Introducing MSc Business Analytics student and Student Rep, Celine Trampe

Tell us about your time at UCL and some of your previous studies/work experience

I did my Bachelor and first Master’s degree in Econometrics & Operations Research and in Operations Research & Quantitative Logistics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Then I joined UCL, and although my time at UCL has been different to what I had imagined it has still been very meaningful and fulfilling both in terms of learning and socially. I got to meet so many people from so many different countries, cultures and backgrounds. Even though everything was online this year and I cannot look at my screen anymore, I do not regret the decision to do this degree in Business Analytics this year.

Why did you choose Business Analytics?  

After I finished my first Master’s degree, I had done two dissertations in very different routing problems and thought there must be more than this. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my education and still stand behind my choice of the Quantitative Logistics degree. I just wanted to be able to solve a broader area of problems. The type of problems that we learn to solve in the Business Analytics degree at UCL is quite similar to the Marketing degree offered at Erasmus University Rotterdam, which I was also interested in at the start of my studies so in a way I have got to do both. UCL is not only a prestigious university, but SoM having the campus in Canary Wharf in the middle of London’s business centre can open so many doors. Also, I dreamed of living in London for as long as I can remember. Combining these ambitions and opportunities took hard work but it has been worth every minute. 

Tell us about your academic and non-academic pursuits  

My dream job would be one where I can help people. Consultancy is the first job that comes to people’s minds when I say this, which would be great aside from the mathematics element. I’ve always been interested in biology, so being the data analyst/scientist in a research team for health science would be so cool. Being able to make the world a better place with my knowledge and expertise would be a morally satisfying job.

You were a Student Representative this year, can you tell us a bit about this?   

As a student rep you have to listen to your cohort and try to solve their issues or do something with their complaints together with your fellow student rep(s). I was lucky enough to have three other amazing student reps to take on this responsibility with. Together we tried to come up with online activities to have COVID-19 safe opportunities to help the cohort socialise. We had to be creative and needed support from UCL staff, but I’d like to believe that we made a difference this year.

Have you any fun hobbies you would like to tell us about?  

I like to go running and try to push myself a bit further every time. I got myself a guitar last year and have been trying to teach myself how to play. I’ll admit that the last few months have been very busy and I wasn’t able to practice much and I would probably benefit from some professional lessons but I am able to play a few songs and I love the sound of it and how relaxed it makes me feel to just practice. Not sure how much my flatmates appreciate it though so I mostly do it when they’re not around.

You are currently doing your dissertation project with the London Fire Brigade can you tell us a bit about it.  

The last few years London has been introducing the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs). These neighbourhoods try to keep out through-traffic and only have destination traffic and emergency vehicles enter the neighbourhood. The fire brigade tries to get to the location of a call as fast as possible and aim to keep the average attendance time London-wide within 6 minutes. However, sometimes they experience delay on their route due to road works for example. Not everybody is as excited about the LTNs and fear that emergency vehicles won’t be able to be at the location of emergency in time. For my dissertation project I am trying to figure out if there is a significant delay in attendance time of the fire brigade in the LTNs. 

What advice would you give to your younger self? 

How do you say ‘just don’t give a s**t’ in a nice way? Don’t care about other people’s opinions. People will have their opinion about you anyway and some will be positive, some will be negative. Do what makes you happy and what you think is morally and socially good. As long as you stand behind what you do, be proud of it. You can achieve so much but only the people who think outside of the box can go that extra mile to acheive success and happiness in their life, so try to be one of those people. 

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Like I said, I’ve always loved biology and mathematics (such a nerd I know) I think either Darwin and maybe Pythagoras or Socrates could make a very interesting dinner partner. I believe that these men made a difference and added so much to what we know these days when it comes to science. And I’d add my best friend to the table, I haven’t seen her in a year now. She is always fun to have around and you can have good discussions with her. She would fit in this table setting.

What is your favourite album, film, book, and TV series?

Album - This question is too difficult. Kensington, Time is an album I love but there are so many awesome artists out there such as Dua Lipa, Bon Iver, Troye Sivan, Bastille.

Film - ‘Momma always said: life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get’. If you don’t know what film this is from, go look it up and watch it ;)

Book - I adore the poetry from Lars van der Werf, and I really enjoyed reading De meeste mensen deugen by Rutger Bregman last summer.

TV - It’s so cliché I know but I absolutely LOVE Friends. It is such a feel-good, happy, funny series. I can watch it any time, whether I’m happy or sad. I like Scandinavian crime series a lot too.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

I’m not as nice and sweet as I may seem, so you better watch out…

Where is your favourite place?

Back home where I grew up. I love walking through the forest or along the water. For anyone considering visiting Rotterdam, I advise you to sit along the river a bit east of the north side of the Erasmus bridge or go the complete opposite side and sit in a nice quiet little park southwest of the bridge. Tip: go there when it’s dark and enjoy the city lights. For drinks go to le Nord for a very nice glass of wine. Here in London, I found this nice, quiet spot of which I will not tell you the exact location but it is amazing and it’s a great spot to get some peace of mind.