Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

SHENZHEN University (SZU) is cooperating with Audencia Business School in France to cultivate talents in the financial technology (fintech) field through a joint master’s degree program.

This is said to be SZU’s first foreign joint education program. It aims to address the shortage of fintech talents so as to best serve industry development, especially in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to information released by SZU.

The program is presented on the latest list of Sino-foreign joint education programs released by the Ministry of Education on March 3.

SZU plans to enroll 80 students from the Chinese mainland into the program this year.

The two universities will jointly design training programs, teaching plans and review standards. After two years of study, students will receive their diploma from Audencia Business School. The diploma will be verified by both China and France.

Fifty percent of the program’s courses will be conducted by teachers from Audenica Business School, and the rest will be delivered by SZU faculty of overseas background.

It is said that though fintech is mushrooming with opportunities, the industry faces a talent shortage. Relevant data suggested that China’s supply of fintech talents is short by over 1.5 million.

Fintech is an interdisciplinary field combining advanced technology with finance. Few universities in China have set up fintech-related programs, and those that have are at a very early stage.

With strong educational resources, this program will not only address the talent shortage but also aid Shenzhen in becoming more integrated with the world economy, said SZU.