COST Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance

Dear all our COST Action 19130 Fintech and AI in Finance (fin-ai.eu) is now accepting applications for research grants. Ukrainian researchers are eligible and welcome to apply. Short-term scientific grants Virtual Mobility grants Dissemination and ITC conference grants https://lnkd.in/dF4DVXrJ

🔥 An excellent article published in Journal of Business Ethics on “Editorial boards of finance journals: The gender gap and social networks”, co-authored by Barbara Będowska-Sójka, Claudia Tarantola, Codruta Mare, Alessia Paccagnini, Galena Pisoni, Belma O., Albulena Shala, Rezarta Shkurti and Hanna Kristín Skaftadóttir 📖 This important study sheds light on the gender gap in finance journal editorial boards and the impact of social networks in shaping representation. The authors explore structural barriers and discuss what this means for diversity, inclusion, and the future of academic publishing. 👏 Huge congratulations to the authors for this fantastic work! This work has also been featured on VoxEU.org. As IFABS Global, we expect this research sparks important conversations on gender diversity in academia and finance. 💡 🔗 Read the full published article here: https://lnkd.in/dS9qtnVf Elsevier Wiley Springer Nature Routledge Business & Economics Oxford University Press Cambridge University Press Thomson Reuters #GenderDiversity #AcademicPublishing #Finance #SocialNetworks #DiversityInAcademia #ResearchImpact

🚀 Day 2 of the "#Reinforcement #Learning in #Digital #Finance" #training dives deeper into advanced applications! In particular, we highlight our keynote speaker Warren Powell, professor emeritus at Princeton University and one of the leading figures in advancing the field of #sequential #decision #analysis. Today’s agenda is packed with insights into #policy #gradient #methods, #deep #reinforcement learning and #parameterized #policies: 10:00 - 12:00: Policy-based reinforcement learning – Wouter van Heeswijk  13:00 - 15:00: Deep reinforcement learning in finance – Joerg Osterrieder 15:00 - 17:00: Project: description and coding – Wouter van Heeswijk, Joerg Osterrieder 17:00 - 18:00: Parameterized policies in the finance industry – Warren Powell (online) 💡 Let’s keep the momentum going as we bridge theory and practice! Make sure to register to participate and audit these amazing lectures! #Register and get your open access link from https://lnkd.in/ejS_icgv    #DigitalFinance #ReinforcementLearning #MSCATraining #UniversityOfTwente #AI #FinanceInnovation COST Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance

We are very happy to kick off the "Reinforcement Learning in Digital Finance" #training at the University of Twente! 🚀 Today's sessions will provide a solid foundation for exploring cutting-edge applications of reinforcement learning in finance. Here's what's on the agenda:     10:00 - 10:15: Welcome and introduction to MSCA Digital #network - Joerg Osterrieder 10:15 - 11:30: Course introduction and general introduction to reinforcement learning - Wouter van Heeswijk, Martijn Mes  11:45 - 13:00: Markov decision processes and basics of temporal difference learning - Wouter van Heeswijk  14:00 - 15:00: Reinforcement learning in digital finance - Joerg Osterrieder 15:15 - 16:00: Group formation, topic selection and problem formulation - Wouter van Heeswijk, Joerg Osterrieder   16:15 - 17:00: Convergence proofs for Q-learning - Anne Zander  17:00 - 18:00: Q-learning in taxicab environment - Wouter van Heeswijk     This remarkable lineup of experts will guide participants through the fundamental concepts of reinforcement learning. Register and get your Teams link from https://lnkd.in/ejS_icgv #Digital #Finance #ReinforcementLearning #MSCA #UniversityOfTwente COST Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance

