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Can Generative AI deliver real robo advice?

Season 4, episode 8

Listen to the full episode here.

In this episode of the Fintech Scotland podcast, host Mickael Paris discusses the intersection of open finance and generative AI with industry experts. The conversation explores the potential of generative AI to provide personalized financial advice, the regulatory challenges that accompany these innovations, and the importance of maintaining consumer trust in AI-driven financial services. The guests share insights on the evolution of robo-advice, the future of financial services, and the role of regulation in fostering innovation while ensuring consumer protection.

Scottish Fintech Cluster’s New Home Unveiled as Annual Festival Begins

Scotland’s FinTech Cluster celebrated the official opening of the Fintech Ward in the heart of the newly opened Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) in Edinburgh, with an event that also marked the launch of the much-anticipated FinTech Scotland Festival 2024.

FinTech continues to grow in Scotland with 235 fintech firms now working in Scotland, a 23% increase in the last 3 years. These businesses continue to attract investment with a 26% increase 2024.

Edinburgh has long had an established fintech foothold. The fintech ward at the EFI further advances the opportunity for accelerated growth. The facilities connect business and the latest research and interdisciplinary innovations.

Business Minister Richard Lochhead said:

“Scotland has a long and rich history in financial services, and is now a leading player in cutting edge fintech – a strategically important sector in the 21st century, playing a key role in securing economic growth and jobs.

“The opening of the Fintech Ward at EFI and the launch of the FinTech Scotland Festival are clear signals of our continuing leadership in fintech innovation, further strengthening Scotland’s position as a global fintech hub.”

The evening, brought together key players from the Scottish Fintech cluster, including representatives from established financial institutions, fintech startups, academics, and leading industry figures.

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, emphasised the importance of the festival, noting:

“This year’s festival will showcase Scotland’s vibrant fintech ecosystem and facilitate meaningful connections between innovators, financial firms, academics, and international stakeholders around the key priority areas detailed in the UK Fintech Research and Innovation Roadmap that we first published in 2022.”

Kev Dhaliwal, Interim Director of EFI, commented on the institute’s role:

“The Edinburgh Futures Institute was created to drive collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and industries, providing a space where ideas can flourish, and innovations can thrive. EFI is not only a home for fintech but also for education, data science, culture, and public policy. It offers a cross-sectorial approach to addressing the complex challenges of the future.”

The FinTech Scotland Festival 2024, running between the 25th of September and the 4th of October, will feature a series of events aimed at highlighting cutting-edge fintech innovations, and driving forward the fintech cluster in Scotland and the fintech movement around the globe. The festival will bring together local and international thought leaders, businesses, and innovators to explore the latest trends, technologies, and opportunities in payment, financial regulation, Open Finance and Climate.

For more information about the FinTech Scotland Festival, please visit www.scotlandfintechfestival.com

For more details about the Edinburgh Futures Institute, visit https://efi.ed.ac.uk/.

Photo: Business Minister Richard Lochhead and Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland

BlackRock joins FinTech Scotland supporting Fintech Innovation for a New Era in Finance

BlackRock, the leading global investment manager, announced it was joining FinTech Scotland, the cluster management organisation for the fintech sector in Scotland. The announcement comes as BlackRock continues to develop local knowledge and talent as it expands in Scotland.

The ambition aligns with the FinTech Scotland Research and Innovation Strategy, focused on shaping the future of finance through fintech and technology. Through this partnership BlackRock and FinTech Scotland will collaborate on innovation and solving difficult problems through data and technology, helping more people experience financial wellbeing.

BlackRock joins a fintech cluster that is recognised as a centre of excellence in fintech innovation through a committed industry driven to advance the fintech opportunity. The Cluster is rich and diverse with over 235 fintech SME, 35 established financial and professional services institutions, global technology enterprises, world-class universities, regulators and a supportive public sector.

BlackRock’s deep expertise in technology and investment management continues to add to the experience across the FinTech Scotland Cluster and confirms its plans for further growth in Scotland.

