV2020), Nigerian Financial Services Strategy (FSS2020), and develop a fitting training programme for a new cadre of cross-disciplinary professionals in these fields of immense strategic importance
- Establish a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary Doctoral Training Centre covering the key topic areas mentioned in these notes, to be jointly supervised by Nigerian, African and international scholars in these fields.
- Develop specialist academic resources in the areas, including textbooks, research monographs and case studies, which are adapted to contemporary Nigerian and African pre-emerging markets experiences and needs
- Use experiences from the programme to undertake contract research, consultancies, and training workshops for specific industry sectors and institutions in Nigeria and Africa, and sell related services to global client publics, as appropriate
- Deepen these ideas across research, integration of knowledge, applications, and teaching (RIAT) through linkage with our Schools of Global Economics, Global Business, Statistics & Information Modelling, Integrated Business Analytics and Development, at the International Centre for Research & Enterprise Development (ICRED) UK, www.oseluxworldhero3e.com.
Activities so far
Since the inauguration of NIMFSERC, we have initiated and completed five PhD research topics on Systematic Stock Market Characterisation and Development (SSMCD) at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. These PhD cover stochastic-time series and empirical finance analyses of stylised facts and key stock market issues like efficiency, anomalies, bubbles, and volatility, for the overall market level in the Nigerian Stock Market, the banking sector, the oil and gas sector (Nigeria and Libya). They also cover perspectives from financial engineering and investment theory and portfolio management. This line of work is continuing.
Capacity Building Events supported by NIMFSERC
- An annual International Symposium in Mathematical and Statistical Finance covering the above remits, the first of which was held at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 1-3 September 2015.
- A biennial International School, Doctoral Colloquium on Advanced Foundation Postgraduate Courses in Key Mathematical Sciences (Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Sciences, Finance and Economics), with subject-specific masterclasses, innovative PhD research topics, linked to challenging societal problems, and high-impact socio-economic development of different countries
Support for National and African Initiatives in Financial Education
We mobilise NIMFSERC Panel of Experts from home countries and the Diaspora to intervene in smart and globally competitive educational initiatives, aimed at installing excellence in research, integration of knowledge, applications, and teaching (RIAT) in African universities, in collaboration with industry and civil service professionals across cognate ministries, departments and agencies. An example is the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus (UNEC) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Centre for Economics and Finance, with core remits as follows.
Banking and Finance
- Treasury and Financial Risk Management (1st Semester)
- Introduction to Business Analytics (1st Semester)
- Islamic & Non-interest Banking and Finance (2nd Semester)
Business Administration
- Data Mining & Business Intelligence (1st Semester)
- Speculation and Hedging in Financial Markets (1st Semester)
- Financial Analysis and Reporting (1st Semester)
- Banking Laws and Regulations (2nd Semester)
- Venture Capital (2nd Semester)
- Taxation of Specialised Business and Practice (2nd Semester)
- International Taxation (2nd Semester)
- Analytics for Banking (2nd Semester)
- Risk and Fraud Analysis (2nd Semester)
- Quantitative Methods (Second Semester)
- Business Law (2nd Semester)
Dissemination pathways
- Convening annual AfriWorldhero3e International Schools, Symposia, Conferences and Workshops (ISSCWs) with all these topics as themes
- Publishing related proceedings, journal papers, superbooks and research monographs.
Enquiries
For more details, please contact us at:
Email: info@afrihero.org.uk; or through Tel. no: +447772632150 to speak to the Director of Research and Enterprise Development, Professor Patrick Oseloka EZEPUE