Over the past decade, the increasing complexity of financial products and the size of the markets have generated a growing demand for skilled professionals to create, price and hedge complex derivatives and, more generally, to manage risk. Acquiring such skills requires mastering both mathematical and managerial aspects of modern finance. The Department of Applied Mathematics and the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management have decided to join forces to offer the ‘Financial Engineering’ Master’s degree course with two options for specialisation: a mathematical track and a management track. Teaching and research are conducted under the auspices of the Financial Engineering Laboratory, a co-operative structure set up by the two departments.