Student profiles

Krishnamurthy is an academic associate at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), India. Prior to this, he worked as a business research analyst with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and assistant professor in a Government College, Karnataka. His research interest lies in the areas of small and medium enterprises (SME) financing, new and alternative financing models for startups and SMEs, regulatory framework. He is currently pursuing his PhD from India and was a visiting fellow (Pavate) at Cambridge Judge Business School. He is a research associate at the research centre and has co-authored couple of industry reports.

Kristina holds an MSc degree in Management & Technology from the Technical University of Munich. She graduated from Maastricht University School of Business and Economics with a BSc in International Business. Kristina’s research focuses on the development of the blockchain ecosystem. She co-authored the Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study in 2018 on the state of the cryptocurrency industry. Before joining CCAF, Kristina interned with various companies in the technology sector and consulting.

Martino is a Visiting Researcher at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. He graduated cum laude in finance and banking from Marche Polytechnic University, with a Master thesis titled “DLT systems in securities post-trading services. Limitations and Opportunities”. His research focuses on the benefits of banking system which may encounter by leveraging DLT systems. He is also Credit Analyst for BNP Paribas Milan Corporate Coverage.

Francois worked at the CCAF in 2018, where he helped to publish “Distributed Ledger Technology Systems: A Conceptual Framework”. Passionate about new technologies, financial investments, and water sports, he spends his free time on cryptos’ mining and trading, white water kayaking and windsurfing. He completed a MSc in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge in 2018 after graduating from École Polytechnique in France.

Xin is currently a PhD student at Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University. His research interests include energy and environment economy and financial risk analysis. He is involved in research and data analysis of several emerging financial benchmark reports from 2016 to 2018. Xin has previously participated in a number of research projects on industrial development and economic analysis in China.

Kanwal has been into teaching, training and research for almost two decades and her major areas of teaching are accounting, corporate finance, micro finance and financial inclusion, in which she has developed and taught a number of courses, conducted various management development programmes and published research work nationally and internationally. Her focus has been to contribute meaningful research in form of research articles, papers, cases and projects to serve to the body of knowledge she works with.

Kanwal pursued her PhD in the area of Securitisation & Structured Finance. She holds a masters degree in Finance as well as Commerce and qualified UGC-NET in the year 1999. She has also earned a certification for Faculty Development Programme from IIM – Ahmedabad where she developed a keen inclination towards the areas of micro finance and social entrepreneurship. Her current research areas are Alternate Finance with special reference to P2P platforms emerging in India, responsible finance and social entrepreneurship.

Thunj Chantramonklasri is a Senior Researcher at Kasikorn Research Center in Thailand, a leading local think tank under one of the country’s largest banks, Kasikorn Bank PCL. In his current role, Thunj leads the bank’s research into alternative finance and financial technology, encompassing but not limited to, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). In his current role, Thunj is responsible for informing the bank’s strategy regarding blockchain and other proponents of financial technology, promoting financial technology literacy through the public channels, as well as providing analytical support for Beacon VC, the corporate venture arm of Kasikorn Bank. Past projects include a study commissioned by the Thai Venture Capital Association (TVCA) into the Thai venture capital ecosystem, where Thunj was the lead researcher and author, and more recently, he produced a commissioned report advising the government on ICO regulations.

Prior to his pivot into fintech research, Thunj worked extensively in finance and was most recently Vice President of research at Asia Wealth Securities Ltd. Thunj holds an MPhil Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a BSc Economics (1st Class) from the University of Warwick. In a personal capacity, Thunj is an avid investor of assets both traditional and digital.

Yanzhe is currently a PhD candidate at Center for Commercial Law Studies of Queen Mary University of London. Her research focuses on equity crowdfunding regulation in China, and draws a comparative study between the UK and US. Prior to her PhD study, she obtained a masters degree in commercial law and a bachelors in law both from Zhejiang University of China. Yanzhe completed multiple paralegal internships at the Securities Department of T&C Law Firm and King & Wood Mellasons Law Firm, performing due diligence work for company IPOs. She also interned at the Compliance Department of Cib Fund Management Company where she reviewed and drafted investment contracts. During her postgraduate study, Yanzhe engaged in a research project of ‘Legal Framework for Online Finance in China’ which was funded by the Chinese National Social Science Foundation. Exposed to regulatory issues of online finance through research experience, she has developed particular interest in the wide area of alternative finance.

Shuang is a student studying MSc International Real Estate and Planning at University College London. She is also studying for a Masters in Finance at Renmin University of China. Her interest in alternative finance stems from her research experience about the internet development at a Chinese Think Tank. She also took part in the project “Regulatory Sandbox for Fintech” led by Zhejiang University Academy of Internet Finance in collaboration with CCAF and FCA. She wants to further explore alternative finance issues. Shuang has had exposure to various financial fields, including investment banking, asset management, private equity and venture capital. The companies she has worked as an intern include Fosun International, CITIC Securities, China Minsheng Investment Group, etc. Shuang enjoys taking part in extra-curricular activities. She was Director of the Public Relations Department at the Students’ Union as an undergraduate student and a core member of Hillhouse Academy funded by Hillhouse Capital in London. She volunteered as a liaison officer at G20 Energy Ministerial Meeting in 2016.

Wanxin (Britney) Wang is currently pursuing her PhD at Imperial College Business School. Her research interests include alternative finance (equity crowdfunding) and digital analytics (online retails and interactive media). She is expected to submit her thesis by October 2020. Wanxin’s recent research projects focus on investor and venture level modelling in the context of equity crowdfunding, which aims to generate insights on micro-level dynamics on equity crowdfunding platforms as well as sector level policy implications. Wanxin has worked as an analyst in a leading equity crowdfunding platform and contributed to its global market research projects. Prior to her PhD studies, Wanxin holds a MSc in Economics and Strategy for Business (with Distinction, fist of the class) from Imperial College London, and a BBA in Accounting and Finance with Minor in Mathematics from the University of Hong Kong. She also studied at School of Economics and Management in Tsinghua University (China) and worked as summer research assistant in Department of Finance.

Ali Unlu is a second-year undergraduate student working towards an MEng degree in Computer Science at the University of Bristol. Prior to CCAF, he worked as a teaching assistant for computer architecture and mathematics, for which he had also assisted academics in developing supplementary teaching materials. Aside from having engineering skills, he has a particular interest in machine learning. Leveraging his computing background, he is also interested in finance, specifically financial data. Therefore, he has taken some online training. He wants to specialise in this field, also planning to pursue a PhD. At CCAF, he aims for gaining a deeper understanding of alternative finance and improving his current skillset in order to be proficient in computationally reaping financial data and uncovering hidden potential. He aspires to use the skills gained for helping people make more informed decisions. Born and raised in Turkey, he is an alumnus of Izmir American Collegiate Institute.

