Scotchain18 – not another blockchain event

THIRD ANNUAL SCOTCHAIN EVENT WILL FOCUS ON THE GRITTY ISSUES OF BLOCKCHAIN COSTS, COMPLEXITY, SCALABILITY, SECURITY AND PRIVACY.

Scotchain will once again be hosted at RBS Gogarburn in Edinburgh on 8th November and will ensure its not just another Blockchain event by tough talking on the challenges faced by industry in the race to embrace distributed ledger technologies.

MBN Solutions have proudly announced the line-up for their annual, not for profit, Blockchain event which will once again be hosted by RBS Gogarburn in Edinburgh. Unlike many Blockchain events which seem focused on the hype and hyperbole, MBN and Spiritus pride themselves in bringing Scotchain to life to help tackle the challenges and focus on the reality of how Blockchain can disrupt industry and bring about a step change in embracing disruptive innovation.

Susan Ramonat, Chief Executive of Spiritus Partners and event co- organiser said, “Each year, this event attracts some of the best speakers globally and this year is no exception. Scotchain always attracts world-class speakers, entrepreneurs and organisations who’ve got a ‘sleeves rolled up’ mindset. They’ll talk about what’s real and what’s actually happening. They also won’t pull punches about the hard challenges remaining to be tackled for blockchain to deliver value – to make good on its promise of transforming key elements of how enterprises, government, academia, and the third sector operate.”

Scotchain 18 will see this year’s event evolve to tackle challenging issues of how to get the most from this exciting and disruptive technology.

Chairman of MBN Solutions, Paul Forrest said “Attending Blockchain and practitioner events can be a lottery as the agenda often exposes much of the audience to little more than a Blockchain shop window’. Scotchain refuses to follow suit with a genuine desire to cut through the hype and hyperbole by assembling the world’s leading authorities on Blockchain and building an audience led agenda. With a focus on answering real questions about how to embrace such technologies, Scotchain will equip participants with valuable insight from those with genuine experience of bringing Blockchain solutions to the market.”

This year’s event will facilitate a deeper understanding of what Blockchain enables and supports – how it complements and extends the value of other disruptive technologies such as AI, machine learning and IoT, that are rapidly transforming our lives and society, and the extent of the regulatory environment in which it operates.

Kent Mackenzie, Deloitte’s Risk Advisory Leader for Fintech and RegTech stated, “The growth in interest and applicability of blockchain technology has gathered a huge amount of momentum over the last few years, with practical examples of this type of technology being used across a range of sectors from healthcare, to distribution, to financial services. This year I am particularly interested to explore the perspective regulators and policy makers are forming to ensure we set out a responsible yet conducive framework to allow more innovation to occur, but in a way that looks after the interests of the consumer and the end-user.”

Scotchain promises to be a gamechanger covering topics and subject matter ignored by most other events. With an agenda designed to challenge current knowledge and thinking and a panel session intended to provide deep insight, Scotchain 2018 is this year’s must attend Blockchain event.

Michael Young, Chief Executive of MBN Solutions said “Our event is open to all no matter what level of prior knowledge you have or from whatever sector you work in. As in previous years, there will be a healthy degree of networking and knowledge exchange between participants from across a range of sectors including fintech, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing or energy; the arts, travel, tourism and entertainment. Whether you work in a hugely commercial business, the public sector, academia or a third sector venture, you will find something for you with our carefully assembled agenda.”

Equate Scotland launches a Careerhub designed to attract more women into science, technology and eng

According to the EY and Innovate Finance UK FinTech Census Report(2017) women make up only 29% of the UK’s FinTech sector and 17% of senior positions.

This is not surprising as both tech and finance have traditionally been male dominated fields. As such, these sectors have been limited in perspective and experience, but, the inclusion of more women and greater diversity in general offer fresh insights and ideas. After all, money and technology plays apart in everyone’s lives.

If you are able to identify a problem in the financial system and wonder how it can be improved through technology, FinTech may be career for you regardless of gender, age, race or background. But reaching a wider audience, especially for SME’s can be a challenge.

To address this Equate Scotland have launched the Careerhub. Scotland’s first job board specifically designed to recruit women into science, technology and engineering related roles.

Businesses are aware of both the economic and social benefits of having a diverse workforce, yet time and time again we hear employers say they would like to hire more women, they just simply don’t get applications from female candidates and this is reflective of their workforce. Yet, simultaneously employers say they can’t find people with the right skills.

Over the past 11 years, Equate have built up Scotland’s largest network of women in STEM and through speaking to our network we understand what women look for when applying for jobs. The Careerhuboffers employers advice on inclusive recruitment practice and tips on how to make their job description more appealing to female candidates.

Advertising through Equate offers companies an opportunity to be considered an employer of choice’ for women in STEM, demonstrating that they are actively taking steps towards creating an inclusive working environment.

We know there are qualified women in Scotland, but 73% with a STEM qualification leave their sector eventually. To attract and retain talent, employers need to ask why women are leaving and adapt their business model. There is no silver bullet to achieving gender parity in the sector but small consistent changes can transform culture and the perceptions of the industry.

As FinTech emerges as a leading sector for Scotland it has the opportunity to embed diversity from the beginning and contribute towards creating an inclusive, thriving economy.

Fintech 2018 Summit: Connecting the Scottish Financial Technology Community

Scotland is home to a burgeoning financial technology scene; driven by an ecosystem of exciting Fintech start-ups, large FS firms, universities and public sector bodies, it has attracted almost £37 million worth of investment in the past decade.

Fintech is a highly competitive global industry and, although there are numerous challenges to be overcome, we have the right mixture of ingredients for this thriving sector to continue to go from strength to strength.

Heritage, innovation and skills

The country has a rich heritage of financial services and, outside of London, Central-Scotland is seen to have the most well-rounded financial and business services cluster in the UK.

Scotland boasts an impressive track record of innovation and invention, with word-class universities and a diverse skills base across critical related disciplines such as data science, cyber security, software development and entrepreneurialism.

And while the Scottish ecosystem may be dwarfed in scale by larger hubs in the US and China, for many the small size, close proximity of stakeholders and the cohesive nature of the ecosystem is perceived as Scotland’s greatest strength.

Networking and collaboration

Networking and collaboration are key to the continued development of Scotland’s tech industry. That’s why events, such as DIGIT’s fifth annual financial technology summit Fintech 2018are so important.

Fintech 2018 will explore the evolution of the financial services sector, from developments in established tier-1 firms to the disruptive innovators within the start-up community that are reshaping the FS market.

The summit is geared for senior technologists, business leaders, academics and investors from across the financial service landscape. The event will bring these key stakeholders together for knowledge exchange, discussion and cross-pollination.

Hopefully, these kind of events will help the industry to create the open, collaborative ecosystem required to ensure Scotland becomes a leading global Fintech hub.

Fintech 2018 will be held at Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth on 19th and 20th September. For full conference details, visit https://www.fintech18.com/

AIMday® Fintech: collaboration to tackle real-world problems

• Blockchain

• Cyber security

• Product and service design

• AI and machine learning

• Policy, ethics and regulation

• Big data, analytics and modelling