Highly qualified tutor on ALL Finance, Economic, Statistics and Maths related topics.

Find out more about Ismail

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I have always enjoyed technical topics and especially Maths from a young age. Following my career in Finance, I was looking for ways to share my knowledge with the community, so started volunteering as a tutor and from that I realised how much I enjoyed teaching, so started tutoring on this platform.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I enjoy teaching a broad range of topics. In recent years, I've particularly enjoyed honing my skills in data science and Statistics. I did a Masters in Machine learning and managed to learn a lot of state of the art techniques that I want to share with students. On top of that, I have a very broad experience in Finance related topics, having spent many years as a Finance professional in the city in a variety of roles. Having said that, Economics and Finance topics are always close to my heart, as these are the topics I spent most times studying in undergraduate and graduate school and worked in that field as well.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  To be candid, I had quite a few uninspiring "official" teachers. I drew my inspiration mostly from the online community. Here was a group of people who were grappling with difficult topics, and doing an amazing job explaining them in very simple ways, using visual props and a very informal style. I have learned tremendously more from doing online courses and looking for material online than I have through the more usual channels (And I have many diplomas !). I feel I have a much deeper understanding of topics that way.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Mastery of the topics, not on a superficial, but on a deeper level. The kind of mastery that makes explaining difficult concepts in a very simple way a worthy challenge in itself. I also think a tutor needs emotional intelligence to adapt the learning to the student needs. A good tutor knows just the right mix between challenging and nurturing the students.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  The main challenge is to improve the online tutoring experience. I'm always amazed at how little technological progress is happening in this area, and how the tools such as interactive whiteboards and live code sharing are not yet rising to students and tutors expectations

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I'm very interested in Financial markets, how they work, investment strategies, and how to avoid falling for beginner's mistakes when investing. I'm also very intrigued by the latest advances in machine learning, and their potential to upend our lives for the better. Finally, the main reason I do tutoring is how rewarding I find working with someone and instilling confidence in them regarding their abilities. I love it when someone comes to me and says "I'm just not good at maths" and after we're done, I see that they have changed their mindset to: "I can achieve what I set out to achieve if I work hard at it".

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P) ?

  I think I am warm, genuine, and very adaptable too students needs. I also think that I know very well the topics I teach, not only theoretically but also having applied them in a professional role for many years. I think I am one of the rare tutors who combine a high level professional experience with mastery of a wide range of topics.