Thought Leadership – NUS FinTech Lab

NUS FinTech Lab Innovation Lab Crawl 2024

Agenda:

Plenary Session: Innovation at the Core (15-20 mins)

What fuels fintech innovation? Join us to explore how world-class research and learning creates solutions for the future and solves challenges today. Universities have a critical role in providing a convening space for ideas and debate that shape the innovation ecosystem. At the NUS FinTech Lab we are combining research insights with prototyping and testing, debate and dialogue with industry leaders and international research networks. Participate in this session to share your views on the innovation landscape, the challenges and opportunities shaping the fintech landscape in Singapore and beyond.

Project Showcase: Buid, Test, and Learn (1 hour)

Explore live projects and prototypes developed by NUS students and enhanced by direct interaction with our academia/industry partners – large and small. Meet our students and ask your questions. Discover how our workflows and sandbox service can accelerate your innovation journey:

Experience hands-on trading with NUSwap: develop strategies and compete with your peers in live contests.
Explore how Fractionate tokenizes real estate investment using blockchain.
Discover Verifin’s solution for safer blockchain payments through automatic identity verification.
Try out PSSimPy, a simulation tool for blockchain in large payment systems.
Engage with Lenor, an AI tutor who teaches practical money management skills through interactive lessons and simulations.

Panel Session: Shaping the Future of Fintech in the Age of AI (45-60 mins + Q&A)

Join us for an exclusive roundtable discussion with our partners and guests from across the innovation ecosystem. We explore the potential of AI and fintech and debate critical factors shaping the future of fintech innovation – including security, AI ethics and governance, digital trust and financial inclusion. We focus on the core role for university research in shaping bold ideas that will define the next generation of AI and fintech solutions.

To join the session please click the “Register” button or scan the QR Code.

UBRI Connect 2024

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We’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude and special thanks to Lauren Weymouth, Eric van Miltenburg, Ken Weber, and the entire Ripple team for the wonderful opportunity to present our NUS FinTech Lab projects at UBRIConnect2024, held at the University of Zurich from September 9-11. It was an invaluable experience to engage with global academia and researchers, and we greatly appreciate the hospitality and support from the UBRI community.

Here are the key highlights of the projects we showcased:
1. NUSwap – Simulated Trading Platform with Live Market Data: Prof. Jungpil Hahn outlined the need for such a platform, while Valencia Lim, lab interns and Reshma Balaraman, research associates showcased its key features and shared insights from recent trading experiments with Morgan State University and FGV – Fundação Getulio Vargas.

The session provided valuable insights into data analytics and future research applications to shape the fintech landscape. Planned studies will focus on behavioral analysis, longitudinal trends, and the influence of real-world events on trading behaviors. It also emphasized potential collaborations with universities and industries for customized experiments.

The session concluded with pedagogy insights from George Micheni and Ali Emdad and Jéfferson A. Colombo, along with messages and recorded video shared by the top three contest winners.

2. Fractionate Real Estate Tokenization Platform: Presented by Hong Sheng Loy Sheng (lab intern), this project addresses key industry challenges by leveraging blockchain technology to streamline real estate registration. Fractionate enables fractional ownership, lowering the barriers to real estate investment for smaller investors and democratizing access to the property market. The platform also features a decentralized trading system that increases liquidity and flexibility, allowing seamless buying and selling of property tokens, and making real estate investments more accessible and fluid.

3. Verifin – Securing Blockchain Transactions: Presented by Songyue Wang (lab intern), Verifin enhances the security of blockchain transactions by introducing recipient identity auto-validation. As more companies adopt public blockchains for cross-border payments, Verifin tackles risks such as phishing and address poisoning by integrating a layer of identity validation through smart contracts. Built on the XRPL-EVM sidechain, the platform uses advanced technologies like Merkle Trees and PKI to securely verify recipient identities, making blockchain payments safer for B2B and B2C transactions.

