Eight top universities competing on the same stage in this 80-hour passionate race! The "CDAR 2023" co-hosted by SWUFE(Southwestern University of Finance and Economics), Chengdu Municipal Local Financial Regulation Bureau and the Chengdu Wenjiang District People's Government, was recently held in Wenjiang District of Chengdu. On November 2nd, as part of the forum's accompanying activities，the final round of the 6th FINTECH 80 CHENGDU HACKTHON (CHENGDU 80 for short), concluded successfully in Chengdu.
This edition of the competition gathered young students from both domestic and overseas, who displayed a variety of design ideas and innovative results, applying their knowledge and thoughts to real-world scenarios and closely connecting them with societal needs.
According to 2023 Global Financial Centers Index(GFCI), Chengdu ranked 44th and was the 18th one in FitTech field. Among these, the "CHENGDU 80" competition made a positive contribution by deepening "industry-university-research cooperation", promoting the application of theory in practice, continuously empowering innovation in the financial technology industry, and has become a platform for exploring cutting-edge financial technology and promoting the development of the fintech industry.
Addressing Industry Pain Points, Empowering The Technological Innovation
On October 29th, known as the "Hackathon of the Financial Technology Field," the "CHENGDU 80" competition officially commenced. The competition topics were drawn at the opening ceremony. The competing teams had to challenge themselves to develop a "Financial News Analysis System" within 80 hours this year. The topic focused on cutting-edge issues and directly addressed unresolved current issues in the financial sector, aiming to empower technological innovation.
Not only were the competition topics fascinating, but the participating teams were also very strong. This year, 8 teams from Tsinghua University, Southern University of Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, ETH Zurich, Queen's University Canada, National University of Singapore, The University of Hong Kong, and Southwestern University of Finance and Economics advanced to the finals.
At the finals on November 2nd, each team showed their fintech product design concepts and development results through live demonstrations, explanations, and defenses. These works involved fields such as artificial intelligence and big data, covering multiple application scenarios, fully demonstrating the huge potential of financial technology in improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing user experience. The fintech products designed by the teams were highly recognized by the judges for their innovation, practicality, and market prospects and awards such as the Pioneer Award, Leader Award, and Innovator Award were presented during the live evaluation.
Gathering Cutting-edge Thoughts, Cultivating Financial Talents
In the six years since the "Chengdu 80" competition has been held, more than ten top universities from around the world and nearly fifty teams have participated. They have used knowledge in machine learning, UX design, financial engineering, and full-stack software development to create product prototypes, developing nearly fifty cutting-edge systems and gathering cutting-edge thoughts and innovative concepts.
According to the coaches involved in the competition, each team in the "CHENGDU 80" has students with different strengths participating, playing different roles within the team, and working together. Not only do they need knowledge of financial theory, but from the initial design, they must consider truly solving pain points, focusing on the practicality of implementation, and the usage habits of the target users. This will cultivate a batch of financial talents for our country with an international vision, innovative spirit, and social responsibility.
Injecting Strong Momentum to Drive Industry Development
In the past five competitions, the financial technology roadshows displayed product charming, financial technology enterprises showcased the industry's style and activities like experiencing Chengdu culture at Jiaozi Park were captivating. These not only unearthed excellent financial technology products but also promoted innovative development in the financial technology industry.
During the closing award ceremony that day, Yin Qingshuang, the member of the Standing Committee of Party Committe and vice president of SWUFE, stated that the university focuses on training talents in financial technology by integrating finance disciplines with the technology field. They conduct research and set layouts in key research areas such as digital technology, financial regulatory technology, financial risk models, and credit rating systems, and have established multiple related platforms including FIC, Jiaozi Institute of Fintech Innovation (JIFI), and Big Data Research Institute of Big Data. We're looking forward to nurturing a batch of young innovative talents with a global vision and a sense of responsibility for the nation.
Zou Jin, vice-general manager of Chengdu Jiaozi Financial Holding Group, one of the organizers, expressed in his speech at the competition: "Over the past six years, we have always practiced the mission of jointly building a financial center in the West and serving the development of the real economy, witnessed the CHENGDU 80 competition grow into a global financial technology dialogue platform held in Chengdu, shared the opportunities and dividends brought by Chengdu's construction of a financial center in the West and participated in the glorious journey of building a ' Collaboration between Government, Industry, Academia, Research Institutions, and Application ' financial technology ecosystem in Chengdu".
This competition was hosted by SWUFE and Chengdu Jiaozi Financial Holdings Group, with co-organizers including the School of Finance of SWUFE, Institute of Chinese Financial Studies of SWUFE, Fintech Innovation Center of SWUFE, Economic and Management Experimental Teaching Center of SWUFE and Financial Intelligence and Financial Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province.