University announces innovative collaboration with financial technology firm Aquis

The University of Derby has secured government funding for a new knowledge transfer partnership with a company at the cutting edge of the financial sector.

Aquis Exchange PLC and the University are to collaborate on a research and development project based around machine learning, with the aim of enhancing the company’s ability to monitor trading behaviour and identify abuses within financial markets.

Machine learning is the study of computer algorithms which adapt and improve through experience, and a form of artificial intelligence.

The University’s role is to recruit recent graduates with the skills required by the company to undertake the project and ensure that Aquis remains a specialist provider of innovative technology to the finance sector.

The partnership is backed by a £151,000 government grant delivered by Innovate UK, which enables businesses to use KTPs to improve productivity and performance by providing the funding to take forward new ideas.

Jackie Edwards, Knowledge Exchange Manager at the University of Derby, said: “We are delighted to have secured this partnership with Aquis Exchange, and to be supporting the company’s objective of establishing itself as one of the leading suppliers of market trading surveillance.”

Alasdair Haynes, CEO of Aquis Exchange, added: “We are very excited to be working with the University of Derby to develop further our ML and AI capabilities for surveillance. We firmly believe that this is where the future of surveillance lies and our philosophy at Aquis is to be always at the cutting edge of innovation.”

The University has worked on KTPs with companies in a variety of different industries, from engineering to tourism, including one to measure the economic impact of Chatsworth House, the Derbyshire home of the Duke of Devonshire.

Jackie added: “KTPs have been a very successful means of collaboration between the University and business, not-for-profit organisations and the public sector. Whether it is developing new products or improving management practices, our task is to identify and recruit graduates with the skills and knowledge to make a real difference to the employers they will work for.

“As well as bringing that expertise with them, it is also crucial that they embed that knowledge within the organisation they are working with, so it can build on the work that the graduates have carried out during their time with the company.”

For more information on Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, visit the University website: https://www.derby.ac.uk/business-services/research-and-expertise/mktp/