- The Financial Academy organised a hackathon event for financial sector students. This year, the theme was generative AI.
- The students worked in small teams to research the opportunities and potential that generative AI offers for the financial sector.
- The hackathon attracted nearly 70 students from six educational institutions.
- The participating students were divided into small teams, which were each assigned a Gen AI challenge they proposed solutions to.
The Financial Academy’s second annual hackathon was attended by nearly 70 students from Business College Helsinki, Keuda, Haaga-Helia, Perho Business College, Turku University of Applied Sciences and the University of Vaasa. The event was organised by Finance Finland’s members Elo, Fennia, LocalTapiola, Nordea, S-Bank, POP Bank and Varma.
Second-year student at Turku University of Applied Sciences Topi Hynynen was excited about coming to the hackathon, saying he is interested especially in the banking sector and the way money moves and shapes society. Hynynen and his team were assigned to examine the different ways in which AI could be utilised to improve the security of financial services.
“We came up with the idea of developing security chatbots for mobile banking apps. When a customer gets a message that appears to be sent by their bank, they can submit it to the AI chatbot for analysis. AI can easily pick out details that the human eye can’t and is also much faster in its analysis. This could help protect the customer against scam attempts.”
Hynynen and his team were sparred by LocalTapiola’s HR Communications Manager Fanni Helin, who was equally enthused with this year’s theme choice. As generative AI is such a new phenomenon, the sector and its students are on the same starting line in exploring its potential.
“The hackathon brings companies and students together to collaborate on the topic. It’s not simply about networking: I believe that the team working on service security, for example, found solutions that have real-life applications.”
Diverse jobs for diverse professionals
According to Helin, the hackathon and the Financial Academy in general are very influential in terms of the sector’s employer image and appeal. The hackathon brings financial sector companies and educational institutions together in an innovative way.
“I’ve had a great many talks with students, getting to tell them about the wide range of jobs that the sector has to offer for people from all kinds of backgrounds.”
What is the Financial Academy?
Coordinated by Finance Finland, the Financial Academy is a network that unites financial organisations and educational institutions. The network’s aim is to share information and know-how between network members and to increase collaboration between financial organisations and educational institutions to better account for the changing needs in the sector.
In addition to Finance Finland’s member organisations, the Financial Academy includes 21 educational institutions that represent all educational levels from vocational schools to universities, including independent institutes that offer continuing education.
Financial administration student Ida Nylund from Perho Business College was not very familiar with the financial sector as an industry to start with but could very well picture herself working in the sector in the future. Participating in the hackathon was a good opportunity to network and gain experience. Nylund and her team were assigned with workshopping ideas on the application of AI in the development of financial sector services.
“We came up with a financial advice app that could help banking customers manage their personal finances. The app’s AI analyses the way you spend money and gives you tips on saving and investing, for example. If the analysis shows that your personal finances are consistently in order, the bank may offer bonuses or better loan terms”, Nylund describes.
Professor Kalmi underlines creativity
According to Professor of Economics Panu Kalmi from the University of Vaasa, the hackathon gave students an excellent opportunity to apply their creativity and put their studies into practice while also increasing their knowledge of the financial sector.
“The event has both competitive and social elements. Getting to know people from financial sector companies and other educational institutions can be a really good source of support and motivation for students.”
The various assignments of the hackathon had students examine the possible roles of generative AI in the financial sector. According to Kalmi, AI is highly relevant especially for financial sector students.
“The students had the opportunity to examine the potential of AI in facilitating different tasks and duties in the long term, but were also encouraged to reflect on how they could utilise it in their own studies.”
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