About

Sophia Bessler

Economics undergraduate at the University of Surrey, on track for a first, with a Swiss Matura behind me and a persistent interest in the places where financial analysis and applied technology overlap.

This project was a summer holiday exercise. It began because a video about automated trading made a claim I wanted to check, and it ended eleven weeks later with a specification, a screening pipeline, five company studies and a longer list of things I got wrong than I had anticipated. That last part is in section 10 and I would rather you read it than skip it.

Education

University of Surrey
BSc Economics, expected 2028
2025 – 2028
Kantonsschule Ausserschwyz
Swiss Matura
Pfäffikon SZ, Switzerland · 2021 – 2025

Certifications

Awarded
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900)

Machine learning concepts, generative AI and responsible AI use. The responsible-use material is more relevant to section 08 than I expected when I sat it.

Awarded
Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA®)

Corporate Finance Institute.

In progress
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)

Skills

Technical. Python for data pipelines and API work, as shown in section 09. R for regression and statistical analysis. Excel for financial modelling and DCF valuation. Financial statement analysis, which for the purposes of this project meant reading thirty-odd annual reports in chronological order and building the numbers back up from them.

Languages. English, German and Turkish at native level. French, advanced.


Earlier research

Refugees, Immigration and GDP per Capita
Matura thesis · eight months

A cross-country regression analysis examining the relationship between different forms of immigration and GDP per capita across three countries, drawing on economic theory and demographic datasets, with more than a hundred academic sources reviewed to support and interpret the results.

Awarded a Distinction, placed second in the Swiss Youth Research Programme, and submitted to the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies. Not published here; available on request.


Contact