AI in Finance course sees enthusiastic response ahead of debut

Source: Ngee Ann Polytechnic and CFTE. From left: Patrice Choong Siat Moy, Director, The Sandbox, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; Martin Markiewicz, Co-Founder & CEO, Silent Eight Search; Clarence Ti, Principal, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; Ken Wong, Head, AI Lab, OCBC; Janet Young, MD, Head, Group Channels and Digitalisation, UOB; Dr Ayesha Khanna, Co-Founder & CEO, ADDO.AI; Choy Siew Kai, MD, GIC; Huy Nguyen Trieu, Co-Founder, CFTE; Tan Ching Ching, Deputy Director, The Sandbox, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; and Shameek Kundu, CDO, Standard Chartered Bank.

The AI in Finance (AIF) online programme, launched by in late April by Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and London’s Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE), has gathered momentum since the launch announcement in late April. Enrolment is now expected to hit 2,000, with DBS and PayPal on board since the launch.

The AIF involves over 20 industry insiders and thought leaders from around the world coming together for a practical look at the world of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance. The accredited course updates finance professionals and technologists on the AI revolution and creates an online community of learners and experts in AI to connect and network for future collaborations.   

NP has been actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with renowned partners to co-develop fintech courses, and is Singapore’s SkillsFuture* sector coordinator in financial services. NP Principal Clarence Ti said at the time of the launch, “AI is a technological driving force that no industry can ignore.  Some studies estimate that about 50% of today’s tasks would be assisted by AI in the next 20 years. With Singapore and London gaining recognition as leading fintech hubs of the world, it is timely for NP and CFTE to launch an industry-led course that provides finance professionals and others a practical guide to AI.” 

Huy Nguyen Trieu, co-founder of CFTE said in April, “CFTE addresses the needs of professionals in finance and technologists to upskill in a rapidly changing industry being transformed by emerging technologies. Our objective is to equip students with the right skills to thrive in a world of digital finance, and artificial intelligence is one of the single most important drivers transforming finance.”

According to the organisers, many finance professionals are still unfamiliar with the impact AI will make on their industry. Through AIF, NP and CFTE hope to nurture talent in fintech and to boost fintech development in their respective regions and around the world.

Designed by professionals for professionals, AIF targets primarily finance professionals including those in capital markets, front-office, compliance, risk management and insurance. It is also applicable to technologists, entrepreneurs, regulators, lawyers, fintech educators, business writers, as well as students from countries across the world including the UK, Singapore and other ASEAN countries.

During yesterday's event to promote AI in finance, Ti elaborated that the AIF is part of NP's efforts to future-proof the workforce. Upgrading skills is difficult with 20 persons to a class, and no faculty bench has the skill strength required, he said. It is about "an ecosystem to deliver real value to the industry", he said. 

Huy explained at the same AI in finance event that the AIF addressed the paradox of existing tertiary curricula teaching traditional corporate finance but not about robo advisors. "What we need are teachers who understand finance and technology," he said.

"Those who know, don't talk. Those who talk -", he trailed off to laughter. "It was a challenge to find enough people to share."

Huy added that AI is the focus because those who do not understand it will be left behind; it should not be left to the data scientists; and those who understand AI are in the position to make a big impact on the industry.

"In Singapore, we don't want to be on the defensive. It is an opportunity to be on the offensive," said Lydia Wee, Deputy CEO, The Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF). "Things are changing so fast nowadays. If we wait for it to become established, chances are that we will become extinct."

The course is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1, the
introduction, will be delivered by Dr Khanna; chapter 2 on
the technologies, by Philip Watson, Head of Global Investment
Lab and Chief Innovation Officer for the Private Bank in EMEA
 and Global Investments at Citi; chapter 3 on implementation by
Murer, and chapter 4 on applications in finance jointly by Ng
and Cheng.

AIF seeks to impart the fundamentals of AI and share real-life use cases in finance. Distinguished faculty comprises Co-Founder and CEO of ADDO.AI Dr Ayesha Khanna (Singapore); Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Ping An Technology Jon-Tzen Ng (Shanghai, China); former global CTO at UBS Dr Stephan Murer (Zurich); and CTO and Chief Data Scientist at Flowcast Dr Winnie Cheng (New York, US).

