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.

Announcing The Scottish BREXIT Business Summit 2018

Paul Hooper is Head of Marketing for City & Financial Global Ltd

City & Financial have just announced a 0ne-Day Conference on 21st November 2018 in Edinburgh.

The objective of the summit is to examine the implications of Brexit for Scotland’s future in the round, including the critical devolution issue, how Scotland can preserve its important links with Europe and the various scenarios for trading in the post-Brexit future.

Building on the success of the BREXIT portfolio including The Post-Brexit UK Trade Policy Summit, The UK Financial Services BREXIT Summit, and The EU Withdrawal Bill Summit, this event will bring together leading experts from the Scottish and UK Governments, as well as representatives from a range of Scottish companies, in order to provide a cross-cutting view of the implications of Brexit for the future of the Scottish economy and how Scottish companies should be planning for it.

The event will also provide a forum in which industry can share its ideas and concerns with government.

The speaker line-up includes:

• Michael Russell MSP,Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations

• Adam Tomkins MSP,Scottish Parliament

• Murdo Fraser MSP,Scottish Parliament and Member of Brexit Cross Party Group

• Stephen Ingledew,Chief Executive, FinTech Scotland

• Graeme Jones,Chief Executive, Scottish Financial Enterprise

• Gary Marshall,Head of EMEA, Standard Life Aberdeen

• Andrew McRae,Scottish Policy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses

• Alexandra Renison,Head of Europe and Trade Policy, Institute of Directors

• Neil Francis,Director- International Trade and Investment Operations, SDI

Key themes in the programme include:

• The UK Government’s BREXIT plan

• The Scottish Government’s perspective on BREXIT

• The EU Withdrawal Bill and the devolution issue

• The transition period and contingency planning

• What does Scotland need from a Free Trade Agreement?

• How will the proposed Free Trade Area in Goods work in practice?

• Understanding the planned customs arrangements

• Trade in financial and non-financial services: how will the UK Government’s expanded equivalence regime operate?

• Global Britain’ and Global Scotland’: making allies and forging new trade relationships with other developed and developing countries

• Freedom of movement and the long-awaited Immigration Bill

As demand for attendance at the event is likely to be high, early booking is recommended.

The full event programme and confirmed speakers can be viewed on the event website by clicking here.

We’ve agreed a discount with FinTech Scotland. When registering, use the code BREXSC1FT

Cost:
Delegate Fee: £495 + VAT. Discounted fee with code: £396.00 + VAT

Public Sector: £295 + VAT. Discounted fee with code: £236.00 + VAT

Small Company (less than 50 employees in company or group): £195 + VAT. Discounted fee with code: £156.00 + VAT

Scotland’s first ”˜Fintech Skills Academy’ launches in Fife

• payment processing

• systems testing

• device certification

• business domain knowledge

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/