Cédric Okou Receives the Jean Turmel Excellence Fellowship

May 18, 2010

Cédric Okou, in the PhD in Administration (Finance) program since fall 2007, has received the Jean Turmel Excellence Fellowship for doctoral students. The Institut de finance mathématique de Montréal (IFM2) presents this award to a student chosen from among the doctoral fellows in its regular program.

In 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, Cédric will receive additional assistance of $10,000 per year, on top of the annual $20,000 three-year fellowship he received in 2008-2009 under the regular IFM2 program.

The Jean Turmel Excellence Fellowship is granted to students based on their remarkable academic achievements, the quality of their publications and an interview at which the candidate presents the first draft of his or her dissertation and answers questions from the members of the selection committee.

Cédric’s dissertation, directed by Éric Jacquier, Associate Professor with the Department of Finance, re-examined methods of risk assessment and management in a context of uncertainty concerning volumes of electricity. Since then, he has been concentrating on compromises between risk and long-term return, and their role in the strategic allocation of portfolio assets.

Cédric, originally from Benin, has already received recognition for his work on several occasions. He also received a graduate scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, a scholarship from the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) for his Master’s studies and a scholarship from the European Development Fund for his undergraduate studies.

 

Jean Turmel presenting the parchment of the fellowship bearing his name 
to the recipient, at a ceremony held at the Club Saint-Denis.