Thomas is a third year undergraduate student from Leuphana University, Germany. He currently studying International Business Administration with a focus on entrepreneurship and e-business. In the past Thomas has worked for a multinational corporation in customer services and e-commerce. He also assisted two different startups operating in the fields of data-analytics and health, where he was able to gain experience and insight in a wide range of operations. In particular the financial aspects of his work have sparked and captured his interest. With the Internship in the CCAF he hopes to combine his interest in finance, disruptive technologies and novel business models and learn about the impact that these aspects can have on industries and on society as a whole. He aspires to be actively involved and contribute to the future of alternative finance.

Lily is a PhD candidate and a research and teaching assistant at the Department of Tax and Fiscal Law at the University of Graz (Austria), where she obtained her law degree in 2016. In her PhD thesis, Lily is focussing on intermediaries and Value Added Tax (VAT) in the “Digital Economy”. Lily received a research grant for her masters’ thesis on legal requirements for businesses and consumers in the sharing economy. During her studies, she worked as a student assistant at the Department of Austrian and International Private Law at the University of Graz and at a renowned Austrian law firm. Prior to this, she interned at the Austrian Embassy in Budapest and at the Washington, DC Office of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce for several months each. Lily is eager to contribute to the CCAF’s current work and to further her understanding of financial technologies regulation through a global perspective.

Yuriy is a senior student of Higher School of Economics, Russia. His desire to study alternative finance emerged a year ago, when he began writing a course paper on cryptocurrencies’ regulation. He further expanded upon this interest in correlation to China’s strategy on going global. In addition to his academic interests, Yuriy is a beginner entrepreneur. He conducted a camp where kids learned Chinese in combination with Karate Kyokushinkai. He now also aims to move education of Chinese into the web.

Jinjun Liu is a 2018 MPhil in Finance student at Cambridge Judge Business School. She obtained a BSc in Financial Mathematics with first class honours from the University of Manchester as well as a BSc in Applied Mathematics from Tianjin University. In addition to exploring in academia, she also sought for every opportunity and took up internship opportunities to step into real-world business in field of finance. She had three summer internships in auditing, asset management and quantitative finance. She is very interested in fintech, particularly cryptocurrency. She has been following the bitcoin market and try to explain the bubbles with herd behavior and greater fool theory. She also attempts to build models to identify various phases before the burst of bitcoin bubbles. She wishes to further explore fields of block chain technology and cryptocurrency during this internship.

Ram is a pre-final year undergraduate and currently pursuing a Btech in Chemical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. As a Sophomore, he along with his two seniors, founded an online platform Pibit, which aimed at promoting digitalisation by connecting offline merchants to their customer via instant push notifications. He has been a Financial Technical Analyst Trainee in ‘Trader for Tomorrow’, an initiative of The Financial Doctor’s. He is a certified Research Analyst by NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets ). He is a sports enthusiast and plays at the second position in the Institute Squash Team. Ram is very excited about the future prospects for the alternative finance and how it takes on the traditional investment analytics, especially in a developing economy like India.

Aditya is a final year undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. He is currently working as a part-time research consultant with WorldQuant LLC. He has previously interned with WorldQuant Research India making quant trading strategies and with Edelweiss Group in Offshore Fixed Income. He has a profound interest in quantitative finance and is currently pursuing certifications for Financial Risk Management. He loves reading latest research in new technologies adapted in finance and enjoys following macro-economic news and their impact on financial markets. He decided to join the Centre to explore the alternative finance industry and how it can be developed to serve a social cause in the backward regions of India.

Ayush is a final year undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology. He has done multiple internships in the finance industry, with the most recent at DMI Alternatives, a real estate private equity firm. Prior to this he interned at Indian Quotient, a venture capital firm. He is really interested in working on financial models and has knowledge in trading products valuation strategies and the cryptocurrency space. His final thesis deals with quantitative trading strategies and is eager to explore the possibilities of the digital assets replacing all the traditional assets via securitised tokens.

Ouafaa is currently pursuing a PhD in Management and Strategy at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business. Prior to Oregon, she completed her MPA as a Fulbright Scholar at Cornell University, where she was also working with a business incubator called Rev Ithaca Startup Works that teamed with different clean energy start-ups. Ouafaa worked for two years as a risk management consultant at Deloitte, and received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingenieurs. She also served as VP of Operations for a VR/AR start-up based in Washington DC Ouafaa has developed a keen interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Hatim is currently a penultimate year law student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, India, studying commercial and financial laws. He is also pursuing Chartered Accountancy (Final) and Company Secretary (Professional) qualifications and has interned with leading law firms in India in several areas, including capital markets and general finance. His experience advising cryptocurrency startups on tax treatment of cryptocurrencies and ICOs has allowed him to witness several perplexing regulatory issues in this field and an equally immense potential for alternative finance in traditional financial systems. He has collaborated with think tanks on applications of blockchain and DLT in Election and Social Security in India and has undertaken extensive research on digital economy and cryptocurrencies in India and abroad. He intends to employ his passion for finance and its interface with law and technology to resolve underlying legal challenges and influence policymaking decisions in Indian financial systems.

Sanjil is a final year undergraduate student pursuing electronics and communication engineering at Indian Institute of technology Roorkee, India. He has interned twice previously, once at a startup in the domain of investment advisory and other time at a well established company in the healthcare sector. His work there ranged from product management, business analytics to devising the plan for a startup incubator. Sanjil has done various projects in the fields of – image processing, business intelligence to predictive analytics. He is also an active member of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell of IIT Roorkee, where he has interacted closely with various prospective patrons and startups. Sanjil has was also an invited delegate at the Asian Investment banking conference 2017. His prominent interest in alternative finance stems from his zest for investment analytics, prominently in the domains of data-insights backed decision making.

Jaya is a graduate in the field of business management, with a specialisation in finance from Universal Business School, Cardiff Metropolitan University. Her keen interest lies in qualitative research about progressive technologies, alternative finance, micro-finance, and economics. Currently, she is working with Quze, a blockchain based startup which is focused on creating a learning platform using future technologies to rewire the learning ecosystem in the world today. Her experience and certifications come from the Bombay Stock Exchange, companies dealing with blockchain solutions for the banking and jewelry sector, NGOs, etc. She aims to work in various sectors and play her role in creating a world where every human is able to have the basic needs of their life fulfilled.

