As the winner of the first edition of the WAIFC Young Academic Award 2022 held in Casablanca, how did you experience the journey?
I am particularly thankful to the WAIFC for rewarding our work, as young academic researchers, through the Young Academic Award 2022, which was a unique opportunity to disseminate research conclusions on financial and sustainability issues and to grasp the concrete impact of our work in the field. As a young academic, I had the chance to present my work several times, to the members of the WAIFC, but also to practitioners, governmental leaders, and other researchers. Besides, this three-day event was also particularly enjoyable and gathered many intellectually, culturally, and personally enjoyable activities!
What did this adventure bring you in terms of intellectual and human experience?
The award ceremony was a huge opportunity for both making professional/academic contacts and sharing research insights. This journey was also the occasion to exchange with a variety of profiles on key issues related to financial development, sustainability, and the contribution, the solutions, but also the problematics, brought by the financial world when it comes to environmental matters. More than presenting my own results, I also got the chance to listen to multiple insightful researchers on these topical issues. Last but not least, the social aspect of the Young Academic Award must not be forgotten: meeting awesome people, from all professional and geographical horizons, was one of the most valuable aspects of this journey.
Do you have any advice to offer for the prospective candidates of the upcoming 2023 edition of the WAIFC Young Academic Award?
Hard work and academic rigor: characterize any scientifically relevant and impactful paper. The academic world is sometimes perceived as harsh, or hard to approach. However, I am convinced that, with hard work, consistency, and rigor, any researcher can develop relevant and high-level studies and make a real impact in the field. Also, I advise young researchers to spend time thinking about their research questions. Indeed, as a young lecturer giving courses on economic and management sciences research, I often face students who do not spend enough time identifying, clearly and in simple terms, a relevant, interesting, and impactful question. However, when doing research, the starting point (identifying a relevant research issue) is key and is sometimes harder than implementing the research itself. I would thus advise young researchers to pay particular attention to their starting point, rather than, sometimes, spending too much energy on, for example, only developing highly complex methodologies. In the current world, where the current economic, social, environmental, and cultural paradigms are particularly challenged, this seems crucial to me.