Markos Komondouros

MA Applied Linguistics

'I already had a first degree in Maths and an MBA, but when, some 15 years later, I came to Birkbeck for an MA in Applied Linguistics, it was a totally different and much more exciting and fulfilling experience.

'I had decided to leave a career in an investment bank. So the opportunity to go back to University and study linguistics and deepen my understanding of language and how it works was the perfect antidote and opened the broadest possible doors for exploring what else might be out there for me.

'Naturally, at the age of 40, I relished the chance to be a student again. But the big difference from first time round was that I was there as a result of a fully conscious, deliberate and totally free adult choice. And so was everyone else! This created a wonderful virtuous circle between students and professors which is I believe at the core of everything Birkbeck is. It means everybody really enjoys being there, contributes to the fullest extent and also of course benefits fully. My MA dissertation was later published in one of the leading linguistics journals which I have always taken as a big honour. As part of the two-year course, I got to learn so much that I am overawed just to remember it. It was intellectually stimulating, often hard work but always fun.'

Markos is currently a partner at Vector Partners, a financial advisory boutique based in Athens and covering Greece, Turkey and the surrounding region.