Scott Walker, Managing Director, Co-head of BlackRock’s Edinburgh office, said: “We are excited to join with FinTech Scotland and its dynamic fintech cluster. We’re looking forward to working with peers and the industry in exploring key themes that are critical to the future of financial services and important to our clients. BlackRock has a long history in Edinburgh and our partnership with FinTech Scotland demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the local market, in addition deepening our relationships in this growing sector.”

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, said: “The collaboration with BlackRock is a testament to the strength and international appeal of the Scottish fintech cluster. Thanks to the collective innovation and technology expertise across in Scotland, we will continue to drive meaningful change and fintech evolution that will address some of the most pressing challenges in the financial industry today.”

Understanding MiCA Sustainability Compliance: How Zumo’s New Feature Simplifies the Process

Zumo, the B2B digital assets infrastructure provider, has introduced a new feature that will change the way crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) in the European Union (EU) manage sustainability compliance. The new addition to Zumo’s Oxygen product helps CASPs adhere to the upcoming sustainability reporting requirements under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

MiCA, aims to create a consistent framework for crypto-assets across the EU. It includes a range of obligations for CASPs. One such obligation, which many CASPs appear to have overlooked, pertains to the new sustainability indicators drafted by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). These indicators measure the environmental impact of crypto-assets offered by CASPs, a requirement that must be addressed by 30 December 2024. Industry data suggests that over 80% of CASPs are unaware of this looming deadline, placing them at risk of substantial fines.

MiCA Article 66 mandates that CASPs — including exchanges, brokerages, custodians, and trading firms — operating within the EU or planning to provide services to the EU must have website disclosures detailing the environmental impact of their crypto-assets. Failure to meet this requirement could result in penalties of at least €5 million or 5% of the company’s annual turnover.

Zumo’s Innovative Solution

Zumo’s latest feature, integrated into the Oxygen product, is designed to help CASPs effortlessly meet these new sustainability reporting requirements. The solution provides access to MiCA-compliant sustainability metrics for listed crypto-assets. It leverages high-quality data from the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI), a strategic partner of Zumo, to  build upon Zumo’s ongoing efforts to align digital asset activities with net-zero principles.

One of the key benefits of this new feature is the ability to auto-generate MiCA-compliant website disclosure reports, making it easier for CASPs across the EU to stay on top of their sustainability obligations.

Nick Jones,  Founder and CEO of Zumo said “MiCA’s sustainability requirements are going live to a tight deadline, and bring with them complex data questions as well as potentially hefty fines.[…] It’s become clear that CASPs across Europe simply aren’t ready. In response, we’ve taken another important step on our sustainability journey to add the indicators that will enable service providers to comply with current and future sustainability compliance requirements. With our MiCA solution, CASPs will be able to access a single interface that helps them cut through all the complexity associated with pulling data together, formatting an appropriate template, and providing the output that ESMA is looking for.”

A Pioneer in Sustainable Digital Assets

Zumo has established itself as a leader in sustainable digital assets, with a commitment to shaping a future where financial institutions can operate within a sustainable, compliant framework. The company’s efforts have been recognised by prestigious awards such as the Fintech Finance Awards, the City AM Awards, and the Scottish Financial Technology Awards.

Beyond this, Zumo was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Crypto Sustainability Coalition, which explored how blockchain technologies can support climate action. The company also signed the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration and co-founded the Emerging Technologies Sustainability Taskforce (ETST).

Photo by Kervin Edward Lara: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-wind-turbines-on-gray-sand-near-body-of-water-3976320/

Transparency, explainability and fairness in approaches to AI regulation: Takeaways from the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence

a Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland

b Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Introduction and Purpose

AI offers amazing opportunities, but has the potential for both harm and good. Used responsibly it can perhaps redress urgent concerns. Conversely, careless use may worsen societal harms – fraud, discrimination, bias, and disinformation among others.  AI deployment for good and towards achieving its many benefits necessitates mitigation of its considerable risks, demanding efforts from government, the private sector, academia, and civil society (Biden Jr., 2023).

Thus, on the 30th of October 2023 an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was issued from the White House’s Briefing Room under the authority of President Biden (Biden Jr., 2023). Through the order’s authority, the utmost priority was placed on AI development and use governance via a coordinated, Federal Government-wide approach. The pace of AI capability advancements compelled this action (Biden Jr., 2023).

