New Program Launch
BINUS’ FINANCE INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM: NURTURING FUTURE FINANCE LEADERS IN THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE PROFESSION
Imagine if you were asked by someone, where would Indonesia be 10 years from now? What goes through your mind? Well, in 2030, it is predicted that Indonesia will become the 7th largest economy, with approximately 135 million people categorized as middle class, having around 113 million skilled workers, will evolve into top innovators in information technology development together with China and India, and about 6 million MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) will go digital and gain access to finance. These factors, along with the new emerging technologies in the industry 4.0 era we are now living in, are causing the changing landscape of the finance profession in the future. The financial services industry is now evolving rapidly at a rate no one has probably ever predicted before, creating both opportunities and challenges.
Some emerging trends in the industry’s future are the entrance of new players (fintech), the shift in banking business model into customer centric, the disruptive technology that are quickly evolving, the change in consumer behavior, and the emergence of venture capital as well as impact investment which are gaining popularity nowadays. In particular, there has been increasing trends in fintech adoption rates and total investment activity, along with the high growth of fintech based on number of membership. Thus, all relevant stakeholders in the fintech ecosystem (as depicted in the following exhibit) should make sure that fintech can rise to the occasion and achieve its full potential. As can be seen in the exhibit, academics is one of the stakeholders that is responsible to produce talents for the fintech firms. Academics must make sure that the talents they produce stay relevant with the industry’s needs.
Source: presentation from Bapak Triyono, Executive Director of Digital Finance Innovation Group OJK, presented at the new program launch 3 August 2019
To respond to this changing environment in the finance industry, BINUS, one of the leading universities in Indonesia as indicated by the QS World University Ranking 2020 in the position of 801-1000, has just launched a new program called Finance (International Program) under the Faculty of Economics and Communication. With the tagline of ‘’Invent Financial Solutions”, this program aims to provide students with skills and knowledge in innovative finance strategies for business creation and invent financial solutions with data analytics. These 2 student outcomes are than translated into 4 learning objectives: (1) apply the framework and concepts of corporate finance to develop business finance strategies (2) create value of emerging business in digital ecosystems (3) provide consultation on financial issues to guide strategic decision-making (4) build innovative financial solutions using modelling skills based on business data analytics and technology resources. Not only having a strong understanding in fundamental accounting, students in this program are also fluent in finance core knowledge, comprehend business model innovation, have a decent business acumen and understanding in data analytics. In short, students in this program are equipped with both accounting and finance competencies, the two major competencies most sought after by employers.
Graduates from this program are expected to have a wide range of career span as business consultants, business start-up owners, CFO, financial advisor, business development manager, or innovative finance specialist. This program’s uniqueness lies in the single/ double degree offered, the choice of streaming, and the inclusion of the need of industry 4.0 in the curriculum. This program has also partnered with reputable overseas universities, i.e. The University of New South Wales (Australia), Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) and Cologne Business School (Germany), offering students with 3 choices of streaming: business and financial technology, applied business finance, or strategic business finance. During their study, students are also exposed to selected enrichment tracks which comprise of internship, research, entrepreneurship, community development and study abroad. Therefore, apart from gaining the technical skills in accounting and finance areas, students can also hone their soft skills through these rich experiences. This is what makes BINUS Finance (International Program) a perfect choice for nurturing future finance professionals.