Guest speakers include Chief Data Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Dr David Hardoon (Singapore); CEO of Behavox Erkin Adylov (London, UK); Co-head Global Venture Investing at Citi Ventures Ramneek Gupta (San Francisco, US); Chief Data Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Shameek Kundu (Singapore); and VP, Cognitive Solutions at IBM Watson Group Jean-Philippe Desbiolles (Paris, France).

“Although the course is designed to give participants an understanding of the fundamentals of AI, we do not intend it to be a theoretical programme. Instead, it will provide an industry overview of AI, with observations from industry insiders and thought leaders from the US to China,” said Patrice Choong, Director for The Sandbox, in April. The Sandbox is NP’s innovation and enterprise office and is spearheading the joint development of AIF with CFTE.     

“Participants will be exposed to industry insights and real-life case studies to ensure that the content is relatable to them. For example, there are already applications of AI in areas such as insurance, credit scoring and customer service.  All these case studies will form part of the course content and discussion.”

Local banks OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB) are anchor sponsors for this programme. Committing up to 1,000 training places, OCBC Bank is keen to equip its employees with skills that are relevant to the future economy and sees AI as an increasingly important area for banking.

At UOB, ensuring that its people have the relevant skillsets and agile mindsets is a priority. The AIF will complement its suite of training programmes aimed at deepening the digital capabilities of its people.

“Thanks to our pool of skilled employees, OCBC Bank has successfully rolled out initiatives like AI-powered chatbots Emma, for home loans, and Buddy, for employees’ HR-related queries. The AIF programme will help us build on our AI-edge by equipping more staff with such skillsets that are relevant to the future of banking,” stated Yap Aye Wee, Head of Learning & Development, Group Human Resources, OCBC Bank at the time of the launch.

Jenny Wong, Head of Group Human Resources, UOB added, “Ensuring that our people have the relevant skillsets and agile mindsets is a priority at UOB. The AIF will complement our suite of training programmes aimed at deepening the digital capabilities of our colleagues. Through the programme, our people will have a deeper understanding of AI in order to harness the technology for enhanced performance and a more instinctive customer experience.”

Choong (left) moderates a panel about professional development and AI with Young (middle) and Wong (right). "It is all about taking care of our employees, to take care of customers," Young said of UOB's participation. "We're enabling people to take on more judgmental roles instead of merely processing forms." Employees are already making use of AI to manage risk, she said.

Wong said that OCBC's support for the AIF is part of the OCBC FutureSmart programme, which imparts digital skills to all employees. OCBC is currently experimenting with different AI techniques and running moonshot projects. He called AI the future and said, "AI not only has the potential to improve efficiency. It has the potential to really revolutionise ... how customers interact with us."

DBS and PayPal are the latest big names to commit substantial enrolment for the course. With their participation, the enrolment is expected to hit 2,000.

From left: Huy as moderator, Dr Khanna, Kundu and Markiewicz. Dr Khanna noted that competition is coming from unexpected places as banks across the world pick up on AI. "I think you can get it.. it's not rocket science," she said.

Kundu advised the audience to rethink the way they work today. He said different skills are needed for successful AI projects, including technicians or data scientists, people who can produce human-centric design, domain experts, an orchestrator to handle the regulatory and funding aspects, and a person to ensure that whatever comes out of the "AI black box" "produces something that you are not ashamed of".

"Look at what you are doing and what's possible today," Markiewicz added.

Details:

AIF starts on 25 June 2018. Comprising 18 modules, the programme will cover the basics of AI technology up to the implementation of AI at the strategic level. The course should take 12 hours, and students have up to six months to complete it. An online certificate is issued for those who complete it successfully.

Register (in Singapore)
Register (outside of Singapore)

The course is supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and is in the process of obtaining accreditation with The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore. Singapore citizens and permanent residents enjoy a 70% government subsidy for the course fees. Non-citizens or permanent residents may pay 399 pounds instead of 499 if they apply before 10 June.

*SkillsFuture is a national movement to provide Singaporeans with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential throughout life, regardless of their starting points.