Aditya is final-year undergraduate student currently working towards his B Tech at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. Before starting as a contributor with the Centre, Aditya has worked over a variety of domains, like healthcare product management, public sector consulting, and edu-tech. He has also passed both the parts of the Financial Risk Manager Exam, as he looks to earn his FRM charter. As a student, Aditya has been involved in various university activities, serving as the chief-editor of the Institute’s Student Media Body and as the head of Student Mentorship Program at IIT Roorkee. Through his work at the centre, he looks to explore the exciting possibility of the penetration of financial technology in rapidly developing countries like India.

Shaktibhushan is currently pursuing BA LLB (Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law, India, with a primary focus on Corporate Law. He is one of the founding members of the Centre for Corporate and Tax Law at his undergraduate University. He has interned in top law firms in India such as Luthra and Luthra, Law offices, Mumbai. He has attended the International Finance & Corporate Course by Allen & Overy at NLSIU, India. He is the Editor at Network for International Law Students India review. He strongly believes that FinTech will be a great tool in the future to access finance especially in the emerging countries which will lead to more financial inclusion.

Viraj is a pre-final year student pursuing Bachelors in Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. He is a passionate chess player and stock market enthusiast. He has worked as a part time research consultant with a leading algorithmic trading firm. Having studied finance and financial accounting in detail, he has learnt a lot about fundamental valuation, asset management and systematic financial strategies of companies. He strongly believes in the potential power of alternative finances to reduce operating costs. Alternative financial sources seem a natural part of the financial evolution to him. Credit Risk Analysis and P2P lending are his special fields of interest and he intends to pursue a career in the same.

Zhongzhe holds an MPhil degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge. Besides that, he has a keen interest in the financial industry. Prior to joining the Centre, Zhongzhe worked as a consultant in London as well as gained the experience worked in NGO and several international design projects. Through his work at the Centre, Zhongzhe hopes to further his understanding of the alternative finance industry, such as peer-to-peer lending and cryptocurrencies, and financial technologies’ implementation in the emerging markets globally.

Nasim is a market risk management professional currently working full time as a Manager at Morgan Stanley in India. He has previously worked at Credit Suisse and Barclays. Nasim graduated with an MSc in Management from the University of Warwick and had been a 2013 participant in the pilot cohort of the ‘Young Corporates’ Programme in Risk Management’ which was conducted by KPMG in India. Nasim has a keen interest in quantitative finance and also loves to learn about upcoming technological advancements in financial services with the advent of machine learning. Nasim holds the ‘Investment Foundations Certificate’ from CFA Institute and the ‘Market, Liquidity & ALM Risk Manager Certificate’ from PRMIA. In his free time Nasim loves to extend his helping hand in auditing MOOCs as a beta tester and has worked with Coursera and HBX-Harvard Business School. Nasim is a budding programmer and loves to learn and can code in MATLAB and R.

Julian is currently studying for a Masters of Corporate Law at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law, with a primary focus on corporate finance and commercial law. In 2017, he received his Master of Advocacy Degree, following up on his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Degree in 2016, both at the University of Malta. In his final year, he submitted a research project on equity crowdfunding, Pulling in the Crowd: Establishing a Regulatory Framework for Equity Crowdfunding in Malta? in which he conducted an industry study leading to a set of legislative proposals on the matter. Julian is also pursuing the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) with the objective of complementing his legal background with financial and accounting know-how. Over the past three years, Julian has interned with Camilleri Preziosi Advocates as a legal trainee within the corporate and finance team. Over the course of his traineeship, Julian has been involved in the firm’s Capital Markets, Banking, Project Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Corporate Structuring practice areas, assisting both local and international clientele, primarily multinational financial and credit institutions and corporations. Outside of his academic and professional life, Julian is an avid sportsman and motivational speaker, having been a member of the Malta National Paralympic Swimming Team (2014-16). Julian has been invited to share his experience as an athlete at a number of events, including as a guest TEDx Speaker in 2016.

Surinderjit is a FinTech professional currently working in India. She studied for her Bachelor degree at India’s premier commerce college, Shri Ram College of Commerce, and gained her Masters from Delhi School of Economics. In the past two years she has worked as a FinTech Research Analyst and has studied alternative lending and crowdfunding platforms all over the globe. At present, she is working as an Innovations Manager in an Indian financial institution, working to the build best in class online lending platform. Passionate about alternative finance, Surinderjit wants to pursue a PhD in the field to conduct research that will serve to reduce financial inequalities through FinTech. She strongly believes that FinTech, like no other tool in the past, holds the power to increase access to finance and foster financial inclusion around the world. Her motto is Fintech for all!

Fran is currently pursuing a Masters of Finance programme at Cambridge Judge Business School. She completed her undergraduate degree at London School of Economics and Political Science and majored in mathematics and economics. Prior to Cambridge, Fran spent five years working at HSBC’s London headquarters. During the first two years, she was on a rotational graduate programme in the Finance department within Global Banking and Markets. Subsequently, she joined the Global Regulatory Policy team where she performed qualitative analysis of prudential regulatory reforms e.g. rules to calculate capital adequacy metrics and associated disclosure requirements. She also contributed to the formation of HSBC positions on key prudential issues and represented the bank in industry forums.

Anthony is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Liverpool, studying Accounting and Finance. He has completed multiple internships within the financial services industry, most recently with Silicon Valley Bank where he spent the summer focusing on financial technology clients. Prior to this, Anthony spent 12 months at GCA Altium advising on mergers and acquisitions across a variety of sectors, including technology and digital media. Before attending university, he also spent 12 months at Commerzbank where his work involved assessing risk and asset allocation metrics across the investment bank. Anthony’s experience has allowed him to witness the impact of the alternative finance sector on the traditional financial system first-hand, leading him to further investigate the sector’s development. He is particularly interested in studying lending channels that provide access to credit for SMEs and those whom mainstream financial institutions are reluctant to lend.

Weiyu is currently studying MPhil in Management in Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Her research interests include corporate finance and alternative finance. Weiyu has developed great analytical and communication skills through past internships and her academic studies. As the Deputy Director of Entrepreneurship Department of the Cambridge Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), Weiyu is responsible for Meet Entrepreneurs programme. The programme creates a Cambridge Entrepreneurship Social Platform to provide social opportunities with Chinese entrepreneurs from different industries for members who are interested in getting specific industrial insights, developing networks and starting businesses.

