Barrie & Hibbert to be part of multi-partnered collaboration in the establishment of the UK’s first financial risk academy
28th April 2010 - The UK's first financial risk academy is to be established by Heriot-Watt University with the support of Barrie & Hibbert and other partners from the financial services industry.
The Scottish Financial Risk Academy, the first of its kind in the UK, is to be established by Heriot-Watt University following the award of a £335,000 grant by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The academy will centre on the specialist area of quantitative risk management, an area that is coming under increased scrutiny by the Government, national and international regulators and the general public.
It will provide a new opportunity for sharing knowledge and expertise through a range of activities that will connect with financial services companies and provide a vital function in improving understanding of financial risk.
The academy is the brainchild of Heriot–Watt’s Professor Alexander McNeil and his colleagues at the Maxwell Institute, a collaborative mathematics research institute combining the strengths of Heriot-Watt and the University of Edinburgh. It has the backing of the industry in Scotland and will be set up in partnership with five key financial organizations: Aberdeen Asset Management, the Actuarial Profession in Scotland, Barrie & Hibbert, Lloyds Banking Group and Scottish Financial Enterprise.
Professor McNeil said: ‘This grant is a major achievement and I am delighted that the SFC has recognised the importance for establishing the Scottish Financial Risk Academy, which will provide vastly improved two-way information flow and critical knowledge sharing across the financial services spectrum.
“Following the global financial crisis, we saw the need to create a new communications channel between academia and the financial sector, that would enhance the quality and understanding of financial risk throughout the industry, through knowledge transfer.
“At a time of proposed significant changes to the regulation and structure of the financial sector, the academy will cement crucial working relationships and contribute to the debate with the aim of delivering long-term benefits to the wider economy.”
Further information:Lally Cowell, McGarvie Morrison Media on behalf of Heriot-Watt University.