The connections and insights we gained at UBRI Connect have further fueled our excitement about the future of fintech, AI, blockchain, security, and financial inclusion. We look forward to pushing boundaries and driving impactful change with our global partners!

NUS AI FinTech Blockchain UBRIConnect2024 Tokenization AlgorithmicTrading FutureOfFinance Collaboration Ripple Technology innovation FinancialInclusion

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AI Governance and Research Symposium at ATxSG, organised by AI Singapore and the Digital Trust Centre Singapore

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On 29 May 2024, NUS FinTech Lab took part in the AI Governance and Research Symposium at ATxSG, organized by AI Singapore and the Digital Trust Centre Singapore. Our Lab’s Director, Professor Hahn Jungpil, moderated a distinguished panel featuring our Founding Executive Director, Ming T., alongside Jeegar Kakkad, Alham Fikri Aji, and Dr. Yong Hua Lin. They shared insights on effective strategies for institutionalizing AI safety and responsibility across various sectors of society.

Highlighting Southeast Asia’s rapid digital integration and diverse AI governance landscape, the panel emphasized the importance of collaborative and interoperable frameworks, along with proactive, multi-stakeholder governance. This approach addresses regional challenges, fosters digital trust, spurs innovation, and bridges the digital divide while mitigating the unintended consequences of technology adoption.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the crucial dialogue on AI safety and responsibility and look forward to continued collaboration in advancing these critical issues within the region

GovInsider’s Festival of Innovation 2024 (26-27 March 2024)

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As generative AI continues to capture the world’s imagination, governments are in a race to regulate AI.

One of the challenges lies in balancing the scale and speed of Gen AI-enabled threats, against the cost of compliance, said John Bateman, Vice President of Systems Engineering, Asia Pacific and Japan, with cybersecurity solutions provider Radware.

He was speaking at a panel “Keeping Government Apps Safe: Navigating Tech and Data Security of AI” at GovInsider’s Festival of Innovation 2024 on 26 March in Singapore.

Other speakers included Juan Kanggrawan from Jakarta Smart City, Brigadier-General (BG) Edward Chen from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), and Prof Hahn Jungpil from AI Singapore (AISG) and the Centre for Technology, Robotics, AI and the Law. The panel was moderated by Prof Mark Findlay from the University of Edinburgh.

Keeping up with the speed and scale of AI-enabled threats

It is difficult for governments to make decisions when the proportion of unknown threats we face today is much larger and faster, especially with the advent of Gen AI and LLMs, said Prof Jungpil with AISG. Kanggrawan from Jakarta Smart City shared the same perspective.

Most of the speakers were in consensus that a preventative approach – whether it be on the technology or human front – is needed to manage AI-enabled threats.

An example of an AI-enabled cybersecurity tool is Radware’s Cloud DDoS Protection Service, which uses advanced algorithms to protect organizations against today’s most damaging DDoS threats, previously reported by GovInsider.

For instance, Bateman from Radware proposed a hybrid governance model for AI: using AI-powered tools to automate compliance with human governance to monitor the process.

On cybersecurity training to address AI threats, BG Chen from the SAF said that the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore brings together other government stakeholders on drills to expose them to AI-enabled threats and respond to them accordingly.

Innovation vs. regulation: Reaping AI benefits, while countering AI risks

“The risks will remain, but the benefits will grow,” said Prof Findlay with the University of Edinburgh.

Prof Jungpil highlighted that while the Singapore government pours in plenty of investments in AI R&D projects, it still faces the challenge of aligning AI governance with geopolitics, as the rest of the world looks to what the three big players, China, the US, and the EU, are doing.

John Bateman from Radware proposed a hybrid governance model for AI: using AI-powered tools to automate compliance with human governance to monitor the process. Image: GovInsider.

Speaking about AI governance from a private sector player’s point of view, Bateman pointed out that Gen AI has greatly democratised cybersecurity threats.

This has made it easier for malicious actors to develop and carry out cyber attacks, such as the recent surge in a new type of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on web applications, known as Web DDoS Tsunami attacks. Some of the major Gen AI players, such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, would reject prompts that they recognise as explicitly illegal or nefarious.