Jingjing is an MPhil Finance student at Cambridge Judge Business School. She previously obtained BBA with First Class Honours from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining CCAF, Jingjing completed finance and consulting internships with McKinsey, KPMG, Goldman Sachs and Guotai Junan Securities. Jingjing is excited to learn about the future of alternative finance and decided to join the Centre to apply her knowledge in the financial industry and further explore her interest in the FinTech field.

Adhika is a current student in the Cambridge MBA 2017 class. He spent five years in Citi Indonesia across departments ranging from consumer banking to corporate and investment banking, and recently launched his wealth management technology pilot project in Indonesia called Investasiku – which focuses on providing the younger generation with insightful, free and easy-to-understand information about financial investing, in collaboration with the Indonesian government body and other startup companies. Through his work with the Centre, Adhika hopes to learn and get more insight into the exciting developments in the alternative finance industries – particularly given the breakneck speed the industry currently moves. Adhika holds a BComm from the University of Melbourne and has passed his CFA Level 1 examination.

Immaculate is a final year PhD researcher in cryptocurrency regulation at the University of Warwick, School of Law. She holds an LLM in Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation from the University of Warwick, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) specialising in Economics from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelors in International Relations from the University of Pretoria. In addition to her research in cryptocurrency, Immaculate in an active member of the White Chapel Think Tank on Distributed Ledger Technology, the UK Technical Committee on Blockchain Standards and the UK Digital Currency Association and is a research affiliate of the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technology. In addition to conference presentation and publication in the area of cryptocurrency and blockchain, Immaculate is also an associate tutor in the University of Warwick Business School and part of the current CodeFirst:Girls cohort aimed at developing coding skills in order to address the gender discrepancy in the tech industry. With a keen interest in Fintech from both legal/regulatory and operational perspectives, Immaculate draws from her multi-disciplinary and international background to provide global insight to alternative finance research. An avid Manchester United fan, Immaculate has recently been tracking the development of UK-based ICOs.

Born and raised in Japan before moving to New Zealand to complete his education, Ben is currently a Master of Finance student at the University of Auckland. His thesis topic centres on how social media has affected mergers and acquisitions around the world. Before this he completed a First Class Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and Finance at the University of Auckland with a semester abroad at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is also a Level 3 candidate in the 2018 CFA programme. After his second year of university, he took a gap year to work in London; first at an e-commerce start-up and subsequently completing an internship at a boutique management consulting firm. Further work experience includes an internship at a bulge bracket investment bank, where he worked as a summer analyst assisting in M&A advisory and market research. Ben has also spent time working in the consulting division at Ernst and Young in Auckland, where he was involved in a digital transformation project for a start-up insurance company. He hopes to further his understanding of the global landscape of financial technologies and how it can integrate with traditional finance to enhance current services or motivate new ones, especially in emerging markets.

Prashant is a pre-final year undergraduate student pursuing a Masters in Economics and Micro-specialisation in Entrepreneurship and Innovation management at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has had various internship experiences such as Bombay Stock Exchange, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and was actively involved in different research projects and competitions where he worked on behavioural finance, equity markets and data analytics. He is currently serving as a governing body member of one of India’s largest student run NGO and is Captain of the Inter hall squash team. Prashant aims to integrate his passion for finance and economics with his quantitative and analytical skills to influence policymaking decisions. Prashant is eager to explore the opportunities in finance and to develop the Fintech Industry, especially in a developing economy like India.

Rok worked for many years as a freelancer in project, finance, and data management with SMEs, start-ups, NGOs, education and research organisations. His projects have included developing business models, preparing or leading EU or national funded projects and tenders. Being part of an educational environment has given him the opportunity to work on projects developing different tools and methods of ‘Learning by doing’ for students and pupils to learn entrepreneurship for business and life challenges. Due to lack of finance options to fund ideas, research, and projects he has become increasingly involved in alternative finance and FinTech. At EU-Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, this kind of project is now given Seal of Excellence. Rok has returned to learning to upgrade his BSc in Business Informatics to a Masters degree in Bank and Financial Management at the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana, and Masters of Informatics in contemporary society at Faculty of Information Studies, Novo mesto, Slovenia. Beside research for CCAF he is also researching for his Masters thesis to finish his postgraduate studies.

Mateusz holds an MEng degree from the University of Cambridge with specialisation in Manufacturing Engineering. After graduation he worked in several start-ups in Berlin, including the new challenger bank N26. That is where his interest in Fintech emerged and he decided to further deepen his understanding by joining a Polish start-up, Billon, developing technology for payments on distributed ledger systems. By joining the CCAF group Mateusz wants to explore a broad range of applications of new technologies and business models in the landscape of alternative finance, with particular interest in blockchain, DLT and e-money.

Luisa Scarcella is a PhD candidate at the Department of Tax and Fiscal Law of the Karl-Franzens University of Graz (Austria), where she also works as a research and teaching assistant. Her thesis concerns the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies with a special focus on bitcoin and the blockchain technology. She received her Masters of Law degree from the University of Udine (Italy) in 2015 and her research interests include International and European Tax law, Innovation law and Financial law. Before starting her PhD, she interned at the European Investment Bank (Luxembourg) in 2013 and at the European Central Bank (Frankfurt am Main) in 2015. At the moment, she is one of the organisers for the Finance, Law and Economics working group of the Young Scholar Initiative (Institute for New Economic Thinking) and research fellow at the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies.

Arvindh is a pre-final year undergraduate student pursuing production engineering as his major and management studies as his minor at the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NITT). From developing a customer relationship management system for manufacturing companies, designing the main logo for an international conference, to conducting equity research to develop an investment strategy for short-term investors, he has a broad range of interests and skills. He was an area level champion in the Toastmasters International evaluation contest. He currently leads his college Toastmaster International club and he is an active member of the mathematics research society of his campus. Prior to CCAF, he worked with Fintech start-ups focussed on robo advisory and financial inclusion. Through CCAF, Arvindh aims to leverage his passion for finance and mathematics to learn, contribute and explore the potential of alternative finance all over the world.

Oskar is currently a Cambridge MBA student at Cambridge Judge Business School. He spent more than seven years working as a fund manager in Indonesia. He managed $300 million (US) in equity mutual fund and was also involved in launching Bank Mandiri’s first private equity fund in Singapore. His primary area of interests is blockchain and deep learning implementation in the financial market. Through his work in the Centre, Oskar hopes to gain further understanding in the role of distributed ledger technology in the financial market. Oskar holds a Bachelor degree from Universitas Padjadjaran in Indonesia.

