Doctoral Programme in FinTech in Collaboration with Companies
Deliver competitive advantage to your talent development strategy
New regulations, changing customer expectations, and rapid advances in tech increasingly put pressure on financial services companies to digitally transform. This requires mobilising and attracting the right talent with ability to harness the power of data and AI, innovation skills, as well as knowledge of financial markets and economic interactions. The new Doctoral Programme in FinTech (PhD in Financial Technology) is a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, EIT Digital, FinTech Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to address this challenge.
The Doctoral Programme in FinTech will train world-class students in partnership with businesses. With the help of sponsoring companies, the researchers will accelerate the deployment of FinTech technologies in order to meet company commercial objectives.
Drive development of new Fintech solutions and products
This is a unique programme that combines an industrial PhD training structure with a specific focus on topics at the intersection of finance/economics and informatics/technology with a company research project. High-quality students will undertake extensive applied research with commercial relevance, and receive world-class teaching and research supervision from a relevant expert at the University of Edinburgh. Partner Companies will set projects’ topics and will be involved in the candidates’ selection process and supervision. Co-funding is available from the EIT Digital to supplement the company sponsorship. After completion of the programme, graduates typically enter employment with their company sponsor.
The new FinTech Doctoral Programme will begin receiving PhD students in the 2019/2020 academic year for a four-year programme.
Benefits:
- Company-commissioned research of commercial interest to the sponsoring partner
- Topics at the intersection of finance/economics and informatics/technology
- Company partner closely involved in student selection and project specification
- Academic supervision from leading experts across a range of disciplines at the University of Edinburgh
- Opportunity to guide Doctoral Training – company supervisor will be closely involved to ensure delivery of commercially-relevant outcomes
- High-quality candidates with degrees in finance, economics, informatics, physics, mathematics, engineering and other relevant programmes with significant quantitative elements
- PhD students will undertake comprehensive training programme including innovation & entrepreneurship
- Students will divide their time between the partner company and the University
- High-calibre expert talent dedicated to your organisation’s objectives
Intellectual Property
All projects will be covered by a Project Agreement between the PhD student, the University of Edinburgh, and the sponsoring company. It is expected that the PhD student will assign the IP to the hosting company and should the IP be successfully commercialised by the sponsor, the PhD student will be suitably compensated. The agreement will also include confidentiality obligations (NDA).
Cost & Requirements
EIT Digital provides co-funding for projects from companies willing to become EIT Digital members. Fully funded projects where the sponsor covers the full cost of the student’s fees & stipend as well as the incidental costs of the research are also welcome.
Sponsoring companies need to provide a suitable project and a company supervisor.
To discuss opportunities:
We are looking for companies to propose projects and sponsor students. To discuss how the FinTech doctoral program can deliver competitive advantage to your talent development strategy, contact Ksenia Grant, Business Development Manager Ksenia.Grant@ei.ed.ac.uk