However, there is a newer generation of GPT tools that is designed without safety guardrails and available on open-source developer platforms like GitHub, said Bateman. Malicious actors can use these tools to create undetectable malware, write malicious code, and find vulnerabilities in systems.

“The new tools have increased the level of threat, as they enable unskilled people to become very sophisticated and powerful actors and generate [malicious] programs,” he explained. Some of these threats include malware, business email compromise, and spear phishing campaigns.”

As organisations create their own GPT models by tapping on open-source developer platforms, BG Chen added that they run the risk of downloading malicious codes into their devices.

Government and business collaborations needed to align innovation and regulation

“The role of people in governance is paramount [to regulating AI], and technology is just a tool at the end of the day,” said Bateman.

BG Edward Chen from the Singapore Armed Forces says that there’s no one-size-fits-all regulation for AI. Image: GovInsider.

He added that it is important to bring together different public and private communities to keep up to date on AI developments and emerging threats, and to share detection and mitigation best practices based on the latest research, experience and technology.

The position taken by BG Chen was that there is no one-size-fits-all regulation. Critical information infrastructures such as public utilities would require tighter regulations to prevent disruption to citizens.

In general, whether it’s Gen AI or other technologies, regulations tend to lag behind innovations, said Kanggrawan. In the case of Indonesia, data privacy laws were only recently rolled out in 2022, which would set the foundation for other regulations around technology use.

As AI use remains in its infancy in Indonesia, Kanggrawan underlined the importance of a culture of innovation within organisations to trial new innovations among relatively lower risk use cases, or at the sandbox, provincial and local levels, before rolling out to the national level.

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UBRI Connect 2023

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UBRI Connect is an event hosted by Ripple that brings scholars, researchers, and thought leaders in the UBRI network to showcase blockchain initiatives, share knowledge, and inspire future research. It is an invite-only event with approximately 225 attendees. This year is the 5th year anniversary of UBRI, taking place in Toronto Metropolitan University, Ted Rogers School of Management.

Prof. Jungpil Hahn, Director of NUS FinTech Lab, participated in a firechat discussing the exploration of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Dr. Nicholas Garcia, Deputy Director of NUS FinTech Lab, presented on “Decoding the New Wave of Asian FinTech: The Crypto Spring and DeFi Through the Lens of Singapore.” Additionally, the NUS FinTech Society sent a team comprising Keith, Say Keong, and Wei Rong to introduce their project, Superflow. This on-chain payment streaming solution is launched on Ripple’s newly established XRP side chain.

The Need for On-Chain Subscriptions in Web3

In our digital era, dominated by Web2 giants like Netflix and Spotify, subscription models have become the norm. However, a significant gap remains in Web3: the lack of an efficient, on-chain subscription service. This gap not only limits the operational flexibility of SMEs but also hampers content creators who seek fair compensation and protection of their intellectual property in a decentralized environment.

Superflow: Bridging the Gap

Enter Superflow, an on-chain payment streaming solution launched on Ripple’s XRP side chain. This innovative project addresses two critical objectives:

Seamless Integration and User Experience: Superflow offers an easy-to-integrate, user-friendly subscription model, making it accessible even to those with limited technical expertise.
Affordability: It eliminates the burden of expensive recurrent gas fees, a common hurdle in the Web3 space.
Advantages for SMEs and Content Creators

Superflow’s implications are far-reaching, especially for SMEs and content creators:

For SMEs: Superflow allows for streamlined operations, enhanced customer trust, and simplified payment processes. This is vital for businesses relying on subscription-based models, offering them a new avenue to thrive in the evolving digital landscape.
For Content Creators: It promises fair compensation and robust intellectual property protection. In an era where content is king, Superflow provides creators with the tools they need to manage their subscribers effectively and reap the full benefits of their work.
The Rise of Decentralized Platforms and Creator Economy

The significance of Superflow extends to the broader ecosystem of decentralized apps. With platforms like Lens Protocol, friend.tech, and Mirror gaining popularity, there’s an increasing demand for infrastructure that supports the creator economy. Superflow answers this call by providing a secure, transparent payment mechanism that caters to the unique needs of decentralized social platforms.