The order’s impact is assured by the force of law, and federal/executive departments and agencies[1] were made accountable for several duties within it. The aim is to achieve a more innovative, secure, productive, and prosperous future for equitable AI governance (Biden Jr., 2023). Consequently, they have undertaken initiatives to assist in shaping AI policy and advance the safe and responsible development and utilization of AI.[2]

The US’s systematic importance in shaping the global economic landscape makes it interesting to explore its approach to AI regulation (Jain, 2024). Thus, aspects centred around transparency, fairness and explainability within the Executive Order are outlined and form the basis of this piece. A particular emphasis is placed on Sections 7 (Advancing Equity and Civil Rights) and Section 8 (Protecting Consumers, Patients, Passengers, and Students), given the relevance of their respective content to explainability, transparency, and fairness in the context of this article. Finally, a juxtaposition against EU and UK regulatory approaches is made to draw out similarities and differences.

Executive Order Structure

The executive order is structured into the following sections:

  1. Purpose.
  2. Policy and Principles.
  3. Definitions.
  4. Ensuring the Safety and Security of AI Technology.
  5. Promoting Innovation and Competition.
  6. Supporting Workers.
  7. Advancing Equity and Civil Rights.
  8. Protecting Consumers, Patients, Passengers, and Students.
  9. Protecting Privacy.
  10. Advancing Federal Government Use of AI.
  11. Strengthening American Leadership Abroad.
  12. Implementation.
  13. General Provisions.

Policy and principles

Eight guiding priorities and adhering principles are outlined for agencies, to comply with the order’s mandate, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, while, where feasible, considering the views of other agencies, industry, academia, civil society, labor unions, international allies and partners, and other relevant organizations (Biden Jr., 2023). In synopsis, they are:[3]

(a) Safe and secure AI, requiring robust, reliable, repeatable, and standardized AI system evaluations, as well as policies, institutions, and other mechanisms to test, understand, and mitigate risks before use. This includes addressing the most pressing security risks of AI systems, while navigating AI’s opacity and complexity (Biden Jr., 2023).

(b) Promote responsible innovation, competition, and collaboration for AI leadership, and unlock potential for society’s most difficult challenges, through related education, training, development, research, and capacity investments. Concurrently, tackle novel intellectual property (IP) questions and other problems to shield inventors and creators (Biden Jr., 2023).

(c) Responsible AI development and use requiring commitment to supporting workers.  As new jobs and industries are created, workers need a seat at the table, including collective bargaining, so they benefit from opportunities. Job training and education to be adapted for a diverse workforce and providing access to AI-created opportunities (Biden Jr., 2023).

(d)  AI policies consistent with the Administration’s dedication to advancing equity and civil rights.  AI use to disadvantage those already too often denied equal opportunity and justice should not be tolerated. From hiring to housing to healthcare, AI use can deepen discrimination and bias, rather than improving quality of life (Biden Jr., 2023).

(e)  Protect interest of those increasingly using, interacting with, or purchasing AI and enabled products in daily lives. New technology usage does not excuse organizations from legal obligations, and hard-won consumer protections are more important in moments of technological change (Biden Jr., 2023).

(f)  Protect privacy and civil liberties as AI continues advancing. AI makes it easier to extract, re-identify, link, infer, and act on sensitive information about people’s identities, locations, habits, and desires. AI’s capabilities in these areas can increase the risk that personal data is exploited and exposed (Biden Jr., 2023).

(g)  Manage the risks from Federal Government’s own AI use and increase its internal capacity to regulate, govern, and support responsible AI use for better results. Steps are to be taken to attract, retain, and develop public service-oriented AI professionals, including from underserved communities, across disciplines and ease AI professionals’ path into the Federal Government to help harness and govern AI (Biden Jr., 2023).

(h)  Lead the way to global societal, economic, and technological progress, as in previous eras of disruptive innovation and change. This is not measured solely by technological advancements the country makes.  Effective leadership also means pioneering systems and safeguards to deploy technology responsibly — and building and promoting safeguards with the rest of the world (Biden Jr., 2023).

