Uptree

Aryan is a Year 12 student who is currently studying maths, further maths, physics and economics at A-level. With a high interest in banking and finance, he was really excited to attend Uptree's #FuturesUP networking event and was selected to take part in the finance and investment session with Credit Suisse , J.P Morgan and UBS .

We're really pleased to share Aryan's insights of this multi-industry networking event.

How did you prepare for the event?

I prepared for the event by firstly making sure to read all of the useful links and resources Uptree sent me so I could understand the companies better and also prepare what the day would entail.

I had some idea of the questions I wanted to ask during the sessions, e.g whether an apprenticeship or going to uni was better. I applied for the finance session as that's what I felt was most applicable to me and my interests and, of course, the opening and closing sessions with Raj Paranandi and Tutu Kamara.

Did you enjoy FuturesUP?

Yes! I found the sessions quite interactive which was surprising considering that, as it was virtual, I thought we might have lost the audience engagement part.

I really enjoyed the quick-fire sessions with the different guests as it was good to get a holistic view of what the professionals thought and what decisions they personally made. It reminded me of speed-dating... not that I have ever tried that before! All jokes apart, it was very insightful.

I learnt that networking is absolutely invaluable - I connected with all of the guest speakers on LinkedIn so I could stay in contact and build my ever-growing network

I found all of the speakers extremely interesting. However, I found the apprentices most informative as it allowed me to get an alternative view to going down the conventional route at uni.

Do you have any advice for students with the same interests as you?

I do not think that I am in any position to hand out advice at the moment! In all truth, the advice I am giving myself is just to apply to everything and keep trying to build a network from an early age.

Many thanks to Aryan for his honesty and insights, and for giving us the Student View of FuturesUP!

Aryan aspires to a career in finance but is keeping his options open

If you're interested in attending the FuturesUP Festival 2021 , head over to our FutureUP page to sign up. We hope to see you there.