Recognition and Future Prospects

The demonstration of Superflow at UBRI Connect was met with great enthusiasm, culminating in the invitation for the team to become XRP Campus Ambassadors. This recognition not only validates the project’s potential but also positions the team as pioneers in the Web3 subscription space.

Superflow’s Role in Shaping the Future

Superflow is more than just a project; it’s a beacon for innovation in the Web3 space. As we move towards a more decentralized and equitable digital economy, solutions like Superflow will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of online transactions and content creation. UBRI Connect 2023 was just the beginning of this exciting journe

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NUS FinTech Lab -On the trail of SFF 2023 Innovation Lab Crawl

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NUS FinTech Lab Innovation Lab Crawl

Session 1 - Transforming DeFi Auditing: Profound Insights from Prof Daniel Rabetti.

In this session, Prof. Daniel Rabetti delved into the complex and evolving world of DeFi (Decentralized Finance) auditing. His presentation offered crucial insights into the future of financial oversight in the blockchain era.

3 Key Takeaways from his session:
1. Decentralized Auditing Governance: The session underscored the pressing need for a shift towards decentralized governance in DeFi auditing. It was highlighted how the dominance of a few auditors necessitates the adoption of more standardized and transparent auditing procedures. This approach is critical to maintain trust and integrity in the fast-evolving DeFi landscape, ensuring alignment with its foundational principles of decentralization.

2. Harmonizing Economic Growth with Enhanced Security: A key insight from the presentation was the noticeable disconnect between the economic growth of audited DeFi protocols and their susceptibility to cyber-attacks. This observation calls for a thorough reassessment of existing auditing frameworks, underlining the necessity of robust procedures that not only support economic growth but also provide effective safeguards against cybersecurity threats.

3. Specialized Expertise in DeFi Auditing: The presentation highlighted the dynamic nature of the DeFi market, especially in its response to security breaches. It stressed the importance of continuous innovation in auditing practices, along with the development of specialized knowledge and strategies by auditors. Such expertise is crucial for effectively addressing the unique risks and challenges inherent in DeFi protocols.

Collaborative efforts involving academia, industry, and regulators are essential in developing sophisticated auditing frameworks and security protocols, with institutions like the National University of Singapore playing a pivotal role in driving forward research and innovation in DeFi auditing.

We extend our appreciation to Prof. Daniel Rabetti for his invaluable insights, which shed light on the urgent need for refined auditing standards, a better understanding of audits’ impact on security, and the cultivation of specialized expertise in the evolving DeFi auditing domain.

Session 2 - Blockchain Security and the Bribery among its Writers

At the heart of this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival, Prof. Li Xiao Fan’s presentation at the NUS FinTech Lab marked a defining moment in our understanding of blockchain technology. His session, “Blockchain Security and the Bribery among its Writers,” provided a deep dive into the complexities and evolving nature of blockchain systems, offering vital insights to industry professionals, regulators, and academia.

Here are 3 key insights that stood out:
1. Revolutionizing Blockchain Security and Integrity: The evolution of blockchain systems underscores the crucial need for robust security measures. Highlighting the notion that decentralization doesn’t equate to independence, this research delves into the human and social factors influencing blockchain integrity. The concept of P + epsilon attacks, though theoretically feasible, highlights the importance of ongoing research to address evolving threats and vulnerabilities. This insight is pivotal in ensuring the future-proofing of blockchain technology against sophisticated security challenges.

2. Strategic Shifts and System Design in Blockchain: The transition from Proof of Work (POW) to Proof of Stake (POS) systems marks a significant leap in blockchain technology, offering enhanced security and energy efficiency. This shift is more than a technical upgrade; it’s a fundamental alteration in the blockchain’s power dynamics and requires strategic planning and thoughtful implementation. The presentation stresses the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in blockchain system design. Incorporating perspectives from game theory and political science, it emphasizes the need for strategic considerations that encompass security, economic incentives, and power dynamics within blockchain systems.

