Save the date: Tuesday May 9, 2023
10th Annual NJBDA Symposium
Big Data in FinTech
Host: Seton Hall University
The New Jersey Big Data Alliance (NJBDA) is an alliance of 18 higher education institutions, as well as industry and government members, that catalyzes collaboration in advanced computing and data analytics research, education and technology.
The NJBDA’s annual symposium is New Jersey’s premier conference for big data & advanced computing, consistently attracting 200+attendees from industry, government, and academia.
This year’s symposium will be held in person at Seton Hall University. Read Seton Hall’s press release.
For questions, please contact Manfred Minimair, Ph.D., Seton Hall. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Kaerielle Larsen, Seton Hall, at kaerielle.larsen@shu.edu.
Call for Abstracts
We invite academic and industry researchers to submit abstracts of their research for presentation at the symposium.
The 2023 Symposium will include academic research sessions with presentations on current applied research in Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning.
Other topics of particular interest related to the focus of the symposium are welcome, including, but not limited to: AI and Finance, Blockchain, Crypto & Digital Currencies, NFTs, Big Data Business Intelligence.
Abstracts should be a maximum of 650 words and submitted by March 25, 2023. Indicate your name, email, department, university affiliation, title of presentation and track, at the top of the abstract. This information does not count towards the 650-word limit.
Submit abstract via EasyChair.org
Notification of acceptance by April 14, 2023
We look forward to your submissions!
Selected presentations will be invited to submit papers to The Journal of Big Data Theory and Practice (JBDTP).
Contact Forough Ghahramani, Vice President Research, NJBDA at research@njedge.net for questions or additional information.
Download PDF: NJBDA call for abstracts 2023
Keynotes

George Calhoun
Professor and Founding Director of the Quantitative Finance Program, Stevens Institute of Technology

Kjersten Margaret Moody
Chief Data Officer, Prudential Financial

Stephen Ward
Managing Director, Insight Partners
Agenda
8:30 – 9:30
Registration, Refreshments, Exhibits
Location: Event Lounge and Event Room
9:30 – 10:00
Welcome
- Matt Hale, President, NJBDA
- Manfred Minimair, NJBDA Symposium Chair
- Anthony Loviscek, Academy of Applied Analytics and Technology, Seton Hall University
- TBA
Location: Event Room
10:00 – 10:45
Keynote 1: Kjersten Moody
Chief Data Officer of Prudential Financial
(30 minutes speech, 15 min Q&A)
Location: Event Room
10:45 – 11:00
Break, Exhibits (incl. Student Posters), Networking
The 2023 Symposium will include a student research poster session on the topic of Big Data in FinTech. Students from NJBDA member institutions and others are welcome to submit a poster. Topics related to the focus of the symposium theme include, but are not limited to, Large Language Models, AI, Finance, Blockchain, Crypto & Digital Currencies, NFTs, and Big Data Business Intelligence are also invited. Please submit your posters by April 14th, 2023, with a separate cover page, including your name, email, department, institutional affiliation, and title of the poster, to https://sites.google.com/stockton.edu/2023-njbda-symposium. Bring a 36” X48” printed copy of the poster to the event on May 9th, 2023.
Location: Event Lounge
Lead: George Avirappattu
11:00 – 12:00
4 Parallel Sessions:
AI/Machine Learning for FinTech
The need to adapt to newer technologies and cater to a wide customer base with customized needs has become the need of the hour, with companies constantly innovating. Successful companies have used AI-ML to design products suiting their customer’s evolving needs. Over the recent years, machine learning has had a major impact in the finance lending sector by allowing for more accurate and faster decision-making through analysis of consumer data, usage trends, and patterns.
Location: Chancellor’s Suite
Data Assets and Privacy
Location: Meeting Room
Entrepreneurship in FinTech
Location: Event Room
Leads: Judith Sheft
Workforce Development for FinTech
Talent and human capital are now, and will continue to be, the critical factors of production in the data-driven economy. Technology and lifelong training to maintain the appropriate skills become pre-conditions for participating in this new landscape. By educating, training, and facilitating access to individuals with advanced computing and analytics skill sets, New Jersey can provide a competitive advantage for its employers. This workshop will highlight the specific skills and workforce development needs of the fintech sector to ensure the successful growth of this critical sector for the state economy.
- William Noonan, Chief Business Development Officer, Choose New Jersey
- Mark Gunther, Professor of Financial Practice, Rutgers Business School
- Steven Hunter, Director, AI Center of Excellence and co-organizer of the UBS Pitch Competition, UBS
Location: Faculty Lounge
Lead: Margaret Brennan-Tonetta
12:00 – 1:00
Lunch, Exhibits (incl. Student Posters), Networking
Location: Event Lounge and Event Room
1:00 – 2:00
4 Parallel Sessions:
Cybersecurity in FinTech
Over 75% of consumers globally use at least one fintech service such as Robinhood, PayPal, etc., and the number is expected to increase as the usage of digital and touchless payment, mobile banking, etc., becomes more prominent.
As usage increases among consumers, the threat of cyberattacks and cybercrime comes along with that. A survey shows that in 2021 account takeovers are on the rise, with an increase of 282% between 2019 and 2021. One of the largest data breaches happened recently with Equifax, which exposed the personal information of over 147 million people. So, in the long run, more of the fintech companies are becoming the target for cybercriminals. So cybersecurity is a key concern during digital adoption, and the adoption of best practices for building and securing fintech solutions is important. Most organizations are adopting best practices such as Data encryption, RBAC etc., and gradually accepting the recent trends such as DevSecOps.
In this session, we will focus on the recent patterns and trends seen with fintech cyberattacks and how organizations are equipping with fintech solutions as preventive measures for cyber attacks. Further, we will look at how next-generation students can equip themselves with the career choices and paths that can be taken with fintech cybersecurity.
Location: Chancellor’s Suite
Lead: Demetrios Roubos
Regulatory Issues in FinTech
Location: Event Room
Lead: Matthew Hale
Research Presentations in FinTech
The symposium Research Track features presentations on current applied research in Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning. Presentations are categorized based on specific symposium themes in Big Data and FinTech.
Location: Meeting Room and Faculty Lounge
Lead: Forough Ghahramani
2:00 – 2:45
Keynote 2: George Calhoun
Director of the Quantitative Finance Program and the Hanlon Financial Systems Center at Stevens Institute of Technology
(30 minutes speech, 15 min Q&A)
Location: Event Room
2:45 – 3:15
Cybersecurity Keynote: Stephen Ward
Managing Director at Insight Partners and former CISO
Location: Event Room
3:15 – 3:20
Journal of Big Data Theory and Practice
- Jim Samuel, Associate Professor of Practice, Executive Director – Informatics, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University
Location: Event Room
3:20 – 3:30
Closing Remarks and Raffle
Location: Event Room