Master of Advanced Economics students

Class of 2022

Chunsheng Zhang

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ?

The reason why I take the UQ’s MAE program is that my career goal is to pursue a research degree in economics and conduct research in applied/theoretical econometrics. This program will equip me with an in-depth understanding of economics and pave the way for my future career as an independent researcher.

What do you want to do after the MAE?

I would like to undertake a PhD program in economics.

Do you have a Research topic?

I plan to do some research in high-dimensional econometrics.

Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about?

Dean’s Commendation for Academic Excellence (4 semesters)
Dean’s Honour Roll

Yi Zeng

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ?

I believe that the MAE program would provide me a solid base of studying more challenging topics, since the MAE program is well-designed for students who would like to undertake a PhD program. In this program, students would be able to study the economic theories and application skills at an advanced level, which would be helpful for further research after the program. Besides that, the MAE program would be a perfect bridge for students like me who do not have strong research background but still want to engage in a research program in the future.

What do you want to do after the MAE?

I would love to pursue a PhD program in Econometrics.

Do you have a Research Topic?

Not decided yet. But I would love to study Macroeconometrics, especially on topics of panel data models.

Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about?

The positive effect of promoting gender equality in education on economic growth: from the perspective of gender dividend, which was accepted by ICEMME 2021.

Xinghao Yao

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ?

My master’s in economics inspired my passion for practical relevant topics and wish to take my research in Economics further. But after working with PhD students, I realize the knowledge and research skill gap between us. MAdvEcon provided more intensive economics courses which will help me a lot.

Do you have a Research topic?

I am interested in behavioural economics and game theory.

Xinyang Li

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ?

The reason why I take the MAE program is that I want to attend the PhD program in economics and further become an independent and professional researcher. MAE program is well-designed with high-level and cutting-edge skills, which helps me to lay a firm foundation for my future economic research.

What do you want to do after the MAE?

I would like to undertake the PhD program in Economics in UQ.

Do you have a Research topic?

At this stage, my general research interest includes applied and theoretical econometrics, health economics and environmental economics. At this moment, I do not have a specific research topic.

Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about?

Dean’s Commendation for Academic Excellence (2 semesters)
Dean’s Honour Roll

2021 graduates

What motivated and inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ?

I am interested in MAE because it provides a prerequisite for future PhD study at UQ. The coursework is specially designed to develop advanced technical skills in Economics and Economics.

What do you want to do after the MAE?

I would like to continue study at UQ as a PhD student in Economics.

Do you have a Research topic?

I am interested in applied microeconomics and applied econometrics. I am interested in environmental economics and education economics. I do not have a specific research project at the moment.

