NUS Announces 2 New Graduate Programs in Fintech

NUS announces its 2 new graduate programs in fintech that will commence in the upcoming academic year, and ALTIOS discusses how this will strengthen Singapore’s fintech landscape.

2019 was a banner year for Singapore’s fintech industry, with investments having doubled to more than US$861 million compared to the year before, and more than 40 innovation labs being set up to drive innovation within the traditional financial institutions and facilitate collaborations with fintech firms.

The nascent Singapore fintech industry has expanded to an estimated 1,000 firms, making it the largest hub in South-east Asia in terms of total fintech-investment dollars as well as number of fintech firms.

While Fintech firms have not been spared from the economic drawbacks of Covid-19, Singapore’s Fintech has proven itself to be resilient. It has even thrived because of the acceleration of the adoption of digital finance by consumers across all age groups and businesses of all sizes.

Now, we are seeing even more signs of Singapore’s commitment to fintech and integrating it into society. The National University of Singapore (NUS), ranked the #11 best university in the world by QS Global World Rankings 2021, recently announced that it will begin offering two new graduate programs in fintech in the upcoming academic year. The programs will be jointly funded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF), and NUS via the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF) at NUS.

NUS hopes that these programs will help “build a robust ecosystem of high-quality research talent and capabilities to support the fast-growing financial industry in Singapore.”

As Singapore continues its quest to become the premier destination for fintech, the graduates of these programs will certainly be an asset to the innovative fintech startups and companies that have set up base In Singapore, such as the 4 digital banks that were recently given licenses to operate by MAS.

Having the ability to hire top talent locally will also be a big draw for homegrown fintechs looking to make their mark in the space, which will in turn strengthen the fintech ecosystem in Singapore.

Overall, NUS’ commitment to improving the talent pool in fintech and the progressive regulatory support the government has demonstrated are positive signs for the continued growth of Singapore’s fintech industry.