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The course aims to give an in-depth overview of FinTech and Blockchain Finance, a new part of the financial sector that is radically innovating the way financial services are traditionally built and offered. Students will gain an understanding of the key technologies, participants, regulation, and the dynamics of change being brought by FinTech in corporate finance.
The main objectives of the course are to provide students with: (1) the command of corporate finance, including venture capital financing, business angels, and initial public offerings; (2) the understanding of financial applications of digital technology such as crowdfunding and coin offerings; (3) the capacity to understand how digitalization alters firms financing by providing disintermediated access to external finance (equity- and debt-based crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, invoice trading, utility and security coin offerings), (4) the capacity to examine entrepreneurial firms adopting and driving financial innovations and to assess the changes, disruption and adaptations resulting from the rise of FinTech solutions.
The main topics of the course are the following:
Blockchain technology, an overview;
Venture Capital, Business Angels, Initial Public Offerings;
Digital finance: equity- and debt-based crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, invoice trading, utility and security coin offerings
Initial Coin Offerings and Blockchain-based financing mechanisms.
The course combines traditional lectures with practical sessions during which the students will have the possibility to familiarize themselves with the techniques presented in the lectures. Furthermore, workshops and case studies allow participants to apply the techniques introduced and test their understanding of blockchain and fintech.
The final assessment will be composed of: (i) 60% written test (ii) 40% applied group assignments on predefined issues in digital and blockchain finance.
The exam rules are the same for both attending students and non-attending students. Therefore non-attending students can also access group work, as long as they are able to share the activity with the students attending.
If this course will be taught remotely, or according to a blend-teaching mode, changes can be implemented with respect to what is stated in the syllabus, to make the course and exams available.