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Professional certification as a chartered accountant takes four or five years in India. The program can be overwhelming by itself, but Nidhi Suresh Kumar decided to stretch herself even further.

She enrolled in the Master of Science in Financial Engineering program at WorldQuant University in fall 2026 and will pursue both credentials simultaneously.

Her ambition starts with curiosity. Nidhi says numbers have always been more than calculations for her. They are a way to spot patterns, make connections, and understand why things work the way they do.

Nidhi says financial engineering brings together three interests that have developed over time: mathematics, finance and programming.

“Numbers × Finance × Programming = Financial Engineering,” she writes in a personal essay on LinkedIn.

Nidhi demonstrated her quantitative skills during the application process at WorldQuant University, earning a 95% score on the entrance exam. She sees the achievement as more than a test result. It reinforced an idea that has shaped her approach to learning: “Knowledge compounds over time.”

“What you learn doesn’t simply stay where you learn it,” she says. “Sometimes, it becomes the foundation for something you haven’t even discovered yet.”

Her interest in finance extends beyond the classroom. Earlier in 2026, Nidhi completed a five-week virtual training program in real estate private equity through Project Destined, where she underwrote three multifamily real estate deals individually and as part of a team before participating in a private equity investment competition. She also earned second prize in a stock market simulation in 2025.

Nidhi’s interests extend into writing and creative work as well. She has written for her Instagram page, Rambling Rhymes, and served as journal editor of the Atheneum English Club at M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women in Chennai.

At WorldQuant University, she looks forward to exploring mathematical modeling, financial markets, portfolio management, risk management, statistics and programming. Most importantly, she looks forward to learning how these things can be connected and applied to real-world problems.

“Knowing is one thing,” she writes. “Knowing what to do with what you know is where the real magic begins.”

For Nidhi, the destination remains open-ended.

“I don’t know exactly where the numbers will take me,” she writes. “Honestly, that’s the most exciting part.”