Imagine having your bank loan approved within a minute. Or if you’re a finance professional, how about having a virtual assistant to plough through tons of financial data to decide which investment would yield a better return? These scenarios are not too far from reality, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in the finance arena. Globally, the immense potential of AI applications, which could change radically the way the financial sector works, is getting everyone excited yet concerned about how AI may impact jobs and their organisations.
Despite the growing awareness of AI technology, many finance professionals are still unfamiliar with its impact on the industry. To give these professionals a good grasp of the emerging technologies that are shaping their industry’s future, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), one of Singapore’s leading institutes of higher learning, is partnering with London-based Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) to launch the AI in Finance (AIF) course.
As Singapore’s SkillsFuture1 sector coordinator in financial services, NP has been actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with renowned partners to co-develop fintech courses. Its Principal Mr Clarence Ti said, “AI is a technological driving force that no industry can ignore. Some studies estimate that about 50 per cent of today’s tasks would be assisted by AI in the next 20 years. With Singapore and London gaining recognition as leading fintech hubs of the world, it is timely for NP and CFTE to launch an industry-led course that provides finance professionals and others a practical guide to AI.”
Added Mr Huy Nguyen Trieu, co-founder of CFTE, “CFTE addresses the needs of professionals in finance and technologists to upskill in a rapidly changing industry being transformed by emerging technologies. Our objective is to equip students with the right skills to thrive in a world of digital finance, and artificial intelligence is one of the single most important drivers transforming finance.”
Ahead of its official launch, AIF has received positive support from Singapore’s banking sector. Two local banks have come on board as anchor sponsors for this programme.
Committing up to 1,000 training places, OCBC Bank is keen to equip its employees with skills that are relevant to the future economy and sees AI as an increasingly important area for banking.
“Thanks to our pool of skilled employees, OCBC Bank has successfully rolled out initiatives like AI-powered chatbots Emma, for home loans, and Buddy, for employee’s HRrelated queries. The AIF programme will help us build on our AI-edge by equipping more staff with such skillsets that are relevant to the future of banking,” said Ms Yap Aye Wee, Head of Learning & Development, Group Human Resources, OCBC Bank.
Ms Jenny Wong, Head of Group Human Resources, United Overseas Bank (UOB) said, “Ensuring that our people have the relevant skillsets and agile mindsets is a priority at UOB. The AIF will complement our suite of training programmes aimed at deepening the digital capabilities of our colleagues. Through the programme, our people will have a deeper understanding of AI in order to harness the technology for enhanced performance and a more instinctive customer experience.”
THE PROGRAMME
The course scours the world to bring together over 20 industry insiders and thought leaders to collaborate on a programme on AI by the industry for the industry. The distinguished faculty comprises Co-Founder and CEO of ADDO.AI Dr Ayesha Khanna (Singapore); Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Ping An Technology Mr Jon-Tzen Ng (Shanghai); former global CTO at UBS Dr Stephan Murer (Zurich); and Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Scientist at Flowcast Inc Dr Winnie Cheng (New York).
Guest speakers include Chief Data Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Dr David Hardoon (Singapore); CEO of Behavox Mr Erkin Adylov (London); Cohead Global Venture Investing at Citi Ventures Mr Ramneek Gupta (San Francisco); Chief Data Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Mr Shameek Kundu (Singapore); and Vice President Cognitive Solutions at IBM Watson Group Mr Jean-Philippe Desbiolles (Paris) (please refer to Annex A for more details).
“Although the course is designed to give participants an understanding of the fundamentals of AI, we do not intend it to be a theoretical programme. Instead, it will provide an industry overview of AI, with observations from industry insiders and thought leaders from the US to China,” said Mr Patrice Choong, Director for The Sandbox, NP’s innovation and enterprise office that is spearheading the joint development of AIF with CFTE.
He added, “Participants will be exposed to industry insights and real-life case studies to ensure that the content is relatable to them. For example, there are already applications of AI in areas such as insurance, credit scoring and customer service. All these case studies will form part of the course content and discussion.”
The course will be conducted entirely online, which allows global participation and the flexibility for busy professionals to complete it in their own time. Comprising 18 modules, the structured programme will cover a wide range of topics, from the basics of AI technology to the implementation of AI at the strategic level. It targets primarily finance professionals including those in capital markets, frontoffice, compliance, risk management and insurance. It is also applicable to technologists, entrepreneurs, regulators, lawyers, fintech educators, business writers, as well as students from countries across the world including the UK, Singapore and other ASEAN countries
AIF’s robust ecosystem not only offers participants access to thought leaders in the industry, AI startups and finance companies that have adopted AI, but also provides potential opportunities in the form of internships and jobs as well as a supportive community that possesses a wealth of knowledge in the financial sector. Post programme, participants may get opportunities to meet up with the featured industry professionals.
The course is accredited by SkillsFuture Singapore and is in the process of obtaining accreditation with The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore. Singapore Citizens/ Permanent Residents will enjoy 70% government subsidy for the course fees.
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