Fintech MSc

This module will introduce students to the field of Data Science which focuses on Big Data and its visualisation. Students will consider a range of features of the area such as statistical analysis, data collection, computing, the compilation of complex models and data visualisation. This module will enable students to devise, employ, justify and explain a piece of research to an audience of academics or professional business people.

In this module, you will explore current state of the art developments in relation to Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). DLT are the foundation by which electronic transactions can be recorded and shared in a way that offers transparency without the need for a centralised authority, such as a bank in the finance industry. This module aims to provide you with a critical understanding on the fundamental concepts underpinning the operation of distributed ledgers and the challenges faced in implementing distributed ledgers. In addition, it will enable you to develop strategies to evaluate and select DLT that are most appropriate for a chosen domain, for example, Internet of Things or financial technology (FinTech).

Being able to understand, interpret and analyse a company's financial statements is an essential skill for finance professionals. In this module, you'll study fundamental issues concerning the financial reporting of companies to become familiar with certain financial statement characteristics reported following the international accounting standards. You'll aim to develop an ability to critically assess and interpret corporate financial performance using financial analysis techniques that aid the interpretation of accounts and performance.

With many industries generating huge volumes of data almost continuously the challenge for these industries is understanding how this data can be utilised for developing organisational value. This module introduces the field of Big Data, sources, management and visualisation. The module will evaluate and consider a range of features in the area, and provide opportunity to work with multiple online and offline data sets, investigate ethical issues around the data and explore different data collection strategies. Experience in these areas gives a holistic overview of organisational challenges and an informed perspective in decision making through the utilisation of big data.

This module will introduce you to the theory and practice of financial decision making. You will study the basic blocks of finance and financial management that are of primary concern to financial managers and financial analysts, and the key aspects to make financial decisions. The module builds on the concept of time value of money, risk and return, and capital budgeting aspects of investment decisions.

In today’s highly mobile and interconnected world of business, you will undoubtedly find yourself working with culturally diverse teams, partnerships and customer bases. It is therefore essential that you are able to offer future employers, colleagues and other stakeholders an adaptable interculturally aware and responsive approach. In the light of that, this module fosters transferable skills fundamental to global employability. Your professional and personal development will be guided through the application of the eight CIPD Behaviours, University of Huddersfield’s target Graduate Attributes, and key Intercultural Effectiveness skills and mindsets.

As you develop professionally through your subject studies you will increase consciousness of your individual cultural make-up and the impact of this on behaviour, relationships and worldview in order to navigate beyond the borders of your own culture. You will develop a conscious approach to effective global practice, responding positively to difference, and constructing strategies to deal with intercultural workplace encounters.

EQ (emotional intelligence) is considered to be the ‘soft’ skill which the sharpest leaders use.  This module encourages you to enhance your effectiveness in areas of EQ such as self-awareness, self management, mindset, integrity, maturity, empathy, inter- and intrapersonal intelligences, and physical context.  All of this is contextualised within a framework for developing effective relationship management in team work and leadership. Your masters qualification demonstrates your intelligence (IQ) and subject knowledge which are, of course, essential for entry into the career of your choice.  However, if you are to develop and rise in your career, it is widely understood that developing your EQ can equip you to meet the demands of career progression while making a positive impact on your colleagues and your business.

The module explores the links between people management practices and positive organisational outcomes and how these are achieved in different types of organisational contexts. Focusing on leadership, flexibility and change management, the aim being to help students become effective strategic managers as well as effective HR specialists, managing others fairly and effectively and increasing levels of engagement, commitment and performance.

Learners will reflect critically on theory and practice from an ethical and professional standpoint and develop skills in identifying when, and how, to use strategic interventions to improve and develop organisations.

Businesses around the globe are becoming more aware of their role in helping to build a more sustainable future. Consequently, this module will provide you with an integrative understanding of the role of business in overcoming the challenges of sustainability. Utilising both theory and practice-based frameworks related to business responsibility, corporate sustainability and sustainable development, you will be able to identify, and assess the challenges associated with the responsibilities of business. You will also be introduced to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a view towards examining how businesses could collaborate to achieve these.

This module examines total rewards in an organisational and international context and provides learners with the knowledge and understanding of environments in which reward professionals plan, implement and evaluate employee reward policies to support strategic organisational goals. Learners will acquire both theoretical and normative understanding of the diverse approaches to reward management and be able to critically reflect on the strengths and limitations of these approaches in promoting individual and organisational performance in a fair, reasonable and equitable way. The foundations for pay and benefits management in modern organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors and how these traditions can be integrated into appropriate strategic designs that provide considerations of relative value and worth, individual and collective contribution and labour markets are examined.

This module provides an introduction into the strategic management theories and its practical application. It will cover: mission and goal formation, stakeholder theories, corporate governance, and business ethics, in addition to these topics, this module will equip you with the strategy toolbox that includes: external and internal analysis, corporate level strategies and business level strategies, strategic decision making and at the end overall evaluation of strategy implementation and evaluation.

This module is designed to help you develop a curious and enterprising mindset. It gives emphasis to curiosity, creative thinking, future thinking, vision and imagination – the precursors to identifying and developing opportunities for professional development, innovation and new venture creation. These skills and mindsets are relevant to business set up as well as freelance careers and employability. You will gain knowledge and develop behaviours and attitudes to help you interpret a range of problem situations and opportunities, leading to creative and innovative responses in the form of doing things differently and/or doing something new.

This module aims to provide you with foundation concepts of research methods to prepare you to conduct your own research. It will introduce you to different types of research approaches available to researchers, how to formulate good research questions, how to review academic literature in the research process, how to select the appropriate data collection techniques, how to carry out the data analysis and write-up. The module should provide a solid basis for you to develop your skills further in your own research project.

The Individual Research Project provides an opportunity to pursue your own interests and engage more deeply with your subject by completing an in-depth piece of research work using relevant research methods. Working autonomously, but under the guidance of a supervisor, you will make choices about the most appropriate methods and then conduct your own research project. Through the Individual Research Project, you will have the opportunity to greatly enhance your own knowledge and skills. The research will be presented in written format using academic conventions recognised in your field.

This module prepares you for the Group Consultancy Project. It introduces the theory underpinning the process of consultancy in organisations. The module will analyse various models of consultancy and you will be given an opportunity to explore different stages in the consultancy cycle including: the purpose of consultancy in business context, project scoping and contracting, information gathering, analysis and report, action planning, implementation, review and exiting.

The Group Consultancy Project provides you with the opportunity to engage in a ‘real world’ live client brief. You will work in small teams and will be expected to engage in the process of scoping the project with the business client, undertake the necessary information gathering, analysing the information and make recommendations to the client. As part of this module, you will also need to evaluate how principles of ethics, sustainability and responsibility influence your professional decision making.

The module provides you with the opportunity to take the practical steps to initiate a new venture or facilitate growth and innovation in an existing venture. The focus is on developing an understanding of business practicalities through action, reflection and case study. The module encourages you to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes for practice, recognising that you may be at different stages and working on different issues at the same time. Supervision and action learning sets provide flexible support to enable self directed learning to facilitate start up and business development initiatives with existing businesses.

The module will encourage you to develop your entrepreneurial mind-set, and help you understand the challenges and opportunities of starting and running a new venture. Your entrepreneurial skills and abilities will be guided through the application of different entrepreneurial tools and techniques – as well as practical exercises - that should enable you to assess your own entrepreneurial readiness, while preparing for the risky, uncertain and challenging environment of creating new ventures.