Training of the next generation of researchers is an important CAF activity. Each year, CAF recruits two or three bright and motivated recent graduates in Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Engineering, and Business as Researchers. While at CAF, the selected candidates attend classes in finance, statistics, and econometrics, develop a solid grounding in theoretical and applied finance, and work on research projects under the direct supervision of the ISB faculty and their research partners. The education and skills gained during their tenure at CAF are designed to make them effective candidates for doctoral programmes at premier business schools in the world.

Research
Soon after joining, new CAF researchers are assigned to ongoing research projects which gives them hands-on experience of the research process. They are involved in all aspects of the project from data analysis to writing. Later, as they grow in confidence, they are also encouraged to initiate and take forward new projects based on their own research ideas.
For examples of the research output of CAF researchers, please refer to the Research page.

Conference presentations
CAF researchers are encouraged to present their research papers at top national and international conferences. This gives them the experience of presenting their work in front of a discerning audience, and also allows them to incorporate constructive feedback into their research. Some recent examples of CAF researchers presenting their work are:

• Siddharth Vij presented a paper titled ‘Finance, Growth and Inequality: Channels and Outcomes’ at the Financial Intermediation Research Society Conference in Sydney in June 2011

• Siddharth Vij and Manpreet Singh presented a paper each at the 6th Annual Growth and Development Conference at ISI Delhi in December 2010

• Naveen Reddy’s paper was presented at the Asian Finance Association meetings in Hong Kong in June 2010

• Manpreet Singh presented a paper at the annual conference of the Financial Intermediation Research Society in Prague in June 2009

Career Progression
It is the aim of CAF that all researchers who work with the centre will go on to do a PhD at a top global university. Admission to top-tier PhD programs in Finance is intensely competitive with a large and diverse applicant pool applying for very few seats (4-6 per year at each school) .The time spent at CAF allows our researchers to build their research credentials which goes a long way in differentiating them from other applicants. Some examples of CAF Researchers getting admitted to top programs are as follows:

• Naveen Reddy has been admitted to the Finance PhD program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA starting Fall 2011

• Manpreet Singh will be attending the Finance PhD program at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology starting Fall 2011

• Leena Kinger Hans was admitted to the Accounting PhD program at the London Business School in 2010

• Vidya Kamate is currently a Finance PhD student at Kellogg. She started her studies there in 2009

• Vishal Mangla is a Finance PhD student at Kellogg. He started his studies there in 2008 after being a researcher at CAF