Seton Hall Welcomes Experts in Big Data and FinTech at Annual Symposium  

Manfred Minimair, professor of Mathematics and Computer Science and chairperson of the 2023 NJBDA Symposium, welcomes the audience to the event.

On May 9, Seton Hall University successfully hosted the 10th Annual New Jersey Big Data Alliance (NJBDA) Symposium, which is the state's most prominent conference for big data and advanced computing. The NJBDA is an alliance consisting of 18 higher education institutions, industry, and government members that catalyze collaboration in advanced computing and data analytics research, education, and technology.

This year's event theme, "Big Data in FinTech," focused on the opportunities in new development in the financial industry created by big data and financial technology. Funding for the symposium was provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

“We were thrilled to host the 10th Annual New Jersey Big Data Alliance Symposium,” said Seton Hall Provost Katia Passerini, Ph.D. “This event is a wonderful opportunity for our community of students, faculty, and industry partners to come together and explore the exciting developments in big data and advanced computing. The University is proud to be a member of the NJBDA and to support its efforts to catalyze collaboration and drive innovation in this important field.”

The symposium attracted more than 150 people, including business professionals, New Jersey government representatives focused on economic development, and professors, students, and staff from NJ colleges and universities.

Associate Professor of Political Science & Public Affairs Matthew Hale, who also serves as the president of the NJBDA, and Professor Minimair greet Keynote Speaker Kjersten Moody, Prudential Financial’s Chief Data Officer.

The event featured three speakers who shared information, insights, and knowledge relevant and valuable to the event and the audience. George Calhoun, professor, founding director of the Quantitative Finance Program and executive director of the Hanlon Financial Systems Center at Stevens Institute of Technology spoke on the challenges and action steps to grow the State of New Jersey into a FinTech economic center. Prudential Financial’s Chief Data Officer Kjersten Moody talked about the tremendous career opportunities for data scientists and the skills needed in the workplace. Marc Rind, chief technology officer-data at Fiserv spoke about the opportunities for innovation in FinTech and how to manage teams including data scientists and domain experts that create new data products.

A panel on AI and machine learning applications focused on the challenges and benefits of using these disruptive technologies for better business intelligence on customers, more informed decision making, and improved risk management, and lower costs. Read more about this topic, as covered by InformationWeek.

Additional sessions covered a variety of relevant topics such as workforce skills, regulatory issues and cybersecurity. Attendees explored education and training of a Big Data Workforce with a focus on Big Data in FinTech; gained insights on cutting-edge research at New Jersey's premier academic institutions; participated in relevant and valuable workshops, and networked with industry, government, academic leaders, and New Jersey Big Data Alliance members.

“The symposium provided an excellent forum for professionals and students for networking and learning about the latest developments in Big Data and FinTech. The participants were able to make new professional connections to advance their careers, institutions and companies, which was a major goal of the symposium,” said Manfred Minimair, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Seton Hall, who also served as chairperson of the 2023 NJBDA Symposium. The event proved to be successful in achieving its goal of providing attendees with the opportunity to explore cutting-edge research, gain insights on relevant topics, participate in workshops, and network with industry, government, academic leaders, and New Jersey Big Data Alliance members.

The NJBDA Symposium is held annually, and the venue rotates among the partners in the NJBDA. The previous hosts include New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Kean University, New Jersey City University, The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, Rowan University, and Rutgers University.

"It is exciting to have a 10-year anniversary, but even more exciting is thinking about where the NJBDA, New Jersey, and our diverse fields will be in the next 10 years. It is going to be a fun ride," said Matthew Hale, Ph.D., president of the New Jersey Big Data Alliance. “Seton Hall is really well positioned to be a leader in the state, not just in FinTech, but in many aspects of data analytics,” continued Hale, who is also an associate professor in Political Science and Public Affairs at Seton Hall.

Categories: Research, Science and Technology