3. Blockchain’s Transformative Impact and Future Horizons: Blockchain technology is set to revolutionize not only financial services but a wide array of industries, promising greater transparency, efficiency, and security. This versatility opens up immense opportunities for rethinking operational models across sectors. However, challenges like scalability, regulatory uncertainties, and infrastructure needs are also acknowledged. Addressing these challenges paves the way for innovations and collaborative efforts.

A big shout-out to Prof. Li Xiaofan. Your contribution to this field is invaluable and we appreciate your research sharing at the NUS FinTech Lab.

Session 3 – Breaking Barriers, Building Futures

During the NUS FinTech Lab Crawl , moderated by Professor Jungpil Hahn, we delved into how the National University of Singapore is reshaping the digital economy. Special thanks to speakers Prof. Khim Yong Goh, Prof. Sew Bun Foong, and Prof. Ben Charoenwong for their critical insights.

Key sharing from this panel discussion:
1a. Redefining the Nexus of Academia and Industry: We are at a critical juncture where academic rigor must meet industry dynamism head-on. The fast-paced fintech sector demands not just keeping up with trends but actively shaping them. It’s essential to develop solutions that are practical, innovative, and sustainable.

1b. Driving Global Impact via Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Fostering cross-faculty partnerships and backing them with significant research grants is crucial to not only promote academic excellence but also to tackle global challenges, and build a progressive, equitable world.

2a. Nurturing Agile Leadership in Finance: Developing adaptable leadership skills for rapidly changing environments is now more important than ever. We must prepare future leaders for the dynamic finance sector, with an emphasis on ‘executive thinking’ and ‘business leadership,’ to cultivate agile, forward-thinking leaders.

2b. Balancing Innovation and Resilience in Finance: In the banking sector, the critical balance between innovation and resilience cannot be overstated. Safely navigating risks through adaptive and resilient systems is key, and academia’s role in policy and research support is vital to create secure yet innovative programs within an effective regulatory framework.

3a. Intersecting Fintech and Digital Media for Informed Decision Making: Combating misinformation and investor sentiment manipulation at the intersection of fintech and digital media is of paramount importance. Creating content that not only aims for financial gain but also educates and guides investment decisions is a crucial part of leveraging academic research for societal benefits.

3b. Expanding Financial Market Participation: Addressing the limited financial market participation, especially in areas with undiversified wealth, is an urgent matter. Leveraging technology to enhance financial education and reduce biases, and focusing on fraud detection, are key steps toward financial inclusion. Bridging academic insights with industry needs for practical, rigorous solutions are essential to cater to the unbanked globally.

These insights from NUS FinTech Lab Crawl showcase a university that’s not merely navigating the digital economy but is actively redefining it with every step forward.

Let’s invest in a future where the National University of Singapore‘s innovative research makes a lasting impact on the digital economy

Digital Asset Opportunities 2024 – SFF Unplugged

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Singapore FinTech Festival Unplugged Panel #3 - Insights from Singapore’s Digital Asset Ecosystem Development.

The panel featured insightful contributions from industry experts Rajesh Sreenivasan from Rajah & Tann Asia, Aaron Gwak from Libeara, and Chris Ngoi, CFA, CA from KPMG Singapore moderated astutely by Prof. Jungpil Hahn, Director of NUS FinTech Lab. A big shout-out to all the speakers!

Key Takeaways from this panel discussion:
1. Digital Asset Regulation: Regulating blockchain and digital assets presents unique challenges. The industry seeks clear regulations, while regulators look for practical examples, particularly in areas like real estate tokenization. This involves decisions on how and what to regulate, the structure and purpose of tokens, and choosing distribution models (retail vs. B2B, CeFi vs. DeFi). Regulators’ ‘slow, slow, sudden’ strategy is a thoughtful approach, carefully balancing the advancement of innovation with the necessity for robust regulatory frameworks and safeguarding consumer interests and financial stability.