Eythan-David is Franco-Swiss and has lived in three continents. He is a graduate of The University of Chicago where he studied Political Science, a graduate of Bocconi University where he studied Finance and a graduate of Fudan University where he studied Economics. He has previously worked as an inhouse strategy consultant at Hermès, as a summer analyst at Unicredit and as an analyst at Guotai Junan (a Chinese Investment Bank). His main area of interest is the impact of emerging technologies on (de) globalisation.

Kent relishes in thinking about how to improve society in innovative and ground-breaking ways and has always put himself in a position to optimise the enactment of these ideas. He is a graduate of the Masters in Corporate Law (MCL) programme at the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. Born and raised in Iida, Japan, he studied Law and Politics at Faculty of Law of University of Tokyo. Aside from his legal study, he has participated in other Faculty programmes, such as the Media & Information study as well as the Problem-Solving study while organising several workshops on innovation and design thinking. In 2011, he joined Japan’s Ministry of Finance to address cross-sectorial structural problems underlying Japanese society through financial and legislative ways. Along with his job, as an ambassador of Iida city, his hometown, he has also promoted the city and thought of technologically-based, decentralised solutions to redesign and revitalise local communities like Iida. In 2017, he completed his Masters in Finance degree at the London Business School before working as a summer Intern at The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) where he researched Fintech and Blockchain technology in the Local Currency and Capital Markets Development Team at the Bank.

Mei Shen graduated first-class from the University of Melbourne in 2013 majoring in Accounting and Finance. Her experience spans commercial banking, financial reporting and strategy consulting. Based in Hong Kong during her last role where she was a working capital sales manager, she delivered customised liquidity, cash management and trade finance solutions to large corporations across Asia Pacific. Exposed to fintech companies through her professional experience, she is keen to dive deeper into the rapidly advancing alternative finance industry. Mei Shen is currently pursuing the Data Science Specialisation certificate from Johns Hopkins University and the Chartered Public Accountant (CPA) qualification. She also holds the Data Science: R Basics certificate from HarvardX.

Yue is currently an MPhil in Finance student at Cambridge Judge Business School. She also works as a consultant at Cambridge Venture Capital & Private Equity Society, helping early stage businesses make investment decisions in media technology. Realising the power of tech, Yue has gradually developed a passion for alternative finance and is especially interested in the global regulation of cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Yue’s prior internship experience was a finance researcher role in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Washington DC. Before joining Cambridge, she obtained dual undergraduate degrees in accountancy and finance at the University of Illinois in the United States.

Valentina is an economic sociologist who works on socio-political ideas of elites shaping economic integration in Europe. Currently, she is a PhD student at the Sociology Department of the University of Cambridge. Before coming to Cambridge, she undertook her undergraduate degree in sociology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, where she worked on the sociological perspectives of the financial crash of 2008. This research interest led Valentina to take her first masters degree in Economic Sociology at the London School of Economics. Especially interested in the social study of finance, she analysed the 2013 centralisation of banking supervision through the European Central Bank. With this study she completed her second masters degree in Cambridge before commencing her PhD.

Ronald is a career executive service official (Deputy Secretary) in the Philippine Legislature, with concurrent functions in the Senate of the Philippines and the Commission on Appointments. He previously served as Director of the Philippines’ Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Public Expenditures as well as the Lead Finance/Fiscal Specialist in the Office of the President of the Philippine Senate. In those capacities, he contributed to the passage of critical legislation such as: the Sin Tax Reform Law, the Amendments to the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Law, the Full Entry of Foreign Banks in the Philippines Act and the Philippine Competition Law. Before his appointment in government, Ronald was an executive in a Philippine manufacturing company and an associate at Ernst & Young. A Philippine-qualified lawyer and CPA, Ronald is a Chevening scholar currently pursuing a Master of Finance degree at Cambridge Judge Business School. He holds a dual degree in Applied Economics and Accountancy from De La Salle University – Manila, an EMBA from the Asian Institute of Management and a Juris Doctor (law) from the University of the Philippines. Ronald and his wife, Karla, are doting parents to their two sons, Vito and Gabriel.

Rui is a PhD student at the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. She previously obtained BEng Honours First Degree (top student) from the University of Nottingham. Her PhD project includes both modelling and experimental work in construction materials; she was also one of the reviewers in a well-recognised journal of construction materials. Before joining the Centre she interned and worked with various industries, including high-tech consultancy, financial institute, start-ups, NGO, and academia. At the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance she mainly focuses on data analysis, relational database design, statistical modelling and web development. Rui is currently pursuing certifications in Chartered Financial Analyst, Financial Risk Manager, and Certificate in Quantitative Finance.

Born in the Netherlands and raised in Spain, Christiaan is currently a MSc student in Economics, Finance and Management at the University of Bristol. He previously completed a First Class Honours BEng in Systems & Control Engineering at the University of Sheffield with a year abroad at the National University of Singapore. During this year he worked as a research intern at the Singapore University of Technology & Design on prototyping a multi-sensor embedded system for Singapore’s National Research Foundation. He has also completed a year long placement with GE Aviation, developing an automated real-time testing solution for Boeing, during which he was actively involved in the community through running an engineering competition at local schools as a STEM Ambassador. Christiaan is interested in the intersection between financial services and technology with a particular focus on how they can be used to democratise these services. He is also a keen runner and will be representing the University of Bristol at the European Universities Debating Championship in Estonia this summer.

After graduating from Loughborough University with a bachelors degree at the age of 19, Akachi is now studying for a Masters in Emerging Economies and International Development at King’s College London where her dissertation focus is on the implication of blockchain technology adoption in Nigeria. Having previously spent over 15 years in Nigeria, she has a passion for increasing access to finance in emerging economies. She has also carried out a research internship with AlliedCrowds, a London-based development finance firm, and acts as an ad-hoc reviewer for Cogent Economics and Finance, an open-access peer-reviewed journal.

Thales is joining the School’s 2017 MBA class. Thales spent seven years working as a quantitative strategist in investment management at companies such as BlackRock and AllianceBernstein. He has been involved with a wide range of projects, from developing and implementing systematic strategies to building and maintaining portfolio analytics and risk management tools. Through his work at the Centre, he hopes to further understand and clarify the impact of disintermediation in financial markets, as well as help propel the development of new technologies in the industry globally. Thales holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Surrey and an MSc in Finance from Warwick Business School.

