Robo-Advising and Blockchain Technology ECON5166

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: Adam Smith Business School
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

The past decade has witnessed how FinTech reforms the financial industry. Robo-advising and blockchains are two major innovations showing the power to reshape banking, corporate governance, and broader economic systems. Many major players in finance-including regulators, central banks, and leading financial institutions-have already invested significantly in robo-advising and blockchain, recognizing their transformative potentials.

 

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the underlying technology of robo-advising and blockchain and their relations to banking and finance. On the technical side, it introduces essential blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts and algorithms for robo-advising. On the financial side, it equips students to analyze the business and financial implications and understand their potential impact on financial services, corporate governance, and regulatory frameworks. This blend of technical and financial perspectives offers students a well-rounded understanding of the profound opportunities and challenges for the future of economic systems.

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Timetable

Synchronous:

10 x 2-hour lectures on campus/online as appropriate for the course content

10 x 1-hour labs on campus/online as appropriate for the course content

 

Asynchronous:
5 hours for set of numerical and computational exercises that will include both theoretical, derivational, and applied type of questions with the corresponding solution guides, which will be further discussed in labs.

Requirements of Entry

Students must be registered on one of the associated programmes listed in this course specification.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

ILO being assessed

Main Assessment In: April/May

Course Aims

This course aims to:

1. Provide an in-depth understanding of robo-advising and blockchain technology.

2. Equip students with practical skills to develop the robo-advising system and deploy blockchain to solve real-world problems.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the development of the robo-advising and blockchain technology in financial industry, including the benefits and possible challenges caused.

2. Develop the robo-advising system using optimization algorithms and Natural language processing (NLP) models.

3. Implement blockchain technology by utilizing advanced programming language and software to solve problems related to financial system.

4. Analyse the financial and regulatory consequences of the robo-advising and activities in the decentralized financial system.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.