Bahrain Fintech Bay announced today that it has entered into a partnership with the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley) to establish a GCC-wide training and certification program in the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in finance. The program is intended to promote innovation, build greater workforce capacity, and support the adoption of advanced machine learning technology within financial organizations and the economies of Bahrain and the GCC region.

Commenting on the partnership, Maissan Almaskati, Chairman of Fintech Consortium Middle East and Board Director of Bahrain Fintech Bay said “Berkeley is a distinguished academic institution at the cutting edge of the latest in technological innovation. We are excited about this partnership to specifically develop a training and certification program for the GCC financial industry that applies Berkeley’s expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and look forward to announcing its details soon”

Berkeley is recognized as a global leader in research around artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data, particularly in areas related to finance, financial analytics, and fintech.

Greg La Blanc, Lecturer & Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Berkeley’s Haas Business School, and Faculty Director at the Berkeley Fintech Institute said: “This partnership represents an exciting new chapter in UC Berkeley’s continued efforts to foster economic development and inclusion through the development of new technologies. Along with strong faculty in engineering and business, we will leverage the industry expertise of Silicon Valley to create a bridge to entrepreneurs and finance professionals throughout the middle east.”