Designing the guidelines for FinTech curriculum

Abstract

This paper aims to share the experiences of developing the FinTech (Finance Technology) curriculum at a leading business school in the Middle East. This research paper presents the findings on various methodological issues of curriculum design, i.e., degree naming convention, degree structure, dissertation versus project, specializations. The objective of the current study was to develop a postgraduate curriculum for FinTech studies. The entire procedure was based on the notion of "adoption" to "adaptation" originated by the benchmarking approach using a comparative account of 22 universities offering FinTech Masters. A multipronged approach was used to study the existing FinTech curriculum and suggests the gap in the existing curriculum. Eight major areas are identified as the pillars of FinTech education, including FinTech, Business and Data Analytics, Programming using Python and R, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning, Information Systems & Technology, Regulatory Environment (RegTech), Quantitative Methods, Finance and others. Researching on new and emerging topics is always tricky. It is difficult for even FinTech students and aspirants to evaluate the quality of FinTech qualifications. People from different streams of education would like to join FinTech studies, and there is no standardization of professional association certifying FinTech Curriculum.