Northwestern University and Trilogy Education Launch Chicago's First FinTech Boot Camp

CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies announced the launch of Chicago's first intensive fintech training program in partnership with Trilogy Education, a leading workforce accelerator. The Northwestern FinTech Boot Camp offers professionals the opportunity to acquire in-demand digital skills that will fuel the thriving fintech sector in Chicago, the #5 fintech hub in the world, according to Deloitte.

The 24-week non-credit certificate program consists of two three-hour evening classes during the week (6:30 to 9:30 p.m.) and a four-hour class on Saturdays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Enrollment is now open at bootcamp.northwestern.edu/fintech.

"We see an accelerating need for educational programs that specifically build a pipeline of talent to support Chicago's growing fintech ecosystem," Erica Wilke Bova, Assistant Dean, International and Professional Education Programs said. "Our new boot camp is designed for anyone interested in immersing themselves in the tools and technologies that are transforming the financial services industry today. We expect the program to attract professionals who already work in finance and seek to upskill, as well as technologists who want to pivot into fintech."

Chicago has long been considered a leading center for financial services with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange being the largest futures exchange in the world. The city is now home to dozens of fintech startups and success stories including companies like Braintree, Avant, and Morningstar. They are competing for talent with major financial services employers like JP Morgan, Discover Bank, and Deloitte, which were among the top 10 companies in the city sourcing tech talent in the last 12 months, according to Burning Glass Labor Insights.

The Northwestern FinTech Boot Camp, offered in a part-time format to accommodate work schedules, is the latest in a series of professional tech boot camps that the University offers in partnership with Trilogy Education. Northwestern's current boot camps in coding, data science and visualization, and cybersecurity have more than 1,000 graduates. Many of them have gone on to find employment in Chicago's financial services sector at companies like U.S. Bank, Charles Schwab, and Lending Tree.

Students in the Northwestern FinTech Boot Camp will develop a portfolio through applied experience with a wide range of technology tools relevant to financial services, including:

• Analyzing stock movement using financial APIs in Jupyter Notebooks.
• Creating predictive models for stock prices with time series analysis using Python.
• Building a decentralized identity system using blockchain technologies.
• Applying machine learning algorithms to analyze sentiment scores for cryptocurrency news.
• Using TensorFlow to build deep learning neural networks to predict financial outcomes.
• Developing an AI-driven robo-advisor capable of providing financial services with minimal human intervention.

Boot camp students will gain skills that prepare them for a wide range of fintech-related roles, as well as receive a certificate of completion in Financial Technology from Northwestern University School of Professional Studies. In addition to classroom instruction from industry professionals, students will have access to highly targeted career planning services including trained career coaches, recruiting assistance, portfolio reviews, webinars, and employer events.

Northwestern is among the first universities in the country to launch boot camps aimed directly at preparing local professionals for the rise of fintech. Other Trilogy Education partners to recently launch fintech boot camps are Columbia Engineering, Rice University, Vanderbilt University, UNC Charlotte, and Southern Methodist University.

Apply Now
To learn more about the Northwestern FinTech Boot Camp, visit bootcamp.northwestern.edu/fintech. You can apply online or by calling 312-416-9979.

About Northwestern University School of Professional Studies
The mission of the School of Professional Studies is to provide a superior Northwestern education to outstanding students whose academic pursuits must be balanced with professional or personal commitments. SPS strives to be a national leader in continuing and professional education by providing innovative learning opportunities that serve the lifelong learning needs of its students.

About Trilogy Education
Trilogy Education, a 2U, Inc. brand (NASDAQ: TWOU), is a workforce accelerator that empowers the world's leading universities to prepare professionals for high-growth careers in the digital economy. Trilogy's intensive, skills-based training boot camps bridge regional talent gaps in coding, data analytics, UX/UI, cybersecurity, and fintech in more than 50 markets around the globe. Thousands of working adults have successfully completed Trilogy-powered boot camps, and more than 2,500 companies—ranging from startups to the Fortune 500—employ them.

Media Contact:
Charlotte Ward
(628) 400-7553
[email protected] 

SOURCE Trilogy Education Services

Related Links

http://bootcamp.northwestern.edu/fintech