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Assistant Professor Alessia Paccagnini leads the ‘Diversity challenges and opportunities in Fintech’ Conference taking place in Naples

Pictured: Alessia Pacaggnini, Academic Director of the Masters in Quantitative Finance at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

The COST Action FinTech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance Diversity Team will host a workshop, Diversity challenges and opportunities in Fintech, to discuss the novel challenges and opportunities in FinTech and AI regarding the expansion of diversity throughout the sector.

“The workshop will discuss stereotypes in STEM fields, and in particular FinTech, focusing on the opportunity for inclusion and how to welcome and attract talent from varying backgrounds,” said Assistant Professor Alessia Paccagnini, Academic Director of the Masters in Quantitative Finance at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and co-organizer of the event.

“Our objective is to open a critical discussion and propose novel solutions to improve diversity in FinTech, and in all STEM fields.”

The event, to be held on May 16 and 17, will host two keynote speakers. Claudia Segre, President of  Global Thinking Foundation, has worked in leading Italian banks for over 30 years and collaborated with various universities and foundations to spread the importance of economic and financial culture. Alyssa Schneebaum is an assistant professor of Economics from Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria. Her research asks questions about how people experience the economy: How does gender and identity affect economic processes and outcomes? How (un)equally are wealth and income distributed? Does everyone have access to a good education?

In addition to the keynote speakers, presentations on research of financial and technological inclusion will take place, as well a presentation prepared by Master students of University of Naples Federico II on the impact of gender stereotypes on the self-concept of female students in STEM.

A round table discussion about the role of higher education to enhance diversity and inclusion in FinTech and in STEM disciplines will also take place, which will include Professor Paccagnini in her capacity as the Co-Chair of the Women @STEM committee at UCD.  

“This new event will open and expand the debate about the challenges faced by women in FinTech and STEM and offer analysis of the stereotypes assumed in the field,” concluded Professor Paccagnini.

The event will take place at the University of Naples Federico II and will also be available online. Further information about the agenda and key speakers can be found here and registration information can be found here.

The Diversity challenges and opportunities in Fintech conference is led by the Diversity Team of the FinTech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance COST Action. The team is composed of: Alessia Paccagnini (UCD), Alessandra Tanda and Claudia Tarantola (University of Pavia), Galena Pisoni (Université Côte d’Azur), Albulena Shala (University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”), Daniele Marazzina (Politecnico Milano), Codruta Mare (Babes-Bolyai University), and Maria Iannario (University of Naples Federico II), the local organizer. The same organizers were involved in a previous event online organized in September 2021 to discuss the role of Women in FinTech.