How An MBA In Artificial Intelligence Can Kickstart Your Career In FinTech
Geeseok Oh (3rd from left) landed a role in fintech after his MBA at HKU Business School
Want an MBA in Artificial Intelligence? HKU Business School offers an MBA AI for Business Leaders module, which is helping students start new careers in fintech
Most top global companies have investments in Artificial Intelligence and the market for AI is expected to grow to $267 billion by 2027. Understanding AI and its applications is increasingly important.
With an understanding of cutting-edge tech topics like AI, HKU MBA students go on to land jobs in a variety of high-tech industries, many benefiting from Hong Kong’s vibrant tech startup scene.
HKU MBA alums, Aakriti Jain (class of 2020) and Geeseok Oh (class of 2019), used what they learned about AI from the MBA to secure exciting jobs in fintech.
Aakriti is now sales and marketing director at BCW Group, a consulting firm dealing with cutting edge fintech innovations including digital payments and blockchain technology, while Geeseok secured a role as managing director of Qraft AI ETFs, a fintech firm which uses AI to maximise efficiency in investments.
The HKU MBA artificial intelligence module
Students who choose to pursue the HKU MBA’s AI for Business Leaders module, learn how AI can be used to develop business solutions within organizations and in various industries including fintech.
The course is taught over 10 lectures, beginning with an introduction to AI and its impact on the world, before covering various technical aspects such as machine learning, robotics, and deep learning. Students also cover wider questions such as ethical challenges, and ways to future-proof themselves against having their jobs replaced by AI in the future.
“The course centred on what it means to understand business technology from a business perspective,” says Aakriti.
That focus on using AI in a practical business sense was helpful, she thinks. “I didn’t come from a technological background, but the knowledge I gained empowered me and helped prepare me for my current role.”
For Geeseok (pictured), the program was important in demystifying the technology; showing what it was capable of, as well as its limitations.
“Some people think AI can do anything but that isn’t true,” he explains. “What it can do is identify patterns in non-random data which can be applied to things like facial recognition.”
Between 2015 and 2019 the number of businesses adopting and implementing AI grew by 270%. The HKU MBA helped Geeseok understand how AI is likely to shape the future of business. “AI can radically change our lifestyle and this technology benefits society as a whole,” he says.
Studying in a global technology & finance hub
Along with understanding the latest financial technologies, students at HKU benefit from studying in Hong Kong, one of the world’s premier financial centers.
Hong Kong ranked third in the world in 2020 for money raised through stock market listings, trailing behind only the Shanghai Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
Banks like BNP Paribas and RBS have offices in Hone Kong, which is also home to fintech startups like Alibaba backed WeLab, and cross-border payments company Airwallex.
As well as studying AI, HKU MBA students can choose from specialized elective modules covering subjects like the Emergence of Fintech, and Marketing for Tech-intensive Industries.
The program’s final module is a capstone project, where students work on a real life project in an area of their choice, before presenting their work to a panel of experts.
“They invited senior bespoke guests from world-wide companies to be the judges,” Aakriti (pictured) says. “We worked on a live project on a premier banking institution in Hong Kong.”
Students gain vital digital skills from the MBA program, which Aakriti says is valuable when looking to secure roles in fintech and other tech related industries after graduation.
“Data and digital competency is a growing need and coupling that with creativity and the ability to understand and articulate that clearly is a valuable skill in any industry."
Landing MBA jobs in fintech
HKU provides MBA students with opportunities to network and make connections which can lead to a job after graduation.
Students are invited to regular networking events and guest lectures to connect with local industry leaders. One of these connections provided Aakriti with a route into an internship with Blueflower, a luxury travel company who she spent three months with.
“A guest speaker connected me with a person at Blueflower, which is how I got in,” she explains.
After interning with Blueflower, Aakriti was able to secure another internship through the MBA career development team, this time with BCW Group, who later offered her a permanent position.
“The internship at BCW Group was truly an amazing experience, and rewarding learning process in a short period of time,” she says.
Thanks to the HKU MBA, and his understanding of AI, Geeseok was able to hit the ground running when he took on his role at fintech company Qraft. “The course was very practical which helped me to demonstrate some of the skills I learned immediately in my job,” he says.
“The MBA inspired me to build my knowledge and expertise, while accelerating my career to another level.”
