| Unit name | Introduction to Financial Technology |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SEMTM0031 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Cartlidge |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
Why is this unit important?
Great wealth has been amassed by people who recognised the economic and algorithmic benefits arising from the internet revolution. In this unit, we uncover how the internet impacts the economics of enterprise and finance, and we learn to understand key financial technologies using economic principles. Some microeconomic theory will be introduced in the context of internet enterprise, trading technologies, and financial technology, however the unit assumes no background knowledge in economics.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This is a compulsory unit that is part of MSc Financial Technology with Data Science.
An overview of content
This unit provides students with a broad overview of the algorithmics and economics of the internet and their role underpinning modern financial technology. The unit begins by introducing the economic principles necessary to understand and analyse how and why financial technologies succeed, before exploring a range of topics in financial technology including auctions and financial markets, automated trading, blockchain technologies, and the economics of crowds. Throughout the unit, the ethical, legal, and regulatory issues surrounding these technologies, and the societal impacts they have, are considered.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will be confident discussing the drivers of successful financial technologies from technical, economic, and societal perspectives.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course a successful student will be able to:
Unit delivery will be blended. Unit content will be provided as a series of short pre-recorded online video lectures, organised into topics, for students to watch asynchronously. Each topic will have associated links for additional reading and formative online exercises. Each topic will also have associated synchronous flipped lecture sessions (either online or physical) with live streaming for remote participation. Flipped lectures will involve student participation in individual and group activities.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
As part of continuous assessment, students complete two short formative tasks during the first half of the unit. Continuous assessment tasks can take various forms (e.g., video presentation, computer code). Feedback will only be given to submissions received on time. Referring to marking criteria, feedback will highlight areas that are strong and areas that can be improved. Students will then have opportunity to act on feedback before submitting their work for summative assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Continuous assessment (30%): Students choose one of the formative continuous assessment tasks previously completed and submit an extended/reworked version including a one-page reflection to describe changes made based on feedback. (ILO 1, 2, 3)
Coursework (70%): Students perform an empirical exploration of a specific issue in computational economics/finance/markets, such as exploring the behaviour of automated trading algorithms using a financial market simulator. Students will submit computer code and a report detailing real-world contextualisation of the work, experimental method, results, analysis, and conclusions. (ILO 4)
When assessment does not go to plan:
Students will retake relevant assessments in a like-for-like fashion in accordance with the University rules and regulations.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SEMTM0031).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
