With fintech quickly gaining traction around the world, the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow is planning to launch the first fintech degree in the UK.
Fintech has been getting a lot of attention lately. Despite the obvious potential of the sector, universities in the UK still do not provide courses on the new technology.
Scotland’s University of Strathclyde has become the first educational institution in the UK to offer the fintech degree for its students. The new 12-month course will be run by the university’s Business School and is scheduled to start in September 2017. Students will be taught by tutors from the Department of Accounting and Finance and the Department of Management Science.
The program will provide students with the core elements of fintech and will educate them on how to digitally transform business operations. In addition, students will obtain deeper knowledge of financial regulation, programming, and data analytics. The use of emerging technologies like blockchain will also be covered.
Scotland realizes the potential of new technologies and the launch of the new fintech course will help the country not to fall behind financial innovation. The initiative is expected to contribute to the digital transformation of the country’s financial services industry.
“Fintech is developing rapidly, utilising software and programming code in innovative ways,” said Daniel Broby, director of Strathclyde’s Centre for Financial Regulation and Innovation’s. “It is driving efficiency up and costs down and the digitalisation of transactions is now a cross-disciplinary science. Our new course will equip students with the essential skills and knowledge for a career in this field; it combines theory, intensive practice and industrial engagement.”
An economic research discovered past year that fintech sector can create up to 15,000 jobs in Scotland during the next 10 years.
“We are delighted to have received such overwhelming support from the sector in the development of the course. It has been designed to give graduates a clear understanding of what businesses need, and fast-track them into successful careers in the finance sector,” Broby stated.
Scotland, meantime, is not the only country providing courses on the financial technology. In 2015, The Open University introduced an online Fintech 101 program that offers 50 hours of learning the origins of fintech and its role in changing the financial ecosystem. The same year the US-based MIT opened its fintech ventures course designed to advance knowledge in the finetch sector. Plus, UCL London provides an Entrepreneurship Masters degree with fintech sub-stream.
Given the ongoing growth of the technology, the number of new fintech courses from different global universities will only grow in the near future.
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