Marina enjoys talking about innovation and connecting different ideas from a creative and interdisciplinary perspective. Her main areas of focus are alternative financing models, mostly blockchain, crowdfunding and investment crowdfunding projects that can assist in addressing economic, societal and environmental facets of community growth. She is one of the Alternative Finance Lab and Crowdfunding Academy founders, now in their second year. Marina spends her free time in Makerspace where the cross-section of innovators, designers and scientists work to tie in all possible spheres of entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. She set up and developed SEYN (Sustainable Energy Youth Network) which focuses on creating a future based on sustainable energy through social and cooperative approach via engagement of young people – it currently has more than 1000 members.

Steven is an MBA student at the Cambridge Judge Business School. He became interested in alternative finance as an area of study as it leverages his finance background and allows him to further explore interests in emerging technology, fintech, and early-stage ventures. Before pursuing his MBA, Steven spent four years in finance at Amazon.com where he was most recently a Senior Financial Analyst supporting Amazon Robotics and Worldwide Operations Engineering. Steven holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.

Akshat is an electrical engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He has also studied abroad for a semester at INSA Lyon, France, during a foreign exchange programme. He likes pursuing different challenges, environments and experiences. He has been an intern in the manufacturing division of ITC Limited, one of the top FMCG players in India. He has also worked as an intern for various universities such as National University of Singapore (NUS), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow. He has headed various clubs and societies within IIT Delhi and has been recognised for his contribution. He also believes in giving back to the society and has worked with several NGOs. Akshat is excited about the future prospects of alternative finance and how it takes on the traditional banking system, especially in a developing economy like India.

Kannan is a final-year undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Prior to CCAF, Kannan interned as an analyst at Barclays where he monitored credit risk associated with the African market. His final thesis explored the synthesis of speech using deep neural networks. Kannan enjoys reading about latest advancements in the world of technology and working with advanced predictive systems. He wishes to apply this knowledge in the field of finance to innovate in the FinTech industry.

Eryk is a PhD student at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London. During his studies, he has worked with behavioural, neuroscientific and auditory data to understand speech processing. His research projects helped him to discover his interest in data analysis and visualisation. Eryk works as a data scientist in the Advanced Analytics division of the Bank of England. His work covers a variety of projects related to financial and monetary stability. Prior to that, he spent nearly two years as a data scientist at LendInvest, a peer-to-peer lender, where he developed a reporting system covering company-wide data. Eryk has also worked as a data analyst for a social media agency, where he built dashboards and created a prototype of a social media listening system. Eryk is interested in using analytic solutions to understand and improve the financial industry, with a particular focus on peer-to-peer lending and cryptocurrencies.

Jiayu is a PhD student in Management Information Systems at the Eller College of Management, University of Arizona. Her primary research interests are information economics and strategy, social network analysis and business models in the context of crowdfunding and other eMarkets. Before arriving at the University of Arizona, she conducted research on information management and real estate economics at the Harbin Institute of Technology.

Nikos completed his undergraduate studies between 2011 and 2014 in History at Gonville & Caius, University of Cambridge, with a particular interest in political philosophy. This was followed by a year at Cambridge Judge Business School. After graduating Nikos remained at the School for four months as a research assistant focusing on data and analytics before starting his career in commercial real estate at Lloyds Banking Group. He has since moved to Fortwell Capital as a Leveraged Debt & Structured Finance Analyst, which remains his current employment.

Jingxuan is a graduate student on the MPhil Finance and Economics programme at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. Jingxuan holds dual bachelor degrees – BSc Money, Banking and Finance programme, University of Birmingham, and BSc Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China. Jingxuan’s research interests lie in asset pricing, empirical finance and financial markets. Prior to joining the Centre, Jingxuan did an internship at the personal loan department at Bank of China and gained a first-hand taste of the traditional financing landscape. As alternative financing is becoming mainstream and is able to serve small-to-medium enterprises and individual investors in the way that traditional financial institutions could not have done, Jingxuan decided to join the Centre to learn more about the alternative finance area. Jingxuan is currently responsible for analysing the data on alternative finance in APAC (Asia-Pacific) area. Specifically, Jingxuan is sorting the raw data by different alternative finance models and by countries.

Jo is a joint PhD student, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia and School of Geography, The University of Nottingham. His interests are at the intersections of cultural political economy, urban and financial geography. He explores the geographies of finance and money, in particular their role in the reconstruction of urban space for capital accumulation. In his PhD studies this takes the form of an investigation into the emergent processes of crowdfunding and its implications for urban development in the US, UK and Canada. This is particularly relevant as crowd-funding is quickly being viewed, beyond its origins in ‘charitable’ ventures, as a means of profit and the ‘progressive’ reshaping of corporate and city governance. His work attempts to trace the genealogies of crowdfunding’s emergence as a global phenomenon; ongoing work focuses upon the role of financial markets in reshaping Singapore’s political economy, including bank restructuring and the financialisation of real estate through the introduction of financial instruments such as real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Mandalmaa graduated from the Law School of the National University of Mongolia in 2014 and completed a Masters degree (LLM) in International Trade and Business Law at the James E Rogers School of Law, University of Arizona in 2015. Her graduate thesis examined the principle of good faith using a historical approach and analysed whether the Mongolian legal system understands and uses it in commercial cases by looking at the history of Mongolian commerce, culture, current legislation and judicial practice. Mandalmaa volunteered at the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade to work on the study ‘Assessing APEC Getting Credit Framework: Enforcement of Contract’. There she learned principles and other legal instruments that could be useful within the Mongolian commercial legal system, including commercial customs, good faith principle, commercial reasonableness, extra-judicial contract termination, less formalistic ways of security transactions, etc. Mandalmaa intends to dedicate her time to promoting these legal principles for the improvement of the commercial legal system of Mongolia.

After interning for US congressman Paul Ryan in the House Budget Committee, and JP Morgan’s Investment Bank in the prime brokerage division, Peter graduated from Lafayette College magna cum laude with a dual degree in economics and political science while competing on the college’s NCAA Division 1 varsity baseball team.

Peter worked for two years in JP Morgan’s global headquarters in the private banking division in an international corporate strategy role. He moved on to an international corporate finance role, in which for an additional two years he helped devise financial advisory solutions for multinational corporations seeking to expand globally.

Peter graduated from the Master of Finance programme at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Peter is an active member in Management Leadership for Tomorrow, the United States’ premier society for developing rising diversity talent.

Boyuan is currently studying for a Masters of Economic Law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a particular focus on financial law. During his bachelor degree, he led the Youth Volunteers Association. He was responsible for reforming and improving the structure of the association, organising and participating in voluntary activities, making connections and a long term partnership with seven NGOs in Hefei. Boyuan is part of the group which maintains a WeChat public account, Internet Finance Law Review.

