Gaius A. is a young Beninese graduate with a Master’s degree in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics from the African School of Economics (ASE); graduated in December 2017. He shares his experience with the online community through this interview.

ASE Communications: Hello Gaius!

Gaius Ahamide: Hello!

ASE Communications: You have just graduated from the African School of Economics. Before joining this school, what did you study?

Gaius Ahamide: I obtained a degree in planning at the National School of Applied Economics (ENEAM) in Benin, and then I pursued various professional internships in business. I also took training on statistics software.

ASE Communications: On arrival to ASE, which sector did you find most interesting? And what was your academic journey like?

Gaius Ahamide: At ASE, I pursued a Master’s degree in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics (MMES), from which I graduated in December 2017. I had the opportunities to participate in surveys and data collection, including the emergency care management survey, the bureaucrat motivation survey, and the youth employment survey. I have also worked as a research assistant on projects such as the New Development Planning (NDP) project in collaboration with the universities of Ottawa and Manchester, and the secondary school girls’ education project with the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation project (3ie). Lastly, I also had the chance to work as a teaching assistant for Professor David Gbaguidi in Macroeconomics.

ASE Communications: Your time at ASE has certainly allowed you to acquire skills and experiences, tell us about them.

Gaius Ahamide: My time at ASE allowed me to reconnect with learning method I lost a few years ago. I relearned how to work hard, fast and intensively. This permitted me to gain strong foundational skills in micro, macro and development economics. The program at ASE is inspired by teaching techniques at international universities. All of these aspects helped me write my Master’s thesis, which I presented at ASE’s annual Seminar in Economic Research in December 2017. Other notable experiences for me at ASE included the opportunity to participate in research project conception and design through appropriate techniques to create serious and rigorous work.

ASE Communications: What are your projects now?

Gaius Ahamide: I plan to apply to a PhD program in a North American university, through the pre-doctoral program at ASE. The Pre-doctoral program trains us by providing us with knowledge and a deeper understanding of the various doctoral programs offered by top universities.

ASE Communications: It’s the end of the interview, do you have anything you would like to add?

Gaius Ahamide: I think the programs at ASE are superb! As far as the students’ working conditions are concerned, it is not bad even though there is still work to be done. The “work study” is an innovative and very interesting program and the “cleaning” program for students is very advantageous, as it helps them develop team spirit among other things.