Yen Tran - Gracie

Yen Tran - Gracie

Ph.D.

About me


I am a driven researcher with a focus on transdisciplinary finance, sustainability, international relations, and public policy.

Education

PhD in Finance, University of Aberdeen (2025)

MSc in Finance, Coventry University (2017)

BBA (HONS) in Entrepreneurship, Banking Academy of Vietnam (2015)


Experience

Research

Research Assistant, UK - Germany - Italy (2020-Present)

  • Supporting an NLP project analysing ESG analyst subjectivities in sustainability report narratives, led by Prof Patrycja Klusak (Heriot-Watt University & Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge) and Prof Florian Kiesel (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano). Dec 2024 - Present
  • Assisted Dr Moritz Kraemer, Chief Economist and Head of Research at LBBW Bank, Germany, with data collection for his article featured on Bloomberg and Reuters. Mar 2021
  • Collected rating and financial data from RatingDirects, CapitalIQ and WRDS for Prof Patrycja Klusak at the University of East Anglia. Feb-July 2020

Teaching

Teaching Assistant - PhD Tutor, University of Aberdeen, UK (Oct 2021-Nov 2024)

Delivered online and in-person tutorials, supported lectures, developed materials, graded exam papers, and provided academic support.

Service and Leadership

Marketing Executive & Market Research Specialist (Sep 2019-Aug 2020)

  • Marketing Executive at KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) Hanoi. Built databases of Vietnamese companies across sectors. Supported Korean companies in finding suitable business partners in Vietnam, providing tailored recommendations and insights to enhance their market entry strategies. Assisted trade delegations.
  • Conducted market research on orders.

Assistant to the Chairwoman & CEO, Thanh Dat Seagoing Vessel, VN (Jul 2018-Mar 2019)

  • Assisted the Chairwoman & CEO with business strategy and daily management at Thanh Dat, a sea-freight and coal trading company. Simultaneously supported her role as the Deputy General Manager of Vietnam Waterway Construction Corporation (VINAWACO).


Skills

  • Automating data downloading, processing, analysis, and visualisation with Python and Stata.
  • Applying Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning to analyse text data, including rating reports, ESG reports, corporate reports, news, and tweets.
  • Designing surveys and conducting interviews with company owners and managers.
  • Working with various financial and non-financial datasets, including qualitative and quantitative data (Bloomberg, Eikon, WRDS, World Bank, IMF, Johns Hopkins, OxCGRT).
  • Web development


Awards

  • Elphinstone PhD Scholarship, University of Aberdeen (2020-2024)
  • Course Tutor’s Prize for overall excellent academic achievement, MSc Finance, Coventry University (2017)
  • Young Research Talent Award, Banking Academy of Vietnam (2015)


Publications


Media