Souvik is currently pursuing a BTech in Electrical Engineering at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. He has interned at IIM Ahmedabad, India’s premier business school, as a data scientist responsible for analysing the data on school dropouts. As an intern for Airbus Innovations Group he researched machine and deep learning techniques on satellite image dataset and was inspired to work on relevant research papers which were published at prestigious conferences. Souvik draws inspiration from the synergy of mathematics and technology to change the way we live.

Justin is a graduate of the Master of Finance programme at Cambridge Judge Business School. He holds a Master of Science in Risk Management and Insurance, National ChengChi University, Taiwan. Prior to Cambridge, Justin worked as an analyst in Credit Research Initiative (CRI), a government-funded credit rating agency in Singapore, which provides credit ratings for over 60,000 listed firms across the world using big data analytics. He conducted default surveillance, created a new method for default data collection, initiated and coordinated the website update project.

Aunthicha is currently a scholar of the Asian Development Bank Japan Scholarship Program and is studying a Masters programme at the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University. Her research focuses on governance and law in investment liberalisation as well as SMEs’ development in ASEAN Economic Community. She was awarded a Scholarship from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and trained in the SMEs’ development and promotion programme in Japan. She gained professional experience as a lawyer in banking and finance in the leading commercial bank in Thailand, Siam Commercial Bank. Aunthicha’s work included advising on Thai and international banking finance law and regulations for enterprises from small and medium to large sizes of domestic and international corporations including government entities; structuring financial transaction, project finance, and distressed debt reconstruction as well as electronic banking services and trade-financing; providing the bank’s nationwide standard forms in banking finance and international trade; and joining as a committee of the amendment of the civil and commercial code of Thailand in guarantee and mortgage law to propose the bank’s standpoint to the Thai Bankers Association and National Legislative Assembly.

Born and raised in Uzbekistan, Maksud studied law at Tashkent State Institute of Law where he earned his bachelor degree. In 2009, he received a Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship and studied at Nagoya University where he received LLM and LLD degrees. His research topic focused on alternative dispute resolution, particularly court-connected mediation.

After graduation in 2015, Maksud moved to Almaty, Kazakhstan to work for the law firm Linkage & Mind. He is currently a member of the corporate team and head of the Japan desk, advising international clients in all corporate, tax and labour matters in Kazakhstan. His practice also focuses on litigation and international arbitration matters. Maksud brings a global perspective to his work, having lived and studied in Japan and Uzbekistan.

Hitesh Khandelwal is a final year undergraduate student majoring in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering and is pursuing Economics as his minor at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He has a wide range of skills and interests, from developing a prototype for an electronic product at the Institute’s center for innovation to interning as a web application developer for a communication giant, to interning at a stock brokerage. He likes working with people and has actively taken part in university’s student-run organisations and clubs. He has led the Design & Media Team for organising Inter IIT Sports meet, one of the country’s biggest inter-college sports meet, captained a water polo team, and is currently heading the Institute’s Finance Club, inculcating the passion for finance among the student community. He aims to integrate his passion for finance and economics with his quantitative background to influence policymaking decisions deciphering the meaning behind numbers.

Krishnamurthy is currently working as an academic intern (teaching assistant for finance and accounting) with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India. Prior to this, he has worked with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as a process associate and with Government First Grade College as an assistant professor in commerce and management. He holds both a Master of Commerce and Master of Business Administration degree. He is currently pursuing his PhD from Tumkur University, Karnataka, India. His research interests lies in the areas of finance and development economics.

Oytun is currently working towards an MBA degree at Cambridge Judge Business School. He spent the last nine years of his career in Istanbul and London at Citibank, JP Morgan and BNP Paribas working in EM M&A, Equity & Fund Derivatives and Fixed Income & Structured Capital Markets Divisions respectively. Oytun has experience across the capital structure and originated, structured, executed and distributed cross-asset investments in the CEEMEA region. Oytun holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is an alumnus of Istanbul American Robert College.

A final year undergraduate student at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, Sumanyu is an active part of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell. He has interned with Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta and MECON and attended courses at Stanford Graduate School of Business and National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development. Sumanyu’s ongoing work involves studying the behaviour of yoga wellness tourists visiting Rishikesh, in order to suggest models for enterprises to utilise this inflow to generate business for local inhabitants. He has also worked on the comparative analysis of user reactions to different modes of internet advertising and their motivations to install ad-blocking software, as well as consulting work for some SMEs. Sumanyu’s interest in alternative finance stems from his zest for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and its potential for the Indian economy.

James is currently an MBA Candidate at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge pursuing a concentration in Strategy and Finance. Prior to this, James spent six years at Ernst & Young completing the three year rotational, advisory programme before spending a further three years within EY’s Transaction Advisory Practice. Over this period James worked on a wide range of projects across multiple geographies, focusing on M&A advisory, commercial and financial due diligence and financial modelling and deal valuation. James is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelors (Honours) Degree from King’s College London in Classics.

Ziming is a maths undergraduate at the University of Cambridge and specialises in statistics, probability and operational research. Ziming has also finished several machine learning, computer science and finance online courses. Ziming plans to take a PhD in Financial Mathematics after graduation. Ziming’s interests include quantitative data analysis, stochastic modelling and market risk analysis.
Ziming is currently the president of the Adams Society, St John’s College, and plays badminton for the College in his spare time. Last year Ziming worked as a consultant of the Cambridge Consulting Network and has taken part in a research project for Jaguar Land Rover, developing an early warning system for project delays by analysing client history data and developing a set of project KPIs. Ziming is keen to explore data analysis and quantitative techniques, which are widely used in marketing analysis and credit decisions.

Currently working at a law firm in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Navinth is a Phnom Penh native. Navinth graduated with an LLM in Comparative Law from Nagoya University, Japan. During his time at law school, he took part in various legal competitions competing internationally for his university in Japan as well as his university in his home country. These competitions have shaped his interest and outlook on Private Law. Navinth aspires to become a corporate attorney working to shape the corporate landscape of Cambodia. Through the work of the CCAF, he hopes to contribute his skill and knowledge of the law to help produce in-depth, analytical, and reliable research papers on the situation of alternative finance both in Cambodia and the region.

Law, fifth year, Roma Tre University in Rome

“I have chosen to collaborate with the Centre for Alternative Finance since the University of Cambridge is the most important university in the European landscape that studies new forms of financial activities such as alternative finance.

“It was a pleasure for me to be part of the team since I had a direct contact with the world of alternative finance.”