2. Blockchain in Business and Trust: Singapore leads in using blockchain beyond transactions, integrating it into business processes and trust-building. An example is Singapore Airlines‘ KrisPlus program, which leverages blockchain for asset management and customer service, including identity management and data sharing, with AI enhancement. However, challenges like interoperability, varying investor disclosures, and international regulatory complexities remain, requiring significant coordination.

3. Emerging Trends and Challenges: The tokenization of e-bills of lading, a movement championed by countries like the UK and Singapore, was discussed as part of the core development. This highlights the broader issues at play in the digital asset ecosystem. The panelists talked about the incentives for regulators to create specialized frameworks, such as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) and digital security sandboxes, aimed at maintaining stability while being cautious of unforeseen consequences. The consultative approach taken by regulators, coupled with the focus on smart contract auditing, was noted as significant in addressing the complexities surrounding Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). DAOs challenge traditional regulatory frameworks due to their decentralized and often borderless nature, raising questions about their economic and legal substance.

Singapore, a leader in digital asset ecosystem development, shapes its direction, necessitating collaborative efforts across academia, industry, and regulators for mutual benefits and sustained innovation.

Co-host & Partners:

Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Elevandi, Singapore FinTech Festival, OffChain Global.

#SFFUnplugged #SingaporeDigitalFinance #RegulatoryLeadership #BlockchainInnovation #DeFi #GlobalFinancialTrends #DigitalAssets

March 17-18 (WITS – Warwick Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology Feeder Workshop on Frontiers of AI and FinTech)

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WITS – Warwick Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology Feeder Workshop on Frontiers of AI and FinTech

Our Director, Prof. Jungpil had been invited to the WITS-Warwick Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology Feeder Workshop on Frontiers of AI and FinTech, which was held from 17th March 2023 to 18th March 2023 at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick.

This workshop endeavored to highlight recent AI and crypto developments and their implications for financial activity. It aimed at initiating the conversation about new business applications, novel datasets, advanced technical developments, social and economic impacts of FinTech and AI. Centered on the Warwick Business School’s Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology and the Gillmore finXtech Lab, the event also connected practitioners and scholars with the aim to generate impactful research directions.

The two-day workshop was planned as follows.

17th March 2023 (started at 11:00 am): the focus was on the interaction between practitioners in the financial services industry and academic scholars. Three broad themes – future of AI applications in financial services, viability of crypto and blockchain applications in financial services, and financial inclusion – were explored through lively interchange and debate between practitioners and academics.
The key takeaways we expected were for the practitioners to gain research-led insights and access to academic talent to help tackle their pressing challenges, and for academics to gain a deeper understanding of industry challenges to shape their impactful research. The day ended with a dinner at a nearby location (details were to be confirmed shortly).
18th March 2023 (started at 9:00 am): the focus was on academic presentations. The plan was to have a total of 6 presentations, each lasting 1 hour. At the conclusion of the presentations, we planned for a memorable cricket experience in Birmingham which was not too far from the campus.

Ripple Crypto Strategies for Business Leaders – 24 Feb

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Our Director, Prof. Jungpil has been invited to speak in the upcoming event – Crypto Strategies for Business Leaders in partnership with Ripple and NUS SCALE.

Details of the events:

Date: Friday Feb 24th

Time: 11:15 – 12:00 (30-45min discussion followed by Q&A with participants)

Topic: Enterprise crypto solutions

Panelists:

1. Prof.Jungpil, Hahn Lab Director, NUS

2. Jane Pukasemvarangkoon, Partner Success Director, Ripple

3. Yogesh Sangle, Global Head of Consumer Business, Nium (Ripple customer)

Moderator: Phil Woods (NUS ACE Fellow)

Brief Introduction on Crypto Strategies for Business Leaders:

Background:

88% of senior executives think that blockchain technology will eventually achieve mainstream

adoption, however only 39% of those executives said that they have adopted blockchain

technologies in their organizations (Deloitte, 2020 Global Blockchain Survey: From promise to

reality).

