Ulster University Business School has announced it is creating a new 'Professor of Financial Technology' role, and will extend its staff base in this area as the university moves into its new city centre campus on Belfast's York Street.
Executive Dean of the Business School, Professor Mark Durkin said: "With the new building located in the heart of Belfast’s business centre and innovation district we see our economic and societal contribution growing exponentially as we bring together a vibrant community of business leaders, policy makers, professional associations, academics and students.
"Our new Professor of Financial Technology will provide thought leadership and support for business in this growing area. Even more significant is our ability to deliver bespoke sector-specific qualifications to businesses such as financial and professional services which accurately match skills imbalances and needs.”
The university's new £363.9m campus has been identified as one of the biggest academic capital builds across the UK and Europe.
In the next few months, 15,000 staff and students will begin to relocate from Jordanstown to the 75,000 sq metre campus in a planned phased move.
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By September 2021, postgraduate business students will be able to avail of the facilities, whilst undergraduates from across the university will have full on-site teaching and research from the beginning of the second semester in January 2022.
The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will deliver around 35 undergraduate and 30 postgraduate courses from the new campus, covering topics includng Criminology, Law, Games Design and Screen Production.
Within the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, the Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment and the Schools of Computing and Engineering will offer a suite of 40 undergraduate and 30 postgraduate programmes alongside continuing professional development activities relevant to industry.
Professor Frank Lyons is Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
He added: "Some areas of our Faculty that were previously split across two campuses will now be co-located, facilitating new levels of engagement and cross-disciplinary working.
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"We’re really looking forward to the transformative potential of the building with its enhanced technological infrastructure which will put us at the forefront of interactive learning and collaboration with local communities and industry," he commented.
"Our world-leading research will be further enhanced by the bespoke facilities on campus such as the Virtual Production Studio whilst initiatives like the Legal Innovation Centre within the Law School, will continue to push the boundaries of traditional educational approaches."
The university will also partake in delivering societal objectives of Belfast's City Deal Innovation Projects, to be undertaken in partnership with a range of other institutions and agencies.
“As a faculty with extensive industrial links, the accessibility of the new campus will facilitate our work with local employers, industry, professional bodies and government departments," added Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Professor Brian Meenan.
"Bringing these links closer to the classroom will enable us to deliver a central tenet of the student experience by underpinning learning with real work examples.”
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