Definitions

“Artificial intelligence” or “AI” is defined in the order as a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.  Artificial intelligence systems use machine- and human-based inputs to perceive real and virtual environments; abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner; and use model inference to formulate options for information or action (Biden Jr., 2023).

Further, “AI model” in the order means a component of an information system that implements AI technology and uses computational, statistical, or machine-learning techniques to produce outputs from a given set of inputs (Biden Jr., 2023).

Finally, the order’s “AI system” definition is any data system, software, hardware, application, tool, or utility that operates in whole or in part using AI (Biden Jr., 2023).

Transparency, explainability and fairness

While some notable elements of transparency, explainability and fairness are present, directly or indirectly, in other sections of the order, given their emphasised pertinence for human, consumer, and fundamental rights implications (Jain, 2024), over and above the guiding principles and policies discussed earlier, Section 7 and Section 8 delve into the greatest detail on these areas of particular interest.

Section 7 Advancing Equity and Civil Rights provides edification and guidance predominantly in relation to bias and discrimination from an AI perspective. This is in the context of varied rights including those related to the dispensation of criminal justice, and government benefits and programs. Finally, this is also done in the context of the broader economy: specifically, in so far as AI decision making is concerned, whether for disabilities, hiring, housing, consumer financial markets, tenant screening, among others (Biden Jr., 2023).[4]

Section 8 Protecting Consumers, Patients, Passengers, and Students illustrates, from the lens of AI, the direction and principles in relation to aspects of healthcare, public health, and human services. It also clarifies in relation to facets of bias and discrimination in such contexts. Moreover, it details guidance on transportation, education, and communication insofar as AI is concerned (Biden Jr., 2023).[5]

Disparities and parities viz-a-viz the UK and EU

Unlike the UK, and like the EU, explicit definitions for AI are mapped out within the order as highlighted earlier (Jain, 2024). For the most part, the order is phrased in the context of the US and its applicability is for the most part confined to the US, but similar to both the UK and EU, instances exist where international applicability comes into play (Jain, 2024). Notably however, the onus is largely laid upon existing regulatory bodies for the implementation of the order like the UK, albeit with the distinction that some existing US bodies (for example, TechCongress) mostly, if not entirely, have AI within their remits. Thus, in the latter respect, approach of the US is more similar to that of the EU, and perhaps most accurately defined as a combination of the two (Jain, 2024).

In so far as fairness, explainability and transparency are concerned, there is a very holistic emphasis from US lawmakers along several unique considerations. In this, the approach is more akin to that of the EU. As far as caveats and advantages are concerned, a comparison between the US and the UK can be drawn that is broadly parallel to the contrast between the EU and the UK. Specifically, due to its stricter approach, and bureaucratic structure, it will necessitate expending significantly more compliance time, cost, and effort. However, such regulatory guidelines have stronger ethical grounding, possibly ensuring the best interests of relevant stakeholders, and avoiding dark innovation, bad players, reputational damage, and insidious misuse (Jain, 2024). Lastly as seen for the EU and UK (Jain, 2024), fairness, explainability, and transparency once again come to the fore as key considerations in regulating AI within the order. They are also ubiquitously present principles in the approach of the US as evidenced above, underlining their importance and salience in lawmakers’ minds.

Future topics

Expounding upon and assessing the evolution of this regulatory space may be compelling subjects for future articles, as they could hold manifold implications for explainability, transparency and fairness. Further iterations or final versions of specific draft guidance (referenced in footnotes earlier in this piece) created in response to this order could be analysed in further detail (for instance, see here), and comparisons with other similar frameworks (for instance, see here) may be of interest.

References

Biden Jr., J. R. (2023, October 30). Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. Retrieved from The White House’s Official Website – Briefing Room – Presidential Actions: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/

Jain, K. (2024, April 03). How transparency, explainability and fairness are being connected under UK and EU approaches to AI regulation. Retrieved from FinTech Scotland: https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fintechscotland.com%2Fhow-transparency-explainability-and-fairness-are-being-connected-under-uk-and-eu-approaches-to-ai-regulation%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ckushagra.jain%40strath.ac.uk%7C1f806I

Image created by OpenAI’s DALL·E, based on an article summary provided by ChatGPT.