2020 graduates

Yuancheng (Ryan) Han	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ? MAE program offers me a golden opportunity to study economics at a deeper and more challenging level. The unwavering supports and encouragements from my MAE cohort over the whole year are a invaluable tool in advancing my knowledge of economics. I believe MAE program perfectly aligns with my research interests, competencies and future potential in economics. What do you want to do after the MAE? After MAE, I will be pursuing further study (PhD) in economics or econometrics. As my ultimate goal is to work in academia, the in-depth study during MAE smooths the pathway to do a PhD degree. Do you have a Research topic? I aspire to combine productivity and efficiency analysis with spatial econometrics, so as to create a spatial dataset to explore that whether the climate change effect on agricultural productivity is subjective to spatial/regional factors. Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about? Dean’s Commendation For Academic Excellence (4 consecutive semesters) Dean’s Honor Roll UQ Summer Research Scholarship CFA Level II Program passed
Yunlong Liu	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ? The US-style PhD education of MAE attracts me a lot, and its designed courses allow me to have a frontier academic knowledge and prepare me for doing a PhD in the future. What do you want to do after the MAE? I am looking forward to employing the knowledge to analyzing the economic issues under different circumstances like an economist in the future. So after MAE, I will continue to enhance myself from doing the PhD. Do you have a Research topic? Yes, I have planned a research topic relating the Leverage Cycles, Credit Cycles and Risk Pricing Channel and the Household Financing. Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about? In the last year’s graduation from UQ, I have been listed into the Dean’s Honour Roll.
Chalani Nanayakkara	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ? Right after finishing my honours, I was working as a Business Consultant in a firm called FIIRM. We specialize in Total Business Transformation which is, in a nutshell, guiding an organization to sensitize their business to the markets, adapt & change to overcome every challenge that is thrown at their operations and continuously create customer value. So there, I played a major role in getting that outside insight into the operation. But I want to grow myself as an Economic Consultant. Already I have started my journey. So this will be a big milestone in this journey. What do you want to do after the MAE? I want to continue my career as a business consultant with strong economic background providing expert insight into complex financial and economic situations and offer expert testimony in major litigation cases and also apply economic analysis to help businesses evaluate and implement strategic decisions. Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about? My final year research (during my Honours) was Pattern identification of Dengue Transmission in Colombo. I was able to publish it in the 3rd International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. During my Honours I did a study about Monthly Expenditures of Undergraduates of Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya and I could publish it in the 1st International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
Aaron Yenis Martinez	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ? I have been interested in studying Economics for a while. When I did my previous master degree, I prepared a small research project and got the support of a UQ academic, who is in the Economics faculty. He helped me to develop very interesting research and got me eager to deepen my knowledge of Economics. What do you want to do after the MAE? I would like to enter into a PhD programme to continue my education and career development. I would like to advise on policies. The MAE will help me to build strong foundations for this. Do you have a Research topic? It is my motivation to continue researching in pathways to decarbonise the economies. Finding economic ways to boost the penetration of clean energy and new low-emission technologies. Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about? I do not have publications yet, I am working on publishing the research I did for my previous master degree. The investigation was about finding "Pathways to decarbonise the electricity sector in Mexico". I created a model to find low-cost solutions and energy mixes, which represent centrally planned strategies to reduce the carbon intensity in this sector.
Lubna Uzair	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ, and what do you want to do after the MAE? Being the native of a developing country, getting higher education in economics was a dream, so opted for economics from high school and pursued it in higher studies. I am a lecturer at the University of Punjab, since 2012. In an academic career, it is crucial for success to have the world's highest quality education and research training. Every next level of academic life demands a new version of you. So my eagerness to achieve excellence in my academic and research career motivated me to get a higher degree by research from the University of Queensland. For me, the master of Advanced Economics at UQ is the first step towards my doctorate degree. Do you have a Research topic? When it comes to research in economics, the study of the variables in the context of 'international economics' raises many questions in my mind. Country's trade relations are significantly affecting the overall world economy, which needs to be analyzed in the context of current complex international relations, for example, the Brexit, "One Belt and One Road Initiative," whereas new political ties are emerging and old ones are endangered. Despite the fact that a plethora of research exists on this aspect, but the theoretical answers to various questions need a re-evaluation in the context of the current situation. Do you have any past publications or prizes to brag about? 1. Uzair, L., & Nawaz, A. (2020). The Epoch of Free Trade Agreements in Pakistan and Predominance of China. The Chinese Economy, 1-17. 2. Uzair, Lubna, and Ahmad Nawaz. (2018). "Modelling welfare effects under Pakistan–China free trade agreement." Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies 11, no. 3 202-218.
Jing (Gin) Wu	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ? The MAE program is well-designed for students who would like to proceed to a PhD program later as it provides all the necessary knowledge and tools for economics research. It provides me an opportunity to have a peek at the real research world, as well as challenging myself at a different level. The selfless academic staff and the supporting environment at the school also adds value to the program. What do you want to do after the MAE? I would love to enter into a PhD programme. Do you have a Research topic? Yes. My research interest lies in applied economics. Currently, I am interested in assessing the economics effect of ICT immigrants to Australia as well as their own labour performance.
Meiling Li	What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake the Master of Advanced Economics at UQ? MAE program is an platform to train me as an outstanding economist. The course in this program provide me an opportunity to learn economics knowledge from a different perspective and enable me to consolidate my background knowledge and improve my knowledge system to produce the highest calibre of research in the future. What do you want to do after the MAE? I will enter into a PhD program in Economics.

Yi Zhang	Salonkara Chaudhuri	Pimwilai Kijjanapanich	Elcin Tuzel
Diego Carrasco	Alicia Bubb	Ali Kalay

Debasish Das	Patrick Duenow	Sembukutti Arachchige Bhagya Niroshini Gunawardena	Stefan Hinkelmann
Yuqing Liu	Bao Hoang Nguyen	Hong Ngoc (Ruby) Nguyen	Anh Tran
Timothy Ludlow

Master of Advanced Economics students

Class of 2022

Chunsheng Zhang

Yi Zeng

Xinghao Yao

Xinyang Li

2021 graduates

2020 graduates

2019 graduates

2018 graduates

2017 graduates