The HKU-SCF FinTech Academy will cultivate future-fit talents and upskill bankers with disruptive technologies to capture the immense opportunities.

Ms Mary Huen
CEO, Hong Kong, Standard Chartered and
Trustee, Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation (SCF) has committed HK$60 Million to establish the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy which will leverage the combined strength of academics and industry to enhance the way FinTech is taught, researched, and innovated, and to make a sustainable impact on the financial services sectors of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The Academy, launched in April 2020, is hosted by the Department of Computer Science of the Faculty of Engineering and supported by the Faculty of Law and the HKU Business School.

HKU-SCF FinTech Academy

HKU has first-class FinTech research teams across the faculties of engineering, law, and business and economics, working in areas including blockchain, cybersecurity, regulatory technology, AI and big data analytics.

Professor Xiang Zhang
President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong

Talent Development 
Following the success of its multi-disciplinary Bachelor of Arts and Sciences (BASc) in FinTech, two Masters programmes have been introduced. The Master of Science in Computer Science (Financial Computing Stream) focuses on the study of data and algorithms used in finance and the mathematics of computer programmes that realise financial models. The Master of Science in Financial Technology and Data Analytics offers a thorough study of not just financial technology but also critical awareness of ethical and regulatory constraints.

The newly established HKU-SCF Scholarships include the first ever “full scholarships” in FinTech, each at HK$200,000, to local undergraduate students on the basis of academic merit as well as the “entrance scholarships”, each at HK$50,000, for undergraduate and postgraduate students. A total of 12 students benefited from these scholarships in the academic year 2020/21.

Industry and Community Engagement 
HKU’s ‘Introduction to FinTech’, a massive open online course (MOOC), made it to the top 10 at the 2019 edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions to Online Teaching and Learning. Introduced in 2018, the six-week upskilling programme had over 80,000 learners from all over the world. Three new MOOCs will be launched with the first one starting in 2021 on advance topics to illustrate how research and technologies will drive FinTech forward.

The HKU-SCF FinTech Academy will become one of the most sought-after platforms for careers in the new era of 5G, digital currencies and new infrastructure.

Jason Chiu
Founder and CEO, Cherrypicks

Research 
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of financial service firms, which are now migrating from traditional IT systems to cloud-based platforms. New research projects led by Professor Douglas Arner, Dr Allen Au, Professor Chen Lin and Professor SM Yiu assessed a wide range of issues, including financial fluctuations due to COVID- 19, and the next-generation digital currency.

The Academy will also strengthen ongoing projects at the FinTech and Blockchain Research Lab and the Center for Information Security and Cryptography. R&D positions will be offered to PhD students, postdoctoral, research associates and undergraduate research assistants. It will also host visiting professors for academics or industry leaders in research.

HKU FinTech Index
The HKU FinTech Index Project was initiated in 2018 and successfully launched the Hong Kong FinTech Growth Index (FGI) and the Hong Kong FinTech Buzz Index (FBI) in 2019 to gauge the outlook of local FinTech companies on the industry and the general sentiment in the sector. Since September 2020, the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy has been providing funds to support research and expansion of the FinTech Indexes using AI or machine learning technologies, particularly in the Greater Bay Area.