PropEco Secures £275,000 Seed Funding to Revolutionise Property, Insurance, and Mortgage Lending with Groundbreaking Tech

Glasgow-based technology company PropEco has secured £275,000 in seed funding to accelerate its mission of future-proofing the property industry through advanced data and analytical tools. The funding will support PropEco’s efforts to address evolving social and environmental trends, including climate change, and their impact on property, ultimately laying the groundwork for international expansion over the coming year.

The funding round was led by London-based venture capital firm Symvan Capital, known for its focus on early-stage, high-growth technology companies. The University of Strathclyde’s Inspire Entrepreneurs Fund also contributed, highlighting growing recognition of the value of integrating environmental and social factors into property, insurance, and lending decisions.

A Platform for Modern Challenges

PropEco’s AI-powered platform offers a comprehensive assessment of properties, focusing on three key areas: transition risks related to climate change, physical risks from environmental shifts, and wellbeing impacts. It constantly analyses data from thousands of sources, many of which are proprietary, to provide detailed assessments of critical factors such as flood risk, air quality, and opportunities for green retrofitting.

This amount of data is leveraged to deliver a range of products, including an API, portfolio assessment services, browser-based risk assessment tools, and property reports. These tools enable clients to make better-informed decisions, offering time and cost savings, improved risk management, enhanced regulatory compliance, and improved customer retention.

Chris Hardman, Founder and CEO of PropEco, said:

“Symvan Capital and the University of Strathclyde’s investment underscores the importance of integrating environmental and social factors into property-related decisions. The risks posed by trends like climate change are becoming increasingly evident, and PropEco is well-positioned to lead in climate-conscious property technology.”

He further explained:

“Traditional methods of assessing risk in property are no longer equipped to handle the complexities of modern environmental and social challenges. PropEco’s data-driven approach offers property-level insights that empower stakeholders to make smarter, more resilient decisions.”

Well-Positioned for Growing Market Demand

As awareness of climate change’s risks continues to rise, the demand for climate-conscious technology within the property market is also growing. PropEco’s platform is designed to meet this demand by providing property professionals, lenders, and insurers with actionable data to manage emerging risks effectively.

Investment Manager Allen Xu of Symvan Capital, said:

“PropEco’s platform addresses several critical data challenges in today’s rapidly evolving market. By enabling smarter decision-making, PropEco is helping shape a more resilient future for the property sector, aligning with our own mission to support innovative founders passionate about solving current problems with vision and determination.”

Anne Henderson, Interim Head of Investment at the University of Strathclyde, commented:

“As a socially progressive institution, Strathclyde is committed to supporting entrepreneurs who are making a positive impact. Our partnership with PropEco through the Inspire Entrepreneurs Fund reflects our belief in their mission to create a sustainable future for the property market.”

For more information, visit PropEco’s website. For interview requests with Chris Hardman or further information, contact PropEco at info@propeco.io.

Short courses, microcredentials and skills development

Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) is a UKRI funded industry-led innovation programme that aims to address challenges and facilitate innovations in the landscape of financial regulation. FRIL comprises four pillars: innovation calls, actionable research, knowledge exchange and skills development, with each pillar informing and reinforcing each other. As part of the FRIL Team, our Skills Development Team have been focusing on developing short courses and microcredentials to support professionals in the financial sector for upskilling and reskilling. This blog focuses on the skills development aspect of FRIL.

1. Why skills development is important in FRIL?
Skills development offers clear benefits to individuals and organisations (FSSC, 2022).
For individuals, skills development enables them to update skills and knowledge, acquire new skills and capabilities, work more effectively, enhance performance, which makes them become more valuable to their current and future employers. This then translates to better career prospects.
For organisations, investing in skills development of their workforce can help increase productivity, drive innovation, enhance employee engagement, teamworking and reduce employee turnover. Engaged employees are more likely to be proactive, creative, work well with others, and be committed to achieving positive customer outcomes.
Skills development also offers benefits to policy makers. Upskilling and reskilling the workforce is key to enable a prosperous, resilient and sustainable economy. Promoting, encouraging and supporting skills development can help align with the strategic objectives of policy makers and ultimately achieve the wider social and economic benefits (Weston, 2024). For example, the Scottish Government has set an ambitious target for net zero greenhouse emission by 2045 and 75% production by 2030 (Rubio et al, 2022). This requires the workforce across industries to be timely and adequately provided with relevant green skills development training.

