Best master's thesis of the year

Thais Lærkholm Jensen from the elite programme MSc in Advanced Economics and Finance received DKK 25,000 when he was announced winner of Danske Speciale 2012 (Danish master's thesis of the year).

The winner, Thais Lærkholm Jensen (right) with his liaison Hanne Schultz and co-examiner Nicolaj Verdelin.

Thais won Danske Speciale among 18 students who have cooperated with Danske Bank on their thesis. Thais and the two other finalists had prepared a presentation of the essence of their theses. The presentations were outstanding, and after a short question round and evaluation by the jury, which consisted of Jens Jakob Svanholt, Group Credit, Pricing & Risk, Thomas Hovard, Danske Bank Markets, and Monica Østergaard, Business Banking, the decision was made and Thais was pointed out as the winner. Thais was assessed on the basis of his ability to present difficult subject matter in an approachable manner, just as the topic's relevance to the bank also was an important parameter. 

Very relevant and usable analysis

Thais' master's thesis placed focus on how macro-economic perspectives can improve the possibility of predicting bankruptcies in small and medium-sized companies during a business-cycle. When the jury announced Thais as the winner, they gave the following motivation: 

”Thais captivated the crowd, he was extremely calm, and his personality is strong. The slide show was well timed, his answers insightful and the topic was very interesting to the bank. And everything was delivered with a smile," saus Thomas Hovard, Danske Bank Markets.

Productive collaboration

Thais has really appreciated his close collaboration with Hanne Schultz, his liaison from Group Finance & Legal. Thais says:

”Danske Bank has been very welcoming during this process. The help that Hanne and her department offered has been invaluable to me. It is very much owing to Hanne and Nicolaj Verdelin that my thesis has been prepared thoroughly and is now practically applicable. They were always there when I needed it, and if they did not know the answer to my question, they would find out immediately. It says a great deal about the culture and knowledge that exist in the bank".

Great academic breadth

The topics of the two other finalists were pricing of counterparty risk of interest rate derivatives and a better customer experience with business intelligence at Danica Pension. Thomas Klemm, MSc in Economics and Management from Aarhus University took care of the derivatives while Line Aaboe Sørensen, MSc in Information Technology from Aarhus University, focused on Danica Pension's possibility of using business intelligence.

Danske Speciale 2013

Danske Speciale 2013 is already in the pipeline.