Award Winning Oxford Former Lecturer and LSE Tutor, helping you master economics and econometrics with confidence.

Learn more about Alexis

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

  I first developed an interest in economics in 2007 as I was witnessing the financial crisis which affected the whole world. It became clear to me that it was crucial to better understand the way our economies work. I therefore decided to study economics as part of my undergraduate degree, which then led me to do an MPhil and a DPhil in economics at the University of Oxford.
  I come from a family of teachers and teaching was always something I knew I wanted to devote my life to. During my MPhil, I started giving private lessons to students to help them prepare for their exams and during my DPhil, I began giving lectures and classes in several subfields of economics.

• 2) 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 teach all branches of economics, both at undergraduate and graduate levels. I often have students who want me to help them with their econometrics courses, and I have a lot of experience tutoring this subject. I also enjoy teaching development economics and behavioural economics, which were my favourite subjects in grad school.

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

  The teacher who inspired me the most was my high-school literature and latin teacher. Before I met her, I didn't read much and she managed to share with me her passion for literature. By the end of the school year, I was avidly reading novels, plays and poetry. Moreover, she cared a lot about all of her students and I think that this is one of the most important traits in a teacher.

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

  First and foremost, I think that you need to care about your students and their success. You need to listen to them, understand what they struggle with so that you can find the best way to help them. You also need to be very adaptable because you can't teach a given topic in the same way to every student! Having many years of experience helps a lot with that, as I have helped students from all kinds of backgrounds, who required personalised approaches to learn various topics.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  When I started lecturing in econometrics at Oxford, I realised how teaching a course required you to know that subject in much more depth than you might have thought. I remember the countless hours I spent trying to find the best way to convey the importance of the central limit theorem, and by doing so, I understood that concept a lot better myself! I still believe that teaching a course is one of the best ways of learning, and it is only once you can teach a concept that you truly know it.

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

  I come from a mathematical background, and I often didn't have too much difficulty solving the models we were taught in class, but I would sometimes struggle with the intuition behind them and what they told us about the real world. Over time, I was able to develop my economic intuition and to better understand what those models implied and what their shortcomings were.

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

  I love teaching and I take immense pleasure in meeting new students and in helping them achieve their goals. It is such a rewarding profession as you can see the impact you have on people's lives, and I cherish the moments when I can see that my students understood a new concept which changes their perspective on a subject. I feel that I have found my calling, and I am pretty sure that I will be teaching for the rest of my life!

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

  I am very committed to all of my students and I will do my best to help them succeed. Over the years, I have developed methods to be as efficient as possible in my teaching, and I have perfected a setup that works very well for online teaching. I always try to find new ways to improve my teaching, which I have found is something that students appreciate a lot.