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The Faculty of Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) recently hosted the “2019 CUHK Conference on Financial Technology (FinTech)”, supported by the Centre for Financial Engineering (CFE) and CUHK Business School. The conference titled “When Wall Street Met Main Street – Real vs Virtual Economy” drew close to 500 industry practitioners, professors, researchers, government officials and regulators to explore the trends driving the explosive FinTech development, and future collaboration opportunities.

The forum was officiated at by Prof. Martin WONG, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Prof. Michael ZHANG Xiaoquan, Associate Dean for Innovation and Impact of CUHK Business School. Featured speakers including CUHK scholars, representatives from banking, technology, financial regulatory authorities and legal sectors were invited to give their insights on the applications and development of FinTech today. From the forum, Prof. WAI Hoi To, Assistant Professor, Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management of CUHK commented on the malicious agent detection in social network. In the midst of the increasingly popular open Application Programming Interface (API), Ms. Frankie TAM, Senior Associate, DLA Piper shared her view on its impact on new developments in the Hong Kong banking sector. Dr. Florian SPIEGL, Co-Founder & COO, FinFabrik pointed out that the new field of blockchain-based technologies and digital assets is emerging fast and starting to have a real impact on the capital markets sector.

Other guest speakers included Prof. CHEW Seen Meng, Associate Professor of Practice in Finance, Department of Finance, and Associate Director for MBA Programmes of CUHK Business School, Mr. Gilbert LEE, Head of Strategy/Planning and Chief of Staff, Hang Seng Bank Ltd, Mr. Zane MOI, Deputy General Manager and Head of Partner Ecosystem, Amazon Web Services, Mr. Jay CHAN, Solution Consultant, NICE Ltd, Mr. Galen LAW-KUN, Global Crypto Team, PwC, Mr. Daniel CHAN, Consultant, FORMS HK, and Mr. Eric CHOW, Head of Digital Channel & Delivery, Hang Seng Bank Ltd. The speeches covered a wide range of topics, including AI, biometrics, crypto assets, cybersecurity, decentralized finance, FinTech in banking, machine learning, new career opportunities, regulatory technology (RegTech) and tokenization. Other speakers also gave their views during the two panel discussion sessions entitled “The Ingredients of a FinTech Hub” and “FinTech Talents: Demand & Supply”.

Prof. CHEN Nan, Professor, Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, Director of CFE and the Bachelor of Engineering programme in Financial Technology (BEng in FinTech) of CUHK, and Co-Chairman of the Conference’s Programme Committee said, “The applications of FinTech are pervasive in various kinds of sectors including economics, law and banking. An up-to-date understanding of FinTech is particularly important to keep abreast of the changing market trends and professional personnel training. 2019 marks the second anniversary of the BEng in FinTech launched by CUHK, the first ever FinTech undergraduate programme in Hong Kong. With this multi-disciplinary programme, CUHK is indeed spearheading the effort to supply talent to both academia and industry.”

Prof. CHAN Chun Kwong, Professor of Practice in FinTech, Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, and Director of the Master of Science programme in FinTech (MSc in FinTech) of CUHK commented, “This is the inauguration year of the MSc in FinTech. With the talent in these programmes and the innovative ideas in the market, we see an all-win situation from building a bridge between the university and  industry. The interaction between the university and industry will definitely help to formulate strategies for fostering talent and promoting the development of FinTech education.”

Prof. CHEW Seen Meng noted, “This conference is in the FinTech education series, which is a part of the core agenda of the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019. The CUHK Business School is partnering with the CFE for the first time on this conference, bringing the ‘Fin’ and the ‘Tech’ together, in order to strengthen the connection between CUHK staff and students and industry practitioners, striving for further collaboration opportunities.”

About Centre for Financial Engineering, CUHK

The Centre for Financial Engineering (CFE) is a strong group of experts in the quantitative aspects of finance including computer science, finance, mathematics and statistics. Established in 2013, CFE has achieved some remarkable progresses in assembling research teams and organising regular seminars, conferences, distinguished lectures and short courses. It is currently offering a Master of Science programme in Financial Engineering. Its vision is to develop a multidisciplinary centre in financial engineering and financial technology renowned for the quality of its people and research, and train the next generation of leading academics and industrial leaders in the area.

About CUHK Business School

CUHK Business School has blazed a trail for business education in Hong Kong and Asia since 1963, cultivating high-achieving graduates who steer and shape the global business landscape. This spirit of leadership and innovation goes to the very core of its legacy as the first business school in Asia to offer a full suite of BBA, MBA, and Executive MBA programmes. Today, its world-class faculty and cutting-edge research continue to develop nimble leaders, entrepreneurs and social stewards, with a proud network of more than 36,000 alumni making a meaningful impact in the Pearl River Delta and beyond.