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) - MBA Programmes HKU Business School
Student
Verified
23/02/2023
On Campus
Academic
Very good academic, caes course amazing, ccs are all amazing, professors are excellent, the architecture and infrastructure is splendid, people here are awesome, made some really nice friends, and teachers support us
Hatim
Verified
6/02/2023
On Campus
Diversified culture
I highly recommend The University of Hong Kong to students all around the world because of their diversified culture, teaching standards, and the people which make the learning experience better every day.
Student
Verified
6/10/2017
A place where you best understand local and international cultures
With plenty of experiences available, HKU provides a plenty of experience for me to explore our own and other countries culture. She has excellent teaching and research staffs in the Department of Ecology and Biodiversity. Time allocate to students are considered sufficient and staffs are ready to reach anytime.
Besides academic, she has various subsidised programmes that allow students to explore. This credit should be given to GenEd (general education) Office to provide different interesting programmes. These ranged from guest speaker giving talks on China-Hong Kong relationship; Contemporary art in Asia; or holding mini forum on geopolitics. Most, if not all, of which are free of charge!
Student
Verified
1/10/2017
Life at HKU
Pursued the SHS degree at HKU, academic and clinical staff members were very devoted and passionate. The academic program is under constant reviews, staff members are open minded and willing to modify the program with regards to students' opinions. Career prospect is good. Uni life is fruitful, many different activities for students to choose. Great facilities supporting learning.
Student
Verified
29/09/2017
Student Life in HKU
As an Accounting and Finance year3 undergrad student in HKU, the university provides lots of opportunities for me to learn and explore my interests.
You could join a wide variety of activities, like being an committee member of societies and joining hall activities. As for me, I chose to join the winter exchange programme, be a committee member, and did volunteering servic and had latrine construction and volunteer teaching in Ghana, Africa. I also organized lots of activities for societies and had lots of meetings with company representatives. As for school work, it is okay normally but definitely u got a lot busier during November and April. You got a lot more free time compared to CUHK and HKUST. And of course, this is considered as the most ‘international’ uni in HK in a way that I could make friends coming from different countries.
Just wanna add, HKU has a good location for foodie as its near Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui. For those who love night lifes dont miss this. I didnt speak of anything i dislike coz there isnt anything i dislike much, but if I do have to say, it is the hall life of many local students, such as having cheers at night and never sleeps that may disturb others.
Student
Verified
2/09/2020
Blended
Academics
I think it’s a great university that gives you a lot of opportunities in terms of academics as well as extracurricular activities. The education system is fairly westernized and the professors are good for the most part.
Student
Verified
3/11/2017
International, stratified and political
Adequate resources and very convenient campus with sufficient channels to expand your social and professional circle. Also politically active, and perhaps too biasedly so. Its law school is firmly established, with the longest history in Hong Kong. Practical and professional training, with a constant atmosphere of anxiety and competition that encourages a relatively focused and narrow vision of career outlook. Good range of extra curricular activities available.
Student
Verified
12/10/2017
Life in HKU
HKU provides students with lots of opportunities in multidisciplinary researches and experiences. This encourages students to widen their horizons and prepare for the future. The programme I attended organised both local and oversea field trips that allowed me to have the first hand experiences of relative aspects. It was very useful for my later career.
Student
Verified
6/10/2017
BSocSc
I am a graduate of the BSocSc programme several years ago. I appreciate that the programme provided a flexible choice of majors and minors. Even I was admitted into social sciences programme, I could explore various streams of studies in and out of the social sciences faculty, including global studies, human resources, politics, science and music. I did a double major in psychology and sociology. Among all learning experiences in lectures, tutorials, field trips…, I would say the internship experience was one of the most memorable part of my university life. The faculty offers a credit-bearing internship programme in which students can go to various NGOs to work on social issues, ranging from poverty, education to adjustment of ethnic minorities. Students can be placed locally or overseas, depending on placement quota, their personal preference and past experience. I went to a social service agency that serves adults who are intellectually challenged and have autism spectrum disorder. It was an eye-opening experience in observing how different professionals work together to provide training for those people and reflecting on how psychological knowledge could come into play. I was also able to gain some hands-on experience in leading an activity.
There are more and more internship opportunities for university students. It is just another way to gain practical experience apart from applying for interns in government agencies or business companies, especially in organisations that would not openly recruit interns but only work with tertiary institutions.
It should be noted that for some majors/courses, there are really a lot of people studying. When I was an undergraduate back then, we often expected a lecture with 100+ students and a tutorial with nearly 20 students. If you favour close student-teacher interaction in small classes, you may look into the enrolment of particular courses.