MSc Global Governance, University of Oxford, Capital Controls and Cryptocurrency; BA Classics, Harvard University

“The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance combines the academic rigour of one of the world’s most distinguished research universities with the innovative mindset of the start-up world. Working with the CCAF has offered me access to leaders in the fields of finance, business, and technology, and has enabled me to approach my research and my career more critically. It has been a privilege to work on initiatives that are driving the future of finance at an institution that is part of the wider University of Cambridge community that has seen and driven so much change throughout the centuries.”

Chemical Engineering, fourth year, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

“My motivation to work with the Centre was to get some exposure to the world of alternative finance. And much like I expected, the bench-marking survey has been an incredible avenue to learn about crowdfunding and the future it entails. Our mentor’s faith in us was extremely encouraging and I greatly appreciated the independence we were given. Also, getting to interact and work with such a diverse team is an experience I value very highly.”

Master of Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

“I decided to join the Centre for Alternative Finance because it allows me to interact first-hand with the market players; to identify the current trends and to be part of an outstanding multidisciplinary team which works unsparingly to produce meaningful insights to strengthen the evolving industry”.

Engineering, PhD, University of Cambridge

“I have a strong interest in alternative finance and want to use my engineering skills, such as data mining and data analysis, in the finance area. During my time at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, I was the Research Application Manager for the China-UK collaboration project between the University of Cambridge, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

“This experience has allowed me to have a deeper understanding of alternative finance and how to apply my data skills into finance to complete deeper analysis.”

Mechanical Engineering Graduate, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

“I’ve always been intrigued by the world of finance and how it has evolved over the years. This internship with CCAF was an opportunity for me to get acquainted with what the thought-leaders consider to be the next generation of finance – P2P lending, crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies. Getting to know about the innovative models and platforms that enthusiasts around the world have set up in this space was a motivating learning experience.

“The best part of the programme for me was that it inspired discussions and debates within our team about the future prospects of alternative finance, especially against the immense traditional banking system. Our mentor was a great moderator and ensured all of us were constantly challenged and learning throughout.”

Economics and Finance with European Study, third year, Exeter University

“I applied to join the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance to satisfy my curiosity about the nascent alternative finance sector. Having worked for equity based crowdfunding platforms in both the UK and France I had a reasonable grasp of this business model, however I was intrigued to further my understanding of other forms of alternative finance such as peer-to-peer lending, invoice trading, and in particular cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

“Working at the Centre was a genuine pleasure. The core team, based in Cambridge, are brilliant and diverse and I enjoyed coordinating with a number of other interns located around the world. My experience concluded with the CCAF annual conference where I felt privileged to listen to thought leaders in the space debate the future and direction of the industry.”

MPhil Technology Policy, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

“I wanted to develop my understanding of the financial channels and instruments that operate outside the traditional financial systems and as the leading interdisciplinary research institute, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance is a fantastic place to do just that.

“The best thing about the Centre is its work ethos. The researchers and fellows are all very talented and working on cutting-edge research but they are also very approachable and fun to work with. That’s what makes working at the Centre such a good learning opportunity.”

Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, fourth year, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

“The CCAF internship gave me an opportunity to enhance my knowledge in alternative finance, gain international exposure and provided a stepping stone to pursue my career in the field of finance.

“The whole internship experience was very enriching and has helped increase my value for future endeavours. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekly webinars and discussions on the various topics connected to alternative finance.”

MPhil Technology Policy, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

“The opportunity to study how fintech companies around the world work attracted me towards collaborating with Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance.

“I found the experience and learning opportunities within the CCAF to be very exciting.”

Finance and Commerce, third year, University of Delhi

“CCAF offered me the opportunity to explore and delve deeper into the rapidly advancing and highly volatile alternative finance industry that I have been so curious about. Whilst working with such a premier research institute, I have interacted with a diverse group of individuals, enjoyed the opportunities to build relationships at an international level and above all I have had an enriching learning experience.

“The best part about the CCAF is its broad variety. One day you might be searching for the head of a company’s contact information so that you can have a conversation with them, and the next day you may be preparing for your weekly team presentation or you might be researching data for that report you are working on. It is this progressive and active nature of the Centre that excites you and motivates you to work here.”

Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, third year, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

“Working at CCAF gave me new insights into the alternative finance industry, its models and various crowdfunding platforms across the globe. The good thing is, in spite of the remote nature of the programme, there was a strong presence of team work. Regular online meetings and presentations helped us to stay involved and motivated to work hard for completing the tasks at hand. Also the internship provided me with many good contacts from my home country and across the world”.

Renewable Energy Economics and Policy, first year PhD, University of Dundee

“My first encounter with the Centre was through its publication on the alternative finance industry in Europe. The publication was a great resource for my PhD research which focusses on how crowdfunding could be leveraged for renewable energy investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. Coincidentally, the Centre had just announced the commencement of the benchmarking study on alternative finance in the Middle East and Africa. I recognised this as an opportunity to learn more about the state of industry in Africa and engage with experts from such a world class centre.

“I must say the entire experience was enriching and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the group discussions on our perspectives on the industry and how we see it evolving in light of current trends. Also, the diversity in the team made engagements so worthwhile. In short, I look forward to doing this again.”

Law, fifth year, WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata

“Exploring the interaction between law and economics has led me to analyse the impact of regulation on nascent and fast growing sectors like equity crowdfunding and peer to peer lending. I am keen to understand and, if possible, influence these regulations and legislations that have the power to make or break these fast emerging sectors, especially in developing nations like India.

“Working with a leading research centre like the Cambridge Centre for Alternate Finance has provided me with tremendous exposure and learning in this endeavour.”

Mechanical Engineering, third year, at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

“An internship at CCAF gives you an opportunity to obtain and analyse first-hand information. It has definitely brought me one step closer to being an expert of one of the fastest growing industries.

“The best thing is that the nature of the work done here makes you a torch bearer for the greatly varying alternative finance industry, as the report reveals and predicts the twists and turns of the evolving financial landscape.”

PhD, University of Warwick

“My research focuses on crowdfunding in Saudi Arabia, so I emailed the CCAF to see if I could contribute towards their Middle-East Alternative Finance Study.

“I joined the Centre in May 2016 and found the team members to be collaborative, motivated and well-organised. I enjoyed contacting and networking with many platforms which helped me to enrich my understanding of crowdfunding in the Middle-East. Learning was one of my key objectives when I joined the CCAF and it was successfully achieved via the online weekly group meetings where many subjects were discussed.”