South Africa's financial services sector faces a significant challenge: The rise of modern technology, commonly referred to as financial technology, or “fintech“. In order to respond to this lack of qualified graduates who can navigate this new complex terrain, The University of Cape Town (UCT) is now the first university on the continent to offer a diploma specifically designed to empower students with the skills and knowledge necessary to embrace the technological revolution in the financial services sector.
The new degree is a Master of Science in Data Science with a specialization in Financial Technology and will be offered for the first time in January of 2018.
According to the course supervisor Dr. Co-Pierre Georg (Full Professor at the African Institute of Financial Markets and Risk Management (AIFMRM) At UCT he explains that: “We are currently in constant and close contact with the financial services sector and we know that it is facing an increasing demand for skills, the greatest demand now is for students who have a complete understanding of finance combined with a mastery of modern data analysis and software development skills. Students attending this course will be able to develop these skills in the two most interesting areas of Fintech: machine learning e block chain technologies.
É It is important here to focus on the fact that in the financial services sector machine learning is used to analyze vast data sets, for example to identify a customer's credit profile, identify profitable firms or find an optimal investment strategy. Students of the new UCT diploma will master the machine learning methods and can develop their own applications using these methods.
Therefore, the masters at Fintech offer a unique opportunity to radically transform the industry. it is now noticeable that young startups are already challenging incumbent operators, and students passing through this training will be at the forefront of this technological revolution in mainland Africa. Our focus on entrepreneurship means that we will change the mindset of students.
