My name is Ronald Huisman. I am Professor of Sustainable Energy Finance at Erasmus School of Economics. My speciality is in what I call sustainable energy finance. For this, I study the financial economics aspects of energy markets, renewable energy, and nowadays, the transition towards a new energy system.
I was a student at Erasmus School of Economics myself. I studied Econometrics and really liked the atmosphere. We did many projects that came from real companies and did a lot of group work, which I enjoyed. I saw myself as a normal student who liked going to bars with friends, but I was also committed to my studies.
(Academic) career
First, I studied here in Rotterdam and then I did my PhD at Maastricht University, after which I started thinking about what I wanted to do next. I knew that I liked academia, but I also wanted to learn more from practice. For example, I knew everything about option models but had never actually traded an option myself. So, I started out in financial economics, which is a little more specialised. I learned to be a financial market person when I was trading equity options in Amsterdam on the exchange. There, I learned what financial markets can and cannot do and what the negative and positive aspects of financial markets are. Then, I gradually started to specialise more in financial markets.
Over time, I learned that I am an entrepreneurial person, but also an academic. I like both teaching and researching. What I like about research is that you discover new things and have the opportunity to really dive into a topic. It is also very entrepreneurial because you have a question to which you need an answer. I have taught in very large classrooms, which gives me a thrill. It is also very rewarding to see that students are inspired by what you say. It gave me the realisation that the combination of being a researcher and a teacher is what I want to be.
Intrinsic motivation
I don’t give my students literature to study beforehand. Instead, I prefer to give them a case or a question and instruct them to solve it by using academic literature. But, I do not tell them what they should read. This stimulates them to conduct their own research to find the right answers. Eventually, they read the same amount of literature as they would have read if they had been given the literature. I believe intrinsic motivation to read papers is the best thing to have. This is also a strategy I use to encourage my students to study more.
After completing my PhD, I didn’t know what to do, but it felt good to work on the options exchange for a while. Although I only did that for two and a half years, I really enjoyed it. But then I moved on to something different, which brought me to where I am today - a place where I am completely happy. My life motto therefore is: a day without laughter is a day wasted.
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This item is part of Backbone Magazine 2025. The magazine can be found in E-building or Theil-building for free. Additionally, a digital copy is available here. Backbone is the corporate magazine of Erasmus School of Economics. Since 2014, it is published once a year. The magazine highlights successful and interesting alumni, covers the latest economic trends and research, and reports on news, events, student and alumni accomplishments.
