Future-Ready Skills in Financial Regulation: AI, RegTech and ESG Leadership

Alessio Azzutti, John Finch and Xiang Li, of the University of Glasgow, introduce two new professional courses for our FinTech, Financial Services and Financial Regulation communities, introduced as part of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab project.  Please do follow up with us by alessio.azzutti@glasgow.ac.uk, john.finch@glasgow.ac.uk, or xiang.li@glasgow.ac.uk

In today’s fast-changing and increasingly complex regulatory landscape, financial institutions face mounting challenges: rising compliance costs, increasingly sophisticated financial crime, outdated technological capabilities, and growing sustainability demands/pressures from stakeholders and activists. Faced with these pressures, professionals need to reskill and upskill, in particular in areas of AI, RegTech, and ESG leadership, to thrive and remain competitive.

About the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL)

As part of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), we are committed to promoting the flourishing of human capital, particularly deepening the expertise in financial regulation among financial services, fintechs and regulators. We aim to make our university’s educational offering easily accessible and directly relevant to industry professionals to support both career and organisational development. Aspiring to excellence in what we do, we introduce learner-centred active learning approaches and incorporate real-life challenges into our teaching that help our course participants address the challenges they experience at work and develop and implement appropriate solutions.

Our FRIL team at the University of Glasgow has spent two and a half years living and breathing financial regulation innovation alongside our colleagues in financial services, fintech and regulation. The FRIL project involves us all in co-developing and collaborating on action research, knowledge exchange, and innovation calls, and our skills development theme,  professional education courses, presented as short micro-credentials. By drawing together our insights from the FRIL project together with our expertise in research and learning and teaching in the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School and School of Law, we have developed two professional education courses in ‘AI, RegTech and Financial Compliance’ and ‘ESG Leadership’.

Our Learning Design Approach

Experiential and active learning inform our course design and approach to learning. This approach has been proven impactful in leadership, entrepreneurial, and professional education. It draws on wide-ranging experiences of working professionals in roles connected with the courses, across careers, supports participants in applying concepts and tools introduced in the course to workplaces, and facilitates reflections and discussions among participants through practical cases and in-course exercises.

The focus of the course content is informed by leading industry professionals involved in the action research and innovation calls, thereby ensuring close alignment with industry demands. Alongside expert-led lectures and interviews, participants immerse themselves in interactive activities—from tackling real-world compliance scenarios and innovation challenges to collaborative problem-solving with peers. This ensures learners move beyond concepts into the skills and confidence to navigate the complex intersection of financial regulation, compliance demands, sustainability, and AI solutions.

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Course 1: AI, RegTech and Financial Compliance

Led by: Alessio Azzutti and Ian MacNeil

Context

With exploding regulatory requirements, rising costs, increasingly sophisticated financial crime, outdated systems, and shifting consumer expectations, financial compliance is becoming ever more demanding for regulated institutions. This urgent need for both business and technological innovation is driving the rise of Regulatory Technology (RegTech)—and particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI)—which is transforming how organisations respond. Lasting success, however, depends not only on innovative technology but also on professionals equipped to harness it.

Course details

This course progresses from AI and RegTech foundations to real-world applications, governance, emerging regulations, and future-ready compliance strategies. Assessment is fully practice-based: instead of traditional exams or theoretical essays, learners will complete a Capstone Project where they design an AI-enabled compliance solution, analyse its risks and governance, and map a personalised professional development pathway.

If you’re interested in this course, please email Alessio Azzutti at Alessio.Azzutti@glasgow.ac.uk.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Critically analyse and evaluate AI applications in financial compliance contexts.
• Design theory-informed, effective, responsible, and future-ready solutions.
• Position themselves as compliance professionals prepared to lead digital transformation in banking, finance, FinTech, consultancy, and regulatory bodies.

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Course 2: ESG Leadership

Led by: Erika Anderson, John Finch and Xiang Li

Context

Complex and dynamic regulation remains a feature of sustainability and ESG reporting, with notable differences across regions and jurisdictions. Given the long-lived qualities of reputation, product and process, and the global reach of supply chains, investors, consumers, and business customers want to know about an organisation’s sustainability offer and profile. We focus on that point of transition—from compliance to strategy and leadership—highlighting the strategic approach to leveraging ESG insights to achieve both the organisation’s competitive advantage and reduction of material risks embedded in sustainability.

Course details

This course covers the regulatory framework and its implications for organisations and their supply chains, including sustainability reporting and disclosures as these address risk management and inform investment and investor stewardship.  From reporting to transition, the course highlights the critical roles of strategic development, leadership and organisational change. We draw on case studies, short lectures, interviews with the community of practice, evaluations of current sustainability plans, and discussions among participants and our teaching team to facilitate participants’ learning.

View course details.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate an organisation’s sustainability performance from multiple perspectives.
• Develop a comprehensive ESG/sustainability plan, integrating compliance with business strategy.
• Lead organisational change by embedding ESG considerations into leadership and strategy.

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Practical Information

• AI, RegTech and Financial Compliance course: to be delivered in-person at the University of Glasgow between 16 October and 27 November 2025.
• ESG Leadership course: to be delivered online in six weekly modules from late September 2025, with an option for participants to complete the assessment and claim 10 credits at the postgraduate level, which are recognised by the University of Glasgow.
• Both courses will also be available online in early 2026.
• Participants from both courses can receive a certificate of participation

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Future-Proof Your Expertise

Whether your focus is mastering AI-enabled compliance or leading ESG transformation, these short courses will position you at the forefront of professional development. Join us to upskill/reskill, strengthen your expertise, prepare for your organisation’s transition, and lead confidently in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.