UK FinTech Academic Network Conference

The UKFAN welcomes you to the 2nd Annual Conference taking place during the UK FinTech Week on Friday, 19st April 2024. Once again, EY is sponsoring the event and providing the venue at their office near London Bridge.

The UK FinTech Academic Network (UKFAN) Annual Conference provides a platform where cutting edge academic research in FinTech is discussed with finance practitioners, policy makers, and regulators. This year’s topics will debate: 

• Open Finance, 
• GenAI applications in Finance, 
• Central Bank-issued Digital Currencies (CBDC), and 
• Sustainable & Green Finance

Please register your interest and you will receive further electronic correspondence with an invitation to attend if places are available. 

Looking forward to welcoming you all to the second UKFAN Annual Conference in April! 

AGENDA

8:30am: Open for registration and coffee/breakfast (30mins)

9:00am: Welcome Addresses (10mins)

• Professor Markos Zachariadis, Co-Founder and Chair of UKFAN; Professor in FinTech and IS at the University of Manchester
• Janine Hirt, CEO, Innovate Finance
• Christopher Woolard CBE, Partner, EMEIA lead financial services regulation, Chair EY Global Regulatory Network, EY

9:10am: Opening Keynote (10mins)

• Ezechi Britton, MBE, CEO of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT)

9:20am: 1st Session: Green & Sustainable Finance (55 mins)

Moderator: 

• Dr. Andrea Lagna, Associate Professor in Financial Technology, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester

Speakers:

• Professor Andrei Kirilenko, Professor of Finance, Director of the PhD Programme, Founding Director, Centre for Finance, Technology and Regulation at Cambridge Judge Business School
• Dr Nikiforos Panourgias, Lecturer in Accounting and Fintech, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London

Panelists:

• David Beer, Cogo - Global Head of Enterprise Solutions & Partnerships
• Professor Andrei Kirilenko, University of Cambridge
• Dr Nikiforos Panourgias, Queen Mary University of London

10.15am: Interim Talk: Introducing Project Nemo - Accelerating Disability Inclusion in Fintech (10mins) 

• Joanne Dewar, Project Nemo Lead

10:20am: EY Interim Talk: EY/IF Board Reporting Research (15mins) 

• Tom Hill, Senior Manager, FinTech Growth, EY UK 

10:35am: Coffee Break (20mins) 

10:55am 2nd Session: Central Bank-issued Digital Currency (CBDC) Forum  (75mins)

Moderator: 

• Professor Sheri Markose, Professor in Economics, University of Essex & CBDC Academic Advisory Group, Bank of England

Speakers: 

• Professor Alistair Milne, Professor of Financial Economics at Loughborough School of Business and Economics
• Dr Geoffrey Goodell, Lecturer in Financial Computing, Dept of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering Sciences at University College London

Panelists:

• Dr Iwa Salami, Associate Professor at the Centre of FinTech Department of Law & Criminology , Royal Docks School Of Business And Law, University of East London
• Dr Andrew Buckley, Industrial Fellow and Research Associate, Centre for Financial Technology Studies (CFTS), University of Manchester
• Ollie Carew, Senior Manager, EY FinTech Consulting. 
• Polly Tsang, Senior Financial Services Regulatory Manager, ICAEW

12:10pm: Lunch Break (60mins)

1:10pm: 3rd Session: Emergence and Role of Generative AI/AI in Financial Services (75mins)

Moderator: 

• Dr. Eghbal Rahimikia, Assistant Professor in Financial Technology, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester

Speakers:

• Professor Gbenga Ibikunle, Professor and Chair of Finance, Director, Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations, The University of Edinburgh
• Professor Hao Ni, Professor of Mathematics, UCL and Turing Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute

Panelists:

• Apoorv Kashyap, Director, AI and Personalization, EY Financial Services
• Dr. Jeremy Sosabowski, Executive Director at AlgoDynamix and Guest Lecturer at CJBS, University of Cambridge
• Dr Michael Curtis, CTO & Co-founder at Multiply
• Professor Hao Ni, Professor of Mathematics, UCL and Turing Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute
• Professor Gbenga Ibikunle, The University of Edinburgh

2:25pm: Coffee Break (20mins)

2:45pm: 4th Session: Open Finance, Business Models, and Outcomes in Financial Services (75mins)

Moderator:

• Alan Ainsworth, Open Finance Lead, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School

Speakers:

• Dr. Tzameret H. Rubin, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Management, Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes University
• Professor Muttukrishnan (Raj) Rajarajan, Professor of Security Engineering and Director of the Institute for Cyber Security; Department of Engineering at the School of Science & Technology, City University of London

Panelists:

• Tom Bull, Partner, UK Head of FinTech growth, EY
• Professor Muttukrishnan (Raj) Rajarajan, City University of London
• Dr. Tzameret H. Rubin, Oxford Brookes University
• Richard McCall, CEO & Co-Founder, Armalytix
• Paul Staples, Group Head of Embedded Banking, ClearBank

4:00pm: Closing address (5mins): 

Professor Markos Zachariadis, Co-Founder and Chair of UKFAN; Professor in FinTech and IS at the University of Manchester 

4:05pm: Drinks Reception (85mins) 

5:30pm END