Goal of the programme:

To provide participants with an immersive, “back to school” experience where they can learn from the world’s leading educators, researchers, regulators, etc. about how and why they should be implementing a blockchain strategy at their organization.

Target Audiences:

Primary:

1. Banks, neobanks, payments companies, fintech companies, PSPs, etc.

2. Enterprises, especially multinational companies and global disruptors such as PayPal, Facebook, Shopify, AirBnB, FiServ, FIS, Adyen, Uber and global brands who are considering a ‘crypto strategy’ and need a trusted partner

Secondary: Traditional Financial Service ‘crypto laggards’

1. Legacy banks, late adopting FIs

Note that the participants will have varying degrees of knowledge and understanding of

blockchain technology.

Key Objective

Participants who completed the program would have the knowledge to implement a blockchain

strategy at their company.

● Awareness-building opportunities for Ripple as a trusted partner

● Networking and bonding opportunities for the participants as part of the program

Ripple UBRI Connect @ UCL London, 21-22 Sept 2022

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What is the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI)?

UBRI is a partnership between Ripple and top universities around the world to support academic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments. Ripple is providing both financial and technical resources to university partners and collaborates with faculty and students on research and technical projects.

How are partners selected for UBRI? What are the criteria?

Ripple is partnering with a carefully selected set of universities from around the world that are at the forefront of teaching, research and innovation in blockchain, distributed computing, cryptocurrency, cryptography, digital payments and related subject areas.

Current partners are academic institutions: 1) with existing centers of practice and faculty and students who are already active and productive in related subject areas; 2) that are experiencing high demand from students and have related student-driven activities; 3) that bring a variety of perspectives from across a range of academic disciplines and technology; and 4) that contribute to the program’s overall geographic diversity.

The NUS FinTech Lab, an experiential learning lab under the NUS School of Computing, are invited by Ripple (key partner) to submit an application for its upcoming event UBRI Connect (University Blockchain Research Initiative) on 21-22 Sept 2022 in UCL, London.

UBRI Connect is an annual event that connects scholars, researchers, and thought leaders in the UBRI network to showcase blockchain initiatives, share knowledge, and inspire future research.

The conference topic for this year will include:

– Financial inclusion – Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – NFTs

– Sustainability – Blockchain use case demo – Carbon Markets

– Security, Privacy, Scalability, Interoperability, Mutability of Blockchain

– Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)

By bringing together academia and enterprise, UBRI Connect aims to provide an outlet to source new innovation and expand on current implementations.

From the NUS FinTech Lab and Fintech Society, 2 projects were shortlisted and awarded to present / speak in the UBRI Connect London.

Following are the brief details of each projects and projects member:

1. ScaNUS (Fintech Lab)

Project Synopsis:

With over 42% of NFT buyers viewing NFT technology as a “get-rich-quick” scheme, the need to educate the public about alternate and more productive applications for the technology is quite apparent. We aim to address this issue through our platform, ScaNUS.

ScaNUS enables customers to record their engagement with advertisers and event partners, like posters, videos, and other content, onto the blockchain, collecting NFT rewards that they can redeem as discounts at F&B vendors.

With the greater security and verification methods that the blockchain offers, F&B outlets are protected against fraudulent redemptions, as we enter the food metaverse.

2. DAO (Fintech Society)

Project Synopsis:

A DAO acts as a form of venture capital fund with a decentralized management structure.

Through this project, the problem NUS FinTech Society aims to address is incentivising education and attendance to FinTech society trainings and events.

What does our learn-to-earn model mean?

In an effort to capitalize on the creativity of our members, our DAO helps to consolidate and iterate on ideas to propel our society forward. The DAO’s tokens incentivise our members to contribute to our projects and events, pushing us closer to our society’s vision.