A graduate school aimed at nurturing digital finance specialists will be launched in Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido in September, in a joint project between the Financial Services Commission and the city government, officials said Wednesday.

Stressing that the financial service sector is going through a major transformation with information technology, the two will fund 19 billion won ($16.1 million) for the project that is designed to provide a two-year graduate and six-month nondegree programs.

The programs will be offered to current financial industry workers, prospective fintech entrepreneurs, fintech professionals and those who are preparing for financial sector jobs, they said.

They include advanced theory and practical courses on diverse areas, such as IT deep learning, big data crawling and text analysis, cloud computing and blockchain finance, they added.

The local industry has been exploring ways to use key innovations in IT, such as big data and artificial intelligence, with authorities drafting a new legal framework to make it sustainable.

Observers say by opening its doors to latest technologies the financial industry would create new jobs and bring significant changes to how services are delivered, while pessimists say such technological advancement will kill jobs in the banking sector and others.

With institutions gearing up efforts to speed up digital transformation in the financial sector, demand for fintech professionals has been rising. The metropolitan government forecasts the fintech industry will take a leap forward through such educational programs.

“By establishing the institution in Yeouido, we hope to expand professional manpower, who can contribute to finance and fintech industries on-site. Through the process, we hope digital finance specialists can be pivotal to the industries’ growth,” said Kim Eui-seung, who heads the city’s economic policy division.

The FSC and city government will select educational entities to run the project in March. Universities, research or other finance-related institutions are eligible to apply.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)