2. What are the external factors that drive the necessity of skills development?

2.1 Technological development
Fast changing technological development driven by industrial revolution 4.0, has changed the nature of work, where we work, how we work and what we are working on. According to OECD (2019), about 14% of jobs could be replaced and 32% transformed in the next 20 years. New jobs will be created and others becoming obsolete. The skills and knowledge needed to meet the demands of the evolving job market will continue to change, rapidly, creating skill gaps across the global economy (Stalidis & Kyriazidou, 2024). Skill development is key to adapt to this rapid change, creating both personal and organisational competitive advantage and sustainable growth.

2.2 Net zero transition:
As we are moving towards the net zero transition, new skills focused on green practices become critical. However, the demand for green knowledge and skills seems to have outpaced the supply of graduates with sustainability skills. According to PwC (2023), the number of vacancies of green jobs in the financial sector increased by three folds, from about 500 to nearly 17,000 within three years; in contrast, only 900 of them are likely to be filled by graduates trained with sustainability skills. Simply relying on graduates to fulfil the vacancies is not sufficient. Therefore, upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce in the sector through skills development programmes becomes key to address this emerging industry skill gap and where supported in public policy can address broader societal concerns with a just transition to climate change and fair work .

2.3 Changing demographics
People live longer, and they work longer (Loretto, 2016). The knowledge and skills that were acquired when they graduated will no longer sustain for the rest of their working life. They need to continue to upskill and reskill to stay competitive and meet the changing demand of the job market. Lifelong learning and skills development is important to all stakeholders in the financial services ecosystem, including the government, employers, educators and individuals.

2.4 Other drivers
Other external drivers include changing customer behaviours, products and services, as well as policies and regulations. They are particularly important to the financial sector.

3. FRIL approach to skills development

As a key pillar in FRIL, our skills development team works to address industry skill gaps, offer just-in-time and on-demand skills development courses, upskill and reskill the workforce and support the financial regulation innovation.
It is important to remember that the financial services industry is in a unique position right now, as on one hand, they need their employees to have the knowledge, skills and capabilities to follow guidelines and comply with regulations, on the other hand, they must innovate new products and services to attract new customers.
In this context, we adopted five principles to guide our skills development work. First, demand led. All our skills offerings are led by demand in the industry. These demands need to be endorsed by industry representatives. We have an Industry Steering Group and Skills Sub-group in the FRIL governance. They give feedback to our proposed skills courses both in terms of the target audience and the direction of the course. This helps us greatly in terms of making sure that the courses we are developing are addressing industry’s real demand.
Second, evidence based. We collate evidence from a variety of sources and triangulate them to validate our proposal on developing a specific course. These sources include industry reports, skills reports, contacts of FRIL’s strategic partners and the Fintech community. We are focusing on the future skills that are not only new themselves, but also the demand for which is growing rapidly.
Third, partnership enabled. Our skills team at the Adam Smith Business School work closely with Fintech Scotland and Strathclyde Business School colleagues on developing just in-time and in-demand skills programmes. We identify opportunities and feed them into each other to ensure a coherent development of short courses under FRIL.
Fourth, industry facilitated. We work closely with key members in the industry and involve them in the course development phase. These members offer us use cases, guest lectures and best practices to help us enrich our course offerings.

Figure 1. Alignment between three FRIL key pillars.

Last but not the least, the focus of our skills stream is aligned with the innovation call and actionable research. Insights and findings from the innovation call and actionable research can feed into the skills stream, and our skills development programme can also help address the challenges identified from the innovation call and actionable research.

4. Areas of focus

With the many skills in demand in the financial sector, our skills team focuses our resources and efforts and prioritises on those that are closely aligned with the FRIL innovation calls and actionable research topics. They are:

4.1 AI and compliance
Simplifying compliance through AI and emerging technologies

4.2 ESG
Supporting industry to promote and embed responsible and sustainable financial practices

4.3 Consumer duty
Supporting widening access and inclusion to those who do not currently engage or have limited engagement with financial support and information

4.4 Addressing financial crime
Supporting industry and citizens to detect and protect themselves from fraudulent actors and activities.

