Kennesaw State Equips Students For Georgia’s Booming FinTech Sector

Press release from Kennesaw State University:

Mar 8, 2021

Kennesaw State Equips Students for Georgia’s Booming FinTech Sector

KENNESAW, Ga.
(Mar 8, 2021) — To help prepare students for jobs in Georgia’s fast-growing financial technology sector,
Kennesaw State University has leveraged its partnership with the Georgia FinTech Academy
to launch an academic minor in fintech beginning Fall 2021. This is the first program
of its kind in the state.

Open to Kennesaw State students of all majors, the fintech minor will focus on digital
payments, a variety of non-cash transactions that include credit and debit cards,
PayPal, ApplePay, and other mobile wallet platforms. Faculty in the Michael J. Coles
College of Business and the College of Computing and Software Engineering have created
four new courses for the program, each focusing on the digital payments area of financial
technology. These courses join five others on data analytics, information security,
and financial services.

“The fintech industry is critical to so much of the economy,” said Humayun Zafar,
program coordinator of Kennesaw State’s fintech program and a professor of information security and assurance. “Transactions are only going
to continue evolving digitally. We are not going back to cash. We’ve seen this happening
for years and COVID has accelerated it.”

According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, 118 billion digital transactions
– or 70 percent of the total U.S. volume – are processed by more than 170 fintech
companies based in Georgia. Given the volume, companies including FIS Global, NCR,
Equifax, Fiserv, and Global Payments are creating new fintech jobs at the rate of
an estimated 1,000 annually.

Kennesaw State’s fintech minor is an extension of the University’s involvement in
the Georgia FinTech Academy, a statewide initiative to create a talent pipeline for Georgia’s fintech industry.
Made possible by a significant contribution by FIS Global, the world’s largest payment
processing firm, the academy offers students across the University System of Georgia
access to online fintech courses designed alongside employers to address current talent
needs.

“Kennesaw State has been an integral partner to the development of the academy’s digital
payments courses,” said Tommy Marshall, executive director of the Georgia FinTech
Academy. “A lot of that has to do with how they have partnered with large fintech
companies for years to develop computer science, data analytics, and accounting talent.
The new minor is a way to amplify those meaningful efforts, courses, and projects
that have allowed KSU to engage with the fintech community.”

Despite being a tech-heavy field, the fintech industry needs professionals with a
variety of skills.

“FinTech is not just for business and computer science students,” Zafar said. “The
financial sector is heavily regulated. Every decision has policies, laws, and legal
ramifications to consider, and you don’t have to be a technology person to excel in
those areas. The fintech minor is just as interesting a proposition whether students
study architecture or humanities.”

Kennesaw State has offered fintech courses as electives since 2019 and has encouraged
students to attend Georgia FinTech Academy events and workshops. Philip Audinet, a
junior information security and assurance major, recently attended an academy event on trends and growth in fintech, which
led him to consider the minor.

“For me, it’s about employability,” Audinet said. “Having a minor in a fast-growing
industry is a great way to get ahead. My career goal is to become a chief information
security officer, and every company needs people knowledgeable about financial services.”

With Georgia’s fintech industry experiencing explosive growth and providing a wealth
of high-paying employment opportunities, Zafar said the most exciting part about minoring
in FinTech is being on the ground floor of an emerging industry.

“This is one of the few times where industry and academia are on the same page when
it comes to understanding an industry,” Zafar said. “In most fields, industry is ahead
of the curve. But both sides are currently working out what fintech is going to look
like. Our students have the chance to help shape the industry’s direction.”

– Patrick Harbin

Related Stories

• KSU professor explores advocacy in politics

• KSU Engineering Professor Uses Data, Simulations to Combat COVID-19

Michael and Donna Coles Launch Scholarship Endowment to Support Veterans

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.

This press release was produced by Kennesaw State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.