MAS, NRF, NUS to set up school for digital finance and fintech

It aims to build up leadership and innovation in the region.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) will be jointly setting up the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF), which aims to develop the capabilities for supporting digital financial services across Asia, according to a press release.

Hosted at the NUS, AIDF will offer a master’s programme and will also award scholarships to students to pursue research at a doctoral level. It will also train post-doctoral fellow in digital finance and fintech.

AIDF aims to build the fintech leadership pipeline for Singapore and the wider region, the joint statement said.

The institute will be led by Professor Duan Jin-Chuan, the Jardine C&C Professor of Finance at the NUS Business School. A steering group comprising Professor Ho Teck Hua, senior deputy president and provost of NUS, Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS, and thought leaders from the financial and technology industries, will provide guidance on curriculum design and AIDF’s research.

The steering group will also evaluate the impact of AIDF’s research and identify opportunities for collaboration and partnerships in Asia and beyond.

Amongst subjects that will be studied by the institute include topics in the finance and technology domains, such as payments, credit and lending, financial advisory and wealth management, digital architecture, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, amongst others.

The regional research institute will also establish a “Fincubator” programme that aims to provide support to drive transformation of ideas and projects by promising students and entrepreneurs into market-ready products and services, according to MAS.

“Through applied research and active collaboration with industry, AIDF will help to build  strong capabilities in digital finance and fintech,” said Ravi Menon, managing director, MAS. “Located in the heart of the fastest-growing digital finance market in the world, the Institute  will  facilitate  the  expansion  of  knowledge and skills amongst fintech leaders in the region and support the digitalisation of economies in ASEAN and beyond.”