New endowed professorship for innovative financial technologies at the University of Basel
Distributed ledger technology with decentralized transaction systems has the potential to fundamentally change the world of finance. To strengthen research in this area, the University of Basel’s President’s Board has appointed the economist Fabian Schär as an assistant professor. The endowed professorship will be financed by Credit Suisse Asset Management (Switzerland) Ltd.
Professor Fabian Schär is currently Director of the Center for Innovative Finance CIF at the University of Basel’s Faculty of Business and Economics. His research areas include applications based on blockchain technology such as smart contracts, the transfer of financial assets in blockchain-based units (tokens), and further aspects of distributed ledger technology (DLT).
FinTech and blockchain expert
Fabian Schär, born in 1988, studied economics at the University of Basel. In 2017, he earned his doctorate with one of the first academic publications about digital payment methods and investments, which linked economics, cryptography and computer science. The comprehensive introduction appeared in 2017 with the title Bitcoin, Blockchain und Kryptoassets. Schär has been involved in numerous blockchain projects, has extensive teaching experience and is a regular speaker at conferences, such as the G20 Global Financial Stability Conference 2018.
The Credit Suisse Asset Management Switzerland Professorship for Distributed Ledger Technology/FinTech will be part of the Faculty of Business and Economics. From 1 September 2018, it will run for five years with the position of assistant professor (without tenure track).
Combining research and practice
The professorship will focus on researching new distributed ledger technologies. It will examine the use and potential applications in financial markets and industry, as well as the possible effects of these technological innovations on society. The professorship, funded by Credit Suisse Asset Management, will begin to play a central role in teaching and research in the fall semester 2018.
Michel Degen, CEO of Credit Suisse Asset Management (Switzerland) Ltd. and Head of Asset Management Switzerland & EMEA is convinced that digitalization will fundamentally influence the future of asset management and that the new technologies will have a lasting impact on the market.
Further information
Caroline Mattingley-Scott, University of Basel, Head of Fundraising, tel: +41 61 207 28 86, mobile: +41 79 541 73 95, email: caroline.mattingley-scott@clutterunibas.ch
Photo
A print-quality image of Professor Fabian Schär can be found in the media database.