SINGAPORE, 23 June 2023 – The Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF), a university-level research institute under the National University of Singapore (NUS), is collaborating with GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, to train PhD talents in digital financial technology (DFT). An agreement to formalise the Industry Co-education Scheme was signed by AIDF and GIC today.

This agreement marks the beginning of a new phase of collaboration between AIDF and GIC. It is a testament to the growing importance of building a robust ecosystem of high-quality research talent and capabilities to support the fast-growing financial industry in Singapore. For a start, the scheme will provide funding for two PhD students to pursue cutting-edge research in DFT, and they will be jointly supervised by an academic from AIDF and an industry practitioner from GIC.

Professor Duan Jin-Chuan, Executive Director of AIDF, said, “We are delighted to have GIC as our strategic partner in the Industry Co-education Scheme. This partnership will allow us to equip our PhD students with the latest industry insights and knowledge, and to enhance our research capabilities in the DFT domain. This is a significant step in our efforts to establish an international industry-academia collaborative education platform.”

Dr Rajesh Krishnamachari, Director of the Investment Insights Group, GIC, said, “The field of advanced technology and analytics is important to GIC and is one which has seen rapid developments in recent years. The use of AI in digital finance is particularly relevant for institutional investors like us, and we look forward to working with AIDF and NUS to nurture the next generation of talent and further advance this field of research”.

Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Co-Chair of the AIDF Steering Committee, said, “One of Singapore FinTech ecosystem’s  bedrock foundations is industry and academic partnerships. The Industry Co-education Scheme is a strong example of such a collaboration that adds immense value to AIDF’s doctoral programme in digital financial technology and creates opportunities for PhD students to deepen their expertise through rigorous research to tackle and solve real-world challenges of the future. We congratulate GIC, NUS and AIDF on this partnership.”

To commence in August 2023, the Industry Co-education Scheme is designed to enhance the education and training of NUS PhD students pursuing research in DFT by partnering with distinguished industry companies in finance and high-tech fields. The initiative aims to enrich the learning experience of PhD students by providing access to industry experts who would share their knowledge and expertise. Industry partners will sponsor and jointly supervise the students’ research projects with NUS academic supervisors, ensuring a comprehensive and practical approach to learning. This collaborative effort between academia and industry aims to equip students with the practical knowledge and skills necessary for success in the future.