University of Stirling Launches new Fintech Masters Course

In September 2018, students will begin the new MSc. Fintech at the University of Stirling, studying computing, data analytics, banking, finance and entrepreneurship in a course designed to lead to a job in the new and exciting field of fintech.
A course relevant with today’s challenges
Banking and finance are undergoing a revolution driven by new technology and changes to regulations. New cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are changing the way people hold money and are driving a new boom in investment. Mobile currencies such as M-Pena are empowering people across the world who would otherwise not have access to banking facilities.
Open banking regulations are allowing technology companies to produce new financial products based on mobile communications, using new business models and challenging the existing banks. It is a time of change, and an exciting field to work in.
To succeed in fintech you need skills and expertise in computing, finance and business. Many fintech companies are small startups so you need entrepreneurial skills and the ability to manage change and innovation.
Bringing tech and management together
The MSc. Financial Technology (Fintech) at the University of Stirling has been designed to give you the skills you need to get ahead in fintech. It is taught jointly by Computing Science, Finance and Accounting, and the Management School to provide you with the broad set of skills and knowledge demanded in the sector right now. The main taught modules in the course cover:
Manipulating data and scripting in Python
An introduction to blockchain
Cyber security and data protection
Relational and NoSQL databases
Contemporary issues in banking
An introduction to corporate finance
Data analytics and machine learning
Cluster computing on Hadoop and Spark
Fintech app development
Investment regulation and ethics
Heuristics and bias in behavioural finance
Innovation management and disruptive technology
Business startup planning
Professionalism, regulation and ethics in banking
The course will take its first students in September 2018 and can be studied full time over one year or part time over two years. Students study in the beautiful Stirling campus. Stirling University is 1st in Scotland and 3rd in the UK for graduate employment and 98% of our postgraduate leavers are in employment of further study within six months of graduating. The fintech course was designed in consultation with banks and companies who recruit into fintech jobs to ensure our graduates will have the best chance of landing that dream fintech job. For more details and to apply for a place on the course, go to stir.ac.uk/1hw

The Glasgow University FinTech Society – the story so far

What is Glasgow University FinTech Society?

The society was created in summer 2017. It’s goal is to increase knowledge and raise the profile of fintech among university students.

They have adopted a fresh approach to fintech, opening membership to students of any degree as long as they are interested in technology innovations. This is important as successful start-ups and SMEs will need more than tech and financial skills. As with all businesses, marketing, data, user experience, human sciences and much more will be necessary to develop sustainable and fruitful businesses.

A fast-growing society

The group has developed very quickly, acquiring 70 members in 3 months. They are a mix of first-year to PhD students. Through this group they will get opportunities to develop their knowledgge about everything fintech thanks to the organisation of events on various topics such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies,

P2P lending, and much more.

Jan Jindra, President of the society told us:

“What makes our society unique is that our society members form teams in advance to the event to

research the specific FinTech-related topic on their own first, write a group report and eventually

deliver the presentation at the event to other students. This supports the idea of “learning by doing”

and it becomes a very useful experience for everyone involved”.

3 events have been held so far:
-What does fintech mean?
-Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies (Students were able to create their

own crypto tokens and learn from speaker Dug

Campbell, Blockchain consultant and writer.)
-Peer-to- Peer lending and Stock Trading Apps.

What are the plans for the future?

More vents are being planned especially around the topics of AI and Ethics which is a growing topic within the tech community.
They’ll also cover regulations in FinTech.

One of the most exciting initiative is their Applied FinTech Project. Members will work with existing FS brands on FinTech matters.
They are looking to contact businesses interested in partnering with the society to look at challenges and opportunities. If it wasn’t interesting enough, they decided to provide this at no cost at all.

More information is available on www.uogfintech.com and if you want to get in touch with them you can do so at info@uogfintech.com

Seed Haus ”“ open for second cohort

Seed Haus, the Scottish pre-seed tech accelerator, are now accepting applications for their second cohort. If you’re interested you have until 30th December to apply for £30,000 of equity investment from Scotland’s top-tier tech investors.

Who are Seed Haus?

Calum Forsyth, CEO, and Robin Knox, Chairman founded Seed Haus after identifying a gap in the startup support system. They decided to create the only incubator in Scotland which provides entrepreneurs with start-up capital as part of the package. On top of office space and the capital the pair also designed a solution that provides mentoring, peer meet-ups and investor sessions.

The first cohort launch early 2017 with 5 of the most exciting start-ups in Scotland: Drinkly, Kindaba, Sansible Wearables, Security CTRL, and Taka.

The selection process

Out of all the applications, 5 startups will be selected and offered a place in the programme. Seed Haus is working with renown partners: Alistair Forbes, James Watt of BrewDog, Gavin Dutch, Paul Walton, Judy Wilson, Rob Dobson, Paddy Burns, Chris van der Kuyl, Paul Davidson, and Sir Tom Hunter.

Calum Forsyth declared: “Our deal terms are incredibly founder friendly. The founders backed in cohort 1 were originally looking to raise around £100,000 with very little traction. Based on the current investment climate in Scotland, that would have meant selling a big part of their business, at a formative stage, hampering future growth and fundraising. Pleasingly, they saw the value in aligning with Seed Haus which allows them to hold on to a greater portion of equity and lay the foundations for a truly scalable business”.

Who can apply?

Most entrepreneurs can apply but Seed Haus is most interested in people with domain expertise. Seed Haus provide investments which allow entrepreneurs to cover their living costs. It therefore removes some of the risks that could have stopped some entrepreneurs making the leap. Transitioning from full-time work to entrepreneurship can be hard, Seed Haus take some of the fear away.

