Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy (ADGM Academy), the educational arm of Abu Dhabi Global Market has announced the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday with the National University of Singapore’s Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF).

Under the framework of the MoU, ADGM Academy and AIDF will collaborate to bring thought leadership to the fintech community and strengthen the Fintech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

The two entities will conduct research into deep-tech solutions to real-world problems facing the financial services sector within the core themes of Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Credit, Big Data Analytics, Digital Transformation, and Sustainable Finance.

Commenting on the agreement, Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, Chief Operating Officer of ADGM and Managing Director of ADGM Academy, said, “ADGM Academy is continuously working with global institutions to build a portfolio of high-quality financial research and development capabilities. We are pleased to ink this agreement with the National University of Singapore, this partnership is another step forward in our goal to empower the financial ecosystem and strengthen the nation’s ambitious economic growth plans and digitisation aspirations.”

“With this partnership, we are looking forward to utilising each other’s expertise and knowledge to build and introduce shared initiatives that strategically support the development and growth of the FinTech ecosystem in ADGM, Abu Dhabi and beyond.”

Prof. Duan Jin-Chuan, Executive Director, Asian Institute of Digital Finance, National University of Singapore, said, “This partnership with ADGMA links two leading FinTech institutions in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Our aspirations, coupled with the expectations of our stakeholders, propel us to commit to the development of inspiring and practical solutions in this digital era.”

“We, at AIDF, look forward to the close collaborations with ADGMA in research advancements, the education of skilled professionals, and nurturing of FinTech entrepreneurs. We see these activities as a vital component in pursuing a better future for our countries. We are also excited by the prospects of potential positive spill overs to other areas across wider regions from this undertaking.”

The agreement focuses on three key pillars that will support in accelerating applied based research in critical future-focused topics, bringing together regulators, policymakers, and academia to discuss and solve real world problem statements from the financial market. The first pillar is research and publication, in which the two entities will conduct in-depth research on the current financial environment, its challenges and future advancements. To further accelerate the research collaboration, strategic research working group (SRWG) will be established, that will include both local and international institutions. The two organisations will collaborate on the co-development of white papers and other academic publications within the field of future-focused technology.

In addition, AIDF and ADGMA Research Centre together will facilitate knowledge exchange across regions and advance research collaboration. It will also explore further cooperation through the Fincubator program to develop entrepreneurship and help innovative ideas to transform into market-ready products and services and drive cross border solutions where possible.

The second pillar is technology development, both the entities will work together on testing and implementation of iCASS (intelligent Credit Analytics Sharing System) into the ADGM Digital Lab Environment to support lenders in making credit facility decisions based on consolidated data and information which will further drive the development of the Abu Dhabi economy within the field of lending for Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs).