We use design and futures thinking approaches, underpinned by data-driven innovation, to tackle complex challenges and create sustainable and ethical solutions for business and society.
In a rapidly transforming world how do we address challenges like the transition to Net-Zero, customer confidence, product innovation and the ethical use of data and AI technologies, all within an increasingly complex regulatory and policy environment?
Our collaboration opportunities are designed to bring academic and industry expertise together to develop your innovation capacity and create better futures for business and society.
We build better futures through world-leading research innovation and knowledge creation.
We work with the world’s top researchers, developing deep expertise in areas critical to the rapidly transforming financial services sector: from artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and the ethics and explainability of AI, to credit risk, portfolio optimisation, and capital markets. Our expertise is underpinned by core themes of climate and sustainability, ethical and data-driven innovation, and addressing financial vulnerability and wellbeing.
Get inside the minds of some of the leading thinkers navigating routes to better futures at Edinburgh Futures Institute.
Building future skills and knowledge for financial services and fintech.
We are helping the sector address complex challenges like climate change, poverty, local and global inequalities, and the ethical use of data and AI. Our range of postgraduate programmes is designed to build and share knowledge across sectors and disciplines. We also offer custom executive education for teams and organisations.
We offer two programmes which have been specifically designed to support the future workforces of financial services and fintech companies:
Executive education
Our executive education and professional development courses are designed to challenge, inspire, and transform your thinking.
AI for Senior Managers in Financial Services
Delivered in partnership between Pinsent Masons, the Edinburgh Futures Institute and the University of Edinburgh Business School, this 1.5-day course for Senior Managers in Financial Services focuses on developing competence and providing training in understanding and addressing AI legal and regulatory risks.
Invest in the next generation to help tackle the complexities of our future world.
The future workplace is interdisciplinary, multi-modal, and challenge-led. Our students graduate with the ability to interrogate issues of global scope and complexity, and with the creative and entrepreneurial mindset to problem-solve that is vital for building better futures and shaping the future of the financial services and fintech industry.
We have lots of exciting opportunities to connect our diverse and talented students with a range of professional and sector-specific experience.
You can propose student projects for our MSc Finance Technology and Policy degree focusing on fintech or for any of our interdisciplinary MSc programmes.
We are helping the financial services and fintech sector build better futures.
Edinburgh Futures Institute is one of six Data Driven Innovation hubs at the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University. We are part of a regional power-house for collaboration and data innovation with industry partners.
Our innovation ecosystem is designed to support the sector with various aspects of challenge-led, data-driven innovation that delivers economic, social, cultural, environmental, and ethical impact.
Find out about some of our current collaborations and projects.
Innovation ecosystem
With expertise and facilities to help financial services and fintech sectors become more innovative through data, we offer specialist innovation and co-creation services – delivering new value, outcomes, and transformations for people, communities, organisations and society.
Explore more of the innovation ecosystem at Edinburgh Futures Institute:
In focus
Latest
Leveraging FinTech for public good: The Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations
In June 2023, the Edinburgh Futures Institute launched the Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations. Under the leadership of Professor Gbenga Ibikunle, the centre seeks to consolidate the University’s existing strengths in financial technology research to promote responsible and impactful innovation.
Become a member
New tenancy and membership opportunities coming 2024/25.
We can create better futures
Edinburgh Futures Institute works across financial services and FinTech supporting corporates, SMEs, start-ups, regulators and policy makers – in Scotland, in the UK and globally.. We’d love to discuss potential collaborations and opportunities and how we can innovate together.