Wrapped up 🌯 ! What an intense week in Oradea, Romani! I had the honor of delivering the very first lecture in the MSCA Digital Finance - European Industrial Doctoral Network on Digital Finance with an introduction to ethics course in the “#Ethics in AI and #Digital Finance” training on Monday 20/01/25 — talk about an exciting start 🤓 🎉! A huge shout-out to our hosts at the Universitatea din Oradea and Oradea Tech Hub. From stunning architecture to a buzzing tech community, this event offered the perfect blend of intense discussions, innovation and critical thinking —perfect for diving into the intricacies of ethics in digital #finance and AI🤖⚖️. I’d like to extend my gratitude to all the speakers and contributors who helped make this training week: Starting with the local organizers working and supporting us led by Ioana - Florina Coita and Marius Vlad Pop (as well as all the many people involved), and of course Marcos Machado and Joerg Osterrieder, Branka Hadji Misheva and all of the Doctoral Candidates who attended the meeting ! Thanks and appreciation for Catarina Simões da Silva, WP9 lead, who presented frameworks and guidelines for AI models; Renata Guizzardi who discussed ethical requirements in designing AI models; Stefan Theussl who provided industry perspective on ethics for Financial Analysts; Sebastian Vaduva opened the second day sharing community building experiences, Wolfgang Karl Härdle who took a deep dive about Data Science in a Mathless Digital Society; Daniel Traian Pele on XAI for Finance; Xiaohong Huang challenged us a talk on with cognitive biases; Cristian Mihes discussed the AI Act; Renato Rocha Souza who gave the audience an extensive overview on implications about the use of GenAI; Ioana Popa (Poleac) with a particularly lively activity to enact diversity concerns in fintech; Verzea Ionut to discuss ethics in risk and scoring models in banking; Wouter van Heeswijk who introduced the ethical and explainable elements within Reinforcement Learning; Jana Peliova showcased the ethical dimension of experimental economics ; Adriana Tiron-Tudor talked about Embedding Corporate Digital Responsibility in Financial Services Organizations, and finally Codruta Mare and Stanca Liana closed our training with a study case on Transparency, Diversity and Non-Discrimination in Data... A long but strong list of #lectures, that range from exploring ethical guidelines for AI models to tackling transparency and bias in finance, where every session brought fresh perspectives and inspiring discussions, for those attending in situ and online 🌐💡. If you couldn’t attend, stay tuned for our next gatherings —there’s plenty more to come in shaping a #responsible and innovative #AI future 🚀✨. Our next scheduled event is in early February, at the University of Twente Until then, cheers Oradea 🏰 ! What a great event to start the MSCA DIGITAL's year !

I'm thrilled to share that I had the honor of chairing the BEST Wi-Fi 2024 contest (https://lnkd.in/dhvyuBki), a dedicated event for young talents, as part of the Cost Fintech AI project! The contest brought forward exciting innovations in AI and fintech, showcasing the incredible potential of the next generation of tech leaders. To learn more about the insights and discoveries presented, check out the latest Frontiers in AI contest winner article. Read the full article here: Link to article https://lnkd.in/dmXz5iDE #Fintech #AI #Innovation #YoungTalents #CostFintechAI

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝗼𝘅: 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 (𝙭𝘼𝙄) 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 I am very happy to share that Tony Klein and I have co-edited a Special Issue on xAI in Finance, now published in 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴! AI is transforming finance, but many tools and models are “black boxes,” leaving their inner workings opaque. While this might not matter for everyday uses—like getting answers from ChatGPT—it’s crucial in finance, where regulators, customers, and other stakeholders need to understand how and why decisions are made. This is where Explainable AI (xAI) steps in. * xAI tools can interpret the outputs of black-box models without sacrificing performance (model-agnostic). * In contrast, "white-box" models prioritize transparency but often compromise on accuracy. Our Special Issue features 𝟭𝟯 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 exploring: ✔ Applications of xAI in financial contexts. ✔ Innovations in xAI methodologies. ✔ Proposals for standardizing processes. We hope this collection inspires researchers and practitioners alike, offering fresh perspectives and opening new research avenues. A huge thanks to the contributors and reviewers who made this possible! 📄 Read the editorial: https://lnkd.in/eiQ2pBtq 📚 Explore all articles (many are Open Access): https://lnkd.in/eJSuty5u Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Technischen Universität Chemnitz Utrecht University School of Economics Finance @ Utrecht School of Economics European Centre for Alternative Finance

A pleasure to participate to the "AI in Financial Markets Research Forum" hosted by Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisen Research and represent the MSCA Digital Finance - European Industrial Doctoral Network on Digital Finance and Universitatea „Babeș-Bolyai” din Cluj-Napoca, UBB FSEGA - Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai, Facultatea de Științe Economice și Gestiunea Afacerilor in the journey of bridging the gap between academia and business, together with my colleagues Ronald Hochreiter and Frederik Sinan BERNARD, along with Fulvio Raddi. A follow up of COST Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance Thank you Stefan Theussl for the invitation!

🔎 Looking forward to attend Raiffeisen Bank International AG's "AI in Financial Markets Research Forum" in stunning Wien 🏰🎻. 📖 It will be a thrilling opportunity to present our MSCA Digital Finance - European Industrial Doctoral Network on Digital Finance to the industry, with partners and colleagues Codruta Mare, Ronald Hochreiter, Stefan Theussl and many others! 🚀 This event promises to be a fantastic opportunity to connect, exchange ideas and explore the evolving role of #AI in #finance #research with leading experts in the field! Thanks to Raiffeisen Research for organizing this Forum and for their kind invitation! Event details below 👇