For business school students keen to get into financial and business analysis, building proficiency in databases used by the industry is a surefire way to build job-ready skills. It is one way to get an edge ahead of others when applying for internships or full-time roles down the line. The good news is that Sussex houses an entire facility equipped with over a dozen Bloomberg terminals, giving free access to students to build their skills and competency in this database that is the darling of the business and financial community.

What is Bloomberg?

Bloomberg is a database containing business and financial information about companies, securities, asset classes, sectors and economies. The database is one of the largest in the world, and provides real-time data, news, information, as well as incisive research and analytics, insights and perspectives, to aid intelligent and smart decision-making within the business and financial community. Bloomberg allows users to build their own workflows, templates, and a degree of customization unparalleled to other databases in the market. A great example of using data as an asset! Bloomberg operates through its own terminal platform, rather than through the internet browser, and it is a unique skill to operate the terminal – which gives Bloomberg-proficient folks an edge during job applications.

Why is it important?

First, it is a useful skill to build That looks good on job applications and will be useful in the workplace. Second, even as a student, it can help by generating relevant data and information for assignments within seconds, thus saving time as compared to using less efficient methods to access the same data.

What Sussex offers

Sussex is fairly unique in housing a Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab facility at the Business School. It contains over a dozen Bloomberg terminal platforms, each connecting the user to terra-bytes of real-time data, information, research and analytics. The Sussex Bloomberg Lab also offers students with free access to complete three online certification programs, all of which add to skill-sets and the CV.

Accessing Bloomberg at Sussex

The Bloomberg terminals at Sussex can be booked online. You can then collect your access card from the Business School reception, and head to the lab on the first floor.  You can use your Sussex login to access the computer, following which you just need to create your id on Bloomberg and start using – easy-peasy! The online certification programs include some basic modules, which would help first-time students to get started.

Do avoid retaining the access card for more than a day, or opening the Lab door to students that had not made a booking, to ensure equal and fair access to all students.

Find out more about the Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab.

Sourajit studies Sustainable Finance as his passion lies in climate change. He loves sunny days, sunny moods and sunny strolls, but is also game for a serious talk when needed.