To apply visit Seed Haus website.

Edinburgh Hosts Event On Personal Data And Open Banking

New rules demanding a new approach

The EU’s PSD2 legislation that is closely aligned with the work of the Open Banking Working Group is going to make a significant difference to the operation of financial services both in Britain and in Europe, effecting far-reaching changes for years to come.

As of 18 January, consumers, SMEs and even corporates will be offered the opportunity to consent to having their personal data shared securely with financial institutions other than their own bank, with the option of choosing new products and services.

If this were not enough, the General Data Protection Regulation that comes into force across Europe in May will place far greater demands on companies to protect their customers’ data than at present and gradually raise customers’ attitudes towards the management of their personal information.

It would seem that the traditional and emerging finance communities as well as consumers are going to have varying expectations on how the new rules and ways of operating are going to work.

Why do Open Banking and GDPR matter now?

The urgency for innovation has rarely been more felt and is going to become a pressing need, if it isn’t already.

The good news this week at least is that Edinburgh, where much of this disruption is going to have significant impact, will be discussing these issues and more in a one-day event hosted by the Trust in Digital Life association, The ID Co. and the School of Informatics University of Edinburgh.

The objective of Whose Data Is It Anyway? is to achieve a fresh perspective on how potential conflicts of interest can be avoided in the future, particularly in the context of open banking, and what the landscape might look like in a few years’ time for banks, businesses, SMEs and the rest of us.

Whose Data is it Anyway? takes place at the Informatics Forum, University of Edinburgh, starting with breakfast from 08.30 to 09:30 and finishing at 15.15 on Thursday 14th December 2017. Attendance is free when you register in advance.

(Once you’ve registered, tweet to #whosedata)

About TDL

The Trust in Digital Life (TDL) community comprises leading industry partners and knowledge institutes that hold trust and trustworthy services to be an essential ingredient of the digital economy.

TDL members are committed to enabling a trustworthy ecosystem that protects the rights of citizens while creating new business opportunities. To this end, TDL researches, pilots and incubates trustworthy ICT services and technologies in an innovative environment.

TDL forms the bridge between citizens entitled to the best possible services and an industry that develops devices, applications and services that protect them from Internet threats and provides them at an affordable price. A major focus is on the research and business agenda of the European Union.

From banking to healthcare, driverless cars to online shopping, every aspect of our 21st century digital world is dependent on varying degrees of trust between consumers and suppliers, governments and their citizens.

The continual threat of cyber-attacks has the potential to undermine our confidence in taking full advantage of the opportunities available to grow the digital economy, not only in Europe but across the world.

The objective of this community of industrialists, entrepreneurs and academics is to provide the tools and awareness that the wider community can benefit from in their daily digital lives. Their mission is to create a trusted ecosystem based on innovative and trustworthy ICT products and solutions that protects the data and assets of European citizens and enterprises.

www.trustindigitallife.eu

Bitcoin vs. Scotcoin – the Scottish cryptocurrency alternative

It’s becoming very hard to ignore cryptocurrencies. Whether you’re a cryptocoin enthusiast or a confirmed sceptic, it’s clear that they are here to stay. They might never replace traditional currencies but will have their part to play in the world of finance.

However, Caroline Wylie, at Scotcoin tells us that the rise in Bitcoin has had a profound effect on the very nature of Bitcoin. Increased transaction charges are pushing up the cost of working in cryptocurrencies – as she says: “Your cup of coffee at £3 looks rather different when it becomes £7 by the time you pay for it. Why would you pay such a high premium just to use Bitcoin as a currency? It makes smaller transactions completely uneconomic.”

Bitcoin Transaction charges

Why are the charges so high? It’s down to the success of Bitcoin. This has led to a steep increase in the number of transactions. The way Bitcoin verifies those transactions requires rewards for the miners who do the work – they get paid in Bitcoin, so the more transactions there are, the more miners are needed and transaction fees go up.
The standard charge for a transaction is 0.0005 BTC or 0.50 cents at $1,000 per BTC. This number can fluctuate depending on how fast you want the transaction to happen.

However, today, with Bitcoin over $11,000, even if the standard charge is around $3.50 it will require 99 blocks to process and confirm the transaction. 99 blocks is the equivalent of up to 17 hours. If you want the transaction to be faster you’re looking at:
0.0006 BTC or $4.20 for 15 blocks

0.0007 BTC or $4.90 for 2 to 5 blocks

The alternative – Scotcoin

Scotcoin intends to move from the Bitcoin blockchain to its own permissioned blockchain to remove the those high transaction charges and speed up how fast those transactions are confirmed. The new blockchain can deal with transactions in seconds with a cost that’s only a very small fraction of the charge one would pay with the Bitcoin blockchain. So not only is it cheaper, it’s faster making retail use of cryptocurrencies a reality.

Scotcoin has already done a small trial of using digital currencies to buy beer in the Arlington Bar in Glasgow. And initial tests on the new blockchain are producing exciting speeds. More updates soon.

About the author:

Scotcoin is a cryptocurrency established in 2014 by Derek Nisbet, a Scottish fintech entrepreneur. It currently operates on the Bitcoin blockchain using the Counterparty protocol and has a market value of $25 million USD placing it in the top 200 of global crypto currencies as measured by the USD value.

In 2016 all intellectual property associated with Scotcoin was acquired from Nisbet by Scottish fintech investors, David Low and Temple Melville.

The investors’ desire is for the Scottish Government to adopt Scotcoin as the country’s unofficial crypto currency. It is acknowledged that currency is not a devolved responsibility whilst Scotland remains part of the UK. Scotcoin could only become an official currency if Scotland was independent of the UK or current legislation was changed.