Dr. Nikola Gradojevic
Finance professor Dr. Nikola Gradojevic trains his students to go global. Recognizing the unparalleled value of the global market, he largely teaches his courses from an international perspective.
"There exist a growing number of multinational companies who need people that have international exposure. These people should be multilingual and have experience with different cultures, accounting procedures, and legislative frameworks." Dr. Gradojevic strives to ensure that working for such companies remains a viable option for Lakehead business graduates.
To further this aim, he also encourages students to take part in international opportunities and programs. Originally from Serbia, he recalls going on exchange to England during post-secondary studies: "It meant the world to me. Through furthering your studies in another country, you learn so much about not only business, but life."
Dr. Gradojevic himself has experienced a high degree of international exposure. Throughout his career, he's worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and The Bank of Canada, held visiting appointments at France's Rouen Business School and the University of Novi Sad, and served as a Research Fellow for Italy's Rimini Center for Economic Analysis. As well, his academic contributions to business have been recognized around the world, featured in such journals as Quantitative Finance, the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, Physica D, and the Journal of Empirical Finance.
Currently, Dr. Gradojevic is tackling three major projects, one of which is gauging the behaviour of market participants in order to predict market crashes. He's also working with options financial contracts and examining market microstructure, particularly in regards to how institutions and information contrast with macroeconomic fundamentals.
Reflecting upon his department's intensely student-centred environment, Dr. Gradojevic outlines how both MBA and MSc programs provide extensive research opportunities with highly devoted supervisors. He fervently encourages aspiring business graduate students, both local and international, to consider Lakehead as their place of study:
"We offer quality at a competitive price. We provide small classes and instruction by caring faculty."