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A plaque unveiling ceremony took place today at The University of Hong Kong to honour the establishment of the University of Hong Kong - Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation FinTech Academy (the “HKU-SCF FinTech Academy”).  Students with outstanding academic performance were presented with the HKU-SCF Scholarship in Financial Technology awards at the same occasion.

The ceremony was officiated by the co-chairs of the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong; and Ms Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong, Standard Chartered and Trustee, Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation.   Mr Bill Winters, Group CEO of Standard Chartered, and the Academy’s Management Board Members were also invited to the ceremony.

“HKU has pioneered various research projects in FinTech related area. The HKU-SCF FinTech Academy will provide platform to expand HKU’s current line of research platform and cultivate new research and development collaborations between HKU and the banking, finance and technology industry to accelerate the growth of the financial technology in Hong Kong and the region,” Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong said.

“Thanks to technological development, the financial sector has been changing at an unprecedented pace in recent years.  Through the Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation, we are glad to steer the co-creation of the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy with the University of Hong Kong which shares a common vision to nurture top FinTech talents, and to provide a multi-dimensional platform to bring the students, academia, and industry practitioners together,” Ms. Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong, Standard Chartered; and Trustee, Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation, said.

The Academy also shared three of the latest initiatives at the event:

• The expansion of the HKU FinTech Indexes - The first of this kind in Hong Kong, HKU FinTech Indexes that track the growth and development of the FinTech industry in Hong Kong.  The Academy plans to expand the scope of these indexes to cover the Greater Bay Area and leverage more FinTech technologies to further automate and optimize the process of information collection and index calculation.
• HKU-SCF Scholarships in Financial Technology – The Academy is offering the first-ever full scholarships in FinTech for local undergraduate students on the basis of academic merit. This year a total of 12 students with outstanding academic performance in Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Financial Technology [BASc (FinTech)] and Master of Science in Computer Science (Financial Computing Stream) [MSc (CS) Financial Computing stream], received scholarships from the Academy.  Bachelor students will receive HK$50,000, with full scholarship of up to HK$200,000, while postgraduate students will receive HK$60,000.
• Introduction of new MOOC courses - The new series of MOOC courses will cover three important areas in FinTech; namely, the driving technologies behind FinTech, digital currency, and e-payment.  The Academy also plans to convert one of these courses for senior high school students to attract more talents from the community.

In addition, the Academy recently worked with Standard Chartered to develop a solution to enhance SME access to trade finance using blockchain and big data analytics.  This industry tech collaboration was one of the winners of the inaugural BIS-HKMA TechChallenge.

The HKU-SCF FinTech Academy was established in April this year with a generous support of HK$60 million from the Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation.  In the next five years, the Academy will gear up nearly a thousand FinTech professionals to tackle disruptive technologies, creating a tangible and lasting impact on the banking and financial industry.

For more information about the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, please refer to this website: https://fintechacademy.cs.hku.hk

For media enquiries, please contact: 
Professor SM Yiu, Deputy Director, HKU-SCF FinTech Academy (tel: 2857 8242, email: smyiu@cs.hku.hk)
Ms Edith Yiu, Executive Manager, HKU-SCF FinTech Academy (tel: 2859 2183, email: edithyiu@cs.hku.hk)
Ms Nicole Lo, Director, Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (tel: 2820 3843, email: nicole.lo@sc.com)

About The University of Hong Kong - Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation FinTech Academy
The University of Hong Kong - Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation FinTech Academy ("the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy") was established in April 2020 with a mission to make a sustainable impact in FinTech by grooming world-class talents and leading innovative research to further strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre.

Through a commitment of HK$60 million from the Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation, the HKU-SCF FinTech Academy is steered by Faculty of Engineering, with support from Faculty of Law as well as Faculty of Business & Economics of The University of Hong Kong.

About Standard Chartered 
We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 60 of the world’s most dynamic markets, and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. 

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. 

The history of Standard Chartered in Hong Kong dates back to 1859. It is currently one of the Hong Kong SAR’s three note-issuing banks. Standard Chartered incorporated its Hong Kong business on 1 July 2004, and now operates as a licensed bank in Hong Kong under the name of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered PLC. 

For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter,  LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation 
The Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation was established in 2009.  In September 2009, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“the Bank”) issued the Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Commemorative Charity Banknote (“Commemorative Charity Banknote”) – the first-in-world banknote in $150 denomination - to celebrate the Bank’s 150 years of commitment in Hong Kong. It is the intention of the Bank to dedicate the Commemorative Charity Banknote to all people the Bank has worked alongside with and contributed to the development of Hong Kong. Net sales proceeds had been donated to the “Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation”, in support of the local community and charities.  

About HKU
Founded in 1911, The University of Hong Kong is committed to the highest international standards of excellence in teaching and research, and has been at the international forefront of academic scholarship for many years. The University has a comprehensive range of study programmes and research disciplines spread across 10 faculties and over 140 academic departments and institutes/centres. There are around 29,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students who are recruited globally, and more than 2,500 members of academic and academic-related staff coming from multi-cultural backgrounds, many of whom are internationally renowned.