The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), along with the National University of Singapore (NAS) and National Research Foundation (NRF), have joined to create a new Fintech focused entity: the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF). AIDF is expected to provide thought leadership and strengthen synergies between education, research and entrepreneurship in Fintech. AIDF is anticipated to begin operating by the end of this year.
AIDF will be led by Professor Duan Jin-Chuan, the Jardine Cycle & Carriage Professor of Finance at the NUS Business School.
According to MAS, a steering group, comprising Professor Ho Teck Hua, Senior Deputy President and Provost of NUS, Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at MAS, and thought leaders from Fintech, will provide guidance on curriculum design and align AIDF’s research direction with strategic priorities in Singapore and the region.
As part of the new entity, AIDF will offer a Master’s program and award scholarships to students to pursue research at the doctoral level, as well as train post-doctoral fellows in Digital Finance and Fintech.
Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS, commented on the new entity:
“AidF will be a vital addition to Singapore’s rich and colorful fintech ecosystem. Through implemented studies and active collaboration with industry, AIDF will help build virtual financial and fintech capabilities. Located at the heart of the world’s fastest virtual development financial market, the Institute facilitates the progression of wisdom and skills among the region’s fintech leaders and the digitization of ASEAN economies and beyond.
THE president of the NUS, Professor Tan Eng Chye, said:
“Fintech has a profound effect on monetary facilities and will continue to drive the transformation of Singapore’s monetary facilities sector, which is an integral part of Singapore’s ambition to become a wise nation. NUS is deeply revered by its spouse with MAS and NRF to realize ADIF vision: the first of its kind in Singapore and the region, which brings an integrative technique to education, research, innovation and business incubation. NUS’s enlightened leadership in virtual technologies such as synthetic intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and knowledge science positions “Perfectly to meet the demanding situations of the virtual economy in Singapore and other parts of the world.”
Express study spaces are said to include:
AIDF will create a “Fincubator” to encourage Fintech entrepreneurship.
Potential areas of focus include: