The University of Cape Town (UCT) is now the first university on the continent to offer a degree specifically designed to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to embrace the technological revolution in the financial services sector.<\/p>\n
The university has announced that it will offer a new degree \u00a0– a Master of Data Science with a specialisation in Financial Technology – for the first time in January 2018.<\/p>\n
“We are in constant and close contact with the financial services industry and know that it is facing a shifting demand for skills,” said\u00a0course convener Dr Co-Pierre Georg.<\/p>\n
“In the past, companies were mainly looking for advanced mathematical- and modeling skills. There still is demand for these skills, but by far the largest demand now is for students who have a thorough understanding of finance combined with a mastery of modern data analytics and software development skills,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Our students will be able to develop these skills in the two most exciting areas of fintech: machine learning and blockchain technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The degree will reportedly be\u00a0highly interdisciplinary and convened together with the Department of Statistical Science at UCT so as to address a broad set of skills.<\/p>\n
According to associate professor and HOD, Francesca Little, the degree will give students a thorough understanding of the latest methods in statistical learning.<\/p>\n
This includes the extremely exciting field of machine learning and artificial intelligence, she said.<\/p>\n
The degree will also focus heavily on the new blockchain technology that is behind new cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
According to Georg there is already extraordinary demand for the degree – especially because Cape Town-based students can do the degree part-time.<\/p>\n
“This is quite important to us since we want working finance professionals to be able to complete the degree and acquire the skills to thrive in a changing industry,” he said.<\/p>\n
“For students who want to do the degree full time, we do offer full scholarships to ensure that nobody will be excluded financially.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can find out more about the degree here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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