5. What do our skills development programmes include?

5.1 Short courses
These courses are focused and short, and usually requires 4-6 weeks’ learning.

5.2 Microcredentials
Microcredential are short courses that are credit bearing and offered by qualification awarding institutions. Microcredentials offer professionals the opportunity to claim for academic credits at the postgraduate level and stack the learning towards a higher qualification, i.e. Postgraduate Certificate. Microcredential is one of the key alternative credentials in the UK and EU learning markets and has been gaining tractions since the pandemic. They offer an effective way to upskill and reskill the workforce.
We understand not everyone has the time to undertake skills related course. In recognition of this, our skills team publish blogs and organise events to offer professionals informal learning. And finally, we also work as a catalyst and engage with the industry members to support their talent pipeline recruitment.

6. What short courses are currently on offer from the FRIL’s skill team?

6.1 AI & RegTech
Led by the University of Glasgow FRIL Skills Team, this course offers an in-depth introduction to the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in financial regulatory compliance within the evolving landscape of RegTech. Designed for financial professionals, compliance officers, and decision-makers, this course aims to deepen the understanding of AI, RegTech, and their integration into corporate compliance strategies and operations. It covers key concepts, challenges, opportunities, and innovations associated with AI adoption within the RegTech space.
Delivered on campus over six weeks, this course provides professional learners ample opportunities to interact and learn from the lecturers and peers.

7. What microcredentials are currently on offer from the FRIL skills team?

7.1 ESG Leadership
Led by the University of Glasgow FRIL Skills Team, this course takes a practical-application approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration into organizational practice. It introduces regulatory compliance, supply chain auditing, ESG data and analytics, and leadership and innovation practices as they relate to financial services, FinTech firms, and the relevant business ecosystem. Designed for professionals who want to move into sustainability roles, work in financial institutions as functional managers and those in fintech firms, this course combines regulatory and compliance questions with strategic development and leadership.
This microcredential is delivered over 6 weeks, fully online with a face-to-face capstone to consolidate learning.

8. AI Literacy
Led by the University of Strathclyde FRIL Skills Team, a suite of five micro credentials is currently under development: AI Curious – AI Explorer – AI Enthusiast – AI Expert as well as a stand-alone module, AI for Executives, with each microcredential focusing on a particular depth of understanding of AI. Delivery will be blended with a capstone in person session to consolidate learning and will have a with a regulatory risk and compliance focus.

9. Call to action:
Hope this blog offers you a clear overview of the progress our skills team has made at FRIL and the key skills development programmes currently on offer. The courses mentioned above are all to be delivered in the autumn of 2024, and we are calling for expression of interest. We have limited funded spaces so please register your interest as soon as possible with Xiang.Li@glasgow.ac.uk (for courses: AI and RegTech, ESG Leadership) and christine.sinclair@strath.ac.uk (for courses: AI Literacy at different levels). If you would like to collaborate with our skills team, please contact us.

References:
FSSC (2022). Mind the Gaps – Skills for the Future of Financial Services 2022. [online] Financial Services Skills. London, UK: Financial Services Skills Commission. Available from: https://financialservicesskills.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/FSSC-Future-Skills-Interactive-V13.pdf

Government Office for Science. (2017). Skills and lifelong learning: the benefits of adult learning. [Online]. [Accessed 23 June 2024]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-and-lifelong-learning-the-benefits-of-adult-learning

Loretto, W. (2016). Extended Working Lives: What Do Older Employees Want?. In: Manfredi, S., Vickers, L. (eds) Challenges of Active Ageing. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53251-0_9

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About the author

Dr Xiang Li work at the University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School and contributes as researcher to the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (a partnership funded by Innovate UK between FinTech Scotland, University of Strathclyde, and University of Glasgow).

Disclosures
I acknowledge funding from Innovate UK, award 10055559, Financial Regulation Innovation Lab.

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