| News >
Launch of the Financial Services Knowledge
Transfer Network
|
Partnership with the
Financial Services Industry
UCL-CS Financial
Computing Director Christopher
Clack has set
up a new UK Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) for Financial Services.
The Financial Services KTN is a new programme whose aim is to
identify and address the major challenges facing the UK Financial
Services industry. This initiative, supported by industry sponsorship,
The Technology Strategy Board, ESRC and NERC, brings together the
worlds of finance and academia to create practical solutions to
financial challenges. UCL is a key partner in the new collaboration,
together with other leading universities and industry bodies such
as the Association of British Insurers, the Actuarial Profession
and the Chartered Insurance Institute.
At an event to mark the launch of the new KTN on 20th October
2009, Sir Win Bischoff (Chairman of Lloyds Banking Group) addressed
the most senior and influential figures in financial services,
academics and partner organisations. He congratulated Chris Clack
for winning the bid to set up this KTN and called for greater and
more focussed partnership between and amongst these communities
leading to significant progress in supporting and protecting the
future prominence of the UK's international financial services
industries.
This KTN builds on Clack's previous successes in the area of financial
computing, including UCL's MSc in Financial Computing (in partnership
with Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
and Morgan Stanley) and UCL's Virtual Trading Floor - Europe's
largest IT educational trading floor (in partnership with Thomson
Reuters).
The new KTN has substantive support from across industry and academia
and was welcomed by Sir Peter Middleton and Professor David Rhind:
Sir Peter Middleton, Chancellor of the University of Sheffield,
President of the BBA, and ex-Group Chairman of Barclays, said: "We
need to stimulate debate and facilitate collaborative working with
academia, government and business. Practical and inclusive approaches
like this will be instrumental in moving this forward."
Professor David Rhind CBE FRS FBA, Chairman, Royal Society Hidden
Wealth Report Working Group added: “The recent Royal
Society study into the role of science in the services sector showed
we
can do much better by bringing together those at the cutting edge
in universities with senior players in service businesses. In particular,
there has been a serious disconnect between these two groups in
parts of the financial services - to our great detriment. So I
very warmly welcome the initiative of the Technology Strategy Board
and its partners in creating a Financial Services Sector Knowledge
Transfer network.”
|