From salsa rhythms to Python algorithms, Chirag Praful Desai’s journey is anything but ordinary. Once a Wall Street quant, now an enthusiastic educator at NUS-ISS, he has mastered six languages and traveled across continents. Curious how he got here? Keep reading to find out.
1. Hi Chirag, can you tell us a bit about your professional background?
I am a home grown Singaporean and studied Chemical Engineering at NUS. After a 6-month attachment at Dupont on Jurong
Island, I started getting a little worried about spending the rest of my life
there. So, I took off for New York and pursued a Master Degree in Financial
Engineering at Columbia University.
I ended up working in the US for about 10
years including transfers to Tokyo. I worked primarily at Lehman Brothers as a
quantitative risk analyst. Like many Singaporeans,
I found my way home around 2011 where I worked in a similar role at Temasek
Holdings and Standard Chartered Bank, building pricing and risk models in
Python and C++.
2. What courses or modules do you teach at NUS-ISS?
I‘m currently the course manager for the Graduate Certificate in Intelligent Financial Risk Management. Given my finance background, I also teach the Advanced Machine Learning for Financial Services/Alternative Data, as well as Data Driven Decision Making.
3. What made you decide to teach at NUS-ISS
I was supposed to join in 2019 but was unable to due to some personal issues. Then Covid struck and the rest as they say, is history. I reapplied in 2024 and was fortunate to be given an opportunity to contribute here. Teaching is something I’m truly passionate about as it brings me a great sense of happiness.
4. What’s the best part of your work?
I get to meet a lot of really talented and intelligent people in NUS-ISS, and i get to learn from them as they come from myriad backgrounds. There are always new challenges that push me out of my comfort zone and I constantly need to plan how to improve myself to cross the next bar.
5. How do you stay updated with the latest in the industry?
I don’t have a TV in my room, so I usually watch educational documentaries on YouTube. It’s a great way to learn about latest developments in the financial machine learning industry. Constantly reading financial articles on the bus also helps me keep up - oops, I missed my stop again!
6. The Burning Question - Got any studying tips to help students excel in their academic performance
There are 3 rules
- Find a subject that you really like
- Become better at it than anybody else
- Work hard at it, and the results will come looking for you.
7. What are your favorite activities outside of work?
I love learning foreign languages (and I’m not talking about Python or C++ 
) and currently working
8. What's something about you that not many people know - like a hobby or talent?
I used to be a professional dancer and really enjoyed Salsa and Tango dancing. I also enjoyed bringing tourists around Singapore, although I stopped doing that a while ago.
Chirag enjoying being the birdies’ favorite food truck.