Financial Technology and Systems

Master of Science

Postgraduate Certificate

Postgraduate Diploma

Master of Science, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma

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Core-Elective Modules

Students who secure an approved internship will be transferred to EPM468 and will be required to pass the 15-credit INM469 Professional Internship and Career Development module. 

Internship Track

You are normally required to complete all the taught modules successfully before progressing to the dissertation stage. 

Students who secure an approved internship will be transferred to EPM468 and will be required to pass the 15-credit INM469 Professional Internship and Career Development module. 

Students will be able to undertake either EPM967, a 120 credit Placement module or the Internship module (EPM468 and INM469). You are unable to take both options.   

Dissertation Modules

All students must take one core module = 30 credits.

Core Module

All students must take 6 compulsory modules = 90 credits.

Compulsory

You are expected to pass the 8 core components. Most of the modules are 15 credits and run over one term with the exception of the Digital Innovation and Fintech Start-up module that will run across term 1 and term 2.   

Students who secure an internship will take an additional elective module, and the corresponding project module. 

6 compulsory modules = 90 credits
1 core module = 30 credits

Taught Modules

You will have the opportunity to resit any failed EPM967 assessments, if you fail these resits you are still able to progress, but your degree title would not state ‘with placement year’ and your placement year would not count towards your final award. 


Financial Technology and Systems with Placement

Programme Structure

The MSc in Financial Technology and Systems will prepare you for a successful career in open banking as financial systems architect, data scientist and systems engineer, risk manager and product owner/manager, entrepreneur.  Financial Technology involves the area of applying the latest cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain, decentralised finance, authentication, big data to make use of banking / financial data for innovation and more innovative financial services. The MSc in Financial Technology and Systems will develop your specialist skills in open banking architectures, regulations, ethics, social values, financial engineering, data protection, cyber security, financial data analytics and data presentation.  The next generation of innovations will be driven by open banking technologies providing more personalised and customised financial services to end users. In addition, cutting edge data sharing and mining technologies will allow competitors in the financial services industries to work more collaboratively for fraud prevention and improved service provisioning.  
The course covers the technical fintech architectures, data science, programming principles, risk management, legal and regulatory compliance and ethics, data protection, social values and cyber security frameworks that are the foundation for open banking. It will allow you to understand the building blocks and the associated techniques that can help you develop innovative and novel open banking and complimentary financial services applications such as insuretech and regulatory tech. You will develop your knowledge and skills through experts who carry out world-class research in these topics. 
The course will include lectures, coursework, lab-based hands-on activities and a group project that will equip you to pursue a practical MSc in Financial Technology and Systems.  During the group project you will work as a team to identify a new business opportunity in digital finance and develop a value proposition and pitch for investment. During the final dissertation you will work with a real-world problem in the open banking and digital finance by developing, applying, and evaluating new techniques, architectural frameworks, protocols and risk frameworks that can overcome the current technological, regulatory and automation challenges. 
The course is designed for those who have completed a first degree in Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science and Banking and Finance with more technical experience.  
This programme also gives you an optional experience to work with one of the fintech players in the UK or elsewhere. Interested students will share their CV with the Corporate Relations and Employability Unit (CREU) who will liaise with the prospective fintech partner to identify the suitable candidate based on the skills / talent requirements of the organisation.

Assess the nature of intellectual property and its ownership, and respect it accordingly 

Values and attitudes

Review and critically evaluate the literature and current developments and challenges in open banking systems such as data privacy and automated regulatory compliance 

Knowledge

Use the latest hardware and software to develop high-performance systems which are scalable for future applications 

Skills

Define a technical goal and encourage and lead others in order to achieve it 

Develop new value propositions that can build onto new ventures in open banking 
 

Assess alternative approaches and novel designs and implementations 

Demonstrate knowledge and critical awareness of current issues and the development of financial systems 

Design, develop adapt and critically evaluate financial technology systems and software 

Design and build new financial technology platforms that can handle real-time big data  

Develop strong financial technology, data analytics and innovation skills related to the financial services industry 

Gain skills about professional ethics and data privacy and security 

Identifying and managing technical and financial risks and uncertainty associated with financial technology-based applications. 

PSFITE - Financial Technology and Systems

The teaching and learning methods used are such that the levels of both specialisation of content and self-study are aimed at increasing your wider knowledge as you progress through each module and programme.  This progression will be guided by active researchers in block chain, decentralised financial technology, data science, programming, cyber security and entrepreneurship. In addition, there will be a group project where you will develop a new innovative open banking prototype based on a novel value proposition. Finally, you will work on an individual project containing an original piece of work that will be done independently with appropriate academic support and where appropriate with a relevant industrial partner.    
The standard format is that each of the taught modules are delivered through a series of 20 hours lectures and 10 hours tutorial/practical sessions. Lectures are normally used to: 
<ul>
<li>present and exemplify the concepts underpinning a particular subject; </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>highlight the most significant aspects of the syllabus; </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>indicate additional topics and resources for private study. </li>
</ul>
Tutorials are used to help you better relate the theory to practice on the concepts covered through formal lectures. 
Practical sessions are similar to the tutorials. However, they provide a more hands on experience to better understand the theoretical foundations through the use of state-of-the-art software tools. 
You are expected to undertake independent study and substantial coursework assignments for each module, amounting to approximately 120 hours per 15 credit modules. 
There is a group project where you will apply the innovation and entrepreneurial aspects you learn on the course to work with an industry to develop a new concept from ideation to prototype. This will be a teamwork and will train you to think outside the box to be innovative and also at the same time to product manage a new idea product develop development which is a unique feature of this programme. 
Coursework assignment takes a variety of forms including writing software, written work, group work and presentations. They are primarily formative. 
The individual project is a substantial task that develops a prototype and is performed under the supervision of an academic who is an expert in the topic. The project will be assessed through a written report, project management and a short viva. During the project you will be given a list of possible project topics and you will be expected to choose a topic that is exciting and relevant to your future career aspirations. You will be expected to demonstrate how your project addresses one of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.  
The individual project can be carried out as a 6-month internship e.g., in one of the leading companies with which City St George’s has an established relationship.  
In addition to lectures, practical sessions and tutorials, each student will be assigned a personal tutor, and the programme is supported by City St George’s Moodle virtual learning environment, which will provide the supporting lecture and tutorial materials.

Curriculum Catalogue

Financial Technology and Systems - MSc

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